Charging at Campgrounds and RV Parks

[Bugeater]

Bugeater, thanks for the complete description. Really makes me want to avoid RV parks unless I call ahead and get a welcome invitation. I've never heard of a model S quitting before the range was completely gone. Not good.

Don't avoid RV parks because of this! We were turned away by only 4 or 5 RV parks out of close to 40 RV parks visited on our trip. However, it IS always a good idea to call ahead!

 

[Gear]

Don't avoid RV parks because of this! We were turned away by only 4 or 5 RV parks out of close to 40 RV parks visited on our trip. However, it IS always a good idea to call ahead!

Any luck with checking plugshare or anything like that to see which ones are EV friendly from others' comments?

 

[Cottonwood]

Don't avoid RV parks because of this! We were turned away by only 4 or 5 RV parks out of close to 40 RV parks visited on our trip. However, it IS always a good idea to call ahead!

Hear, hear!

I have been using RV parks for over five years ago since I got my Roadster. The vast majority are very friendly. However, I have found some that say no, and once, I had one RV Park owner hang up on me when I called to ask about charging an electric car.

By all means, if you need an RV Park to complete a trip, call ahead. I use Google Maps on my iPhone, search for "RV Park" of "Campground", just click on the phone number, and start calling. As I said before, the vast majority of RV Parks are friendly and welcoming.

Using destination charging at motels with 14-50's, L2 J's, etc to hop off of the Supercharger highway can let you open your EV travels in amazing ways! Enjoy!!! :biggrin:

 

[stevezzzz]

Not even near full. They wanted to charge me for a full night rate for a few hours in the afternoon. When I tried to negotiate politely the guy got angry and told us "get out of my RV park right now!"
The guy at the next RV park said he didn't have meters on his hookups so he didn't know how much to charge. So he simply said no. When I tried to explain how much it would cost he just said no again and good bye.
The next place, High Plains RV park immediately said sure, come on in! But with 26 miles left on the Rated Miles meter we coasted to a stop on I70 3.3 miles short of High Plains RV park. No, Tesla couldn't figure out why it stopped while showing 26 miles remaining. They wrote it off as if I had shifted it into neutral and was too stupid to put it back in drive again. However, they were able to get me on a flatbed truck within an hour in the middle of nowhere, uh I mean Kansas.
Since then we have suspected that since it was very hot that for some reason the batteries had decided they couldn't / shouldn't give out that last little bit of juice. About four hours later we were on our way again. But for the rest of our trip we were even more careful to have closer to 50 miles spare on each leg of the trip!

That's odd, because I was able to use the 'other' RV park in Goodland for charging, both ways, on a road trip last summer; once was for a mid-day charge and the second time for a full overnight charge. I did call ahead both times, and the second time (a few days after the first) the owner trusted me to leave payment in the 'late arrivals' box outside the office.

 

[jerry33]

I have been using RV parks for over five years ago since I got my Roadster. The vast majority are very friendly. However, I have found some that say no, and once, I had one RV Park owner hang up on me when I called to ask about charging an electric car.

By all means, if you need an RV Park to complete a trip, call ahead. I use Google Maps on my iPhone, search for "RV Park" of "Campground", just click on the phone number, and start calling. As I said before, the vast majority of RV Parks are friendly and welcoming.

This has been my experience as well. Most are friendly, some actually encourage EV traffic (Acorns Resort), and there are a couple of jerks.

I've found the RV Parks App works well (in a browser it's rvparking.com).

 

[Cosmacelf]

Geez guys, you do realize that a typical RV park owner can only ever dream of owning a Tesla? If they say the cost for charging is an overnight rate, then don't negotiate. Trying to "inform" an RV park owner of the costs of electricity is going to come across as condescending. Misplaced condescendation I might add. Each RV park slot has to generate enough money for FAR more than the cost of electricity. They have to recoup the costs of the outdoor electrical system, the concrete pad, the waste disposal, water pipes, mortgage, property taxes, maintenance, garbage disposal etc., etc.

Blathering on about the cost of electricity is missing the point entirely. Frankly, if I were an RV park owner and some arrogant rich guy came in and started lecturing me about something I know far more about that he does (don't you think they know how much electricity costs? They pay the friggin bill every month), then I would throw them out too. The satisfaction of doing that would far outweigh the $10 the guy was willing to part with anyways.

Sorry about the rant, but sometimes people need a bit of perspective...

 

[Gear]

Geez guys, you do realize that a typical RV park owner can only ever dream of owning a Tesla? If they say the cost for charging is an overnight rate, then don't negotiate. Trying to "inform" an RV park owner of the costs of electricity is going to come across as condescending. Misplaced condescendation I might add. Each RV park slot has to generate enough money for FAR more than the cost of electricity. They have to recoup the costs of the outdoor electrical system, the concrete pad, the waste disposal, water pipes, mortgage, property taxes, maintenance, garbage disposal etc., etc.

