Charging at RV sites

[Maineiac12]

it's not in an expected place, like in the VEHICLE tile where the SILENT MODE is. BTW, there's also a tiny "night light" white LED above the charging handle receptacle which will stay on regardless, it's very weak so we don't bother hiding it.

I’ll have to check that out! I never thought to look under the access tile.

And just so everyone reading knows - silent mode is only available via FORScan changes. You’re not going to find it on a stock truck. I have it enabled on mine.

Sponsored

 

[Maineiac12]

I love the truck but I am frustrated in its RV ability. I'm going a relatively short distance from home (<2hr drive) and already have to put a 30 minute charge session in there, and thats if I'm the slowest car on the highway. Then, I hope I can charge at the campsite, otherwise I need to use the 60kw charger at an isolated dealership 20 min away, or drive 35 minutes for a 150kw, just so I can use the truck during the week we are there.

If you’re staying for a week you’ll have no issues. You can always use level 1 charging from your own camper or the post and get topped up easily during that time.

The needing to stop after 100 miles to stop and charge does suck, but is manageable if you don’t do it often. Hopefully the EREV will solve this in the future.

 

[user-name-required]

I love the truck but I am frustrated in its RV ability. I'm going a relatively short distance from home (<2hr drive) and already have to put a 30 minute charge session in there, and thats if I'm the slowest car on the highway. Then, I hope I can charge at the campsite, otherwise I need to use the 60kw charger at an isolated dealership 20 min away, or drive 35 minutes for a 150kw, just so I can use the truck during the week we are there.

How far are you towing in the <2 hour time? Speed does really matter a ton, driving 55-60mph is way, way more efficient than 65-75 mph.

As @Maineiac12 said if you're there for a week you should be more than fine, I wouldn't waste time driving 35mins to a DCFC or 20 mins to a slower one.

We can stretch it to about 120-130 miles of 19' full width/height RV towing through BC mountains, but yes a bit more towing range would be very appreciated. Something between the battery size of the ER lightning and the Silverado would be a sweet spot.

I don't want to haul around 230kwh of batteries all the time, but maybe 150-160 usable would be that sweet spot of being able to tow that extra 50 miles/80kms or so.

 

[hturnerfamily]

...I'm not sure what the term "RV ability" means, but we've always ENJOYED the Lightning and it's capabilities in the RVing world... especially since we now no longer have to rely on campgrounds for electricity. We park anywhere, and already HAVE our electricity.

or we use any electricity available to charge the truck, and use the truck to power the camper. etc.

the easiest scenario is at 'full hookup' campgrounds and RV parks and the like with the 'full' set of power outlets: 240v 50amp, 120v 30amp, and 120v 20amp... you then have all the options you wish.

as for the 'towing' equation, our PRO SR with 98kwh usable power for about 120 miles works just fine, but planning and conservative speeds are paramount. It's especially nice with the advent of the rapidly growing DCFC infrastructure, with places like Pilot truck stops, Walmart, and especially Superchargers.

 

[hturnerfamily]

as to the concerns of campgrounds and their 'electricity', I find that the talk about how most or many are somehow not properly wired, is way overblown, and, factually incorrect.

I don't own a campground or RV park, but we've overnighted at HUNDREDS in the last 10 years, all across this great country, Canada, and Alaska. I have seen practically EVERY type of setup, and while, yes, there might be a small home-owned 'campground' where the brother-in-law was the appointed 'electrician', I've found that, without fail, there has been one single situation, in the wilds of Alaska, where wiring and breakers were not designed and deployed as you would expect. One.
Yes, the brother-in-law.

There is no 'cheating'... campgrounds and RV parks are not 'excepted' from local rules, ordinances, codes, or electrical requirements. Just like in your older homes, though, if the owners aren't updating or remodeling, they may look like they haven't been maintained in years.

There is no 'sharing' between sites: If you have a 20amp breaker, you have 20amps. If you have a 50amp breaker, you have 50amps at 240v(and that's akin to 100amps of 120volts), etc. Many may assume that since a breaker trips something is 'wrong', but it is doing EXACTLY as it is designed, to protect the wiring. You can imagine, though, that the daily flipping of breakers at campsites can prematurely wear them... meaning that they may start to trip at lower amperages, due to their weakness.
A story to go along with that was when we arrived at a 30amp campsite on a hot summer day... normally able to run both roof air conditioners on 30amps, and successfully many times, this breaker, though, tripped too easily. I caught the maintenance man driving by, and asked him to replace the breaker. He balked and said that 'nobody' could run two air conditioners on 30amps...but, I insisted, nicely. His jaw dropped when he replaced the breaker, and both a/c's ran without fail.

There IS sharing, though, at the Main Panels, meaning that some large panels located at locations throughout the campground each handle 'some' of the various sites, such as numbers 10 - 15, or 5 sites. If each site has 30amp only, they will likely all be handled by a single 100amp Main Breaker, since the sites are 120v, but the main panel is at 240 120v.. which is akin to 200amps at 120v. Still, even then, each site also has it's own breaker WITHIN this Main panel. It's also highly unlikely that EVERY site, simultaneously, will be using their MAXIMUM 30amps at the same time..regardless - that's generally not an issue.
Can a voltage drop from the utility cause excess Amperage? Yes, but that is also rare.

