RV Power at Shasta Lake: Batteries, Solar, Surge Protection

The short answer

None of the Forest Service campgrounds at Shasta Lake have electric hookups. A portable power station of about 1,000 watt-hours will run lights, fans, phones and a CPAP overnight with plenty left over, and a 12-volt fridge for most of a day. It won't run a rooftop air conditioner for more than about 40 minutes. If you need A/C, book a private park with hookups or bring a generator.

Two kinds of campsite

• Forest Service campgrounds (Antlers, Hirz Bay, Lakeshore East, Bailey Cove and the rest) have no electric hookups. Everything you run comes from your batteries, solar or a generator.
• Private parks (Antlers RV Park, Shasta Lake RV Resort, Mountain Gate RV Park and others) have full hookups. There, the job is protecting your rig from the pedestal.

How long will a battery last?

Power stations and batteries are rated in watt-hours (Wh). For a rough runtime, multiply the capacity by 0.85 to allow for inverter losses, then divide by what the device draws. Your appliance labels have the real numbers; these are typical.

Worked example: a 292 Wh station running a 40 W CPAP gives about 292 × 0.85 ÷ 40 ≈ 6 hours, so one night. A 1,070 Wh station gives about 22 hours. A heated humidifier can double the CPAP's draw.

Summer at Shasta changes the math

Lakehead averages over 90°F in July and August, and Hirz Bay regularly sees 100. Two things follow. First, the A/C problem above is real, so plan your campsite around it. Second, heat is hard on batteries: keep your power station in the shade, because most units slow or stop charging when they get too hot.

Solar in the trees

Plenty of Shasta campsites are shaded, which is great for you and bad for solar. A panel in shade makes a small fraction of its rating. A portable panel you can move into the sun through the day usually beats a fixed roof array here.

Generators

If you bring one, quiet hours apply, and many Forest Service campgrounds post their own generator rules. Read the board at the entrance before you fire it up.

At private parks: protect the rig

When you plug into a pedestal, a surge protector absorbs voltage spikes. An EMS (electrical management system) goes further and cuts power when voltage runs too low or too high, or when it detects wiring faults like reversed polarity or an open ground. Low voltage on a busy, hot afternoon is hard on air conditioners, so an EMS is worth it if you run A/C on shore power.

See which campgrounds have hookups in the campground directory, or browse power and camp gear on our gear picks page.