Campground charging checklist? What do I need?

[Wattsgas]

Looking at the plugs, does this look compatible with our portable Ford Charger?

Yes it is

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[Newton]

Campgrounds around here (in the Pacific NW) are getting fairly sticky about it - not to be mean but honestly many campgrounds electrical systems barely handle normal campground loads safely and are not designed for continuous maximum power draw from many EVs. It is best to call ahead, more modern ones that cater to big RVs are likely to have 14-50s which are a real score if you are in a hurry. We have had very good luck by asking nicely (not in the busy season). We have had really good luck at places with small/tiny buildings or dorms that you can stay at, many already have EVSEs somewhere. Sometimes they are ICEd. At our age, small buildings are really nicer than tents.

As a boater, I have a whole trunk full of adapters which you can get on Amazon. I use the Grizzl*E mini which allows you to set the amperage (very important!) and which comes with a few adapters. It is a bit fiddly but works, honestly though look for one that lets you set the amperage from the device rather than connecting to a private WIFI connector and playing internet games. Bring something to wrap the interface between the connectors and your cable.

 

[SMMD]

Having just completed a 10,000 mile coast to coast RV (not an EV) trip, from west to east on I80 and I90 and back mostly on I40, and staying at about 60+ campgrounds, I’d say about 20-25% explicitly state “No EV charging”. I can only imagine this percentage will increase with time as the infrastructure in campgrounds wasn’t designed to fill up our very large batteries. They might work in a pinch, but relying on them as a standard practice may not be optimal.

 

[WilliamRobert]

I made my own extension cord, 30’ , seal tight conduit UV resistant, 6awg thhn , out door 14-50 receptical box mounted to 1x6 treated lumber that I set on blocks and hold in place with the leveling jack. Charge at 40 amps! Some campground 50amp breakers maybe old and not take that load, then you charge at 32amps. I had a permanent camp site so I just put in a new breaker, I also payed for my own electric.

 

[Rthol21]

Those who charge at campgrounds on 30a or 50a what do I need? What works? What doesn’t? Gearing up for a lot of campground visits next year and I want to have any adapters I need and want to go into these trips with confidence they will work.

thanks!

How important is your charging need at the campsite? Are you towing a trailer or planning on tent camping at an RV spot just to charge? In a worst case scenario you could just trickle charge while you camp for a few days and that should be enough to at least get you back to civilization for a real charging station.

 

[TMND]

To the RV sites that say no EV charging even though they have 50 amp plugs at every station…..I’d rather take my business elsewhere. Thankfully, my experience has been different and I’ve even had some offer me to plug-in without even giving them a $10 bill

These RVs are running washing machines and dryers and water heaters and three different air conditioning units. I don’t think the draw of our mobile connector is maxing those plugs out more than an RV.

 

[21st Century Truck]

Just for arguments sake, if you showed up with 10% battery and wanted to charge fully, using 120v on the Ford mobile charger would take about 120 hours or so, or 5 days. And that's assuming you didn't use the truck for anything in that timeframe.

...or time enough to hike up that mountain ridge, camp out on the way, and take the long scenic way back down I'm sure a good shower would come in handy at the end, and of course I'll assume decent Spring or Summer weather.

 

[Rthol21]

Just for arguments sake, if you showed up with 10% battery and wanted to charge fully, using 120v on the Ford mobile charger would take about 120 hours or so, or 5 days. And that's assuming you didn't use the truck for anything in that timeframe.

Yup, and assuming you don’t need to get to a full charge to get to a charging station on your way back you’d probably be fine. Unless you are camping for one night, which doesn’t make for that fun of a camping trip anyways.

 

[TMND]

The issue is that those loads are temporary, they are only running for at most an hour (AC is 120v iirc). They may have a peak demand that requires a 50a connection, but they hardly have a long term draw.

If you look at the NEC for campground their total location sizing can be as low as 40% of the sum of the sites, and the sites themselves are not the sum of ALL connectors. This creates a problem when a few people hook up EVs and start drawing a lot of power and do so for many hours. My truck will pull 40a for 12 hours, that's a lot if there are three or four doing that PLUS a handful of 240v glampers.

