Extension Cord “Charge Kit”

[Tomwilli2025]

I’m curious if any members have put together a “Charge Kit” to carry in their truck. I’m looking to purchase various cords and adapters for destination charging, with the Ford Mobile Power Plug. Items for use where you have access to a clothes dyer plug, RV plug-in or maybe a plug for a welder. I want to be prepared for various plug types.

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[Mr. Flibble]

I’m curious if any members have put together a “Charge Kit” to carry in their truck. I’m looking to purchase various cords and adapters for destination charging, with the Ford Mobile Power Plug. Items for use where you have access to a clothes dyer plug, RV plug-in or maybe a plug for a welder. I want to be prepared for various plug types.

You really just need the portable charger and a few RV style plug adapters. Assuming you are going to charge at RV areas.

I have seen the occasional dryer plug in the wild, but not once have I ever used one.

 

[beatle]

I think the only "must have" is a Tesla Tap or Lectron J1772 adapter so you can take advantage of Tesla-specific destination chargers. A lot of places have both J1772 and Tesla, but some only have Tesla.

In general if you do a small amount of planning you should never really be surprised or need a kit with items that never get used. I have several plug adapters for my Tesla UMC so that I can charge at family members' houses as well as a homemade extension cord with 6-20 ends for running out to the driveway at one house where I couldn't park in the garage, but I planned for those situations just before the trip. I plan to keep the Tesla UMC since the Ford connector doesn't provide the ability to plug into a 14-30, 6-30, or 6-20.

 

[mmcguirk]

I think the only "must have" is a Tesla Tap or Lectron J1772 adapter so you can take advantage of Tesla-specific destination chargers. A lot of places have both J1772 and Tesla, but some only have Tesla.

Are either of these adapters good for DCFC or are they just Level 2? Thanks.

 

[beatle]

Are either of these adapters good for DCFC or are they just Level 2? Thanks.

Good question, but they are just for L1/L2. Tesla DCFC (superchargers) are still Tesla only in North America. Tesla is slowly opening the supercharger network up to non-Tesla vehicles in the Netherlands and Norway though.

 

[RickLightning]

I’m curious if any members have put together a “Charge Kit” to carry in their truck. I’m looking to purchase various cords and adapters for destination charging, with the Ford Mobile Power Plug. Items for use where you have access to a clothes dyer plug, RV plug-in or maybe a plug for a welder. I want to be prepared for various plug types.

You won't be able to use a traditional dryer outlet with the included Ford Mobile Charger. Dryer outlets are 30amps. That means you can use something that pulls 24 amps. The Ford Mobile Charger is rated at 32 amps (some say it pulls a bit less), so you need a 40 amp outlet, which most dryer outlets are not.

Most RV parks have 14-50 outlets to my understanding. I used one in mid-March.

 

[frautumn]

You won't be able to use a traditional dryer outlet with the included Ford Mobile Charger. Dryer outlets are 30amps. That means you can use something that pulls 24 amps.

I guess that means there is no option to select charging amperage with the Ford Mobile charger, like you can with many more expensive chargers like the Chargepoint Flex. But I'm wondering if the F150 itself has some charging options you can set in software to pull a max amperage, ie set it to 24A on the Lightning options, which would make it possible to use a 30A outlet with the Ford mobile charger. Anybody know if this option exists?

 

[metroshot]

In my PHEV, I carry my mobile charger along with various L1 and L2 power plug adapters for road trips and out of area charging.

For my Lightning, I am thinking of getting a J1772 extension:

 

[p52Ranch]

You won't be able to use a traditional dryer outlet with the included Ford Mobile Charger. Dryer outlets are 30amps. That means you can use something that pulls 24 amps. The Ford Mobile Charger is rated at 32 amps (some say it pulls a bit less), so you need a 40 amp outlet, which most dryer outlets are not.

Most RV parks have 14-50 outlets to my understanding. I used one in mid-March.

Ford displays using the Lightning NEMA L14-30, 30 amp 240 volt outlet to charge a MME with the Ford Mobile Power Cord. Is this irresponsible on Ford's part?

