what to use for 30 amp campground hookup?

[ajw]

What sort of adapter is required for the typical 30 amp campground hookup?
I believe the outlet is called a TT-30? Do any existing Tesla adapter hook into that thing?

 

[jthompson]

Here is a handy plug graphic to show you the various kinds of plugs. You might want to send it to the campground to see what kind of plug your site will have. The RV sites almost all have NEMA 14-50s, which Tesla provides you an adapter with your car.

 

[FlasherZ]

You'll be spending a lot of time charging at that TT-30, since it's only 120V (2.8 kW charging @ 24A/120V). There is no adapter available for it from Tesla but several others have manufactured them and offer them. Search for Tesla TT-30 charging adapter.

Your best bet is to ask them if they have 50A RV service. If they do, use your NEMA14-50.

Otherwise, many stores sell TT-30 to NEMA 5-15 dogbones so that you can use your 120V adapter from Tesla, that will slow your charging to 12A though.

 

[ajw]

You'll be spending a lot of time charging at that TT-30, since it's only 120V (2.8 kW charging @ 24A/120V). There is no adapter available for it from Tesla but several others have manufactured them and offer them. Search for Tesla TT-30 charging adapter.

Your best bet is to ask them if they have 50A RV service. If they do, use your NEMA14-50.

Otherwise, many stores sell TT-30 to NEMA 5-15 dogbones so that you can use your 120V adapter from Tesla, that will slow your charging to 12A though.

Thanks....that is what I gathered from other posts as well. It sounds like those hookups are no help...at least nothing to go out of the way for.

Would you say it's a pretty safe bet that the 14-50 is what the 50 amp sites actually have? I'd hate to depend on that, and see some other random 50amp socket.

On a similar note, what is the experience like, if you are just using a 50 amp hookup for a few hours at an RV park? Do they charge you to come on the property? Do you just drive around looking for an open spot, and plug in? I'd imagine most folks in their RVs see some model S rolling up and are like 'what the heck is this idiot doing?'
Do you call ahead and just say, 'hey i need to use your 50 amp for a few hours, what do i need to do?' I'd imagine that park manager would think that is totally bizarre,,,no?

 

[Brass Guy]

RV 50A sites have Nema 14-50 outlets. Most of them won't know what your talking about if you say that though, they just call them 50 amp service.
I've not charged at a campground yet, but have read different stories from "just go ahead and charge" to "sorry, we don't allow EV charging here."

PS - I've read a lot of them cannot handle 40A continuous, so try dialing back to 30A to prevent tripping breakers.

 

[jthompson]

Most RV parks will work with you on the price, although some want to charge you the daily cost of an RV spot (!!!). Check the campground's website for electric info and if you cannot find it, call them. I visited an RV park once but emailed them ahead of time to confirm the plug type (I sent them a pic of a 14-50 plug) and asked them to confirm this is the plug they have. They wanted to charge me $30, but I calculated the amount of electricity I would use based on my battery needs and the cost of electricity in their area, and they backed it down to $20 (which is still wayyyy too much).

Remember: A one hour charge, though, will only get you 29 miles on a 40 amp charge (NEMA 14-50 draws 40 amps), per Tesla's website.

 

[ZBB]

As others have said, TT-30 is only 120V, and Tesla doesn't make an adapter.

While many RV parks offer 50A service via a 14-50, there are some that only have TT-30s avail.

We're doing a big road trip this summer. While we're mostly going to use Superchargers or have J1772 avail for destination charging, we have one stop with limited charging options. I bought Tesla's 5-20 adapter (which will charge at 120V/16A or about 4 miles of range per hour). I also bought a TT-30 to 5-15/20 adapter just in case. Still won't be able to charge at more than 120V/16A, but I figured its good to have as a backup...
Here's the adapter on Amazon: Amazon.com : Conntek 14340 RV Pigtail Adapter RV 30 Amp Male Plug To 15/20 Amp U.S Female Connector : Rv Power Cord : Patio, Lawn Garden

 

[ajw]

As others have said, TT-30 is only 120V, and Tesla doesn't make an adapter.

While many RV parks offer 50A service via a 14-50, there are some that only have TT-30s avail.

We're doing a big road trip this summer. While we're mostly going to use Superchargers or have J1772 avail for destination charging, we have one stop with limited charging options. I bought Tesla's 5-20 adapter (which will charge at 120V/16A or about 4 miles of range per hour). I also bought a TT-30 to 5-15/20 adapter just in case. Still won't be able to charge at more than 120V/16A, but I figured its good to have as a backup...
Here's the adapter on Amazon: Amazon.com : Conntek 14340 RV Pigtail Adapter RV 30 Amp Male Plug To 15/20 Amp U.S Female Connector : Rv Power Cord : Patio, Lawn Garden

ZBB,
So in the event that you did use that adapter...would you stay overnight at that particular campground?
I'm just curious how it shakes out when folks use the campground for charging...but aren't really on a camping trip. I can see stopping for an hour or 2 to let the kids run around, so you can charge on a 50 amp and get 50-60 miles added on....but with the TT-30 it seems like it'd have to be an overnight thing.

