Thinking about using Tesla mobile charger as a backup?

General Forum General Discussions
1

I’m considering picking up a Tesla mobile charger along with a NACS adapter to use as a backup for my truck. I really like the Tesla charger more than Ford’s. Would this be a bad choice?

2

I’ve been using it with my truck, and it works great. Hard to beat the price and all the plug options Tesla offers.

3

Morgan said:
I’ve been using it with my truck, and it works great. Hard to beat the price and all the plug options Tesla offers.

I feel the same way, especially since I came from a Model 3.

4

It works fine overall. One issue I’ve noticed is that my Lightning won’t charge faster than 12 amps on 120v. The same charger can do 16 amps on a 20-amp circuit with my Tesla or Leaf.

5

Cameron said:
It works fine overall. One issue I’ve noticed is that my Lightning won’t charge faster than 12 amps on 120v. The same charger can do 16 amps on a 20-amp circuit with my Tesla or Leaf.

That’s not a big deal for me.

6

The NACS adapter won’t actually work for this. You’ll need a J1772 adapter instead.

7

Mal said:
The NACS adapter won’t actually work for this. You’ll need a J1772 adapter instead.

Thanks for letting me know. Can you explain why it won’t work? Isn’t the adapter supposed to connect a Tesla charger to the F150?

8

@Blaine
The NACS adapter most people talk about is for Tesla’s level 3 chargers, not level 2. For level 2 charging, you’ll need the J1772 adapter because the pin configuration is different between the two.

9

@Mal
Got it, that makes sense. Thanks for saving me some trouble and money!

10

This setup will work, but if I were buying a mobile charger specifically, I wouldn’t go with Tesla’s. I’d pick one with adjustable current instead.

One big feature Ford doesn’t have that Tesla does is the ability to lower the charge current directly in the car’s settings. That lets you charge off almost any power source, as long as you have the right adapter. Tesla’s charger won’t give you that flexibility because it’s built into Tesla’s car software, not the charger itself. There are other portable chargers out there that let you adjust current dynamically, and I’d go for one of those if I were buying a charger now.