TT-30 Adapter Plug Charging Adventures

[pc500]

I’ve thought for a while now that the Tesla UMC is the most versatile portable EVSE available today. Even tacking on another ~$250 for a TeslaTap, price wise is a good value for what you get IMHO, at least until there are more similarly-versatile J1772 versions available.
Dave @Teslatap, are you listening?

Only thing I wish it had was 40a (without going Telsa gen-1 UMC).

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[pc500]

Tesla does not sell a TT-30 pigtail for the UMC but EVSEafapters.com does. It behaves just as the Tesla ones do. It programs the car for the requisite 24A max and incorporates the thermister in the plug which will shut things down if the plug gets hot which may not be that uncommon in a beat up receptacle in an RV park.

I'm beginning to get the idea that I will indeed buy an extra Tesla UMC (they are only $200) and an extra adapter kit (or,more likely, take the kit from the Tesla) and put them, with a Lectron or TeslaTap adapter and the EVSEadapters TT-30 pigtail, in the Rivian. The Rivian supplied kit lets me charge from 2 kinds of receptacles. What I have outlined here lets me charge from 8.

I carried all this stuff (adapters, extension cords...) in the Tesla in my early Tesla days because I thought I might well wind up charging in some farmer's barnyard or RV park. My confidence in the Tesla SC network has, of course, built over the years as more and more SC were added to it and they proved to be reliable. I do not have this confidence in the public networks available to me with the Rivian. We hope it will come but for now carrying as many charging options as practical seems prudent.

Tesla stopped selling and including the adapters for a lot of these reasons: It is no longer necessary to find a RV park for US interstate travel.

 

[ajdelange]

Tesla stopped selling and including the adapters for a lot of these reasons: It is no longer necessary to find a RV park for US interstate travel.

They still sell the Mobile Connector (no longer called the Universal Mobile Connector) and adapters though they no longer include the Mobile Connector with the car.

Interestingly enough I just saw a video in which a guy, his wife, 3 kids and a dog towed an Air Stream Classic from somewhere in Nebraska down to Colorado and back with an R1T. Needless to say he had lots of stories about charging the best of which, IMO, was that after repeated failures to get any of their terminals working at one station EA's customer service gave him the address of a local RV park and advised him to go there to charge. So it seems that it is indeed still a good idea to carry the adapters for RV park charging if you rely on the CCS network.

 

[dduffey]

Tesla stopped selling and including the adapters for a lot of these reasons: It is no longer necessary to find a RV park for US interstate travel.

Unless you have a Rivian

 

[NineElectrics]

Thank heavens for this thread. Based on my Tesla experience, I almost assumed Rivian would be able to destination charge at any RV park and almost stranded myself for days in the middle of Idaho.

Shame on Rivian, makers of “outdoor adventure vehicles” to not be able to charge, by default, at an RV hookup. Penny wise, pound foolish. What a joke.

 

[Thedude]

Thank heavens for this thread. Based on my Tesla experience, I almost assumed Rivian would be able to destination charge at any RV park and almost stranded myself for days in the middle of Idaho.

Shame on Rivian, makers of “outdoor adventure vehicles” to not be able to charge, by default, at an RV hookup. Penny wise, pound foolish. What a joke.

It can charge by default at a RV park that has 240v 50amp hookups, something that most have. No adapter, just plug right in. It’s on you if you didn’t plan ahead well enough to find out if the RV park you wanted to stop at has a 14-50 plug or not and it’s on you if you didn’t buy a $30 14-50 to TT30 adapter before your trip. This has nothing to do with Rivian.

 

[WSea]

Thank heavens for this thread. Based on my Tesla experience, I almost assumed Rivian would be able to destination charge at any RV park and almost stranded myself for days in the middle of Idaho.

Shame on Rivian, makers of “outdoor adventure vehicles” to not be able to charge, by default, at an RV hookup. Penny wise, pound foolish. What a joke.

Huh? A little preparation helps

 

[Monkey]

Only thing I wish it had was 40a (without going Telsa gen-1 UMC).

Tesla does sell the "Corded Mobile Connector" which is permanently wired with a 14-50 plug and does not have interchangeable plugs, that one charges at 40A. But yeah, it's too bad they downgraded the max charge limit with UMC gen-2.

