'puter rookie, needs electrical help

It looks like I'm getting a Volvo vn670. I have never hooked anything up before in a truck nor do I have any experience doing so. This forum will be my home for a little while it looks like if you all are willing to help it would be much appreciated. I got a look at her yesterday so from what I saw I got some cigarette outlets and there is also a fridge and a small tv but I couldn't tell how they were hooked up. They said it didn't have an inverter but I could get one.

What I would like to add is:

Satellite radio
Small microwave
A power strip to plug stuff in, like the laptop, phone, etc

Yes im pretty clueless on how all this stuff runs electricity off the truck and I dont want to get myself in a jam so that's why I am asking for some advice on what to do. thanks in advance!

 

You need the shop perhaps to hook up the inverter for you, a lot of companies won't let you do it yourself.

I think hubby bought one years ago that was about a 1500w inverter from Pilot for about $169.00. The engine most generally had to run when I was using the George Foremen grill, or the microwave, or the one shot coffee pot. We had a very small old dorm refrig with the freezer in it also and the 12v Coleman cooler, that ran all the time usually.

A microwave most generally has to be one of the lower wattage types, like way back eons ago. It should only be about 700w. It take a little longer to cook with, but not much. It draws less amps than a 1100-1300w microwave.

Satellite Radio can be obtained through Sirius Radio. We bought one of the type that plugs into the cigarette lighter from Radio Shak for about $35.00 on sale. Walmart had them also but were higher at the time. He ended up buying a different antenna at Iowa 80 for about $59.00 It costs around $200. plus for the subscription (sorry I don't remember the exact fee). It does beat loosing radio reception when you are going across the country in different areas. He has a truck now that had the Sirius radio built into the radio already, so he is not using the other plug-in unit. You may want to check and see if the Volvo you have has that capability.

He had a Volvo in 2008-2009 when he first started, it had a lot of room in it. We had a small Sponge Bob tv of our grandson's in it and the vcr unit. Now flatscreens are great. He bought a set at a truckstop with the built in cd player and has the antenna thingy that helps to pull in air stations if you are in some of the bigger city areas (he doesn't use this very often though).

If they have a tv and fridge in it, they must have had an inverter in it that someone installed themselves at some point.

 

If you are going to buy an inverter, save your money and buy a TV at Walmart. The 12 V TVs at truckstops are way overpriced.

 

Being that they "say" there is no inverter in the truck, do you know if the TV and fridge are operational, as the truck sits now?
My point is, the TV & fridge are either made to operate from 12 volt (truck battery power) or 110-120 volt (via inverter).
Most times they are 110-120 volt (inverter powered). If so, then obviously they don't work now (if the inverter was removed and truly not there).

In case you don't know, and inverter is simply a "transformer" that takes 12 volt DC power from the truck's electrical power and converts it to ~120 volt AC power, in order to power things designed for 115 volt AC (household current).
First you'll need to determine if your fridge & TV are designed to run off 12 v or 120 volt. It will be stamped, tagged, or written on each appliance (often on the backside), as Input voltage (or something similar).

As for your intended add-ons, like:
Satellite radio (not an issue, as it runs off regular 12 volt battery power)
Small microwave (needs to be small, 700 watts max, and an inverter with enough "overhead" watts to be capable of running it, like 1500-2000 watts)
A power strip to plug stuff in, like the laptop, phone, etc (again, you'll need this plugged into an inverter, capable of running what you intend to plug into strip).

But the main part is having an inverter installed *correctly*.
It needs to be wired directly to the battery, with proper heavy gauge cable (4' or shorter is best) and properly fused near the battery connection.
Are you a company driver and do they have any policy restrictions on installation? Most require their shop to do it. Or do you intend to do the install yourself?

 

It sounds like these guys have it covered, whatever you do be sure it all is tied down, They don't sit well if not held down. Good luck!