Dodge all in on electric too 500 mile range Ram
This is the last of the major vehicle manufactures to go all in on electric vehicles https://www.forbes.com/wheels/news/electric-ram-1500-pickup-in-2024/
Forum Discussion
Thermoguy wrote:
One of the biggest challenges for EV's is that the infrastructure is taking more time to update than the manufacturers are to develop and people to buy. So in the US our current administration is going above and beyond to change that. The incentives to install charging stations, and the push to put them everywhere is very real and growing. If you own a campground and the government will pay you to upgrade your electric grid if you put in a few charging areas, stations, or pedestals, will you? My guess is that is why KOA is doing it. Get the free money while you can!!
I believe this is the main reason KOA is getting into the charging station game.
Let's say it's an older park with 200 - 30amp sites. In theory, if everyone maxed out, they would need a supply capable of supplying 6000amps but in reality, that will never happen and the electrical code allows for reducing the supply amperage. I would have to look it up but I think it's something around 70% or about 4200amps.
If they install 6 high output 250kw charging stations, that's about 12,500amps and it is quite possible that 6 charging stations could be in operation simultaneously. 12,500amps likely will require a substantial upgrade to the supply including off site grid upgrades. But for KOA, the incremental cost to upgrade it to 16,200amps or even more will be negligible. Effectively, they get a discounted upgrade paid for by the govt.
Assuming they don't promote the charging stations, they likely get little use and they wind up with a system that is massively overbuilt for RV usage and can support a large percentage (if not all) sites having 50amp pedestals.
Worst case scenario, during peak demand, something as simple as a couple of "out of order" signs to limit EV charging to 3-4 vehicles at a time would leave a much larger overhead to support the RV park side of the equation.
PS: I did the calculations at 120v to keep the math simple. In reality, they will use higher voltages to keep the amperage down.
