Charging at campgrounds

[Sandiegodoug]

We are new to electric vehicles and are avid campers. We usually camp in campgrounds with full hookups with our Mercedes motorhome. Just wondering if we bring our x100d to the campground and unplug our rv at night and plug in tesla, how many miles might we gain. Also is there a splitter plug available so both rv and tesla could be plugged in. Rv used very little power while we sleep.

 

[roblab]

It's just like charging with the 220 outlet cord in your garage, or mine, only worse. Campgrounds tend to use one leg of 440 volt, or around 208 volts instead of 220+, so you will get around 25 miles of charge per hour. Less than that with the X. Maybe 22. Anyway, plug it in overnight, you should get near full charge. I would not plug in anything else on a campground 220.

The campgrounds I've been at charged me $10 to use an empty space to charge the car.

 

[Sandiegodoug]

It's just like charging with the 220 outlet cord in your garage, or mine, only worse. Campgrounds tend to use one leg of 440 volt, or around 208 volts instead of 220+, so you will get around 25 miles of charge per hour. Less than that with the X. Maybe 22. Anyway, plug it in overnight, you should get near full charge. I would not plug in anything else on a campground 220.

The campgrounds I've been at charged me $10 to use an empty space to charge the car.

I thought the campground was 120
Either 30 amp or 50amp

 

[TexasEV]

I thought the campground was 120
Either 30 amp or 50amp

No, 50A at campgrounds is 240V with a NEMA14-50, same as you would use in your garage. But the outlets are often in poor shape and overheat and you can't draw 40A. Don't count on more than 30A.

 

[Sandiegodoug]

No, 50A at campgrounds is 240V with a NEMA14-50, same as you would use in your garage. But the outlets are often in poor shape and overheat and you can't draw 40A. Don't count on more than 30A.

Thank you
When we receive our 100x in June , we will try it out at our local campground

 

[kort677]

just be aware that most RV parks are clueless about charging, if you ask for a 14-50 outlet they probably will not know what you are referring to. ask for 50 amp service.
if you plan on using RV locations to charge consider getting an extension cord like this:

Amazon.com: Camco 55195 50 AMP 30' Extension Cord with PowerGrip Handle: Automotive
This is a good RV park locator
RV Parky - Android Apps on Google Play
RV Parky - RV Parks and More on the App Store

since the expansion of SpC locations and many L2 installations over the years
using campgrounds as a fallback has become less of a necessity for me.

 

[cgiGuy]

I successfully charged the Tesla on the 50 amp, while having a RV plugged into the 30 amp. But I've also had a different 50 amp, by itself, trip the circuit due to heat. It really depends on how new/good the outlets at the park are.

 

[Sandiegodoug]

just be aware that most RV parks are clueless about charging, if you ask for a 14-50 outlet they probably will not know what you are referring to. ask for 50 amp service.
if you plan on using RV locations to charge consider getting an extension cord like this:

Amazon.com: Camco 55195 50 AMP 30' Extension Cord with PowerGrip Handle: Automotive
This is a good RV park locator
RV Parky - Android Apps on Google Play
RV Parky - RV Parks and More on the App Store

Thank you, down loaded app
Dumb question, if post has both plugs, a 30amp and a 50amp, can rv plug into 30 and 100x into 50 at same time or will a breaker trip

 

[BrokerDon]

You should also be aware that campground power can be wired incorrectly and/or have voltage / amperage issues. We always plug our Mercedes Sprinter (Winnebago View) RV's 30A / 120V plug into an expensive circuit guard before connecting to campground power Portable Surge Guard with LCD Display, 30 Amp. Not sure you'd need to do the same with your Tesla but worth considering.

The other issue is having both your Tesla and RV connected to the same campsite power port since the Tesla could draw 100% of the campsite's power, starving your RV of power, tripping breakers, or overheating your RV, Tesla and the campsite's wiring. Best to charge using another campsite power pole which you should probably pay the campground for.

 

[Sandiegodoug]

You should also be aware that campground power can be wired incorrectly and/or have voltage / amperage issues. We always plug our Mercedes Sprinter (Winnebago View) RV's 30A / 120V plug into an expensive circuit guard before connecting to campground power Portable Surge Guard with LCD Display, 30 Amp. Not sure you'd need to do the same with your Tesla but worth considering.

The other issue is having both your Tesla and RV connected to the same campsite power port since the Tesla could draw 100% of the campsite's power, starving your RV of power, tripping breakers, or overheating your RV, Tesla and the campsite's wiring. Best to charge using another campsite power pole which you should probably pay the campground for.

We have similar Mercedes sprinter with a surge guard I installed. I was thinking of unplugging rv since we can dry camp, at night and charging tesla. Many of the camps we go to only have 30amp service. Just wonder how many miles I'd gain on a 120v 30a power overnight ?

 

[cpa]

I have charged four times at campgrounds, from overnight to an hour and a half. I agree that the plugs at some locations are in poor condition. The three times that I charged overnight, I dialed the amperage down to 32. I did not have any problems. All spots had 240V. I would think that twelve hours at 240x32 would put about 250 miles in your battery--at least it did for my S85.

I would check with the campground in advance to notify them of your intentions. Perhaps ask for a site with newer infrastructure.

 

[Solarman004]

I typically get 26 mph in my MX charging at RV site 50amp stations (40 amps usable). But I always start with a 30 amp charge rate and slowly bring it up to 40. A lot of older sites trip the breaker at 40 amps.
A state park we like does not have 50 amp service so I built a "dogbone" adaptor (TT-30P to NEMA 14-50R) to plug into 30 amp service. Because the Tesla sees a 14-50 adaptor at the end of the UMC, it will try to charge at 40 amps. It's critical to limit the car to 24 amps before you plug in. From the 120 V, 30 amp sockets, I get 7 or 8 mph. BUT, this drops significantly if you try to preheat the car at the same time. I've had the car go to 0 mph as it tried to preheat in very cold temps.
Note that your Tesla does not come with an adaptor for an RV site 30 amp socket.

 

[TexasEV]

If you plan to use a 30A outlet at a campground, please be aware that most 50A to 30A adapters do not work with Tesla charging. Do a search on this here and you will find posts about the one adapter to buy which works, and all the ones that don't.

 

[gfb107]

Would the Tesla — NEMA 14-30 adapter Tesla sells work?

 

[Solarman004]

Would the Tesla — NEMA 14-30 adapter Tesla sells work?

No...a 14-30 is 4 prong and designed for 30 amp/240 volt circuits. Campgrounds use a TT-30 which is 3-prong with angled blades for hot and neutral and only operate at 120 volts.