50 Amp mobile EVSE options

[IronQQQ]

I did some serious driving and Tesla camping this weekend in some really hot weather. I pulled into a RV site at 10 pm with 7% with my LR RWD. It was over 90 degrees F outside. Plugged in gen2 UMC w/ 14-50 connecTor at 224 VAC and 32 Amp. I needed to charge to at least 90%, sleep in the car with the AC running. The cars prediction was nearly 11 hrs. I was like... "Uhh.. I'm not going to be here that long."

In the end it worked out because the temp dropped in the middle of the night and the car started charging faster... However, I see the need to pull a full 40 Amp from 14-50 mobile EVSE which is approx 20% faster than 32A. In general this would a win in any situation where a 14-50 plug is used away or at home.

Tesla gen2 UMC only supports up to 32 Amp. I looked on the web but only saw 1 such option on Amazon and the J1772 EVSE had issues with quality and melting. The other options I see are buying a Tesla 14-50 corded gen 2 HPWC or some similar corded Juice Box or clipper Creek unit. Problem is that these units are huge! Not too portable.

Any suggestions for a 50 Amp rated (40 Amp continuous) 14-50 corded mobile EVSE?

 

[Zoomit]

The contactors for a 40A unit are necessarily larger than 32A units, so the size grows.

I think this OpenEVSE unit is the smallest 40A mobile EVSE available. If you want to roll-your-own, you can buy a kit and assemble it yourself for cheaper.

Advanced Series - 40A/48A Portable Station

 

[Adam Gill]

You can get the Tesla gen1 UMC on eBay with 14-50 that does 40A.

 

[user212_nr]

From Tesla, the product is called the "corded mobile connector". It looks similar to the UMC, but the plug is not removable.

Corded Mobile Connector

It sells for $550. It is up to you if it is worth that for you situation.

 

[IronQQQ]

Thank you for the suggestions everybody. I had no idea that Tesla made a 50 amp (40 Amp continuous) mobile charger. It was available but in the last 5 mins after refreshing it went out of stock. It is rather pricey though.

Either a Gen 1 as suggested or a corded adapter bare great options. I currently use the UMC Gen 2 with Nema 14-50 to charge at home with the bulk of j1772 charging at work. So even with this 50 amp corded adapter or Gen 1, I would improve my at home charge speed.

The Open EVSE product looks great too.... But given a Tesla product, I would chose the Tesla product instead to avoid having to use the J1772 adapter.

 

[IronQQQ]

I also see that Tesla took the Corded Wall Connector off the site now. Hmmm....

 

[user212_nr]

I also see that Tesla took the Corded Wall Connector off the site now. Hmmm....

It is there and I was able to add it to the cart just now. Maybe you need to use a different browser.

It says now the price is $520 - I'm not sure if it changed or if I misquoted.

 

[smatthew]

How did you find the RV park? Was it on plugshare? Or did you just call RV parks? Mind if I ask how much it cost to charge overnight?

 

[F14Scott]

How did you find the RV park? Was it on plugshare? Or did you just call RV parks? Mind if I ask how much it cost to charge overnight?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rvparky.android2

I've used it once, and the manager let me "fill up" my TM3 for $10. But, I didn't stay overnight, just for the day while charging.

 

[smatthew]

Thanks! I'll add that to my travel toolkit.

 

[PNWLeccy]

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rvparky.android2

I've used it once, and the manager let me "fill up" my TM3 for $10. But, I didn't stay overnight, just for the day while charging.

I also used RV Parky for my recent trip and the app specifies if sites have 50A or 30A. However, I found that it was not necessarily always the most accurate, for example, not every site had 50A / 14-50 plugs or if they did, they weren't always operable.

Also, generally they do not understand Tesla's. They asked me tent or RV while I was car camping and I started just saying tent since they gave me the same site but charged differently. I would not be draining anywhere close to an RV (especially because I was only using 5-15 plug) and wasn't taking advantage of other RV necessities like dump stations so I didn't feel bad about the slight fib.

 

[wws]

A Gen 1 UMC with a 14-50 adapter would give you a full 40 amps. Like the Gen 2, there are multiple adapters available for various receptacles and amperages. Unfortunately the adapters have a different design, so they aren't compatible between the two gens.

Plugshare has a "14-50" filter for finding RV parks and other locations where folks have charged. Rvparky might also be handy. In rvparky you can filter by "Electric" or by "Fifty amp". The "Fifty amp" setting is specifically for 14-50 sites. The "Electric" could also include "30 amp" (TT-30), "20 amp" (5-20), and "15 amp" (5-15) locations.

 

[wws]

I also used RV Parky for my recent trip and the app specifies if sites have 50A or 30A. However, I found that it was not necessarily always the most accurate, for example, not every site had 50A / 14-50 plugs or if they did, they weren't always operable.

Also, generally they do not understand Tesla's. They asked me tent or RV while I was car camping and I started just saying tent since they gave me the same site but charged differently. I would not be draining anywhere close to an RV (especially because I was only using 5-15 plug) and wasn't taking advantage of other RV necessities like dump stations so I didn't feel bad about the slight fib.

The few RV campgrounds I've used have all been very helpful to EV owners. But then one reads horror stories about some others in the plugshare reviews. So it varies...

It may also be useful to make reservations in advance. On popular weekends and holidays, they can fill up and not have a space available.