The next time an RVer asks, “Where can I plug in my Tesla?”, will you be the park that pockets the charging fee—or the one that watches them book somewhere else? Electric vehicles are showing up at check-in booths faster than you can say “50‐amp,” and drivers expect more than an extension cord dangling from a power post. Installing pay-per-use chargers turns that expectation into a revenue stream, future-proofs your electrical backbone, and puts your property on every EV trip-planning map.
Curious how to size the system without blowing a transformer—or your budget? Wondering which pricing model keeps the kilowatts flowing and the cash register ringing? Stick around; we’ll break down hardware choices, load-management secrets, and guest-friendly policies that make chargers pay for themselves before the first season ends.
Key Takeaways
The checklist below distills the playbook you’ll find in the article. Use it as a quick reference when you’re pitching owners, meeting with utilities, or comparing charger vendors—then dive deeper into each topic in the sections that follow.
• Campers with electric cars are growing fast; charging spots can bring in new guests and extra money.
• A Level-2 charge can make about eight dollars each time, paying for the gear in a few seasons.
• First, count how many visitors drive EVs and check if your park’s power system has enough space.
• Level-2 chargers work well for overnight stays; add one fast charger for quick daytime stops.
• Place chargers where vehicles already park, leave room for big rigs, and keep cords off the ground.
• Talk with the electric company early; smart software can share power and cut costs during busy hours.
• Set clear, fair prices—per kilowatt or per session—and show the fee on screens and your website.
• Train staff to fix simple errors, clean stations twice a year, and keep spare parts on hand.
• Give guests easy rules and a help card so they know how to plug in and move when done.
• List your chargers on travel apps, watch usage data each quarter, and add more ports when 70 % full.
The Business Case: EVs Are Knocking at the Gate
EV adoption has vaulted from curiosity to commonplace. U.S. registrations crossed three million in 2023, according to the DOE AFDC, and KOA’s 2024 North American Camping Report shows that nearly one in five campers now arrives in an EV or plug-in hybrid. When booking engines add an “EV-friendly” filter, parks without chargers fall off the shortlist before a human even reviews the reservation. One Florida resort logged 142 EV arrivals during last year’s Fourth of July weekend, a figure that would have been unthinkable just two summers earlier.
Revenue follows the cord. A typical 18 kWh Level-2 session, marked up just forty-five cents per kilowatt-hour, yields about eight dollars. Multiply that by 30–40 sessions a month and your pedestal pays itself off in two to three seasons while improving Net Operating Income and adding sustainability bragging rights that make social media sing.
Audit Demand and Electrical Headroom
Start with numbers, not guesswork. Add a simple question—“Traveling with an EV?”—to your online reservation flow, then track affirmative responses for at least a month. Compare that to guest type: interstate-adjacent parks attract quick top-ups, while seasonal resorts favor slow, overnight charging.
Armed with demand data, open the breaker panels. Verify spare amperage and transformer capacity with your utility rep and an electrician. Reserve roughly 7 kW per Level-2 port and 125 kW per DC fast unit, then hold back an extra 20–30 percent for rogue loads like concession trailers or unexpected heat-wave A/C spikes. If you’re tight, order that new transformer now; lead times can stretch six months.
Select Hardware That Matches Camping Rhythms
Level-2 chargers (7–11 kW) dovetail with campground life. Guests plug in, grill dinner, stream a movie, and wake to a full battery plus 10–20 miles of range per hour of charging. The units tap existing 240-volt infrastructure and talk to cloud dashboards for load balancing, remote troubleshooting, and easy price tweaks.
DC fast chargers, pushing 50–150 kW, convert a 20-minute pit stop into 60–80 miles of range—ideal near check-in lanes or dump stations where travelers pause briefly. Most parks profit from a hybrid mix: four to six Level-2 ports for overnighters and one carefully placed fast charger to capture day-use drivers who’ll also raid the camp store. At a capital cost often recouped within five years, that combo keeps wait times low and site reviews glowing.
