The three types of RV Park Outlets
- 20A 120V – The regular household outlet (slowest)
- 30A 120V – The standard 30A 120v RV outlet
- 50A 240V – The standard 50A 240v RV outlet (fastest)
Assuming you need about 100kwh to fill up your EV, it’s important to be aware of how fast these different options charge your car.
1. 20A 120V Charging Option (very slow)
This is the slowest possible way to charge. An EV charger will generally come with this type of adapter, and will generally use only 12A at 120v using these plugs, meaning you are filling up at approx 1.4kw per hour. If you need 100kw to fill up, that would take about 72 hours (3 days).
2. 30A 120V Charging Option (medium speed, but most EV mobile chargers won’t fit)
The 30A 120v plug is somewhat unique to RV parks, and is considerably slower than the 240v version that is commonly known as a dryer plug. Most EVs do not offer chargers that fit this plug. But if you did use it, you’d likely be limited to 24A (this assumes a built in safety margin) which is exactly double the speed of option 1. A full charge in about 36 hours.
While adapters exist for this outlet, we don’t recommend them. They tend to “trick” the car into thinking it is using a 50A outlet, which can result in tripping breakers, or worse: overheating the outlet. While most cars allow a manual amperage setting (allowing the driver to set the amperage to 24A), these settings can be accidentally reset to the higher default amperage when there is a temporary power outage, or if someone unplugs the the charger.
3. 50A 240V Charging Option (fastest option)
This is the fastest option, and EVs come standard with this fast charging plug. While the plug allows for 50A, the charger generally maxes out at 32A. Because that is at 240v, you’d fill a 100kwh battery in just 13 hours.
Which charging option should I choose?
It depends on your situation. If you only have 1 day to charge, you may not have a choice but to take the fastest option.
However, if you have enough time, we recommend using option 1. This keeps the larger outlets available for your trailer, and reduces the strain on the RV Park’s electrical system. Read more about that subject here.