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Charging EV Car on Camping Site
- Thread starter haohaohao
- Start date
WannabeOwner
Well-Known Member
Commando connector presumably? Connector is available for the Tesla granny lead (but comes in two sizes (diameter plugs), not sure which is correct for camp site)
it's down to the individual site. Although you'd be able to stick easily within the rating for your local hook-up they're normally connected back in groups, and were never designed for someone to pull 16/32A for hours at a time so if it were busy you'd run the risk of tripping the main circuit and knocking a group of hookups offline. You could reduce your rate and say you'll set your charge rate to 6A, but that's a specific Tesla thing and they could have a more generic "no EV charging" rule if they've been hit by abuse. Also most granny leads can't pull 32A so again, you could cause an issue if you did pull 32A for 6 hours during busy time. And then finally there's an element of cost, so they could charge a set amount on the assumption that a camper would only use 4-5KWh a day and then you rock up and pull 60. So I'd never assume it was ok to charge at any camp site without checking first. A couple of sites I've been to do not let you charge from the hookups, but had two dedicated car chargers on a seperate circuit.
Cardo
Active Member
Each campsite has its own policy. Some/many don’t allow you to hook up to the (usually 16A) commando socket directly however will let you plug in via a caravan’s internal electrics so it runs through your consumer unit. There may be a surcharge for this, especially with the current cost of electricity. Otherwise, some sites have dedicated EV charging so will likely point you in that direction.
Good idea ... and do remember that electricity costs for a business don't benefit from the price cap that we have on domestic accounts ... so even if they allow it they may need to ask you for more than you want to pay!
Thanks for that. I was hoping to just "camp" inside the vehicle so trying to see if it is possible to stay on the pitch. But you reminded me that there are parks where offers free parking and free pod points charger.
I've camped a fair bit on mountain bike trips and always managed to get a decent charge. I use a rated Commando connector through to a Tough Leads 15m extension cable into the granny charger. Typically I'll set the charge back to around 6A and let it trickle away at 5 or 6 mph added. Always been enough to get me around at the location and to easily get back to a supercharger on the way home. I usually ask the campsite owner and slip them a few extra quid to cover the cost - never been an issue but worthwhile checking first.
dhrivnak
Active Member
Yes I have done it many times. That said you need to understand the plugs available as many campgrounds, especially State Parks do not have 240v charging so it can be slow.
Piggybacking on this. Was recently at a Haven caravan site. They were happy for me to plug into the caravan - but unfortunantly the van we had didn't have close enough parking. They would have been happy for me to plug into an empty pitch but I only had the standard 3 pin granny.
Would something like this work for the static caravan hookups? It looks the same - albeit I understand there's two versions of commando sockets... Not really interested in shelling £45 on the tesla adapter just for an extra 3 amps on the rare occasion I'd need to use it.
Would something like this work for the static caravan hookups? It looks the same - albeit I understand there's two versions of commando sockets... Not really interested in shelling £45 on the tesla adapter just for an extra 3 amps on the rare occasion I'd need to use it.
Thanks for sharing. It feels like this will work but probably you will need the waterproof case?
Cardo
Active Member
Campsite electric hook-ups are generally 16A commando sockets, such as the one you’ve linked. However, as per the following comment, you’d want one with a waterproof 13 pin socket enclosure.
Louis0w
Member
If you'd prefer not to invest in the 16a adaptor for the UMC, this offers the 16a-to-waterproof 3 pin socket : EV weatherproof granny charger campsite and industrial socket adaptors
roblab
Active Member
I feel so left out! I've never heard of a "Commando Connector" and never saw one being used, so I'm just out of it, I guess All I've ever done is to plug my cord into the 220 volt outlet and charge at 40 amps. Most places don't care, but I have offered to pay $10 once when I charged at an in-use campsite. The outlet was at an RV spot, and a 220 volt outlet was ten feet from the road, so I plugged in after getting permission from the RV owner, who unplugged so I could use the outlet. But this was years ago, before superchargers or destination chargers. Lately I just look at the center screen for any superchargers and go plug in there..