Design the Perfect Charging Site
Think like a driver towing a fifth-wheel. Place chargers where vehicles already pause—office parking, bathhouses, premium cabin loops—and design generous pull-through lanes so long-beds don’t jackknife. Add an ADA-accessible stall with a 44-inch clear path to meet both code and compassion.
Durability matters. Bollards, wheel stops, and raised curbing fend off wandering RV bumpers. Retractable cable reels keep cords out of puddles, while LED area lights and security cameras deter vandalism and make midnight plugging less intimidating. Run oversized conduit now so adding future pedestals doesn’t require trench warfare.
Tame the Load, Partner With the Utility
Your utility can be friend or foe—start the friendship early. Many offer EV tariffs or off-peak discounts that slice energy costs when chargers default to midnight. Network software then throttles amperage during peak HVAC loads, sharing a single circuit across multiple ports without tripping breakers.
Thinking longer term? A 20 kW solar carport paired with a 40 kWh battery trims demand peaks, qualifies for a federal 30 percent ITC, and supplies sun-drenched photos for your sustainability page. Keep one-line diagrams in the maintenance office; they’re the Rosetta Stone when a breaker pops minutes before check-ins flood the lobby.
Set a Price that Sparks Profit
Where allowed, per-kWh billing links cost to consumption and feels fair to guests who know exactly what they’re buying. In states that still mandate time or session fees, post the rate on the pedestal and website alike to head off surprise-charge reviews. For example, Colorado parks that shifted to per-kWh pricing in 2023 reported a 17 percent jump in charger utilization within six months.
Idle fees keep the queue moving. A 10-minute grace period after a completed charge, followed by a modest per-minute rate, nudges drivers without alienating them. Bundle 10 kWh into premium riverfront sites for a high-margin upsell tier, and integrate your charger network with the PMS so session fees land on folios automatically.
Build Maintenance Into Daily Operations
Charger upkeep is lighter than pool chemistry. Networked pedestals send fault alerts to your phone before guests notice, and two trained employees can handle soft reboots, connector inspections, and app checks on any shift. Stock spare holsters, face-plate screws, and QR-code stickers to convert many “out-of-order” calls into five-minute fixes.
Twice a year, deep-clean and tighten everything: wash housings, inspect seals, and test ground-fault interruption. Log every firmware update and fault code; patterns help you file warranty claims or plan upgrades. Confirm your insurance rider covers EV infrastructure downtime so lost kilowatt revenue doesn’t hurt twice.
Teach Guests to Charge Like Pros
Education equals happy reviews. At check-in, give EV travelers a quick-start card that shows connector types, payment steps, and a support QR code. Map icons steer them to the nearest port so they aren’t prowling narrow lanes trying U-turns with a toy hauler.
Post etiquette rules—unplug promptly, coil cords, report damage—right on the pedestal. Enable push notifications so drivers know when charging finishes, and outline a clear escalation path for chronic overstays: friendly reminder, written notice, towing as a last resort. Monthly CO₂-avoidance stats on bulletin boards turn good behavior into communal pride.
Market the Amenity and Track ROI
Marketing starts the moment power flows. Update your amenities list, reservation confirmations, OTA profiles, and Google Business Listing the same day chargers go live. Submit the stations to PlugShare, ABRP, and ChargePoint maps so EV drivers discover you before ever seeing a billboard.
Review dashboard analytics each quarter. Track session counts, average dwell time, and port occupancy. When any charger hits 70 percent utilization during peak hours, order the next pedestal immediately so availability never bottlenecks bookings.
Flip the switch on promotion and automation—because a silent charger earns nothing. If you want every EV traveler to find your park first, every session to post seamlessly to the guest’s folio, and every kilowatt of data to power smarter rates and remarketing, plug into Insider Perks. Our marketing, advertising, AI, and automation pros turn new infrastructure into booked nights and repeat stays. Ready to electrify your revenue? Book a quick strategy chat with Insider Perks today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How quickly will a pay-per-use EV charger pay for itself at a campground?
A: Most parks recoup the cost of a networked Level-2 pedestal within two to three operating seasons, assuming an $8 average profit per session, 30–40 charging events per month, and minimal additional labor; DC fast chargers have a longer payback—typically five to seven years—but they also attract day-use traffic that spends money elsewhere on-site.
