Inverter setup

If you are not suppose to have an inverter in your truck it would not be wise to put one in at all.

If you go in for a simple oil change, flat tire etc they find it you could be fired for having it on the truck.

 

Even if they don't find an invertor. You're going to play hell explaining how you power the microwave.

 

it all depends on who he drives for and their policy

 

Like everybody else has said, you should probably make some quiet inquiries about what happens if "they" find the inverter. It's not something you want to loose a job over.

1. Inverter power capacity. The inverter has to be able to supply more power than what your highest expected load is. Add up the power draw (watts) of everything you expect to run simultaneouly, and then get an inverter that will supply more than what you need. I'd say 50% is minumum. Don't skimp, or the thing will be shutting itself down all the time.

2. Power input should be from the battery bus, unless you want to have the engine running all the time. It's a bad plan in general to have the ignition on (engine not running) and to be running a heavy inverter load at the same time - stresses your batteries. In any case, it's a good idea to be running the engine when you nuke something in the microwave, especially in cold weather. Microwaves tend to be the biggest power hogs we put into a truck.

4. The heavier the cable connecting the inverter to the truck power, the better. Same deal as starter hook-up to the battery... you want to minimize the power drop across the cable. Yes, wire will dissipate power at high current flows! Remember that the next time you can't start your car, and the starter solenoid is chattering!

5. The inverter dissipates power too... that is, it has a tendency to get hot. Make sure it's mounted somewhere that allows that heat to get conducted away from the inverter. Keep an eye on exactly how hot it gets! Some jerk at my company "thought" it would be a good idea to mount a 3000 watt inverter underneath his bunk... and he proceeded to burn the tractor down to the frame!

6. All inverters will have some kind of circuit breaker on the output side to protect the inverter (and keep you from starting a fire.) It's a good idea to make sure your inverter has something to protect the truck too... an input protection circuit should shut the inverter down at low supply voltages and high input currents as well.

 

All good points.

I installed mine (2500 w) with welding cable. I also used a couple of welding cable connectors between the batteries and the inverter so that I could have a positive disconnect if I parked the truck for an extended period. If you do this, I recommend you use a female end on the output from the positive post so you don't accidentally ground it against the frame or something else.

Also, make sure anywhere the cables go through the body that they are well protected from chafing by using grommets, etc. I suspect that this is probably how most fires get started; when a cable rubs through and grounds against the body.

I mounted mine on the front of the bunk (between the bunk and the fridge it powers). It doesn't get hot, but it does pick up a lot of dust and I have had to blow the dust out a few times when the shut-down alarm came on.

 

Using grommets on feed throughs is a really good idea... one could always wrap the cable with some of the plastic cable sheathing that's available or use some neoprene or large heat-shrink secured with cable ties for additional security.

 

Where you gonna stick a fridge?

Personal property arguement is out the window. As most companies have a policy of "Security" that allows them to search anything on their property.

Just ask what they allow. And go from there. A microwave and drip coffee maker will be the 2 biggest constant draws. A fridge hits an invertor hard for the first 10-15 seconds, then it drops to a small amount.

 

I missed this part...sorry.

Do whatever you want. Company policy does not apply.