Floridaguy80

Anyone install a Inverter in their truck? I was thinking about a 1000 watt inverter under the right rear passenger seat..
Thoughts, ideas, pics?

AK49FordTruck

we did some '14 f-150s this summer that included adding a second battery and inverter. let me see if i can dig up pics.

Floridaguy80

I really don't want to add a second battery for the inverter especially since I'm not going to be using it all the time

Feathermerchant

I would think that would be OK. You will need a pretty big wire from the battery to operate it.
The math goes like this: 1,200W / 12V = 100A
I used 1,200W instead of 1,000 because it is not 100% efficient. I don't know what wire size that would be but it would probably be like 4ga. You'll want a fuse at the battery too.
What are you going to run that is 1,000W?

Gene45

I used an 800 watt last summer to trim the trees along the driveway. It was only attached by clamps on the battery posts. Extension cord to the back where I rode to do the trimming.

I also use a little one for charging cell phones.

Why do you want it installed? For what will it be used?

Scuba_Dave

I keep a 350w/700w peak Inverter in my truck
Plugs into the Cig lighter, have never needed anything bigger

Feathermerchant

Scuba - Don't load that inverter much thru the cigarette lighter. 360W means 30A at 12V. My wiring diagram says it is protected by a 20A fuse.

Scuba_Dave

Thanks....
So far I've only used it for LED Christmas lights
And a Polar bear inflatable....
I have outlets all over my yard for my Christmas display...so never far to go for power
My wife did buy a vacuum that plugs into the cig lighter
Same day she comes in to tell me her battery is dead
I see no reason to put a load on a battery unless you absolutely have to

Feathermerchant

I just bought a nifty energizer invertor with 4 usb's. It fits in the cup holder.
http://www.energizerpower.com/inverters/EN180.php

It comes with extra (10A) fuses so probably more like 100W unless it is magic.

Engineer Guy

I bought a 400 Watt Cobra CPI 480 Inverter that also has a USB Output. ~$27- on line. Read the numerous Reviews. Love it. Quiet. I'll roll along and charge all my Toys plugged into a 6 Connector AC Strip while Driving between Camping/Boondocking Sites. My main Inverter use while Camping is running my Coffee Grinder.

A couple of Tips from this ex-Ham Radio Dude...

1. Anything with an in-rush Current surge - like any Power Tool - can momentarily pull far more Watts than specified. This momentary surge often shuts down Inverters. Resistive Loads - like Lights - don't do this.

2. 2 Wires of Wire Gauge 'x' run in parallel drops the effective Wire Gauge/Current Drop by roughly 2 Wire sizes. So, 2 - #8 AWG Wires run in parallel = 1 #4. This can be seen on Wire Resistance Charts. I've used this trick for Decades. Smaller Wires in parallel are easier to connect to, and run to the Back Seat, etc.. Definitely fuse right at the Battery.

Wire Size Chart

3. A Fella on an RV Forum ran something like a 3,000 Watt Inverter mounted right under the Hood. MAJOR heavy Wire - like Welding Cable - was required from his Diesel Truck Alternator. He used this smart set-up to run Power Tools around his Ranch.

Note that you can max out the Alternator Output. It's not capable of putting out infinite Amps into a huge Inverter. Also, Alternators running near maximum in a Truck sitting still can get so hot, they overheat. Some Folks actually put little Fans near them to push more Air by them when stationary. Kinda like an Electrical Radiator Fan cycled on for additional cooling...

For Boondock Camping, I always thought that a hefty Inverter mounted under-Hood, with the 120 VAC output run to a weather-proof AC Outlet on the rear Bumper, would be a good way to run, say, a Microwave Oven in a Camp Trailer. Remote Start the Truck. Let things stabilize for ~10 seconds. Use the Microwave Oven. Shut off the Truck. I have a nice 3,000 Kipor Generator, but don't use it much. The Truck Engine is 'paid for', so to speak. Use it instead IF the 120 VAC need is infrequent.

On USB Connectors, Pin 1 is +5 VDC. Pin 4 is Ground. USB can run a lot of things around Camp. Cellphones can be plugged into USB to charge, and so on. I do this via my Sync Connector.

USB Connector Pinouts

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