Road Trips & Backup Charging·July 27, 2026·@hollowticket

TT-30 at a state park in Utah saved my road trip — what's the etiquette on asking rangers?

Drove up from Texas for a long weekend loop through southern Utah in the F-150 Lightning — Arches, Canyonlands, the whole corridor along I-70. Hit Green River expecting to top off at the Supercharger there before continuing toward Salt Lake, and the site was down, no ETA, just a note on the app saying reduced availability. I had just enough charge to backtrack about fifteen minutes to Goblin Valley State Park, so I pulled into the ranger station and asked if I could use their outlet for maybe 45 minutes just to get enough to reach the next real charger. Turned out to be a TT-30, the ranger said sure, and I ended up buying him and the other guy on duty coffee from the cooler in my trunk since I felt weird just taking the favor for free. Now I'm curious how often this actually works as a strategy versus just being a lucky day with a friendly ranger. Is carrying a TT-30 adapter in the frunk smart standard road trip prep, or am I overthinking one good experience?

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9 ANSWERS

@hutchridesJuly 28, 2026

This works more often than people think, but it's not a guarantee — state parks and forest ranger stations almost always have a TT-30 or a regular 120V outlet somewhere near the office because campground hosts run trailers off them. I've asked at probably ten different stations across Colorado and Utah over the years and gotten a yes maybe seven times. The ones that said no were usually worried about their own breaker load, not about you personally. Bring your own TT-30 adapter for the Mobile Connector, don't assume they'll have one, and always ask before you plug in, never just find an outlet and use it. That's the etiquette — ask first, offer something for the trouble like you did, and don't overstay the time you said you'd need.

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↳@picklewindowAugust 17, 2026

Had almost the same experience at a state park in New Mexico, different outlet type but same idea — asked the guy at the entrance booth, he said sure as long as I moved the car before closing. Got about 25 miles back in 40 minutes which was exactly enough to make the next town. Think the key is exactly what Hutch said, ask like you're asking a favor, not like you're entitled to it.

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@gravelfox88July 29, 2026

Worth knowing what a TT-30 actually is here for anyone following along — it's a 30A 120V twist-lock outlet, the same one RV parks use for shore power, not the same as a 240V RV outlet like a 14-50. On a Mobile Connector it'll pull around 24A continuous if you let it, which is fine for a dedicated RV pedestal but can trip a shared 20 or 30A circuit if the ranger station is also running lights, a fridge, whatever else off the same panel. If you can, dial the amperage down in the car's charging settings to something like 16-20A when you're a guest on someone else's circuit. Costs you charging speed but it won't nuisance-trip their breaker mid top-off.

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@staticpollenAugust 05, 2026

I don't want to be the downer here but I'd be careful building a road trip plan around 'the ranger will probably say yes.' I've had three different public charging stops fail on me on trips this year, two on Electrify America and one on a hotel L2 that was just off, and every time I had to improvise. Asking a stranger at a park office for their electricity is the same category of improvise — sometimes it works, sometimes the guy says no or isn't even there. Great that it worked out this time, just don't let one good story become the plan.

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↳@dutch_b74August 16, 2026

Fair, but I'd push back a little on lumping it in with a charger just being broken. A charger failing is bad luck, nothing you did. Asking a ranger is something you're actually doing, and the success rate goes up a lot if you ask nice, explain exactly what you need, and don't act like it's owed to you. Had my Lightning plugged into a campground host's outlet twice now for the same reason and both times it was because I walked up, explained the situation, and offered to pay. Won't work every time, but it's not pure luck either.

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WenStorm Tesla Gen 2 TT-30 road trip charging kit with TT-30 adapter and 21 ft 50A NACS extension cable for TESLA charging at compatible RV parks and campgrounds.

@meerakayJuly 28, 2026

Question for OP — did the ranger station have you sign anything or was it just a verbal yes? Asking because we've thought about doing this on trips through state parks in Texas and wasn't sure if there's any liability thing where they'd rather just say no to avoid the hassle of a handshake agreement.

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↳@hollowticketAugust 21, 2026

Nothing on paper, just verbal. I think that's part of why it felt like it depended entirely on which ranger was on duty that day — the guy I talked to has apparently let people do this before, so he already had a mental script for it. If I'd gotten someone more by-the-book I could easily see a 'we can't do that, liability' answer.

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↳@hollowticketSeptember 03, 2026

Just verbal, no paperwork at all. Felt more like they were doing me a favor with an outlet that happened to be free rather than running any kind of official program, so there wasn't a form or a waiver involved, just a 'sure, go ahead.' I wouldn't assume that holds everywhere though - a park that gets asked for this more often might have something more formal in place, or might say no specifically because they've been burned by someone overstaying before.

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@tinycabinetJuly 29, 2026

good to know, saving this thread

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TT-30 at a state park in Utah saved my road trip — what's the etiquette on asking rangers?

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