Charging options at campgrounds

[GoneToTheDog]

There was an article discussing this on RVtravel.com today.

And yes.....you have to pay.

[Bigceasar]

Originally Posted by ArtJoyce

I Think the future is going to be a surcharge if you have an EV, or they will have a pay for charging station. Reality is the charging station makes the most sense, with all the additional EV pulling amps. They will not need to rewire the entire CG, just build charging stations somewhere.

Good in theory, won’t work in practice. People are adamantly opposed to leaving their vehicles anywhere but on their sites. Plus how do you allocate usage when everyone returns at basically the same time after the day’s activities? Park employees chasing down the owners to tell them to move their cars once they are charged would be a logistical and customer service nightmare.

[radar]

Originally Posted by Bigceasar

Good in theory, won’t work in practice. People are adamantly opposed to leaving their vehicles anywhere but on their sites. Plus how do you allocate usage when everyone returns at basically the same time after the day’s activities? Park employees chasing down the owners to tell them to move their cars once they are charged would be a logistical and customer service nightmare.

Couple ways to handle that.

Low tech. Rent the parking spot for 24 hours. Flat rate based on size of vehicle.

Partner with somebody like ChargePoint. They bill by the hour and charge triple when vehicle stops charging. The App lets the customer know the charge state and you get a text and email a certain time before it’s full. We have used these type of sites dozens of times. Good app.

[David 70]

Do you suppose this same cionversation went on a century ago? "No gas vehicles allowed, only hay burners"?

[radar]

Originally Posted by David 70

Do you suppose this same cionversation went on a century ago? "No gas vehicles allowed, only hay burners"?

Lol

[Injuneer]

Originally Posted by David 70

Do you suppose this same cionversation went on a century ago? "No gas vehicles allowed, only hay burners"?

I don't think so. Gasoline powered vehicles were so superior to what they replaced in every single way that the people everywhere back then understood the concept. There was no politically motivated mandates about replacing those hay burners with gas burners and raising the price of hay exponentially for no reason other than the fact that it furthers their cause, no matter how false the science which supports it. Oil burners were (and still are, even more so now in many ways) inexpensive, useful, plentiful, efficient, powerful, with a far superior BTU-per-mile and storage capacity for extremely long distances between "fillups" that it was a no-brainer to ditch the horses and mules for motive power. The only modern fuel source which is better would be nuclear. Maybe eventually we will have Mr. Fusion so that we can carry onboard nuclear power generators.

[Trapper2022]

Originally Posted by Injuneer

I would think that any self-respecting, decent campground would let you handle your hybrid/electric vehicle just as they would a non-hybrid/electric vehicle. If they don't, they are just plain mean!

Dream on. There is no free lunch. RV parks are a business. Electricity is a cost.
Why if you can afford to RV should you expect someone else to pay for your fuel? You pay for it now why would anyone think changing to electric is free?
Safe travels

Enjoy the journey

[dbircky]

Originally Posted by David 70

Do you suppose this same cionversation went on a century ago? "No gas vehicles allowed, only hay burners"?

Actually a century ago 30-40% of vehicles were battery powered. Gasoline replaced those in a very short time because of the superior benefits of energy density and convenience. Same reason steam didn’t last as a power source for personal vehicles.

[Podivin]

If I owned a campground there is not one single chance that I would let you charge your electric car 'for free'. And I'd have it in the rules that if we see your electric car plugged in then there will immediately be a hefty surcharge added to your bill.
I'm not anti electric car, I'm just against people thinking that I should charge their car for them simply because electricity is included in the cost of the site. The CAR is not using the site, the RV is. And no, plugging you car into your RV wouldn't be away around the surcharge.

[radar]

Originally Posted by Podivin

If I owned a campground there is not one single chance that I would let you charge your electric car 'for free'. And I'd have it in the rules that if we see your electric car plugged in then there will immediately be a hefty surcharge added to your bill.
I'm not anti electric car, I'm just against people thinking that I should charge their car for them simply because electricity is included in the cost of the site. The CAR is not using the site, the RV is. And no, plugging you car into your RV wouldn't be away around the surcharge.

I don’t think anyone is suggesting an EV charges for free. This is more about campgrounds providing charging services and the revenue stream that comes with offering those services. I can’t imagine any campground owner not wanting more revenue. In our experience campgrounds are generally up for EV charging.

