Ever wanted to own an Electric Vehicle (EV) but live in a motor coach and did not think it was possible. THINK AGAIN! For under $1000 you can build a system into your motor coach that not only powers your rig, but also will Level 2 Charge an EV off the SAME 50 or 30 AMP connection your RV plugs into. All without blowing that 50 AMP breaker! So dream no more…You can do it! You can own a Tesla, or any EV, and live on the road!
We, like Michael and Lehnanne Kidd of TurtleHerding.com, live on the road FULL TIME and both own Tesla Model X’s and very much enjoy owning such a vehicle. With some parts you can buy on-line and some FREE, open source software that Michael wrote, if you want a little project to do, you too can also now own an EV!
In the video below we talk about the history of the project and show you the interface in action and running! Also below you will find a link to the open source project, complete with download links and step-by-step setup instructions to make it all possible.
Why give this away for free? Simple…We both fully support Elon Musk’s vision of an EV future, however, we could not do so based on how we lived. BUT THEN THAT ALL CHANGED when, let’s just say, creativity stepped in and a solution was created!
So, come on, what are you waiting for? Go order your Tesla, Mustang Mach E, BMW i3 or whatever, and while you are waiting for it to come in, prepare your coach to charge it!
Pssst…If you do get a Tesla…Use our Referral Code Link. (Our Code: david37889)
Project Site: https://EV4RV.org
Or if your prefer “David’s way”… https://OutsideOurTurtleHerdingBubble.com
(You will get that joke when you see the video.)
I also did a EV4RV Software Install Tutorial: https://youtu.be/3flAuTf0OTA
This is fantastic. We have a Forest River Georgetown, and are planning a cross country road trip, with me driving the Model S behind/ahead. Being able to ‘fill up’ from the RV without annoying park owners is awsome – waking up to fresh coffee and a full battery would be awsome. I already have a Juicebox Pro40 (includes the wifi). Do you think I use that instead of the OPENEVSE ?
Hello Jon,
I just finished chatting with JuiceBox. Unfortunately, while they started off as an OpenSource project / product, since 2015, they are now 100% closed source. They also do not offer any public API access that I could make use of for the load sharing.
With all this in mind, I’m sorry to say the JuiceBox products cannot be supported by EV4RV. Sorry for the bad news.
Yes, as Michael said, sorry for the bad news. This is why we choose an OpenSource charger and then made EV4RV also OpenSource so it could be developed more if one needed.
Bummer that they were OpenSource, having people help develop it and then choose to make it private and sell it and lock it down. I guess someday down the road openEVSE could also go private, but I do not see that seeing they are selling units to those who choose not to build one themselves. (Like me. LOL)
EV4RV has been working GREAT BTW. HAve had our X from Dec 16 and have not popped a breaker yet and the X is always fully charged! :)
Hey Michael, Hey David!
My husband and I are full timers in a 36’ fifth wheel. We are going to purchase a model Y and are looking into charging options. Thanks for this great tutorial and info!! I have a couple of questions, if you guys have the time:
1- Why can’t I just use the 50amp y-splitter to hookup both the RV and the Tesla?
2 – If I need to add the software/ additional EVSE, do you know of anyone adding a discrete 50amp breaker to their fifth wheel. Our camper doesn’t have the same “guts” as a motor coach.
Thanks in Advance!
Brie
Hi…
1) You can use a Y Splitter … But how will you control the AMP draw so not to blog the breaker? The 5th wheel uses say 20 amp and then the charger tries to run at full amps as you just got back from somewhere…so 40 more apms. You are now at 60 amps and you you pop the breaker. As such, you need to be able to control the power the EVSE will be able to use at one time with the 5th wheel taking priority.
2) We both added dedicated 50 amp breaker and you can do that where the 50 amp line comes into the 5th wheel. But all you should need to do is where the power comes into the 5th wheel, use a 50 amp Y at the end of the cable coming in with one part to the coach and the other to the openEVSE charger. Then you just need to locate your 110 breaker box in the 5th wheel and put the Shelly amp monitor clamps around leg 1 and leg 2 to get your readings of what the coach is using for power.
So…Personal Wi-Fi needed. Then…Y Cable, Raspberry Pi Zero, Shelly Amp Meter, openEVSE Charger and the free software provided you put on an SD card to run it.
Note…You also need a fully working Wi-Fi system in your rig as they all communicate over Wi-Fi.
All info on https://EV4RV.ORG
If only someone would make an EV wd could tow 4 wheels down, then figure out a way to use the Regen when the compression brake engaged… or was just turned on or some other way.
I leased the original 2010 Leaf and it was the best car I ever owned, I think the most amazing part of it was the services consisted of tire rotates and wiper blade changes. Now that we’ve traveling I would love to buy and tow one, but don’t want a trailer to deal with when we aren’t traveling. (probably don’t want to deal with one when I am traveling either) -Bill
Hi…That may be nice, however the issue is the tires and the ware. EV tires, like on the Tesla, are different by design as they need to be a smooth road tire, but that can also handle the weight of the EV and the torque etc that it can apply to them. So, you only get about 20K miles if you are lucky out of a set of tires. So if we flat towed it via our normal route, like we did in the past, it would be about 4,400 miles a year just pulling it. It does not take much to charge them and you would normally be fully charged when your hooked up, so, all in all, you don’t gain much from it IMHO. That’s my .02 on it. :)