Truck Bed Power question

[73Blazer]

I have a self installed 2000 watt inverter in my work truck. It's OK, but if you're a contractor nothing beats a generator. I rarely use the inverter.

Keep in mind you'll need a pure sine wave inverter to avoid burning out motors or electronics. Also the wire size from your battery to run a 2000 watt inverter will be massive. Probably bigger than 2 awg, maybe 1/0. I suggest installing the inverter in an area with some air flow.

Its not hard to do. I just don't see much of a benefit to run your truck all day for a 16 amp circuit. I'd get a Honda EU2200 generator and save on fuel.

 

AT4 Forum Fav 👍

Air Lift 89388 LoadLifter 5000 Ultimate Plus Air Suspension Kit - Grab one through Amazon!

[Teegunn]

I have a self installed 2000 watt inverter in my work truck. It's OK, but if you're a contractor nothing beats a generator. I rarely use the inverter.

Keep in mind you'll need a pure sine wave inverter to avoid burning out motors or electronics. Also the wire size from your battery to run a 2000 watt inverter will be massive. Probably bigger than 2 awg, maybe 1/0. I suggest installing the inverter in an area with some air flow.

Its not hard to do. I just don't see much of a benefit to run your truck all day for a 16 amp circuit. I'd get a Honda EU2200 generator and save on fuel.

Great info! And solidifies my decision to not add a beefier inverter to the truck bed outlet. I do have an (older) generator I can use if absolutely need be. Your reasoning why adding a beefier invertor isn't worth it is spot on. I don't want to run my truck engine all the time just to run power tools. Most of them are lipo battery tools these days anyway.

I'm a contractor, but don't often "have" to have power from the bed outlet. We all know that outlet won't run much, stock.

It is still nice to have the outlet, though. I use it primarily to run a small hotdog compressor to air up tires. You know jobsites - nails/etc can cause a flat too often. The most often is when I am hooking up my job trailer in the mornings to go to another jobsite, and see a flat or almost flat tire on the trailer. Or maybe I am completing a one-day out of town job, and notice a low trailer tire as we are packing everything up into the trailer (this happens fairly often). With a small enough HP compressor it will run off the truck bed outlet.

 

[73Blazer]

IMO it's great if your leaving a job with dead tool batteries and need to charge on your way to the next job. As far as that commercial ( Ford maybe) from years ago with a guy cutting with a 120v skil saw and running other large power tools... nobody is doing that. I'd bet your tools would burn out if you tried it for a couple weeks. The lighting is a different story. That thing is a giant battery pack.

 

[NMTXAT4]

I won’t be any help on this… just replying to give everyone a laugh. My wife is Philippino and her parents live with us- go where we go. Well, they HAVE to have rice at least 2 meals a day. I bought a small (4 cup) rice cooker and it works fine!! This way, we start the rice cooking and it’s ready in 30 minutes driving.

As a Filipino myself, I find your situation relatable. LOL We LOVE OUR RICE!

 

[NMTXAT4]

How long would you say the battery would last is using the power outlet in the bed of the truck overnight? I have a cpap I have to use at night and was contemplating using the truck power outlet to power it. Thoughts?

I would recommend a small battery pack and AC to 12v source to recharge it off of your truck while driving. This is the one I use for traveling with a portable electric cooler. https://us.ecoflow.com/products/river-2-max-portable-power-station?variant=40396926451785

Works great. The only problem is the inverter on the truck interferes as an AC source for it. So I got a 12v cigarette lighter adapter to charge it while we are driving. The portable power system can run the portable fridge for 12-15 hours depending on outside temps.

 

[Azgasser]

From what I understand is that the total wattage for both AC plugs is 400 so take that into consideration. I use a 1500w battery inverter. Use it tailgating and off grid stuff. It has solar panels that will charge it completely in a few hours if needed. I use all battery operated tools so can recharge a few of them while away from AC power sources. I use the bed outlet to step down to a 12v system and can charge the larger 1500w if needed while driving but this can be very slow.