Separate Electric Charges for Weekly RV Park Stays

[Mikendebbie]

I suppose this is what happens when you don’t read the fine print.

We are at Lafite’s Hideout RV “Resort” in Port Aransas this week. I got an email from them today for electricity usage $26.74. I went to the office for an explanation and she said “Oh, that is a mistake…your balance is $0. We will charge your credit card for electricity usage when you check out. LOTS of the parks are doing that now. Some parks build it into the rate.”

I told her WOW - I guess I did not read the fine print. This is the first time we have ever paid separately for electricity.

Based on our usage for 2.5 days - I should look for ~$100 bill for electricity on my card next week. I have always assumed utility usage was part of the daily rate. We paid $724 for 7 days when I made the reservation. I will be reading the fine print more closely for campgrounds in the future.

So - is this just part of our camping routine now? Are you guys regularly seeing this at campgrounds. This was a first for me. We have stayed here a couple of times in years past, but the grass burrs are SO BAD now…they growl at you when you walk by. One of the dog parks is clear plus a small section of San Augustine grass. The park location is great for watching the harbor fire works from our site. I guess I will pick out grass burrs during the big booms!

Read the fine print!

 

[BB_TX]

They have a choice of including it in their rates and increase those rates as utility rates rise, or charge separately to artificially keep their advertised rates lower and appear to be a better deal. Either way we pay. Unfortunately reading the fine print is often something we fail to do.

 

[Daryles]

We were staying at 370 Lakeside RV park in St Peters Mo (just West of St Louis) when we got a notice that as of June 1st they will be charging for electricity usage. They had a meter on every pedestal.
If you have solar and a Victron Multiplus it will help offset shore power usage.
Also having a Hughes Power Watchdog to monitor your usage will help keep them honest. Take a picture of the meter upon arrival and departure too.

 

[Bourbon County]

Whose meters are they using; the POCO or their own? POCOs are regulated by their state's public service commission, if they're using their own meters, they likely would have to set up their own utility district to be legal depending on the state. What are they charging you, just the basic KWH rate? There are several things that add onto a power bill, the park might have peak demand metering, fuel adjustments, and every POCO has a service fee, just to have the service available even if you don't use it. The service fee is different based on the POCO, some of them are by the day, others by the month; the only ones I'm familiar with are in the $15/month range.

 

[Mikendebbie]

Daryles said “Also having a Hughes Power Watchdog to monitor your usage will help keep them honest. Take a picture of the meter upon arrival and departure too.”

Thanks - I will remember to do that next time!

 

[Mikendebbie]

Based on this one invoice i got (see below) - it looks like $0.14 per kilowatt hour. No idea if that is good or highway robbery. I dont even know what i pay at the S&B per KwW hour…i will try to check that now,

 

[Carl n Susan]

Yup, their website is pretty clear, electric is $0.14 per/KW if you stay is 7 days or more. This the sucky part - The normal stay is 7 days to get the weekly discount but you then pay for electric. This is a first for me as I have only seen an electric charge if you stay a month or more.

From their website - LaFitte's Hideout RV Resort - Ways to Stay - RV Rates

• 96, full hook-up sites, with 50/30/20-amp electric service
• Electric is billed at $.14 Per KW
• Water and sewer included
• Spacious lots with wide, concrete pads and patio space
• All sites fit up to 45’ RV with double slides
• Each site also includes parking for two vehicles (boat, car, or truck)
• Any stay of 7 days or more will be charged for the electric usage accrued during the stay

 

[Mikendebbie]

…and i did just what you said…booked 7 days to get the rate. You need a masters degree in math to book a site these days.

Now - question about their 50 amp breaker. I have a watchdog surge protector. The first day here the breaker popped 2 times, then i started watching our amps…turning stuff off to run microwave or toaster etc. It is very hot here.

We left this morning at 9:30 to do some shopping…im just the designated driver - not the shopper. We get back at 2:00 and breaker has popped again…its 90* inside.

i have a 10k btu portable ac exhausted out the slide window + the two OEM rooftop ACs. That is all that was running. Last year - SAME SETUP at a different park here in Port A - not ONE breaker popped. Everything /all 3 ACs ran flawlessly.

I just stopped by the office to request a service guy come test the breaker. She asked if i had a surge protector? YES! Well surge protectors over-protect and cause the breaker to trip! She called the service guy while we are going to ride around in the air conditioned truck.

This was a new excuse i had not heard. I think she is way off here. I have noticed there are several rigs in the park with 3 roof ACs. I assume they are running just fine.

What is the verdict from the smart folks here?

