Buying an inverter

[Fritze]

I'm heading up to Yukon/Alaska for 2.5 months this summer and I'm thinking a power inverter is a good idea. I'll be living under the canopy in my truck and some of the electronics I'll need powered include:

Phone charger

GPS charger

Go pro HD camera charger

Laptop charger

20" LED light bar on front bumper

4x dually light bars on roof of truck

10,000lb snap-on truck winch

LED stringer lights along roof of canopy

Small fan

Milwaukee stereo

Milwaukee stereo battery charger

And potentially some other small things.

My question is, how big should I go? I've been told 1000W should be sufficient as long as I don't need to power everything at once. Any advice on brand names? Or where to buy and what to look for?

I have my dry cell battery wired on an isolator to my deep cycle auxiliary battery, from where I'd like to wire in my inverter. Thanks for the help in advance!

[Coldone]

Costco has a 2000w champion inverter.. 600 I think it was. Not sure what they are like.. personally I'm looking at the yamaha 2000w they run at 1200..

[Snowdog]

are you talking an inverter generator or an inverter to change your trucks 12v system to 110v?

[elkdump]

better install a 600kw generator on your truck,

you need about 500HP to run a 600kw generator,,,,

you have a lot of gear you want to plug in,,,,,,,,,lol

[Fritze]

Originally Posted by Coldone

Costco has a 2000w champion inverter.. 600 I think it was. Not sure what they are like.. personally I'm looking at the yamaha 2000w they run at 1200..

I'm assuming you're referring to an inverter generator? I'm looking for an inverter to transfer the DC power from my 12V aux battery to 120V AC.

[Rancid Crabtree]

If you mean a gas generator 1000 watts will work but 2000 is a more useful size. If you mean a inverter to change your DC truck power to 110 volt AC current it is a very ineffecient way to charge DC batteries who his what most of the things you listed run on. About 40% of power is lost converting from DC to AC then some is lost converting it back to charge the battery in the cell phone or whatever.
Get a honda generator.

[Rancid Crabtree]

Originally Posted by Fritze

I'm assuming you're referring to an inverter generator? I'm looking for an inverter to transfer the DC power from my 12V aux battery to 120V AC.

Only do this if you really need AC current. Charge batteries without the conversion of DC to AC and back again.

[benamen]

Your phone, gps & go pro can probably be charged using a usb adapter off your 12 volt accessory plug. 1000 watts should be lots. Helped a friend install a larger one so he could run his pipe threader when out in the field. He got his from Canadian Tire and the vehicle needed to be running to give him any kind of run time. You will need a large fuse for the circuit protection (size should be in the instructions) and we needed some excitation current to get everything functioning.

[Fritze]

Originally Posted by Rancid Crabtree

If you mean a gas generator 1000 watts will work but 2000 is a more useful size. If you mean a inverter to change your DC truck power to 110 volt AC current it is a very ineffecient way to charge DC batteries who his what most of the things you listed run on. About 40% of power is lost converting from DC to AC then some is lost converting it back to charge the battery in the cell phone or whatever.
Get a honda generator.

Well looks like I'll have to bring my 2000W Honda genny instead. I'm a little reluctant to do this for a few reasons. First of all, they're heavy and bulky and storing it under the canopy is not ideal due to the lack of room as it is. Secondly, they aren't cheap. I'd be quite upset with myself if one of the res boys broke into my unit and I lost a $1500 generator.

But overall they are awesome tools to have, quiet, efficient and I can even boost off it if need be. Guess I'll just have to suck it up and bring it along with me.

[50/50]

I wired in a Motormaster 2000w in my boat to run a tassimo and and microwave.

stay close the batteries. under 3 feet - #4 awg, 3-5' use #2 over 5' use #0-

I used a 200 amp fuse. My engine has to be running in order for it to work well and usually its less than 2 minutes. Its hooked up to 2 marine batteries

I like the remote control power on and off; everything stays plugged in while not in use.

Smaller items can be charged from a 12v to usb converter.

[sillyak]

My work truck has a Cobra 800 Watt inverter. It powers a laptop, internet anywhere box, laptop, printer and a electronic data recorder. Considering an inverter costs $80, takes up little room in the cab and will power all your stuff, why would you take a genny?