 

[TEG]

Some related old threads:
NEMA TT-30
RV campground charging experience
Charging at Campgrounds and RV Parks

 

[ZBB]

We'll be in the location with limited charging options for 3 nights, so not really a concern on this trip...

My parents also have a weekend house where the nearest RV park with 50A is about 30 miles away -- but there's a RV park in town with TT-30s, so this allows us to charge there slightly faster than the 120V avail at the house (the dryer outlet isn't reachable, even with an extension cord)...

I could see a scenario where you might need 5-10 miles added to get to another campground with 50A avail -- in that case using the 5-20 instead of the 5-15 would mean ~45 min less charging time... And having the TT-30 adaptor makes one more plug type accessible.

Definitely not ideal, but as a backup situation, it could be helpful...

 

[jerry33]

On a similar note, what is the experience like, if you are just using a 50 amp hookup for a few hours at an RV park? Do they charge you to come on the property? Do you just drive around looking for an open spot, and plug in? I'd imagine most folks in their RVs see some model S rolling up and are like 'what the heck is this idiot doing?'
Do you call ahead and just say, 'hey i need to use your 50 amp for a few hours, what do i need to do?' I'd imagine that park manager would think that is totally bizarre,,,no?

I've charged at RV parks many times, and each one is different. I always call first if it's one I haven't been to before. You're likely to get one of the following responses (there is no particular order, just as I thought of them):

1. You don't need a reservation, just come in.

2. You need a reservation, or you only need a reservation on certain days when there is an event.

3. We don't allow EVs.

4. You must have a recommendation from someone who uses this RV park to charge there.

Generally if you need a reservation they assign you a spot, otherwise it's park where you want.

As for prices:

1. Free.

2. Special EV rate.

3. Normal RV rate.

4. Normal rate for RV plus normal rate for car. (Only had this happen once at a state run facility)

 

[Cosmacelf]

If I had to charge with a TT-30, I would use something like this:

NEMA 14-50R to TT-30P RV Plug Adapter

It plugs into a TT-30 and gives you a NEMA 14-50 receptacle which you then plug your Tesla NEMA 14-50 adapter into. You have to remember to dial down your charge rate to 24 amps via the car's touchscreen before charging or else it'll try to draw 40 amps and pop a breaker.

When charging at 120V, every little bit of extra amps helps. The 5-15 adapter at 12 amps is very inefficient since the car draws 4-6 amps just to power itself, leaving you with very little to charge the battery with. That's why a NEMA 5-20 actually gives you 42% more charge rate rather than the 33% you'd expect (12A versus 16A).

Note that only newer cars (maybe those built in 2014) can actually charge at 24A on 120V - older cars are limited for some unknown reason to 20A at 120V.

And finally, you can't buy a regular off the shelf TT-30 to NEMA 14-50 adapter meant for RVs, since they won't work with the Tesla.

 

[linkster]

My parents also have a weekend house

(the dryer outlet isn't reachable, even with an extension cord)...

If i exceed 50' of my L6-30 terminated 10AWG (dryer combo set), i will then extend the run further with a 50' 110V 5-20 molded ended, unmodified 12AWG extension cord with this adapter (pic below). I now "send" 220V (thru the 110V extension cord) to the Tesla UMC 5-20 adapter where the S self-adjusts to 16A at 220V for approx 12mi/hr charge rate.

I also carry a 5-20P to L 6-30R adapter so that both my lightweight L6-30 10AWG 220V (dryer set), and 5-20 12AWG 110V cords can provide dual functionality (L1, L2) if needed for extended cord length destination charging.

 

[TonyWilliams]

This one is for the small generators with an L14-20 receptacle that can pull 16 amps continues at 240 volts.

CAUTION: MARK YOUR ADAPTOR FOR 240 VOLTS ONLY !!!!

Use the NEMA 5-20 receptacle on your UMC / JESLA.

For campground TT-30, build something similar to use the UMC / JESLA at 24 amps continuous. Use the Tesla NEMA 14-30 plug and build an adaptor, NEMA 14-30R to TT-30 plug. This should pull either 20 amps or 24 amps (depending on your firmware / build date) at 120 volts from the campground. Toyota Rav4 EV will never be updated to 24 amps, therefore will only pull 20 amps max.

 

[Chris TX]

I've been really interested in combining TT-30s, but the setup needs to have some safety logic built in. If you can identify two TT-30 plugs on different legs, you can create a [email protected] circuit which puts the miles on faster. Harbor freight had some TT-30P to 5-15R adapters on sale the other day so I picked up a few to play with.

 

[Cosmacelf]

I built a TT-30 combiner. Don't know if I'll ever use it. You need to use relays for safety and an indicator light to tell you if the two outlets are on different legs.

 

[shepali]

Here's a great resource for adapters, oddly enough, written by the previous poster! But I came across it on teslatap.

http://cosmacelf.net/Home%20Made%20Adapters.pdf