How does the power outlet drain the battery?

I just picked up a new Tacoma, it has the power outlet in the bed which I think is a great idea. I'm planning on doing some camping in the next few weeks, how's the outlet's drain on the battery?

Let's say I was to go camping and leave something plugged in all night (let's say an outdoor lamp), would the truck start the next day?

 

with the 110 outlet in the bed.....you have to have the truck cranked up to use it. there may be a mod to make it work anytime....but im not sure. seems like to me though.....using it without the truck being on anyway would drain the battery pretty fast.

 

Well its better to have the truck on when running anything the wattage is not all that great with the inverter, i put an aftermarket one works great, i would'nt leave it on all night i say it will drain your battery. And as far as i know there is no mod for this to much hassle.

 

I thought that if the engine is on the inverter is only 100W and with the engine off it's 400W... but I could be wrong (it's happened before). Either way, you need the key in the ignition in "on" position. This runs all engine systems and climate controls too... which is less than ideal for overnight use.

 

^^ Correct.

 

The trucks battery probably has a total storage capacity of 60 amp hours. To preserve the life of a battery you don't want to drain it to less than half of it's rated capacity which would give you 30 amp hours of safely useable power. If you put a 100 watt load on a fully charged battery you are drawing about 8 amps from it which would give you a maximum of about 3.5 hours of run time before you'd need to start the truck.

 

does that mean I can't hook up my 37'' lcd & directv to my Taco when I go camping?

Dang it!

 

You're all wrong.

The inverter WILL work if the key is turned to ON without the engine running. It WILL put out 400w with the key ON and/or the engine running. It will drop to 100w as soon as the truck moves (push the clutch on a manual, probably shift from park on an auto) as it ties into the CC cancel switch on the clutch in a manual and the vehicle speed sensor. Not sure what it ties into on an auto. I'd guess an indicator that knows when the truck is in park.

I used mine to run CF drop lights to work on my house a week before the electric was turned on. Engine off, key to ON, inverter comes up to 400w mode with first push. I've run CF drop lights for an hour or more (2 of them, 14w total) without a problem.

However, leaving 1 small light under the hood on over night and part of a day was enough to not start the next day. So I would NOT run anything off the inverter overnight without have a second battery.

 

yeah,i was "mis-quoted".....but i wasnt wrong about the battery being drained pretty fast without the truck being cranked and running(well.....maybe anyway).

i reckon what i was getting at is that the inverter wont work without the key......but i did think the truck had to be cranked.

 

Yeah, I don't get that either... Not like I've wanted to have my wife running a table saw in the back while driving home from Home Depot..... And even 400W isn't enough to run a LOT of useful things anyway.

 

What can you actually run anyway? I guess I just found out the hard way.. Was just vacuuming the back of the truck and using a Rigid shop-vac that is 120V and 10.0 A... The thing started, but didn't have much suction to it.. 2 times, the vacuum shut down, and I had to go depress the button again.. was running it at 400w..
Needless to say, it was out with the extension cord..

 

Ha! 115V * 10A = 1,150W

Far more than the 400W rating! The limit of the inverter is about 3.5A. A general rule of thumb I use is to only use solid-state devices with the onboard inverter. This excludes just about anything with a motor! I mostly use chargers and lights.

 

Damn.. I guess that means none of my toys.. Not even half of the lights I have.... Who in the hell uses their computer while chilling in the bed?
They should have just called it an iPod/cell phone recharging station..

 

Probably would have been a lot more useful to have put the outlet in the cab, too! I'm going to be doing that mod here shortly.

 

If you get those 7W fluorescent work lights you could run 57 of those at the 400 w setting. Seriously though, I've run 2 on them to light up the basement while doing plumbing work, and then the yard/truck bed while loading the tools at night. I've also run 2 of them while working on a buddy's truck at night in his back yard. Get 3 or 4 of them and you could light up a campsite, old barn, hunting cabin, etc.

Heard one guy using a small hedge trimmer to cut back over grown trails so the branches didn't scratch his paint. (Kept a 100ft cord in the bed too.)

Other than that, not much. I killed 2 Craftsman 19.2v chargers running on the inverter so I think twice about using it.

 

i used my kobalt electric impact gun with my inverter to remove some golf cart tires so i could do some brake work on it.....worked pretty good....but it wasnt really strong. also used it for filling up an air mattress with a small electric pump.

the inverter is definitely not for something big.

 

ok, so is it ok to leave your ignition in the on position without the truck running to be able to use the inverter? Because in the manual is says not to leave your ignition in the on position without starting the engine because it could damage the ignition. So what i get from the manual is that you can only use the inverter when the truck is running which i think is totally useless, im not gonna leave my truck running for hours just to charge my cell phone!

 

I think it's more of a concern for draining the battery and not being able to start the truck than anything else. With the key ON the dash lights, stereo, fan, etc are all on unless you turn them off. Forget to turn them all off and you could drain the battery pretty quick.

 

Would the outlet in the back be able to support a 50W guitar amp?