Ford Mobile Charger at Campsite 30amp

[s3254]

Hi all,
I’m currently camping for the first time with my F150 Lightning. I booked a campsite with power as I thought I’d test everything out and top the truck off before leaving.

Here’s my challenge. I purchased a Kohler 50 Amp to 30 RV Adapter (link below) from Amazon to be ready for the trip. When I try and use the adapter on a known working 30 amp socket at the camp site it doesn’t power up. Switching the Ford Mobile Charger attachment for the 15amp connector it powers up and charges my truck.

So the Ford Mobile Charger works, there’s power to all of the sockets at the campsite. At this point I think the adapter is defective but am I missing anything? Has anyone tried this kind of setup? Does the Ford Mobile charger get upset plugged into a 30amp socket with the 50amp accessory?

Kohree 50 Amp to 30 Amp RV Adapter 18 Inch, 50M/30F Heavy Duty RV Dogbone Electrical Power Adapter Plug with Grip Handle, 125V/3750W https://a.co/d/h2Hlyr4

Thanks
Jon

JUST USE THE 50 AMP CAMPSITE POWER, IT WORKED FOR ME..NO NEED TO USE 30 AMP?

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[stickyfingers]

Unfortunately, most campsites in Ontario (Canada) only offer the 30-amp circuit. I'm heading to a campsite July 1st and I have been told by some tesla owners that its a NEMA 14-30 outlet. I bought an adapter and was hoping to charge the truck at 30-amps but not sure - will see if I get lucky but I doubt it. Using the Ford Mobile Charger as well - it finally came in and I returned the AMPROAD charger that @JonS posted a link for - trying to save the $600.

 

[ridgebackpilot]

Wow! Does this charger really charge at 9.6KW? I will buy it if it does, since my Ford mobile will only go to 6KW (versus the Pro Charging Station with goes to 15KW installed at home).

Next time you’re charging maybe you can take a screen shot of on your Ford Pass App of the charge rate. Thanks!!!

I only use this charger when I go camping and have access to a 50-amp hookup. But as I recall from last summer, this mobile charger easily matched my Level 2 charger at home. I'll see if I can find a screenshot from the charger's app, but as I recall it was close to 10 kW.

 

[vandy1981]

Unfortunately, most campsites in Ontario (Canada) only offer the 30-amp circuit. I'm heading to a campsite July 1st and I have been told by some tesla owners that its a NEMA 14-30 outlet. I bought an adapter and was hoping to charge the truck at 30-amps but not sure - will see if I get lucky but I doubt it. Using the Ford Mobile Charger as well - it finally came in and I returned the AMPROAD charger that @JonS posted a link for - trying to save the $600.

The Ford charger draws 30-32 amps. It's super rare to see a 14-30p at campgrounds. If that's true and it is actually a 14-30, you would be overloading the circuit with the Ford mobile charger.

 

[hikinbengal]

Like most of have said you need an EVSE that can lower the current to 24A to use the NEMA TT-30P at the RV park. Here is the setup that I use for long trips. Emphasis on the long trip because you only get ~3kW up from 1.6kW using the TT-30P plug. I usually only book 50A (9.6kW) now if I bother to book a site with power.

EVSE:J+ Booster 2 Electric Vehicle EV Charger - Level 2 Portable 40 Amp Fast Charging Station

I bought an adapter first but now have the dedicated plug.

 

[stickyfingers]

Like most of have said you need an EVSE that can lower the current to 24A to use the NEMA TT-30P at the RV park. Here is the setup that I use for long trips. Emphasis on the long trip because you only get ~3kW up from 1.6kW using the TT-30P plug. I usually only book 50A (9.6kW) now if I bother to book a site with power.

EVSE:J+ Booster 2 Electric Vehicle EV Charger - Level 2 Portable 40 Amp Fast Charging Station

I bought an adapter first but now have the dedicated plug.

Yowza, $600 for that Charger. May have to rethink this. Too bad we can't limit the Ford Mobile Charge to a specific amperage.

 

[vandy1981]

Wow! Does this charger really charge at 9.6KW? I will buy it if it does, since my Ford mobile will only go to 6KW (versus the Pro Charging Station with goes to 15KW installed at home).

Next time you’re charging maybe you can take a screen shot of on your Ford Pass App of the charge rate. Thanks!!!

Yes, it can handle 40 amps at 240 volts (9.6 kW). It has worked fine in multiple long charges, but I would never use it in a permanent installation or within a structure like a shed/garage because I don't trust these white-label chargers that aren't backed by a known brand.

 

[vandy1981]

Like most of have said you need an EVSE that can lower the current to 24A to use the NEMA TT-30P at the RV park. Here is the setup that I use for long trips. Emphasis on the long trip because you only get ~3kW up from 1.6kW using the TT-30P plug. I usually only book 50A (9.6kW) now if I bother to book a site with power.

