30 amp campground charging question

[KBabione]

It's better than Level 1, which is considered to be 120v/12amps (up to maybe 16 amps depending on the breaker), so no more than 1.9kW - more often . A TT30 outlet when camping is gonna get you 2.8kW, which is over 30% more juice being shoved into the battery than even the best home outlet - really more like 50% more. That's a big jump.

Agreed - plus you can be plugged in the entire time your vehicle sits there. Just putting 2-4 miles/hour into your Rivian adds up over 48-72 hours. It's decidedly not a fast charger, but I've done the Level 1 thing at some VRBO's (with permission) where we're there for 3-4 days and it makes a big difference and gave me a full charge when it was time to leave. Outside temperature is also in your favor - it's unlikely that you're camping when it's close to zero outside.

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[GeorgeHudetz]

I just ordered the Parkworld, and found it an extremely tight fit with the Rivian portable charger that came with my 2025 R1T. They went together with a reasonable amount of force, but it took almost all my strength to get them apart. Probably would not have been able to do it with cold hands. Anybody else have this problem, or am I doing something wrong?

 

[SwampNut]

All of my 14-50 adapters are like this. I applied some dry lube on both ends which helped a lot.

 

[KBabione]

One of my adapters has an open handle on the back, for which I've been quite grateful. Just make sure that nobody is around when you're trying to take them apart or you're likely to clock them when they finally do separate!

 

[Wayne]

It's better than Level 1, which is considered to be 120v/12amps (up to maybe 16 amps depending on the breaker), so no more than 1.9kW - more often 1.4kW. A TT30 outlet when camping is gonna get you 2.8kW, which is over 30% more juice being shoved into the battery than even the best home outlet - really more like 50% more. That's a big jump.

Still a long time to charge.

 

[JacobAZ]

I just ordered the Parkworld, and found it an extremely tight fit with the Rivian portable charger that came with my 2025 R1T. They went together with a reasonable amount of force, but it took almost all my strength to get them apart. Probably would not have been able to do it with cold hands. Anybody else have this problem, or am I doing something wrong?

Same here. To separate I unplug from power source then use a large flat head screwdriver to pry the adapter from the plug on the portable charger.

 

[Thedude]

Still a long time to charge.

You’re camping, that means you have the time. The truck is just sitting so you might as well charge it.

 

[Dark-Fx]

You'll only get level 1 charging, as campground 30 amp service is single phase - 120 volts.

Rivian will actually charge on 120V at the full 48A the onboard charger supports if the EVSE advertises it. Obviously that's too much current on a 30A circuit, but I found it interesting. 24A is still way better than 12A on 120V, since you're losing the same amount of energy keeping all of the charge supporting systems on, but for way less time overall.

For my Sierra, I've got a 120/240V transformer to step up the voltage so I can charge faster than the 12A that it maxes out at on a 120V circuit. I use an OpenEVSE for this, so I can adjust the charging speed between both vehicles, since GM doesn't support setting charge speed on the vehicle side.

 

[mkhuffman]

Rivian will actually charge on 120V at the full 48A the onboard charger supports if the EVSE advertises it. Obviously that's too much current on a 30A circuit, but I found it interesting. 24A is still way better than 12A on 120V, since you're losing the same amount of energy keeping all of the charge supporting systems on, but for way less time overall.

For my Sierra, I've got a 120/240V transformer to step up the voltage so I can charge faster than the 12A that it maxes out at on a 120V circuit. I use an OpenEVSE for this, so I can adjust the charging speed between both vehicles, since GM doesn't support setting charge speed on the vehicle side.

Can you explain the transformer setup? If you bump the voltage from 120V to 240V, how does that help you increase charging speed when the 120V supply is limited to 12 Amps?

 

[SwampNut]

Can you explain the transformer setup? If you bump the voltage from 120V to 240V, how does that help you increase charging speed when the 120V supply is limited to 12 Amps?

You've made some incorrect assumptions here. An EVSE with a 14-50 plug connected to a TT-30 recep with an adapter can charge at 24a, which is 2880w. I've run mine at 26a without an issue from my generator.

 

[SwampNut]

Can you explain the transformer setup? If you bump the voltage from 120V to 240V, how does that help you increase charging speed when the 120V supply is limited to 12 Amps?

Mike here's a reference with details if you want: https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/i-installed-a-gasoline-engine-in-my-rivian.53354/

 

[mkhuffman]

You've made some incorrect assumptions here. An EVSE with a 14-50 plug connected to a TT-30 recep with an adapter can charge at 24a, which is 2880w. I've run mine at 26a without an issue from my generator.

Oh, I get it. It is 120V and 30 Amps, not 15. Hence the title of the thread. Doh.

 

[SwampNut]

Oh, I get it. It is 120V and 30 Amps, not 15. Hence the title of the thread. Doh.

A common confusion point is that an EVSE with a NEMA 15P (common household plug) either permanently attached or with a pigtail, will reduce itself to 12a automatically. You could in theory run across a NEMA 5-50R somewhere and use the full 40a from that, at 120v, with a 14-50 pigtail and an adapter.

Electricity is....

 

[HaveBlue]

I've been using the Parkwood adapter for a few years. It's plenty to fill back up on a weekend camping trip. I've tried at 30A on occasion and nothing got hot or tripped but set it conservative usually. I run the trailer off a 20A which manages to run the water heater. I'm usually at the beach so no AC needed. I also have a Parkwood 6-15 to 14-50 that plugs into my 6-20 welder outlet at home as a backup for when my wired unit was having issues.

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