Blathering on about the cost of electricity is missing the point entirely. Frankly, if I were an RV park owner and some arrogant rich guy came in and started lecturing me about something I know far more about that he does (don't you think they know how much electricity costs? They pay the friggin bill every month), then I would throw them out too. The satisfaction of doing that would far outweigh the $10 the guy was willing to part with anyways.

Sorry about the rant, but sometimes people need a bit of perspective...

This seems a bit out of nowhere. What does whether or not the guy can afford a Tesla have anything to do with it? Does that give a person license to be rude to a potential customer? Most of the people here were actually pointing out that most RV park operators are more than happy to let you charge, and then you freak out on them for that? Talk about perspective...

 

[dsm363]

While I don't think you should demand they only charge you what the electricity would cost you at home it also seems unreasonable for them to charge you the date rate of $30 for charging for 2 hours for example. That's why it is simply best to call ahead (maybe day before) and also when you are on your way in case the message doesn't get passed along to the person there that day and establish ahead of time how much they charge. If they demand the day rate and you don't want to pay it then you have to find somewhere else. I've only charged at RV parks a few times but they were helpful and when I explained I was only going to be there for 2 hours they said 'how about $5' which was fair.

RV parks should really see this as an opportunity if things aren't busy. If you only have 5 of your 30 spots full, why not have one or two EVs charge for a few hours and makes some additional revenue.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Gear, what I was trying to point out is the perspective of some RV park owners. They see someone driving a $80K car negotiating over $10, and their reaction is that this car owner must really think I'm some low class person who would beg to make $10 revenue today. Whether you realize it or not, you really have disrespected the RV park owner. Now some RV park owners are secure enough in their own skin to brush off such unintended slights, but not everyone.

 

[dirkhh]

It's all a matter of tone and intent.
Rude people will be rude, they don't need an excuse. It's irrelevant how much they earn our how much the car costs.
When calling ahead I found super nice RV park managers who were completely full and suggested I call in the morning to see if someone left early and offered to let me charge until check in time for the next RV.
And I found managers who had an almost empty lot and insisted on a full day's fee (which I politely declined to pay).
There is no general rule. It's like with most everything else. Nice people are nice. Rude people are not. Whatever. Plan ahead, call ahead, and most of the time things will work out.
Unless of course your model S stops driving with 26 rates miles on the display. That would suck. I arrived with < 10 miles at my next charging spot more than once. And reached "0 miles, charge now" half a mile from home one time...

 

[Cosmacelf]

I've only charged at RV parks a few times but they were helpful and when I explained I was only going to be there for 2 hours they said 'how about $5' which was fair.

RV parks should really see this as an opportunity if things aren't busy. If you only have 5 of your 30 spots full, why not have one or two EVs charge for a few hours and makes some additional revenue.

$5 isn't even worth the time it takes to answer the phone (just slightly exaggerating). Maybe because I've run small businesses before, I'm kinda sensitive to this. People seem to have no idea how expensive it is to run a business.

I've seen this in gripes about public charging rates too. People go bonkers paying $2/hr for EV charging, pointing out that the electricity costs $1/hr (at least here in CA it does). Yeah, but it cost $5K for the commercial charger and installation, plus on-going maintenance. At an average duty cycle of 3 hours a day, every single day, you might break even in five years, assuming no one vandalizes the unit, or drives off with it attached and breaks it.

Go ahead and gripe, but I'll gripe about the griping

 

[dsm363]

I didn't bring up the $5, they did. I would think having infrastructure that isn't generating any revenue is worse then generating something. As long as their expenses are being met plus a nice profit you think they should turn that down?

As dirkhh said if you are nice, ask nicely and they offer a rate you find reasonable then why not? If they offer something you find unreasonable or are rude to you then you say 'thanks' and call the next RV park. If they want to turn down business because it is 'beneath' them or because you drive a fancy car then that is their issue.

 

[jerry33]

What I do is pay what they ask and then the next time go elsewhere.

 

[andrewket]

I'm going to be charging at an RV park for the first time this summer. The KOA I called was at first somewhat reluctant, but then agreed as long as I paid the daily rate ($60). I agreed because without this location my trip will be completely derailed. I will be sleeping in the car, and they have public facilities (bathroom, etc.) For me it's worth it. If I was driving cross country this way then $60/charge would be objectionable.

 

[dirkhh]

Sleeping in your car? Now that's what I call dedication. And yes, you should pay the daily rate

 

[jerry33]

Sleeping in your car? Now that's what I call dedication.

I thought sleeping in the Tesla was pretty common. Admittedly it's no where near as comfortable as sleeping the DS-21 where the front seat, front seat back, and rear seat would all lie flat, but there's plenty of room. And the Tesla doesn't have waste to dump like an RV does.

