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Renting again -- bought a portable so my next move doesn't strand me

hank_delaney
Third apartment in four years. Every place has had a different outlet situation and I got tired of praying the landlord would install something. Last place had a NEMA 14-50 in the garage -- great. Place before that: a single wall outlet 30 feet from where I parked. Current one has a dryer outlet in the utility room and my building manager has "no strong feelings" about me running a cord through the door if I'm quiet about it. So I gave up on the fantasy of a permanent home setup and just bought a portable that swaps plugs. Living out of the trunk is my new normal -- 14-50 when I get lucky, 5-15 when I don't. It's not elegant but I stopped fighting with the physical situation of every new lease. Anyone else on the "charger in the trunk" plan? Curious if people eventually cave and buy the wall unit once they own, or if the portable becomes permanent because it's just too flexible to give up.
05 answers
5 ANSWERS
craig_denton
@craig_dentonOctober 23, 2026
I never bought the wall connector. 4.5 years and 100k miles in, and the Mobile Connector has lived plugged into a 14-50 in the garage the whole time. Only reason it would ever come out is a road trip, and at this point I usually don't even bother bringing it. On the dryer outlet, just make sure whatever you bought actually drops to 24A on that plug. The Tesla adapters tell the connector what they are, but I have no idea how the swap-plug units from other brands handle it.
hank_delaney
@hank_delaneyOctober 23, 2026
@craig_denton it's one of the Amazon ones with the swappable heads. I think it senses the plug but now you've got me wondering. The display just says "auto" which isn't super reassuring
bhollister
@bhollisterOctober 23, 2026
Dryer circuit is probably 30A, so 24A max continuous. Put a meter on it or just watch the amps in the car.
bkrueger
@bkruegerOctober 23, 2026
"Auto" could mean pretty much anything on those. The car will tell you what it's actually pulling, so check that the first night on the dryer plug.
brett_kessling
@brett_kesslingOctober 23, 2026
I'd be more nervous about the Amazon unit than about the outlet, honestly. Some of those are fine, and some have no business carrying 24A for 8 hours a night. Does it have a UL or ETL listing anywhere on it? Not "CE," an actual UL/ETL mark. On L1, I did it for 3 months at about 45 miles a day before my hardwired unit went in. Totally doable, it just didn't leave much margin.