Ice floes on the Susquehanna River may be lovely and damaging.
A take a look at the ice and nature dwelling on the nonetheless Susquehanna River at Lengthy Stage on Feb. 23, 2025 because the movement strikes downstream in hotter temperatures.
The Ford Maverick Hybrid’s built-in energy inverter and heated seat make it an environment friendly cellular workplace, particularly in chilly climate.The writer, a journalist with many years of expertise working from autos, finds the Maverick Hybrid to be a cushty and cost-effective answer for cellular work.
A Ford Maverick Hybrid truck is an environment friendly, cold-weather workplace for cellular journalism. I purchased this one new in 2022, however on the time did not understand its deserves as an all-season workplace on wheels.
The hybrid drivetrain powering the built-in 110-volt energy inverter and a heated seat can soldier on for hours conserving you comfy and your stuff charged with little or no use of the gasoline engine.
I’ve labored out of many autos, in every kind of climate, for over 4 many years. I’m low-cost in terms of shopping for vehicles. To me they’re home equipment. It ought to be cheap to purchase and environment friendly to function. I like small autos to drive and park in tight areas the place large autos cannot match. I want a truck for different enterprise adventures, so I often have a small automobile for the mileage and a small truck for infrequent utility.
The 2022 Maverick XLT with the “Luxurious Bundle,” might be essentially the most bougie car I’ve ever owned, and it was the costliest at round $27,000. I solely did it as a result of the bottom worth was so affordable and after 40+ years of car minimalism, I figured why not.
It was an enormous shock to me that a couple of luxuries, mixed with the hybrid drivetrain within the Maverick, actually made a super-efficient chilly climate workplace setting. On prime of that, a lot of my driving is crawling round in gradual visitors. Drive the Maverick hybrid effectively utilizing the instruments Ford builds into the Maverick Hybrid and you may hit 40+ mpg (in gentle climate) all day lengthy in cease and go visitors.
I work on a laptop computer in my automobile. With previous autos, this often means alternating between losing gasoline for the heater and never killing the 12-volt battery when the automobile is off, charging laptops and telephones whereas letting the chilly sink into me. I want a steady supply of energy for my largely lifeless laptop computer battery.
Combine collectively a heated seat, the 400-watt ,110-volt built-in energy inverter, with the hybrid battery and you’ve got a splendidly comfy place to work that not often faucets into the inner combustion engine. You may even run the infotainment unit and cost some telephones on the identical time.
I don’t use the cabin heater whereas working and parked as this can make the engine run extra usually and why warmth an enormous house when you may simply heat your self. The Maverick will complement the shortage of gasoline engine waste warmth with an electrical cabin heater if the engine isn’t heat sufficient but, however it can use extra gasoline.
The electrical seat will bake you (there are three settings), significantly if you’re already dressed for the chilly. And I discover radiant warmth far more comfy versus getting blasted with scorching air..
For the summer time months, you should use the identical process whereas utilizing the air-conditioning, which runs off the hybrid battery and can run with out the gasoline engine. Nevertheless, I not often do that as a result of I don’t actually like A/C and would quite open home windows and discover a good tree.
The Ford hybrid system makes use of a extremely environment friendly gasoline engine that by itself could be underpowered. That is supplemented by two electrical motors within the transmission, one can be a generator. The high-voltage battery is charged by the gasoline engine, whilst you drive, and can be once you coast and through braking. Engine computer systems work out what’s the best mixture, except you select sport mode which can unleash energy from each over financial system. It will probably run as much as a mile or so and at freeway speeds on solely electrical for brief cycles.
It’s this high-voltage battery that provides energy to the heated seat and powers my laptop computer for lengthy durations of time with out the engine operating. You don’t have to fret about killing the hybrid battery, or the 12-volt battery, whilst you’re working as a result of the gasoline engine will routinely restart when the high-voltage battery must be recharged.
I used to be truly amazed how little the gasoline engine runs whereas operating my cellular workplace – a pair minutes about each half-hour. Just lately on a hotter day after I wasn’t utilizing the electrical seat, I powered my laptop computer for over an hour whereas producing this video earlier than the gasoline engine got here on to cost the battery. I’m reimbursed for mileage, however to not sit and burn gasoline attempting to remain heat powering my stuff.
The principle picture included on this story is from a current two-hour work session in a really chilly, multi-level Harrisburg, Pa. parking storage the place the truck stated that it was 16 levels (-9 Celsius) out. I used to be completely comfy for the 2 hours sitting there working.
The truck will cycle indefinitely till you’ve got made your deadline and depart.
