Campsite prohibits EV charging, citing potential damage to infrastructure??

[SuperSaur]

This seems bogus… but maybe someone who knows more can speak to this. Is it possible that charging could actually damage their infrastructure or my vehicle? Isn’t the vehicle designed to operate safely on a 30A plug? I feel like this is a poor decision on their part. I’m happy to take my business elsewhere and as the share of EV owners grows they may regret this policy as it will impact my and others choice of campgrounds.

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[Bruboy]

So what do RV's do?
I call BS!

 

[grein002]

So what do RV's do?
I call BS!

Well, they probably don't draw a sustained 30A load for 10 hours at a time. And if there are multiple hookups, several EVs drawing that kind of sustained load may exceed the capability of the electrical infrastructure.

 

[RickMachE]

Others have written about this, that some campgrounds cannot handle the sustained load.

 

[DugthePug Dad]

No Guns and no EV charging.

Not a campsite for me...

 

[Its_my_wifes_car]

Yeah - but it's their rules regardless. They could have just said it's prohibited without a reason. I would have guessed they'd prohibit it because of the cost of electricity (knowing campgrounds are pretty inexpensive and probably have low revenue). I've plugged in when camping in VT twice in an available 120v outlet - slow but when parked for 15 hours a day it adds up.

Unless their wiring is a bit sketchy / subpar - and maybe they have had issues (blown breakers, etc. that they'd had to deal with)....

 

[Snakebitten]

I'm a full-time RVer for the last 8 years. And although I don't travel much currently, I can't count the number of RV parks that I have spent at least a night at.

I can assure you that there are RV parks that I would NOT plug my EVSE into. In fact I have been to RV parks that I regretted plugging anything into.

Not all EV parks would pass code for EVSE hookups.

 

[Mach-Lee]

This seems bogus… but maybe someone who knows more can speak to this. Is it possible that charging could actually damage their infrastructure or my vehicle? Isn’t the vehicle designed to operate safely on a 30A plug? I feel like this is a poor decision on their part. I’m happy to take my business elsewhere and as the share of EV owners grows they may regret this policy as it will impact my and others choice of campgrounds.

It’s legit. If everyone was charging an EV at the same time, their main breaker will blow. The electrical service for a campground is sized differently than your home, the total amperage available may only be about 40-50% of the sum of the breaker ratings. It is sized this way because it’s assumed that A/C units will not be running continuously and will cycle on and off, and typically not all campsites will be used full blast at the same time.

Some campgrounds don’t care, or you try to sneak it in under the radar.

 

[Bruboy]

I was always going to use an RV Park as my last resort if needing a desperate charge.
Now I gotta weigh out the risk vs reward part of this equation.

 

[AZBill]

This seems bogus… but maybe someone who knows more can speak to this. Is it possible that charging could actually damage their infrastructure or my vehicle? Isn’t the vehicle designed to operate safely on a 30A plug? I feel like this is a poor decision on their part. I’m happy to take my business elsewhere and as the share of EV owners grows they may regret this policy as it will impact my and others choice of campgrounds.

No, the portable charger is not designed to work on a 30A plug, it pulls 32A. There are a few portable chargers that will limit to 24A on a TT-30 plug, but those are rare. Even if they have the 14-50 plugs, most of those are not rated for continuous loads, that is why electricians install expensive commercial grade plugs in homes for EVSEs.

 

[Maquis]

It’s legit. If everyone was charging an EV at the same time, their main breaker will blow. The electrical service for a campground is sized differently than your home, the total amperage available may only be about 40-50% of the sum of the breaker ratings. It is sized this way because it’s assumed that A/C units will not be running continuously and will cycle on and off, and typically not all campsites will be used full blast at the same time.

Some campgrounds don’t care, or you try to sneak it in under the radar.

Correct. Per the NEC, the load calculation for an RV park can be as low as 41%. In rural areas without inspection, it wouldn’t surprise me if this was violated.

 

[65MustangBoy]

Why not plug it into 115V Level 1. I know it isn't fast, but if I was camping for a few days, it may be worthwhile.

 

[rhougey]

Why not plug it into 115V Level 1. I know it isn't fast, but if I was camping for a few days, it may be worthwhile.

If you had two neighbors at the campground (on the same circuit) doing the same thing, the three of you could potentially overload that circuit. Would you invite two friends over to your home to bring their EV’s to charge along with you on the same 115V circuit? I don’t think so.

 

[MidwestElectric]

Been kicked out of a private campground for EV charging while staying there.

Also left car parked overnight in a state campground charging on a 14-50 plug without even renting a site (got verbal permission from ranger).

We stay away from private campgrounds now since we have EVs only and need to charge.

 

[ChehRob]

If you needed just enough of a charge to get to a better charger and asked, politely, they would probably give you an OK for an hour or two.

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