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RVcrazy's avatar
RVcrazy
Explorer
May 12, 2013

Paying for electricity w/ 50 amp

Now that I understand the trade-offs for 30 vs 50 amp service:
When you stay in a campground that offers both, can you choose to just use 30 amp or does the campground require that you pay for 50 amp even though you will agree to use just the 30 amp plug at the site? Or, are the 30 amp sites in a different area than the 50 amp sites so that it is all determined by which site you use? It looks like there is usually a couple of $ difference.

32 Replies

  • When we've stayed at parks with 50 amp at the site, we were changed a flat fee per day that included power. If the same park had 30 amp sites, they sometimes would be less, but only because the site was not as "improved" or new as the 50 amp site.

    As for monthly rent, the power usage was based on amperage used, not how much was available. So, if you are connected to 50 amp power, you may not use any more than you would have used if you were connected to 30 amp. You could use more since more amperage is available, but that doesn't mean you will. So, regardless of which plug you connect to on the post, the amount of electricity you actually use will probably be the same. You could use more, but that is a choice you will make, not your RV.

    So, if 30 and 50 amp service are both available at the site you are in, the park is probably going to charge you the same fee.

    (After I posted this several others commented about amperage and voltage and displayed quite a bit of confusion over the terms. I didn't cover this originally since I didn't think it was part of the question. Voltage times amperage equals wattage. So, if electricity was a water hose, a big hose, like a fire hose, it could fill a bucket in X minutes at low pressure. A small garden hose could fill the same bucket in the same amount of time if it had high pressure. That's the difference between low voltage (big hose) and high voltage (garden hose). Amperage is the size of the stream of water coming out of the hose being pushed by the voltage. Not the speed, the size. Wattage is the net result. I hope this helps explain the common confusion with electrical terms.)
  • I have found it both ways. Stay in a 30/50 site and pay for what you use. Others will make you pay for 50 although you only use the 30. Some parks will have only 30 or 50 sites. Some parks will give you a windshield note stating what amperage you are paying for so staff can look out for abusers.