Q: Do I really need fast chargers, or will Level-2 units satisfy most RV guests?
A: Overnight campers overwhelmingly prefer Level-2 charging because they can plug in for several hours while sleeping, whereas a single 50–150 kW DC fast unit near your entrance captures short-stay or pass-through travelers; a blended approach of four to six Level-2 ports and one fast charger usually maximizes both guest satisfaction and revenue.
Q: How much spare electrical capacity should I have before adding chargers?
A: After reserving 7 kW per Level-2 port and 125 kW per DC fast unit, make sure 20–30 percent transformer headroom remains for surprise HVAC or food-truck spikes; if you’re tighter than that, budget now for a transformer upgrade because utility lead times can stretch six months or more.
Q: Can I charge by the kilowatt-hour everywhere in the United States?
A: Nearly three-quarters of states have legalized per-kWh billing for non-utilities, but a handful still require time-based or flat session fees, so confirm with your state’s public utility commission and have your network software ready to toggle pricing models if legislation changes mid-season.
Q: What’s the simplest way to integrate charger payments with my reservation system?
A: Choose a charging network whose API connects to common outdoor-hospitality PMS platforms—once linked, the system can post session fees or included kWh bundles directly to the guest folio, eliminating double data entry and making nightly reconciliations painless for front-desk staff.
Q: Will EV charging overload the campground during peak air-conditioning hours?
A: Smart chargers use load-balancing algorithms that automatically throttle amperage when your main service approaches its limit, so guests get power without tripping breakers and you avoid demand charges that would otherwise erode profits.
Q: How do I protect myself if a guest claims the charger damaged their vehicle?
A: Require users to accept network terms before activation, maintain manufacturer-recommended inspection logs, and verify your general liability policy explicitly covers EV infrastructure—those steps create a clear chain of custody and shift genuine equipment-failure claims back to the hardware vendor.
Q: What idle-fee policy keeps chargers turning over without alienating guests?
A: A gentle model adds a 10-minute grace period after charging ends, then bills a modest per-minute idle fee that’s clearly posted on the pedestal and the campground map; staff can waive the fee for legitimate mobility or medical exceptions, preserving goodwill while freeing stalls.
Q: Can non-camping motorists use my chargers, and is that worth it?
A: Allowing drive-through traffic—especially at a DC fast unit near the office—creates incremental revenue and store visits without disrupting site occupancy, provided you dedicate separate parking so regular campers aren’t blocked out during check-in surges.
Q: Will adding a small solar array actually lower my electricity bill or is it just marketing?
A: A 20 kW carport array paired with a 40 kWh battery can shave peak demand enough to drop you to a lower utility rate tier, qualify for a federal 30 percent ITC, and supply Instagram-ready sustainability content, so the financial and promotional benefits usually justify the extra capital.
Q: How much maintenance do chargers require compared to standard pedestals?
A: Aside from semi-annual cleaning and firmware updates, routine tasks are limited to visual cable inspections and an occasional soft reboot, all of which can be taught to maintenance techs in under an hour, making charger upkeep lighter than pool management and about on par with card-access gate systems.
Q: What’s the best way to educate guests who have never charged before?
A: Provide a laminated quick-start card at check-in, place clear signage on the pedestal, and enable in-app push notifications that remind users when charging is complete; these three touchpoints answer 90 percent of first-timer questions and reduce midnight phone calls to the front desk.
Q: How do I market the new chargers so they actually drive bookings?
A: Update every digital touchpoint the same day the chargers go live—your website’s amenity list, OTA profiles, campground app, Google Business listing, and EV-specific directories like PlugShare and ChargePoint—because appearing in trip-planning filters instantly opens your park to a fast-growing traveler segment that chooses destinations based on charging availability.
Q: What data should I track to know when it’s time to add more ports?
A: Monitor session counts, average plug-in duration, and port occupancy rates through your charger dashboard; once a given port is occupied more than 70 percent of peak daylight hours or you’re routinely hitting load-balancing caps, it’s time to order the next pedestal before frustrated guests start leaving.