[Bigceasar]

Though I don’t have a crystal ball, I suspect the future of electrical vehicle charging may be completely different than many believe. The thousands upon thousands of convenience stores, gas stations and truck stops use refueling as a linchpin of their businesses. It is entirely possible that technology advances to the point those facilities can charge EVs as quickly as they now fuel cars and trucks. You can bet these businesses are willing and able to dedicate far more resources into recharging than RV parks.
An RV park investing huge amounts of money to facilitate charging may look as foolish as a park that invested heavily in burying phone lines for dial up and subsequently retrenching for Ethernet cables at the beginning of the personal computer era. Being at the leading edge of EV charging is risky and doesn’t make financial sense for RV parks as seen through my eyes as a park owner.

[radar]

Originally Posted by Bigceasar

Though I don’t have a crystal ball, I suspect the future of electrical vehicle charging may be completely different than many believe. The thousands upon thousands of convenience stores, gas stations and truck stops use refueling as a linchpin of their businesses. It is entirely possible that technology advances to the point those facilities can charge EVs as quickly as they now fuel cars and trucks. You can bet these businesses are willing and able to dedicate far more resources into recharging than RV parks.
An RV park investing huge amounts of money to facilitate charging may look as foolish as a park that invested heavily in burying phone lines for dial up and subsequently retrenching for Ethernet cables at the beginning of the personal computer era. Being at the leading edge of EV charging is risky and doesn’t make financial sense for RV parks as seen through my eyes as a park owner.

I tend to agree with some of that. And although I don't know whats happening in the US I know in Canada and Europe Fast charging facilities are already being integrated into travel centres and gas station/convenience store type businesses. And its happening pretty fast. In the last year we have seen dozens of places where this has happened. Esso, Chevron, PetroCanada, Shell, Flying J all are integrating fast chargers into their businesses. We were on a road trip last week and stopped in at this one which opened not too long ago. We were there for maybe 10 or 12 minutes, hooked up to the supercharger while we went in for a pee and a coffee and munchy refill. This is an esso travel centre



This is another esso. They went with the FLO franchise instead of Tesla. Nice bathrooms and a Tim Hortons Franchise. Woohoo. Can't beat that. If you have to kill 15 minutes at a fast charger it may as well have a good bakery.



But shell and Petro Can are definitely doing the same thing. Not a Mcdonalds fan. But they make a good breakfast.



Same thing with PetroCan.



The other place we seem them popping up (including our home town) is smaller strip malls. Places to eat or shop etc. (Pick is from the plug share app. Not my pic, not my town)



But all the above are more or less pointed at the travelling portion of the trip and all are level 3 (DC Fast charging). In my humble opinion, and this is coming from someone who towed an EV as a dinghy for 5 years and who now tows an RV with an electric vehicle, campgrounds are in a unique position of being able to cater to the RVer who wants to kill two birds with one stone. Refuel while they are camping. And they are definitely willing to pay for it. This is where L2 charging shines. The L2 charging equipment is dirt cheap (really the driver has all he needs other than a socket). The infrastructure obviously costs money but then again, so does any service offered. One of the parks we went to just had a 20 dollar daily fee for charging and a rule that only one thing gets plugged in at a time. Either the trailer or the vehicle. I suspect once the EV half tons are more plentiful the truck fee would will be double what the car is as the battery is twice as big.

KOA is installing these pedestals. Kinda cool because you can charge the EV and plug in the RV at the same time. My guess is these are 100 amp pedestals with a 50 amp breaker for the EV and a 50 amp breaker for the RV.



Anyway, JMHO. Not an expert.

Happy trails all. Stay safe on the road.

[dizcom]

Originally Posted by greyeagleb

I have been waiting to see if the new Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe is going to be flat towable. Anyone know yet? In the meantime I have been looking at the Ford Escape hybrid which is flat towable. I was recently at a campground in Pismo beach and they had a sign that states that you cannot charge your electrical vehicle at there campground. Has anyone else run into this, has there been any discussion on how campgrounds are going to handle electric/hybrid vehicles?

I would like to know your thoughts.

They all will eventually. KOA is already adding charging stations as well as many others. The infrastructure is coming. Even if you won't be able to recharge at the campground you're staying at, there will be a charging station near enough.

[ArtJoyce]

Originally Posted by dbircky

Actually a century ago 30-40% of vehicles were battery powered. Gasoline replaced those in a very short time because of the superior benefits of energy density and convenience. Same reason steam didn’t last as a power source for personal vehicles.

Plus 2
Lets not rewrite history.. The first decade gas cars were not considered by most as something that would replace the horse. It was considered a Richman toy. Several version were made seam, gas, and electric. They had car / horses races and most of the time horses were the winer. On the poor country roads when it rained they would get stuck and hoses would pull them out. Gas stations were not there.