 

[Carl n Susan]

An EMS doesn't cause a breaker to trip. It shuts itself off if the voltage is out of range. The breaker limits amperage. It sure sounds like it is weak and needs to be replaced. Is it possible to use another power pole to verify the worn breaker. You have 100 amp available. Assuming the A/Cs are not on the same leg (50 amp) with another high current draw (microwave, water heater on electric, etc.) you should be golden.

 

[BB_TX]

Circuit breakers will trip instantly on significant overload. But they will also trip due to heat buildup generated by loads that only slightly exceed the breaker rating. And if the ambient temperature around the breaker is hot then they can trip with currents below the rating. And if the breaker is already weak it can trip at even lower current levels.

 

[Mikendebbie]

…got a text from the office at 4:15…maintenance guy installed a new breaker!

 

[Bourbon County]

That's slightly lower than national average of $0.16 per KWH, not so bad. The highest rates are in HI and new England, lowest are in Pacific NW

 

[mlh]

I think our rate here in western Va is about .14. A friend’s father lives just north of NYC his KW rate is .28.
I think these numbers are close ours might be a little higher now.
Lynwood

 

[Mikendebbie]

Whew!…I feel better about the electricity…but the grass burrs are unforgivable!

Sadly it’s a big sign of neglect IMHO. Those things can be eliminated over time with fertilizer (they hate nitrogen) and diligent mowing and weed eating. Also, you can apply “pre-emergent” in the fall and in February which defeats the seeds from germinating. Corn gluten is the organic choice but there are numerous chemical options. Using a catch bag on a lawn mower also helps. Some folks use a “carpet drag” to pick up burrs.

Oh well - gonna think twice about a return trip to this park.

 

[Carl n Susan]

Be sure to include all of your experiences in the review of the park. Maybe it will help the next camper.

 

[rickybobby]

A lot of places have been doing that if you are staying a week, used to be only if for a month. Some of my friends have booked 6 days, because savings for a weekly rate is not a savings when paying for electricity.

 

[DutchmenSport]

In all the years camping, only 1 time were we in a campground long enough to be charged separate for electricity. We were "there" for 3 months. It was a private campground. But, they gave us the option to do a month-to-month without supplied electricity or a "day-to-day" with electric included. We did the math and determined the "day-to-day" came out better for us. We freely used the electricity this way. It was over the Winter months, but still got cold, a few days, even snow. We knew we were going to supplement the furnace with 2 ceramic space heaters and the electric usage would be high.

In the end, we were pleased and we had an enjoyable visit, and felt perfectly fine to leave the water heater in "electric mode" and saved our propane!

 

[Mark77]

Late to the party here, but in my part of ND electricity is .11 / KWH on paper, but the cooperative I buy power from adds a PPA (purchased power adjustment) that we only really see when weather extremes hit, that can be either hot or cold. The PPA is just a number, so we really don't know how much that adds to the cost per KWH without doing the math and that can vary. In our travels we have only been billed for electricity once, in a small town and it was a motel / campground that had a lot of seasonal sites for construction workers. Nothing recreational at all. I don't remember the cost being exorbitant there... only added a couple of bucks onto the bill for 3 days. I had to read the old dial type meter when I hooked up and when I checked out. 100% honor system. Wonder how many could not read the old meters?

As for the grass burrs... not sure what they are but we stayed at a relatives home (mooch docked) in Pahrump, NV for a week a couple of years ago and there were these little brown colored thorn like things, very tiny and they were everywhere! They would get on our shoes, and we drug them into the camper. Even taking our shoes off on the entry rug, they somehow migrated into the carpet. When we would walk around in stocking feet, we would occasionally step on one and it got your attention. Could not even see them! Took the entire next season to get rid of them all.

 

[Mikendebbie]

The grass burrs in TX typically grow in weedy areas, or in bermuda grass areas that recieve little care or water. In a bermuda lawn area, they look a lot like bermuda, except they grow from a single root stem and do not send out runners. The BEST defense is pulling them out by the root stem after a rain. Mowing the areas helps keep them down - it clips off the burrs/seed pods before they mature…but even if you keep it short they will start sprouting pods close to the ground lower than the mower blade…smart little bass tirds.

 

[Mark77]

Weeds are smart and can evolve / adapt. In farming seed producers developed “Round-Up” ready varieties… Round-Up kills everything green. Took some weeds about 3 years to figure that out and now they too are resistant.

Now we have a plethora of other chemicals to take what Round-Up won’t.

Keep kicking the ball down the field. Goalpost keep moving. Everything we grow ends up in your fuel tank in some form, but I am concerned about the cereal grains as well as the fruits and vegetables we all eat.

But I guess none of this has to do with electric meters in RV parks!