Charging at RV sites?

[JM.]

Oh?

What is the process for this? Like say I have a generator with a 30A plug and some 15A plugs as well. What else would I need to use it to charge my Rivian? (say it is a multi-way power outage and I’ve used the Rivian a dozen times to go buy gas or something and now feel like I should charge it up a little...or maybe it is a few months after the outage and I have all this gas that I don’t otherwise use and want to burn it before it gets too much water and can’t be used in the generator...)

Generators have a floating ground/neutral, and EVSEs will refuse to work on it. So you just need to bond the neutral to the ground. You can do this with a home-made plug in any of the generator outlets. The safest way is with a resistor, but you can just use a small wire. I just keep this hanging from the generator, and plug it in if I want to use the EVSE.

The reason it's floating is that an RV or house has its own bonding, and you should never bond neutral to ground in two places.

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[theonetruestripes]

The reason it's floating is that an RV or house has its own bonding, and you should never bond neutral to ground in two places.

Ok, so absolutely don’t use it if I’m powering the house with the generator, only use it with the EVSE.
Also: it is absolutely expected that this’ll go into the 15A plug while the EVSE goes into the 30A plug and they two are not electrically isolated (and if they are it won’t work and the EVSE will complain).

 

[rhumbliner]

I don't know where you got this "understanding" but that would be illegal and very stupid.

I would concur. I routinely charge at RV parks by using my R1T’s mobile charger plugged into the 50-amp receptacle and my Airstream plugged into the 30-amp receptacle. I monitor the temp of the 50-amp receptacle & breaker so as to not overload an aging electrical system but I’ve never had an issue overloading a single leg.

 

[C.R. Rivian]

Not much of an expert on electrical issues but wonder if anyone has experience charging their R1 at an RV site with 30amp power. If so, what adapter did you use? I thought this might be a solution when up in the Old Station / Hat Creek / Lassen area last weekend but the RV socket was different than the plug on my Rivian supplied portable charger. (Co-pilot responded to my query that The standard RV 30-amp outlet is a TT-30 plug, which provides 120V rather than the 240V that most Level 2 chargers use. To make it work, you’ll need an adapter that converts the TT-30 plug to a NEMA 14-50 or J1772 connection, ensuring it’s wired correctly for EV charging).

I've used this one at WA State campgrounds with 30amp RV connections with the Rivian connector.
You may need to do this to avoid tripping the breaker on the outlet:

My adapter:

 

[JM.]

Ok, so absolutely don’t use it if I’m powering the house with the generator, only use it with the EVSE.
Also: it is absolutely expected that this’ll go into the 15A plug while the EVSE goes into the 30A plug and they two are not electrically isolated (and if they are it won’t work and the EVSE will complain).

Exactly, all that, do not power a house or RV with that on. And I've never run into a generator with isolated plugs, seems impossible really. So bonding one plug bonds them all.

 

[Patrick87]

My Rivian is currently plugged into the 50amp/240v outlet at the campsite im staying at by using this 25' extension cord:

https://a.co/d/2PZ6eQY

My camper is 30' long tounge to bumper, so between this extension cord and the Rivian mobile charger, I can park the truck anywhere in front of the camper.

So, the truck plugs into the 50 amp outlet (charging at 34 amps) and my travel trailer plugs into the 30 amp outlet.

 

[VSG]

I've used this one at WA State campgrounds with 30amp RV connections with the Rivian connector.

Just out of curiosity, which WA state campground has NEMA 10-50 outlets? I've never encountered that outlet at any of the state parks.

 

[VandalSibs]

Just out of curiosity, which WA state campground has NEMA 10-50 outlets? I've never encountered that outlet at any of the state parks.

The three WA State Parks I've camped at in the last two years - Steamboat Rock, Potholes, Marysville

On the State Park campground reservation page, you can filer by sites with 50 amp service.

 

[JM.]

you can filer by sites with 50 amp service.

Also note that many RV parks have only a TT-30 at the small spots, and the 14-50 in larger spots/pull-throughs. Because small trailers can't use it. So you may just never see one from a small trailer. You may have to pay for an oversized space to get it.

 

[C.R. Rivian]

Just out of curiosity, which WA state campground has NEMA 10-50 outlets? I've never encountered that outlet at any of the state parks.

https://parks.wa.gov/find-parks/state-parks/ike-kinswa-state-park .... although the ranger there told us that they would be upgrading to 50 amps soon. Have not been back there since to see.

 

[VSG]

The three WA State Parks I've camped at in the last two years - Steamboat Rock, Potholes, Marysville

On the State Park campground reservation page, you can filer by sites with 50 amp service.

Thanks. I was at Potholes in the fall and didn't notice that. And I'm going down to Maryhill in a few weeks. The usual 50 amp outlet is the 14-50, not the 10-50, and I have found that all the WA state parks I have been at have three standard outlets: 5-15, TT-30, and 14-50.

 

[VSG]

When I was at Kinswa they definitely had the 14-50 outlets, not the 10-50, at least at my site.

 

[HaveBlue]

Be careful doing this. My understanding is that the 30 amp uses one of the legs of the 50 amp, so using both the 30 amp and the 50 amp at the same time can seriously overload the shared leg. They are not installed with the intent for them to be used at the same time.

The stands I've looked inside are wired with 1/0 aluminum feeder good for at least 135A.

 

[HaveBlue]

I've used this one at WA State campgrounds with 30amp RV connections with the Rivian connector.
You may need to do this to avoid tripping the breaker on the outlet:

My adapter:

I think you confused the 10-50 for TT30. They look a bit similar.

 

[VSG]

I think you confused the 10-50 for TT30. They look a bit similar.

The picture of the suggested adapter literally says it's for a 10-50 outlet. Hence my question - I've never seen a 10-50 outlet at a WA state park.

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