EVSE:J+ Booster 2 Electric Vehicle EV Charger - Level 2 Portable 40 Amp Fast Charging Station

I bought an adapter first but now have the dedicated plug.

Have you actually confirmed that the Lightning charges at 24A with this setup? I thought the Lightning was limited to 12A at 120V.

 

[hikinbengal]

Yowza, $600 for that Charger. May have to rethink this. Too bad we can't limit the Ford Mobile Charge to a specific amperage.

Yes, I always have a full charge when I wake up in the morning. Usually don't need to charge more than 80% when camping without a travel trailer. Highly recommend this charger and customer support is great.

 

[james_carey]

Like most of have said you need an EVSE that can lower the current to 24A to use the NEMA TT-30P at the RV park. Here is the setup that I use for long trips. Emphasis on the long trip because you only get ~3kW up from 1.6kW using the TT-30P plug. I usually only book 50A (9.6kW) now if I bother to book a site with power.

EVSE:J+ Booster 2 Electric Vehicle EV Charger - Level 2 Portable 40 Amp Fast Charging Station

I bought an adapter first but now have the dedicated plug.

Great info! I notice that they mention that it works with tons of EVs, but no mention of Ford Lightning....

• "Works with all battery electric vehicles (EV) & plug-in hybrids with J1772 connector or adapter. Compatible with leading EV's such as Tesla models, Chevrolet Volt and Bolt EV, Hyundai Kona and Ioniq, Kia NIRO, Nissan LEAF, BMW i3, Honda Clarity, Chrysler Pacifica, Jaguar I-PACE, and many more. "

 

[hikinbengal]

Have you actually confirmed that the Lightning charges at 24A with this setup? I thought the Lightning was limited to 12A at 120V.

Haven't charged with this setup since the new Forpass update, which shows charge speed, but the expected charge time was reduced when using the TT-30P vs the 120V receptacle.

 

[JonS]

Wow, busy thread . I just got back from camping and saw that my post got lots some good conversation going.

So firstly, thanks for everyone's perspective. I've been driving EV's since 2018 and this is a surprised case of assumptions and RTFM.

Background
1. Canadian campgrounds offer what they call a 15/30 pedestal at powered sites. I assumed that 30amp was better and that I'd be able to either set the truck to only draw 24amps (Tesla) or the Ford Mobile Charger (Porsche)
2. There's no 50amp option as per someone else's recommendations here
3. I was surprised that not even a power light came on the Ford Mobile Charger hence the post here as I wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Takeaways
1. If you have a Ford Mobile Charger then you're stuck with the 15amp connection and trickle charging for your visit (3 days for a full charge)
2. This will likely work with a proper EVSE that can adjust the max amps it can draw (like my previous Porsche charger) as the truck cannot be arbiter of this which feels like a miss given the Ford EVSE can't do it either

Overall I'm glad that the Ford Mobile Charger didn't power up and for everyones 10c on this -- thanks!

 

[hikinbengal]

Great info! I notice that they mention that it works with tons of EVs, but no mention of Ford Lightning....

• "Works with all battery electric vehicles (EV) & plug-in hybrids with J1772 connector or adapter. Compatible with leading EV's such as Tesla models, Chevrolet Volt and Bolt EV, Hyundai Kona and Ioniq, Kia NIRO, Nissan LEAF, BMW i3, Honda Clarity, Chrysler Pacifica, Jaguar I-PACE, and many more. "

J1772 is the electrical standard in the US. Any UL-rated J1772 EVSE will work with a vehicle with a J1772 plug. Not sure if j+ needs to update its advertising every time a new EV is released.

 

[Amps]

This will likely work with a proper EVSE that can adjust the max amps it can draw (like my previous Porsche charger) as the truck cannot be arbiter of this which feels like a miss given the Ford EVSE can't do it either

The 15/30 is probably referring to a standard 120Volt/15 Amp receptacle. Plus, the TT-30 120 Volt/30 Amp (3600 Watts) receptacle on the same pedestal. It will still only trickle charge your Lightning. It is a 120 Volt circuit and is limited to 12 Amps/1.4 kW by the truck's on-board charger. Plan your charging time accordingly!

If you get something like the TT-30 to 5-15R adapter I linked to in my post #12 above, at least you will have access to other power directly from the campsite pedestal without hogging one for truck charging.

 

[vandy1981]

It will still only trickle charge your Lightning. It is a 120 Volt circuit and is limited to 12 Amps/1.4 kW by the truck's on-board charger.

Have you personally seen the 12 Amp limitation on a TT30 using a TT-30 to 14-50 adapter?

I was limited to 12 amps when I tried the Amproad iFlow in this configuration and never bothered to try another charger. @hikinbengal is saying that they get higher amperage using the J+ Booster and I'm wondering if I should try another EVSE.

That additional 1.4 kW would be helpful for charging at the cabin, especially in the winter.

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