A/C outlet....has anyone found a use for it yet?

400W ain't much, and 100W is pretty much nothing. I've owned several trucks with the A/C outlet in the bed and haven't found a single thing that it's actually useful for. What do you use it for?

 

I charge my tool batteries, i know a bit light use but it helps.

I also used it to charge my laptop for a project where i had no trailer.

 

NO

 

X-mas, & a month or so later, Mardi Gras lights


But that's about it for me

 

I plugged an incandescent lamp into it one evening to see if it worked (it did), and I haven't touched it since.

 

Christmas lights and charging tool batteries

 

Had a blackout for three days and used it grind coffee beans and charge cell phones, that's all

 

I think you can only use it with the truck running or with ignition on but not sure. Is there someone here with experience with it.

 

Out camping, I run an extension cord from it to my CPAP machine.

 

So you let the truck idle all night?

 

this was my question. that sounds insane, lmao

 

it works without the truck running? I must have the wrong CPAP machine.

 

I use my Goal Zero 12v port - works like a champ for days. This thing powers the camper inside lights and outdoor string lights as well.
Cell phone recharge / camera battery recharge - I love these things.

Battery gets low on juice?.... just open up the solar panels and recharge (as I'm doing below).... and if nearby just use shore-power.

 

I used an Ecoflow for my CPAP before I got the mouthpiece device that Joe Rogan talks about. My question was more about the AC outlet working without the ignition on. Yeah I know you can make the AC outlet work without truck running but you’d have to do some electric fuckery to make that happen. My question was more if you could run it straight from the AC outlet straight up without the fuckery part and running truck on.

 

Right, understood, and I'm sure you could but I have no idea how to make that work.
Seems like it would eat a lot of juice plugged in like that.

I run my Dometic off another 12v port in the truck but it is wired for ignition on.

 

Air mattress, Cell phone, Drill/impact battery, Ironically a jump pack lol, job fan, lights.

Nothing life changing, but it's nice to have when you need it. I typically use a battery generator nowadays though for bigger stuff.

Edit: I did use for an air pump in a bait bucket once, so I guess it was life changing for some creek chubs lol.

 

Bed outlet, not so much, especially since I got a portable power station with close to the same output. My main use was getting a kit to add an AC plug in the cabin on the same inverter circuit as the bed outlet, so now when I turn it on it also powers an outlet on the back of the center console which actually is useful for recharging devices on the go.

 

I use it to charge my Jackery (while driving). The Jackery powers my fridge. This helps me avoid having to use a 12-24 volt transformer to fast charge my Jackery. Fridge barely uses 50W. AC outlet charges the Jackery close to 100W. Always ready to go once I hit the camp site where I would just plug the solar panels to the Jackery.

 

I actually used mine to run a sump pump.
3hp I believe, neither the truck or pump was happy but it did it with truck running.
Lost power during a storm VT had with all the flooding.

 

50 foot extension cord and flood light to deal with flat tires in the dark. Junky Pittsburgh polesaw worked fine for about the 15 minutes I needed it before I had a gas pole saw.