 

[NineElectrics]

It can charge by default at a RV park that has 240v 50amp hookups, something that most have. No adapter, just plug right in. It’s on you if you didn’t plan ahead well enough to find out if the RV park you wanted to stop at has a 14-50 plug or not and it’s on you if you didn’t buy a $30 14-50 to TT30 adapter before your trip. This has nothing to do with Rivian.

Um, this thread shows I am planning ahead. The trip isn’t for weeks. I am buying a TT30 adapter before my trip, of course. But if not for this thread, I would have bought an RV version and not an EV version, and would have been screwed. I read the forums, but not everyone else does.

In the Tesla case I had an adapter specific to the Tesla UMC which, being tailor made, would always work.

It’s on Rivian for not providing an adapter for the most common plug at RV parks. Tesla doesn’t market itself as an outdoor adventure vehicle, but Rivian does. If Rivian is too cheap to bundle it, at least sell it optionally in the store.

 

[NineElectrics]

Huh? A little preparation helps

Huh? That’s what I’m doing now. My trip isn’t for a while. Or do you mean preparation on the part of Rivian? Yes, they should have planned ahead and bundled the adapter, or sold one in the gear shop, knowing that the market their cars to those who go on outdoor adventures. They sell a bespoke pet kit, but not an RV park adapter.

 

[Thedude]

Um, this thread shows I am planning ahead. The trip isn’t for weeks. I am buying a TT30 adapter before my trip, of course. But if not for this thread, I would have bought an RV version and not an EV version, and would have been screwed. I read the forums, but not everyone else does.

In the Tesla case I had an adapter specific to the Tesla UMC which, being tailor made, would always work.

It’s on Rivian for not providing an adapter for the most common plug at RV parks. Tesla doesn’t market itself as an outdoor adventure vehicle, but Rivian does. If Rivian is too cheap to bundle it, at least sell it optionally in the store.

The Rivian provided portable charger does have a plug that is common at most RV parks. It’s on the owner if they are not smart enough to research ahead of time to find out if that will work. At least you are planning ahead but it’s by no means any fault of Rivian if an unprepared driver gets stranded because they didn’t even bother to check what charging plugs the portable charger is compatible with.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Huh? That’s what I’m doing now. My trip isn’t for a while. Or do you mean preparation on the part of Rivian? Yes, they should have planned ahead and bundled the adapter, or sold one in the gear shop, knowing that the market their cars to those who go on outdoor adventures. They sell a bespoke pet kit, but not an RV park adapter.

Rivian also could have followed the J1772 spec and limited 120V to 16A, but they didn't.

You the user could be forward thinking enough and build an EVSE that has a TT-30 whip and advertises 24A, because that's what I did. I also put a longer cord on it because the Rivian portable isn't long enough for a lot of sites to get optimal parking position.

But it still takes an entire weekend to recharge on it. Way better off picking sites and campgrounds with full 50A/240V outlets. Then your Rivian already has what you need as well.

Are you sure the Rivian is really your 10th EV?

 

[emoore]

Huh? That’s what I’m doing now. My trip isn’t for a while. Or do you mean preparation on the part of Rivian? Yes, they should have planned ahead and bundled the adapter, or sold one in the gear shop, knowing that the market their cars to those who go on outdoor adventures. They sell a bespoke pet kit, but not an RV park adapter.

They do have an adapter that will work in an RV park so I’m not sure what you are talking about.

 

[sub]

They do have an adapter that will work in an RV park

Not if the RV park has 30 amp outlets. As many do.

so I’m not sure what you are talking about.

Did you read the title of the thread you were responding to? I'm not sure how you could be confused if you read the title. The type of plug that is needed (and that Rivian does not have a solution for) is right there in the title.

 

[emoore]

Not if the RV park has 30 amp outlets. As many do.



Did you read the title of the thread you were responding to? I'm not sure how you could be confused if you read the title. The type of plug that is needed (and that Rivian does not have a solution for) is right there in the title.

Yeah they said Rivian didn’t provide a charger to charge at an RV park. Which they do. No one provides all the various adapters to charge with any plug. That’s ridiculous.

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