It would be nice if Ford would offer the ability to control the maximum current draw with the Mobile Power Charger. I scoured the owners manual and checked the MME forums and did not find any ability to control the amperage draw.

I have been trying to figure out what other electric outlet adaptors I should acquire. If 30 amps is really a problem then apparently the NEMA 6-50 would be the only 240 V alternative.
View attachment 46987

 

[beatle]

Ford displays using the Lightning NEMA L14-30, 30 amp 240 volt outlet to charge a MME with the Ford Mobile Power Cord. Is this irresponsible on Ford's part?

It would be nice if Ford would offer the ability to control the maximum current draw with the Mobile Power Charger. I scoured the owners manual and checked the MME forums and did not find any ability to control the amperage draw.

That's a good point. I saw that picture but it didn't occur to me that they'd plugged a 14-50 into an L14-30. It's a good demo, but technically the MME should attempt to negotiate a 32A charge when using the mobile connector. That not only exceeds the 80% rating of the circuit, it should trip the breaker on the truck.

Controls for limiting max amps should also be on all vehicles if you asked me. Maximum amps would be regulated by the EVSE, but you should always be able to step down. The Tesla UMC adapters have resistors of various values to indicate to the connector what kind of plug is installed. The UMC then relays to the vehicle what the maximum is. This is like when you pull into a public L2 station - you don't risk drawing too many amps as the EVSE sets the limit. Sometimes that limit is 80A, but I've seen as low as 24A.

 

[beatle]

In my PHEV, I carry my mobile charger along with various L1 and L2 power plug adapters for road trips and out of area charging.

For my Lightning, I am thinking of getting a J1772 extension:

Unless the charging location is ICE'd or otherwise obstructed, I can't see this extension being of much use. EVSEs are installed with 16-24 ft cords that allow you to reach the charge port of most any vehicle if parked in the appropriate spot and orientation so an extension really isn't necessary.

Perhaps if you were plugging into a receptacle in someone's garage that was placed on the back wall and you could not park inside. I think of my 6-20 extension cord that I fabbed up - it does the job of getting the mobile connector closer to the garage door, but it's a one-trick pony - it only works on a 6-20. That said I also only paid $40 or so for all the components to create it.

 

[RickLightning]

Ford displays using the Lightning NEMA L14-30, 30 amp 240 volt outlet to charge a MME with the Ford Mobile Power Cord. Is this irresponsible on Ford's part?

It would be nice if Ford would offer the ability to control the maximum current draw with the Mobile Power Charger. I scoured the owners manual and checked the MME forums and did not find any ability to control the amperage draw.

I have been trying to figure out what other electric outlet adaptors I should acquire. If 30 amps is really a problem then apparently the NEMA 6-50 would be the only 240 V alternative.

There is no ability to control the Ford Mobile Charger’s amperage, no. Its plug is 14-50.

I used it at a campground, they had 14-50 outlets at the site. I believe these are widespread at campgrounds.

If dryer outlets are 14-50, they should have a 50 amp breaker and the proper sized wire.

 

[vandy1981]

Be sure to mind the amperage ratings of any j1772 extension cords or Tesla adapters that you use. Most are rated for 40 amps. The truck is capable of drawing 80 amps and some EVSEs can provide more than 40 amps You could end up with a melted adapter or worse if you're not careful.

I always road trip my EV with a portable EVSE with adjustable amperage, several NEMA adapters a Tesla destination charger adapter and a J1772 extension cord.

 

[jefro]

EV trips would tend to mean DC fast charging and there currently is no adapters for the F150L.

In practice unless you are at some location for 10 hours you can't really use L2 charging. L2 is more for workplace and home. It's just too slow to be used during the day while needing truck.

 

[sotek2345]

EV trips would tend to mean DC fast charging and there currently is no adapters for the F150L.

In practice unless you are at some location for 10 hours you can't really use L2 charging. L2 is more for workplace and home. It's just too slow to be used during the day while needing truck.

Or hotel, I could see an adapter being useful there, though mainly If they have Telsa destination chargers and not J1772.

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