I find that campgrounds or RV parks or the like are not a problem - if you use too much, the breaker trips - that's your sign to lower your AMPERAGE - turn off the a/c while running the microwave, or lower your adjustable EVSE.

I will also admit, though, that Very Few owners or maintenance folks truly understand electricity, or how it works within their own property.

 

[brirr76]

I didn't know this. I always put duct tape to hide the blue lights around the charge port at night, ha ha. I will check this out. Thanks.

I also did not know this! I was another person doing the duct tape.

 

[Firebelly]

I love the truck but I am frustrated in its RV ability. I'm going a relatively short distance from home (<2hr drive) and already have to put a 30 minute charge session in there, and thats if I'm the slowest car on the highway. Then, I hope I can charge at the campsite, otherwise I need to use the 60kw charger at an isolated dealership 20 min away, or drive 35 minutes for a 150kw, just so I can use the truck during the week we are there.

Have you tried ABRP? You can use the free version on the web just to try it. It will do the calculations for you, whether you really need to slow down - or can you drive faster, and just charge a bit sooner or longer. I was also holding back my speed, but once I got ABRP tuned well and I started to trust it, it enables me to tow at full speed and not have to worry about when or where to charge. It's a pleasure towing at the speed limit (75 mph in Texas) compared to having to limp along.

Also I got an ODB dongle so it learned the actual consumption of the truck while towing. That allowed me to trust it. The truck's own estimate has never been anywhere near right, even though I always telli it that I am towing, and which trailer.

Now if there just aren't any chargers, that's a different problem. I know that Tesla and some governments and other companies are still building them out - so there's still hope.

 

[ctuan13]

I've crossed the country from PA to WA two summers in a row (soon to be three) towing my teardrop camper and staying at camogrounds along the way. In 2024, given the route I took out there and back, there were areas with so few DC fast chargers that I had to stop at a campground to stay every 130ish miles.

I learned to always call ahead (I nearly got kicked out of a KOA in Kansas, despite having previously asked) because apparently the call center didn't know the difference between corporate and local policy. I simply ask if I can charge my electric tow vehicle at my site. Most of the time they say yes, but still a decent percentage will say no. Others will say yes, but charge you per kWh and put you at a metered site or they'd ask me to track my usage and text them (a reason I'd recommend your adjustable charger also display usage statistics).

You can disregard all of this and charge without asking, if you don't mind an angry knock on your door asking you to leave, but given I've got chronic health issues that mean I need rest at every stop to recharge, just up and leaving at any hour isn't really an option

I also strongly recommend, in fact, I think I'd say it's required to have an adjustable rate charger. I obviously always request a 50A site, but if you know anything about campgrounds, then you know oftentimes the hookups both water and electrical can be in various states of disrepair or neglect. Several times I got to a campground and despite the pedestal looking new, the breaker would continually trip at even 30A 240v, so I was forced to step my charger down to 15A.

Lastly, I personally bought the Ford port cover kit. It may seem like overkill to those who plug in at home parked outside all the time, but given some of the gale force winds I've experienced in dusty, or sandy environments, it's not a bad idea to keep sand and UV from clogging and baking your charging port.

If you have any other questions, shoot! I've definitely had extensive experience with this!

 

[Maineiac12]

FYI - On my 2023 XLT the blue charging ring can be easily turned off via a toggle switch at the Sync screen main panel ACCESS tile. I habitually do this while we're camping when I also turn on the Sync SILENT MODE.

Do you have pictures showing this option? I looked in my truck and cant find the access tile or the option to turn off the blue ring. I have a 24 Flash.

 

[Grumpy2]

They must have dropped that option, it is just as described on my 2023 Pro.

 

[21st Century Truck]

Do you have pictures showing this option? I looked in my truck and cant find the access tile or the option to turn off the blue ring. I have a 24 Flash.

Of course.

See my the attached pix below.

 

[djryan13]

Don’t see that option on big screen Lightning… strange

 

[K6CCC]

Of course.

See my the attached pix below.

I sure can't find anything like that on the 15 inch screen.

 

[MidAtlanticLightningClub]

Of course.

See my the attached pix below.

Very interesting that this seems to be available in Sync 4 (12” landscape screen) but not Sync 4A (15.5” portrait screen).

Has anyone seen if this is an option that FORScan can enable in Sync 4A?

 

[21st Century Truck]

Very interesting that this seems to be available in Sync 4 (12” landscape screen) but not Sync 4A (15.5” portrait screen).

Has anyone seen if this is an option that FORScan can enable in Sync 4A?

Hmmm... I seem to remember although it's been about two years now, that my Premium trim Mach E's 15-inch screen did have this feature as well. My memory might be in error here though...

As the APIM is the APIM, it would seem that the toggle button should indeed be activatable through FORScan. Perhaps tech wizards like Jesse - Infotainment can weigh in...

Sponsored