When there are 50 RVs that are bigger than my house all with multiple ACs buzzing nonstop and it’s 95° outside, I beg to differ

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

The list of adapters kept in our Lightning:

• 6-50P to 14-50R -- for connecting to welder outlets.
• L14-30P to 14-50R -- for charging other EVs from the Lightning
• 14-50P to 3x 5-20R (T-slot) -- for distributing the Lightning's 30A to 120v appliances
• TT-30P to 5-20R -- for charging at a 30A RV site
• 25 foot 10-Ga exterior extension cord -- For when the L1 cord isn't long enough
• TT-30 extension -- for when the 30A RV site electrical post is far from where I'm parking
• 14-50 extension -- For when the 50A RV site electrical post is far from where I'm parking
• A2ZEV DCFC NACS adapter
• Teslatap L2 NACS adapter

A few other miscellaneous adapters that are for unique charging situations.

 

[Nikos]

Those who charge at campgrounds on 30a or 50a what do I need? What works? What doesn’t? Gearing up for a lot of campground visits next year and I want to have any adapters I need and want to go into these trips with confidence they will work.

thanks!

Here is from a seasoned camper. I do tow a 25ft camper and visit almost all the parks in the SC coastline. Here is what you need. Reserve or ask for a 50amp site. 30 amps won’t work since it is a single phase outlet at the campgrounds. 20 amp outlets are futile to charge the Lightning.
You need the Mobile Charger from Ford or any other manufacturer. The Ford one comes with adaptors for a regular 20 amp 115V or a 50amp 240V. You will need also an extension cord in order to plug the truck if it is located 30-40 feet away from the outlets. If you don’t tow a camper and use a roof top tent, your mobile charger will do just fine. Any mobile charger you look for should be capable of 36 amps charging rate. That will give you around 24-28 miles of charge per hour. Make sure you have the adaptor for fast charging at Tesla SC stations. The experience is flawless.
Also you need an adaptor to use any destination Tesla chargers if you find one available. The adaptor I just mentioned should be rated for at least 60 amps continuous uptake and 40 amps for a MME. Keep all those adaptors in the vehicle all the time. The first couple trips you will develop a plan that suits your needs.
I have done it, others in this forum have done it and you will do it.
Good luck.

 

[solastobann]

Thanks! Have campgrounds been weird about EV charging or do they generally not care?

KOA supposedly forbids EV charging.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

KOA supposedly forbids EV charging.

https://koa.com/ev/

 

[Jamchampnate]

Here is from a seasoned camper. I do tow a 25ft camper and visit almost all the parks in the SC coastline. Here is what you need. Reserve or ask for a 50amp site. 30 amps won’t work since it is a single phase outlet at the campgrounds. 20 amp outlets are futile to charge the Lightning.
You need the Mobile Charger from Ford or any other manufacturer. The Ford one comes with adaptors for a regular 20 amp 115V or a 50amp 240V. You will need also an extension cord in order to plug the truck if it is located 30-40 feet away from the outlets. If you don’t tow a camper and use a roof top tent, your mobile charger will do just fine. Any mobile charger you look for should be capable of 36 amps charging rate. That will give you around 24-28 miles of charge per hour. Make sure you have the adaptor for fast charging at Tesla SC stations. The experience is flawless.
Also you need an adaptor to use any destination Tesla chargers if you find one available. The adaptor I just mentioned should be rated for at least 60 amps continuous uptake and 40 amps for a MME. Keep all those adaptors in the vehicle all the time. The first couple trips you will develop a plan that suits your needs.
I have done it, others in this forum have done it and you will do it.
Good luck.

Incredibly helpful. Thank you! Can you expand on the 30A not being an option? I was hoping there were be a solution for that since so many sites may have 30a available but not 50a.

 

[potato]

Incredibly helpful. Thank you! Can you expand on the 30A not being an option? I was hoping there were be a solution for that since so many sites may have 30a available but not 50a.

Has been covered earlier in the thread, but the gist is the Lightning will only charge at 12 amps on 120 volts, no matter how many amps the outlet could supply to some other load. So you'd only be using 12 of that 30.

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