 

[FlasherZ]

IF you have the patience, time and can lower the charge rate from 40 A to 30A or 32A, it should not "blow" anything up.
But LARGE RVs when the weather is warm, and twin A/C units are running, etc. probably put more stress on the same electrical system: Dodgy wiring will fail for those RVs also.

Some of the NEMA 14-50 outlets are NOT wired with 240 V power (~28 miles per hour), but instead 208 V, and they are slower (charging) anyway, 23 to 26 miles per hour.

Many "50 amp" RV's are actually 120V and simply use only 120V from neutral to the two hot legs. In fact, one campground that Liz and I stopped at had only one functioning 14-50 outlet for charging Teslas, because the campground "electrician" (I use that term loosely here) wired both L1 and L2 to the same leg of service in all the rest of them. Most RV's will be able to work using this, because they only need 120V. When measuring line-to-line, you get 0V because it's the same leg and the Tesla can't use that.

Cosmacelf is right when he says they're dodgy... so many pedestals are out there with very old aluminum wiring that has seen its day... broken neutrals creating a return path via ground, etc. I've encountered my share of "box hopping" to find an outlet that seemed reliable enough.

The average "50 amp" RV doesn't draw anything near what a Tesla draws. Even the largest Prevost coaches I've seen can run full blast on a 10 kVA genset-that's 42 amps with a perfect PF, and it's not a continuous load like the Tesla.

I stopped at a KOA near Maramec Caverns in Missouri, who told me that she would have to charge me $25 for charging my car, whether or not I paid to stay in a cabin, day or night, empty park or full. I just shook my head and tried to educate the owner, but she was adamant. Meanwhile, down the street at the Maramec Campground, pay $5 day use fee, use the playground, beach, barbecue grills, etc., and get a full 40A charge.

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Gear, what I was trying to point out is the perspective of some RV park owners. They see someone driving a $80K car negotiating over $10, and their reaction is that this car owner must really think I'm some low class person who would beg to make $10 revenue today. Whether you realize it or not, you really have disrespected the RV park owner. Now some RV park owners are secure enough in their own skin to brush off such unintended slights, but not everyone.

If someone called me a fool for refusing to pay $25 for a charge because I drive a Tesla, I'd tell them what my (very poor) grandmother used to say... "pennies make dollars", and that it's that attitude that gets someone in a position to purchase a Tesla in the first place. I'm willing to pay a fair price. I won't haggle for an hour to get him down $2, but I also refuse to pay $25 for the charge unless it's an emergency.

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$5 isn't even worth the time it takes to answer the phone (just slightly exaggerating). Maybe because I've run small businesses before, I'm kinda sensitive to this. People seem to have no idea how expensive it is to run a business.

If your infrastructure is sitting empty, it's making you nothing. $10 revenue is better than $0 revenue. Yes, it's expensive to run a business, but refusing business is one way to quickly run out of business.

I will agree with you that if things are crazy busy and you're having to spend 15-20 minutes discussing electric car charging and blah de blah de blah, it's not worth the time to have the conversation, or if the park is almost full and it's a choice between leaving a spot open for the nightly $50 rate for an RV pulling in vs. $10 from a car owner sucking juice for a couple of hours.. But if it's a simple conversation with plenty of spaces left - "I have an electric car, how much to park at a 50A outlet for 6 hours?" "I don't know what it would cost." "About $5 at commercial rates (coal country), how about I offer $10?" - then why not?

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I'm going to be charging at an RV park for the first time this summer. The KOA I called was at first somewhat reluctant, but then agreed as long as I paid the daily rate ($60). I agreed because without this location my trip will be completely derailed. I will be sleeping in the car, and they have public facilities (bathroom, etc.) For me it's worth it. If I was driving cross country this way then $60/charge would be objectionable.

At the campground we stayed at, they graciously let us use a 240V outlet for free by paying the cabin rental (in fact also offered to let us pull our cars behind the fence at the cabin and run a cord out from the dryer socket if we needed to).

At one time the KOA office had recommended to their owners to charge $10 for day use of an outlet if the grounds weren't full, but I think they backed away from that, at least according to a couple of KOA's that I called.

 

[andrewket]

Sleeping in your car? Now that's what I call dedication. And yes, you should pay the daily rate

I bought an air mattress that fit's perfectly in the back of the car with the 2nd row folded down.

 

[FlasherZ]

Best mattresses for Model S

 

[Gwgan]

... I stopped at a KOA near Maramec Caverns in Missouri, who told me that she would have to charge me $25 for charging my car, whether or not I paid to stay in a cabin, day or night, empty ....At one time the KOA office had recommended to their owners to charge $10 for day use of an outlet if the grounds weren't full, but I think they backed away from that, at least according to a couple of KOA's that I called.

By email, the Augusta/Gardiner (Maine) KOA said they charge $5/hr to it seems there is no uniform KOA policy.