Got a serve from a caravan park manager over granny charger use overnight — what's actually a fair fee to offer?
Took the van down to a caravan park on the coast for a few nights last week, powered site, plugged the granny charger into the 15A outlet like I always do at home minus the extension lead. Woke up on the second morning to the manager knocking, not impressed, saying I should've told them I was charging a car and not just running the van's fridge and lights. I said sorry, happy to pay something, what do you reckon is fair, and he just said "a lot more than you think" and walked off without a number.
Battery was down to about 30% when I plugged in, was mostly topped up by morning. I don't actually know what that translates to in dollars on a normal household rate, let alone whatever the park is paying for their supply. Is there an actual going rate people offer up front for this, or do you just wait to get sprung and negotiate after the fact? Feels like I did something wrong just by existing but nobody tells you the number until you've annoyed someone.
Filed under: Caravan Park Charging
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8 answers
8 ANSWERS
@barry_nomatesJuly 31, 2026
Six months a year touring and we've had this exact conversation more times than I can count. What's worked for us is offering $10 on top of the site fee before they even ask, most managers just want to feel like it's been acknowledged rather than working out an exact number. The ones who get shirty usually calm down the moment you offer something rather than waiting to be caught.
Genuinely didn't think to offer anything before being asked. Is there an actual number people land on or does it vary too much park to park to have a rule of thumb?
Varies with park and season but $10-15 covers most complaints we've had before they escalate. Cheap parks out west sometimes wave it off entirely, the flashier coastal ones expect closer to $20.
@trent_b87July 27, 2026
That 15A outlet was speced for a van fridge and the odd kettle running a few hours, not 8+ hours of steady draw overnight. Doesn't mean you did anything unsafe if the circuit's sound, but that's why he reacted the way he did rather than just asking politely.
@davo9July 27, 2026
Ran actual numbers on this before. Granny charger on a 10A circuit pulls about 2.2kW, so 30% to full overnight is closer to 15kWh if it ran the whole stretch, not just a token top-up. At $0.30/kWh that's under five bucks, the $10-15 people are offering is already generous.
@jonno1985July 31, 2026
Started asking the desk straight up before I even book now, 'do you charge extra for EV charging on the powerpoint,' not just assuming a powered site covers it. Would've saved you the awkward knock.
@petey_fxJuly 24, 2026
Rough way to land on an actual number instead of guessing: estimate the kWh you added (percentage gained times your pack size) and multiply by your home electricity rate, then round up generously since the park's power probably costs them more than a residential rate. A Model 3 topping up 30% is roughly 15kWh — at even a generous 40c/kWh that's about six bucks, so offering $10-15 up front usually heads off the awkward knock next time.
@just_lurking22July 24, 2026
is there an actual per-kWh number caravan parks usually work off, or do they just eyeball it off the battery percentage like this guy did?
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