I finally tried out RV campground charging on a weekend getaway.
My wife and I travelled from Lethbridge, Alberta to Whitefish, Montana - which is approx a 360 km trip that includes going over and thru a mountain range.
Because there were alot of unknowns on this trip: how the battery would be affected going up and down in the mountains (6000 ft elevation highest peak), where and when I would charge, etc - I was a little overcautious and drove at posted highway speeds and stopped after 200 km at a small RV park and charged for 90 minutes on 50 amp service ($35.00), had lunch at a nearby restaurant and continued on our way.
We arrived at our destination with plenty of charge remaining however our accomodations could not provide a 50 amp service to charge (The Lodge at Whitefish Lake), however they did end up finding me a 110 plug in underground parking which was better than nothing.
We enjoyed our weekend away and on our final day we had only 250 km charge in range mode and 110 power was not going to be of any help - so we found a local RV park and charged up for 3 hours at 50 amps to get a full max range of 400 km in range mode. ($35.00) A roadster sure gets alot of attention pulling into an RV spot....... I answered many questions from people in the RV park which was fun and helped to fill the time waiting to charge.
I was fairly confident after making the trip though the mountains the first time - that I could make it all the way back home without a recharge and away we went. After a few hours we decided to stop for lunch and of course I waited for an RV campground that also had a restaurant nearby. We pulled in and they only offered 30 amp service. Since I was only going to charge since we were there to eat and didn't really need to charge I said 30 amp would be fine. However there was a problem - for whatever reason I could only pull 15 amps at 110 from their service. Confused I check my adapter connection and all was correct and tried another 30 amp plug with the same result. My wife not quite as patient with me getting the car to charge correct I left it at 15 amps at 110 and went to eat - may have gained 3 km charge while eating lol..... o well. ($10.00)
Continued on our way and made it back to our home with 45 km left in range mode. My first longer trip was a learning experince and I would do things a bit different next time - but we are already planning a return visit and I have seen that charging at RV parks is easy and they are everywhere - at least in the touristy area I was visiting.
Few pics attached.
? Only 1 RV park gave me a break on their rates, the other 2 charged me a full day's price......I had the first electric car they had seen.
? Any idea why i could only get 110 15 amp from a 220 30 amp box? (I tried 2 different boxes)
? After going up and down the mountains my estimated range was higher than my ideal range.....seemed strange.......is this from all the regen charging going down the mountains?
Kevin
My wife and I travelled from Lethbridge, Alberta to Whitefish, Montana - which is approx a 360 km trip that includes going over and thru a mountain range.
Because there were alot of unknowns on this trip: how the battery would be affected going up and down in the mountains (6000 ft elevation highest peak), where and when I would charge, etc - I was a little overcautious and drove at posted highway speeds and stopped after 200 km at a small RV park and charged for 90 minutes on 50 amp service ($35.00), had lunch at a nearby restaurant and continued on our way.
We arrived at our destination with plenty of charge remaining however our accomodations could not provide a 50 amp service to charge (The Lodge at Whitefish Lake), however they did end up finding me a 110 plug in underground parking which was better than nothing.
We enjoyed our weekend away and on our final day we had only 250 km charge in range mode and 110 power was not going to be of any help - so we found a local RV park and charged up for 3 hours at 50 amps to get a full max range of 400 km in range mode. ($35.00) A roadster sure gets alot of attention pulling into an RV spot....... I answered many questions from people in the RV park which was fun and helped to fill the time waiting to charge.
I was fairly confident after making the trip though the mountains the first time - that I could make it all the way back home without a recharge and away we went. After a few hours we decided to stop for lunch and of course I waited for an RV campground that also had a restaurant nearby. We pulled in and they only offered 30 amp service. Since I was only going to charge since we were there to eat and didn't really need to charge I said 30 amp would be fine. However there was a problem - for whatever reason I could only pull 15 amps at 110 from their service. Confused I check my adapter connection and all was correct and tried another 30 amp plug with the same result. My wife not quite as patient with me getting the car to charge correct I left it at 15 amps at 110 and went to eat - may have gained 3 km charge while eating lol..... o well. ($10.00)
Continued on our way and made it back to our home with 45 km left in range mode. My first longer trip was a learning experince and I would do things a bit different next time - but we are already planning a return visit and I have seen that charging at RV parks is easy and they are everywhere - at least in the touristy area I was visiting.
Few pics attached.
? Only 1 RV park gave me a break on their rates, the other 2 charged me a full day's price......I had the first electric car they had seen.
? Any idea why i could only get 110 15 amp from a 220 30 amp box? (I tried 2 different boxes)
? After going up and down the mountains my estimated range was higher than my ideal range.....seemed strange.......is this from all the regen charging going down the mountains?
Kevin
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