Hardwired Inverter recomendo

So in a fit of frustration with the Jeep (ya know, because Jeep) I test drove a '15 F150 FX4. Nice truck. Really nice truck. Just can't bring myself to make payments.

Anyway, one of the small things I really liked was the built in 110v AC outlets. I've had a couple AC inverters that I used in trucks in the past and all of them died in short order. Has anyone used a fairly inexpensive inverter that held up well? Not looking for a monster, say enough to run a coffee pot and some small stuff while camping. I'd love to wire in something permanently but I don't want to go through the effort and have it die a week later.

Next I just have to figure out the 360* view cameras....

In reply to ultraclyde :

Didn't one of our Studdard overlords do the Harbor Freight inverter with the GRM van (I can't find the thread?) Maybe they can chime in and tell you how it's held up.

If you re-locate the factory jack over next to the stereo amp on the driver's side, you can fit an inverter nicely under the rear passenger seat.  I've got a Xantrex Xpower 1500 in my ZJ in that spot.  It's worked great for years, although it's modified sine.  Remote power switch and a pair of outlets on the back of the center console and then another pair of outlets in the cargo area on the passenger side.  

rslifkin said:

If you re-locate the factory jack over next to the stereo amp on the driver's side, you can fit an inverter nicely under the rear passenger seat.  I've got a Xantrex Xpower 1500 in my ZJ in that spot.  It's worked great for years, although it's modified sine.  Remote power switch and a pair of outlets on the back of the center console and then another pair of outlets in the cargo area on the passenger side.  

That's kind of the layout I want to set up. Well, the outlets anyway. The factory amp is gone and there's a pistol safe there, and the rest of the under-seat storage is pretty much used up by the tools and spares that I always carry. Since I try to get out of cell range as often as possible I carry enough tools to do anything but rebuild the engine or trans, plus a selection of common-failure spares. It's amazing how much crap you can get under those seats.

I'm thinking about mounting it under the plastic trim behind the spare tire. There's a good amount of room in there. Or maybe the other side since the gas filler neck runs through that space now that I think about it.

In reply to ultraclyde :

The passenger side doesn't have nearly as much space behind the plastic trim, but if you don't mind losing the storage cubby you could convert that space to mount an inverter.  

Remember that heat is the enemy of electronics, and inverts will generate heat.  Putting one in an enclosed area like behind the plastic trim is probably not the best idea, especially if you want to run heating appliances off of it like a coffee pot.  So, under the seat with a muffin fan on it would be a good idea, if you can swing it.  Maybe put some tools/spares behind the plastic trim to make room?

Dr. Hess said:

Remember that heat is the enemy of electronics, and inverts will generate heat.  Putting one in an enclosed area like behind the plastic trim is probably not the best idea, especially if you want to run heating appliances off of it like a coffee pot.  So, under the seat with a muffin fan on it would be a good idea, if you can swing it.  Maybe put some tools/spares behind the plastic trim to make room?

The one I've got under the seat has a built in cooling fan.  I'm pretty sure I've never heard the fan turn on even when I've done stuff like running a 1500w heat gun off the inverter (so it was loaded to max rating).  

I bet the OEM ones are better than most of the ones you can purchase. The real question is are any of them modular enough that you can pull one out of a late model junk yard and run it in a different vehicle?

RossD said:

I bet the OEM ones are better than most of the ones you can purchase. The real question is are any of them modular enough that you can pull one out of a late model junk yard and run it in a different vehicle?

now that's an interesting thought. If I do mount an aftermarket one behind the panel my intention was to have a remote on/off relay that could also turn on a panel fan that was vented though the plastic. 

RossD said:

I bet the OEM ones are better than most of the ones you can purchase. The real question is are any of them modular enough that you can pull one out of a late model junk yard and run it in a different vehicle?

The downside to the OEM ones is that most are fairly low output (a few hundred watts at most).  As in, they're meant for running a laptop and such, not for the occasional "I need to run some power tools and have no other source of power" moments.  

rslifkin said:

RossD said:

I bet the OEM ones are better than most of the ones you can purchase. The real question is are any of them modular enough that you can pull one out of a late model junk yard and run it in a different vehicle?

The downside to the OEM ones is that most are fairly low output (a few hundred watts at most).  As in, they're meant for running a laptop and such, not for the occasional "I need to run some power tools and have no other source of power" moments.  

Yeah, just discovered this through Google-Fu. The F150 one is 1100 watts supposedly, but the actual outlets are labeled as 400W max. likely wiring limited I think.

I put a Harbor Freight 2000w continuous/4000w surge inverter in my van, and it's held up like a champ. 

I'm not very well versed in moving electrons, so forgive me here if this is a stupid post/question. 

I've been thinking about a generator - it would basically be for the fridge and sump pump. Is there any reason why I couldn't get the 2000/4000 inverter from HF and just run the fridge and sump pump via an extension cord to the car? Is there a reason that this would be significantly worse than a generator with the same wattage? 

There are a number of RV guys that that use inverters instead of generators for things like refrigerators and microwaves.  Assuming that your math all works out in terms of the amount of wattage that you need, there is really no reason that it wouldn't work out.  4000 watts should be around 30 amps at 120VAC so your compressor startup voltage certainly wouldn't touch that, same with the pump.  I suppose it's possible that both of them could require 15 amps to start, which would put you a little close but they're probably less than that combined.  The biggest problem would be dealing with the battery and how quickly they would run it down v/s how long you want your car to run.