Power Inverter Installation

Anyone successfully install a power inverter in their 3rd gen? I'm pretty handy, but I don't want to blow something up. I'd love to see some setups so I can decide the best route to go. Thanks!

 

Bump...Ping...Halp

 

No, I haven't.

And, you're not crazy.

Well, maybe you are?


Sorry, I couldn't resist.

 

I had one in my Jeep. Not sure what you need to see. 2 wires in and mount the unit. Are you asking for locations? How it is mounted?

I gave up my psychic ticket years ago so I can no longer read minds.

 

I was wondering if I could tap into the fuse box, or if I'll have to go off the battery and run a wire through the firewall. Plus I was hoping people who currently have one could share some pics of their setups.

 

Do you own the inverter or haven’t bought it yet? You tend to need a fairly substantial wire to the input and I don’t see where you intend to tap off of. You would see that if your inverter had any cable with it.

In my case (Jeep) I had replacement connectors for my battery cables with a strap to hold the cable. I connected my inverter cables to one of those bolts on each. I then drilled two holes in the fire wall and put grommets on there and ran the cables through and mounted it below my dash.

Question is why do you need it and what will it be running and when? If it will run when parked run a pigtail to one of those heavy battery disconnect connectors like electric forklifts have. Then plug your inverter in as needed and store it the rest of the time. If you need it while running then drill and mount inside the cab.

This isn't rocket science. If this is beyond you then go to a car audio shop with your pieces and have them do it.

 

I've never done it before, but I'm a do-it-your-selfer. I'd prefer to handle it myself rather than have some kid drilling into my truck.

 

Then do it.

You were moaning in another thread about not getting anyone to answer your thread yet you aren’t filling in many of the blanks in order to help you. After asking you all sorts of questions you ignored them to reply you are a do it yourselfer.

Pictures of setups? What are you looking for? Location? Fancy mounts? Once again LACK OF DETAIL. This is a forum not a dentists office. We shouldn’t have to pull teeth to get info to help you out.

 

Most likely a fridge. Possible a small-medium PA. I'd prefer to have it reachable in the cab versus something I hook up when the truck is parked and off. I'd also be nice to charge stuff for road trips without having to worry about finding cigarette plugs, etc.

I think you're the saltiest Canadian I've ever met.

 

Get a 12v DC fridge, inverting it to cool it is a waste of power and your battery will drain much faster. Depending on the amperage, you should wire either an inverter or a fridge directly to your battery (dual batteries, hopefully) using inline fuses for safety.

 

One thing to consider is inverters generate heat and need cooling. That will affect your mounting location as well as the size of the unit which is directly related to its output wattage.

First thing is to determine amperage / wattage of the output required. Until you figure that out you can’t sort wire size or mounting as they are all related to the output / physical size.

What do you mean PA? Public address speaker / horn? Just get a CB that has that feature. Many do and then it is only a 12v thing and low wire gauge. Like just posted above a 12v fridge makes the most sense to me.
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When I ran my inverter on the Jeep I had a small unit that was able to run an electric impact. I went into the cab to keep it out of the elements. Later on I had a much larger unit that I ran on my big diesel. Hooked up to the battery via quick disconnects. I ran small power tools on job sites. Lift hood, connect and leave the inverter on top of the motor.

 

I had few power inverters installed in my life. You need to provide more details what are you going to plug in. I have my travel inverter that plugs into cig lighter and it does 400W. I am able to charge laptop, camera and other small devices. If you need to run hammer drill, microwave or other power hungry devices you need to install permanent inverter. You will need heavy gauge wire like 4/0 connected directly to your battery (with fuse on +) and "ON" wire. I had big inverter installed in my work van and it was very helpful when I needed to install 20 automatic gates and boxes in parking garage. There was no easy access to 110vac and it would require few hundred feet of extension cords. I was running heavy hammer drill without any issues. My OR came with inverter in the bed but it is not strong enough to run medium shop vac . So I was also thinking to install big inverter and I was going to get something like this :

$259 GoWISE Power 1500W Pure Sine Wave Power Inverter 12V DC to 120 V AC with 3 AC Outlets, 1 5V USB Port, 2 Battery Cables, and Remote Switch (3000W Peak) PS1005 (Brand Name/Packaging May Vary)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...b7-e280-56f9-a926-b080845e6851&pf_rd_i=583328
It might fit behind rear seat, just make sure it will not overheat there...