Utilizing the 12V outlet in bed.

Hey guys, pretty inexperienced with the ins and outs of what will be hard on my truck. I am looking at using the 12v outlet in my truck for an extended period of time (possibly 8 hours) and am curious of two things. How long should I be able to use it without having to turn the truck engine on / is there any way to monitor the battery energy level? Secondly is it bad to leave the truck idling for extended periods of time?

 

Depends what you're planning on running. You'll have to find the current draw on whatever it is you plan on running for 8 hours. Then you'll need to find the amp hours on your battery. Vehicle batteries are far different than deep cycle batteries used in RV and boat applications. They're only meant to really start the vehicle until the alternator takes over. There are various online calculators that can help you determine how long you can run X for on Y battery.

Idling a gasoline vehicle for extended periods as far as I've ever heard is not good for them. No scientific facts here, just what I've heard.

 

Thank you! I want to run a campsite lamp off of it. Real mellow LED's on an awning. I will have to do some research on that stuff.

 

did you put a 12v socket in yourself? The stock truck does not have a 12v socket and only TRD models have a 120v AC socket.


As far as how long, what lights do you have?

 

I have the TRD 120v sorry for the confusion. I want to run a CVT awning Summit series light. As of now the website has no stats on the LED bar

 

Are you sure the LED light is 110V? I find it really hard to believe that they would make a camping light 110V. If it's 12V and you plug it into the 110V bed outlight, it's going to flash really bright for about 130 milliseconds.

 

I am not sure what voltage the light bar is. Unfortunately the website has zero information on it but on some forums folks mention plugging it into a 12v outlet

 

Call the company that sells it and ask them.

 

Fuel burn at idle is around .4 gal./hr. for the V6. I have slept in my truck, running the heater when needed. It's the cheapest way to have heat. You can sleep with heat 5-6hrs. for about 2 gal. Get one of those 12v. plug in CO detectors, and use it, if you sleep in the truck.

$33 Multi-Function Car Carbon Monoxide Detector, Fast Car Charger, Quick Charge 3.0 Adapter with Dual QC3.0 USB Ports, CO Alarm Detector in Car with LCD Digital Display(Black)

$34 Multi-Function Car Carbon Monoxide Detector, Fast Car Charger, Quick Charge 3.0 Adapter with Dual QC3.0 USB Ports, CO Alarm Detector in Car with LCD Digital Display(Black)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GH3612F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Looks like it is a USB plug that runs the lights and has ports to charge phones & tablets. So you should plug it into a 12v to USB adapter. They are relatively a very low draw for the battery, I wouldn't worry about leaving them on for 8-12 hours with the engine off. Of course if you are blasting the stereo and running something off the 120v in the bed that's going to change. Then you'll need to do some math.

 

Take a look at whatever power supply it has when you get it. Should have an amp and voltage rating on the output, sub those numbers in below.

So, assuming based on the post above it's a 2a max usb 12v outlet thingy:

2a @5v = .83a @ 12v.
.83a x 8hrs = 6.6AH

Then,

(whatever amp hours your battery has - 6.6) divided by AH of your battery = how much battery % you'll have left after 8 hours. I wouldn't want to discharge my starter battery more than 20% or so (80%) remaining.

So lets say you have a 80AH battery..

(80-6.6)/80=91.75% left, good to go.

Edit: if it's a 120v adapter, then the math gets trickier as you have to figure in the inefficiency of the inverter