How Does One Survive W/O an Inverter?

@Volvo244t- your right about the inverter being overloaded or rigged wrong, but 1 stupid mistake cost the whole fleet, In Heartlands defense It's not like they lost a couple hundred dollar in equipment/load. They don't allow any inverters!! My husband has asked about the shop hooking up the inverter, the answer is still no, We would even consider purchasing the APU, if they would hook it up and assign the truck to him. But Heartland has slip seating and are not wanting to go that route. He manages just fine with the coleman 12volt cooler and 12volt lunchbox cooker, say he don't need tv anything he likes to watch he can do so online with his laptop.

@Englishmark- I agree with saving money as well, We prepare all his meals at home so he can warm them in the truck.
But remember you need to get out of the truck sometimes and enjoy having a meal inside, I know ....I have to make my husband promise he will do this for me. lol

 

So you can't even use a plug in inverter to run a laptop or phone charger?

 

Nope. Those are the ones they have the biggest issue with. I guess some idiot plugged a power strip into his at some point and caused a truck fire.
I am guessing that his fuse blew several times and that he jumped it.
You can get an adapter for your laptop power supply to make it so you can plug it into a 12v socket. I just use a car charger for phone and bluetooth while on the road, and charge properly when home.
Operations says they are working on a fix, but have not seen it yet.
They have fixed many of the idle concerns on the cummins trucks now, still waiting on the program for the max junk engines.

 

it seems to me the fix is making sure that the drivers know a little bit about what they are doing when they use an inverter. I have used a surge strip with my inverter for years without any sort of incident. currently i use a cobra 400w inverter with a triplite surge strip/protector to power my laptop/tablet/phone. like i said i've never had a problem using this combination for years, i don't hard wire it to the battery because the 12v plug in the truck is one of the safety trips if there were to be a problem. rigging it that way creates a three stage trip system, the 12v, the inverter and the surge strip. if there is a problem with one then tracing it is easier.

 

So, how do the drivers that have sleep apnea run their CPAP machines? I ran mine on a small cig-lighter plug/ Was a 4o0 watt , I think. Didn't ever heat up the wires. I guess I'll call recruiting and ask them if they hire drivers w/sleep apnea.

 

Looks like I won't be going here. Gotta have my microwave.

 

When I was with Swift they didn't allow the plug in inverters either yet almost every driver had one. I used it for my cpap machine. When going in for service the drivers would just throw it in their bag and not leave it laying around the truck. I would suppose that more than a few Heartland drivers do the same thing maybe?

 

Saw what looked like one of the new Freightliners being towed back to Iowa today. It had been torched and looked like it had a hole right were youd leave a plug in inverter at the head of the bunk. Wonder if we will be getting some hate mail soon LOL. If they fired everyone in the fleet that had an inverter, my bet is the would loose 2/3rds of their drivers. Its a real shame the cube dwellers cant muster up enough brain power to realize that their mechanics could be installing hard wired inverters for them that the drivers provide and forgo all this nonsense.

 

I use a medium size Coleman that is rated to keep ice 3 days. My ice usually doesn't make 3 full days...I usually buy the ice on the morning of the 3rd day. I put the ice in freezer ziploc bags to keep from floating my food. I put the food in bags as well for added security. The cooler fits perfectly between the jump seat and the dash.

For the cooler stock I'll buy a 1/2 gallon of milk, OJ, coffee creamer, small tub of real butter and maybe some jelly. The frozen boxed meals I buy are from Stouffers, Lean Cuisine, etc, etc...I buy 3-4 meals at a time. Cheap way to go with decent flavor & nutrition watching your calorie intake being sedentary.

The boxes of food I choose are to fit my "Lunch Box Stove" that plugs into the lighter. The little bigger ones, or odd sizes can be bent to fit. I never have to buy those aluminum trays as the food comes packaged to cook. Just take off completely the plastic seal. Doesn't matter if the box says you can't cook in an oven or microwave only....the plug-in stove only heats to 300 degree's and works perfect.

I use 1 aluminum tray over & over again for hot water. After a few water boils, it has made a natural water line I can see in knowing where my water fill line is for the cups I use...12 oz. Dixie cups with coffee lids. I buy instant coffee & it takes approx 30 minutes to get the water boiling. Seeme to be the perfect amount of time to get dressed, washed up, teeth brushed and pre-trip the truck. 1 spoonful of freeze dried coffee, 3 sugar cubes, and a splash of creamer & I'm drinking coffee as I go.

My dry goods are pretty simple as well...Case of bottled water, box of cereal, peanut butter, small cans of fruit, pre-cooked canned chicken, ham, or smoked fish, loaf of bread, a box of twinkies and my styrofoam bowls, cups & plasticware.

I eat probably better than the overpriced junk on the road, stay full but not get fat and if you added it up, only spend $5-$6 dollars a day.

Hope that helps & gives you some ideas you can try & share.

 

Funny how we drove trucks without inverters for years... and now they are a necessity.