RV Park as a Charging Station Option?

[EVTrukHog]

In many of our rural areas there are huge gaps in public L2/L3 chargers, but there are plethora of RV Parks - most all of which have 50amp electrical connections. Does anyone have experience approaching RV Park manager(s) about allowing EV to plug in for a charging session? Do they charge a reasonable fee or do they make you pay a day's rental on the RV parking stall? I'm interested to know other's experience before I start approaching some RV Parks in our "gap zones". It seems this would be easy revenue for an RV Park that is not at full capacity.

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[Dark-Fx]

L2 charging the Rivian takes too long to consider it as anything but an overnight stop. I haven't been told I can't anywhere yet but I know there are some places that explicitly don't want people in EVs doing this. We've been camping every time though, so maybe that's the difference.

 

[Redmond Chad]

Recently, I've only charged my EV at a campground when I'm towing a trailer, and I've paid for a spot with electricity. You can use the electricity for AC or TVs or whatever, but I don't have any of that stuff. I use it to charge the car instead. I'm sure some park rangers have noticed the car plugged in, but nobody has ever said anything.

Farther back, I started using RV parks for charging in 2010 when I wanted to take electric road trips but there weren't charging stations (except for a handful of places in California). I encountered the whole gamut of reactions - from "wow, that's cool, go ahead and charge for free" to "sure the campground is empty and you will only be here for two hours, but you have to pay for a full night of the most premium spot even though cheaper spots have the power". Mind you, that was a long time ago - but a lot of people still have no idea what it costs to charge an EV, and most campgrounds still don't have a standard way to charge for it, so I imagine you'll still get a range of reactions. It's good to call or email ahead of time and ask.

A key thing to keep in mind is the lingo. A number of RV parks were befuddled by my queries about 120V and 240V power, and often gave me the wrong answer. The most common RV outlet types are 120V 30A and 240V 50A. They just call them "30 amp" and "50 amp". So ask for a spot with 50 amp charging.

I've used a lot of campgrounds to charge over the years, and it's generally worked out just great. A couple of times I've had the breaker flip when I was pulling 40A on a 50A circuit at an older campground with poor wiring. Turning the rate down to 32A or 24A worked fine, and still got me the charge I needed overnight. Of course you've got to know the breaker flipped - so best to stay with the car, or check it periodically with an app, or something. Does the Rivian app send you a notification when charging is interrupted? (I don't have my R1T Maxpack yet).

There was one time when I didn't get enough charge overnight because of a power outage. While I sat around waiting for the power to come back on, the guy in the gas truck next to me packed up and left. He came back a little while later, saying that the gas stations couldn't pump gas, so he had to wait for power too...

 

[JoulesVerne]

I took a road trip this summer in an EV. We pulled into North Platte, Nebraska only to find there were no working fast chargers (try to guess which charging network).

We drove as far as we could towards the next fast charger and stopped at an RV site. I had called ahead and explained our situation (totally screwed) and the guy was super friendly. We charged for 2 hours at 40 amp draw and then departed for the fast chargers. The guy refused to let us pay him (the electricity probably cost him less than $5).

So they are an option for overnight and shorter sessions in a pinch.

Regarding overnight stays, on occasion I have been told that I can't put up a tent in an RV site. In those cases I rent an RV site and tent site as close together as possible.

The tent sites are usually only another $30 or so. I'm guessing this is a safety thing so that we aren't crushed by an RV in our sleep? It might be a different story with a roof-top tent.

 

[swazi]

The other day I was browsing campsites and was scanning over one website when I saw that they have a rule that you cannot use your water heater on electric mode. Also you cannot use an electric space heater. They way they worded it was also fairly aggressive. As in "we will kick you out if you don't obey".
I have never seen anything like that. Normally it's use the power as you wish. Or at least implied.

With full campsites (and increased cost of utilities etc.) I don't think we have many days left of free charging at composites, even when staying overnight. I try to be as low key as possible when charging while camping.

 

[EVTrukHog]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I’ve got a fishing destination that I frequent for long day trips. It takes 55% battery capacity one-way and there are no public charging options between home and destination. However, there are several RV parks and State Park campgrounds that advertise 50 amp electrical hookups. I just need to connect and get about 10-20% charge to make it home. I’d gladly pay a reasonable fee to connect for a short charge session.

I’d think that a campground with empty sites would welcome the revenue, but maybe they’re hesitant to open the EV door. I’ll start calling to check their policies. It’ll be great when the charging infrastructure catches up!

 

[DirtyJester]

Wow…. Good ideas! I never even thought of this.

 

[zipzag]

The other day I was browsing campsites and was scanning over one website when I saw that they have a rule that you cannot use your water heater on electric mode. Also you cannot use an electric space heater. They way they worded it was also fairly aggressive. As in "we will kick you out if you don't obey".
I have never seen anything like that. Normally it's use the power as you wish. Or at least implied.

With full campsites (and increased cost of utilities etc.) I don't think we have many days left of free charging at composites, even when staying overnight. I try to be as low key as possible when charging while camping.

I agree that RV park charging will become increasingly problematic. Check plugshare for reviews. Also, as suggested earlier in the thread, keep the conversation super simple. "I need a 50A space". It is remarkably universal how few RV park office employees know anything about electricity.

Where charging is rare, like Wyoming, finding an RV park near a motel has worked for me. No dicsussion of RV charging. Rent a 50A space, plug in, and walk to the motel.

It is usually possible to combine two 30A receptacles into a 50A with a Y connector. Big RVs do this in old campgrounds that only have 30A service. So doing EVs traveling in rural western canada. A lot of Oregon state parks only have 30A.

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