Hi All, I'm new here;

I use my truck for work, which requires me to have my laptop on pretty much all day while I sit out in the field. What I want to do is either extend the inverter on-time when the truck is shut off, or set up the inverter to be on whenever the truck is in the accessory position.

Is anyone familiar with the inverter that comes built into the flow-through center console? My local dealer is good, but they don't seem to have any info on this.

For those who aren't familiar with the built in inverter, it only stays on for 13 minutes after shutting the truck off. I then have to actually restart it in order to kick it back in; simply turning the key forward to the run position won't do it. This may have to do with the load my laptop puts on it.

Thanks very much,


Jerrod

 

You might be better off buying another inverter and putting it inside the center console, then wiring it directly to the battery. That's the way we have them in out work vans. The one built in is only 150 watts, you can get 800 watt one for about $50-$60. You can't wire it to the upfitter switchs because they go off with the truck too.

Trying to find the wires on the built in one might be more of a pain then it's worth.

Oh yeah, welcome to FTE. Lots of good info here.

 

Welcome Jerrod!

Just wondering, will it stay powered up if you shut the truck off by only turning the key back to the on position, rather than all the way back to accessory?

 

I'm w/ kmonty on this. And is that 150 watts the peak draw rating or continuous use? Check your laptop and see what the battery draw is, I'm guessing it's in the 80-90 range so you might be pushing the internal one anyway. Isn't there a 12v outlet in the console? Can you plug an inverter into that or do those shut off w/ the truck too? Keep in mind that inverter can get hot, it might need some air flow. And obviously need to watch the truck battery draw.

 

For my application the inverter has more than enough power; it never skips a beat until the timer runs out. I can live with it as it is; it's just going to be had on the laptop battery always cycling on and off, and presumably not so easy on the engine to be starting so oftern and running so short.

An add on inverter would work but I have had issues with them on my past trucks, mainly with cold starts if they are wired without a switch, they tend to fault instead of turn on.

Even if it would be possible to go to 30 minutes or 1 hour of use before it shut off would do. I understand they are probably doing it so the truck batteries don't get damaged but batteries are cheap compared to the amount of diesel I will burn unnecessarily through the summer here running it to keep the laptop charged.

On a related note, anyone here actually pulled the flow-through console out of their truck yet? If so, how big a job was it?

Thanks

 

Instead of running your laptop off the inverter with the standard 110v ac charging cable....purchase a 12 volt charging cable for your computer and just run it off any of the 12 volt power outlets on your truck.

It is very inefficient for your truck battery to have it's 12 volt dc converted to 110 ac for the computer charger then back down to low voltage for your computer. The heat that the inverter produces is the by product of that wasted energy.

Get a good quality one...not a cheap knock-off one that works with many computers. Get the OEM 12v dc charger for your computer.....they will run $60-$80.

The 12 volt power outlets in your truck should run on ACC without having to re-start your truck. Your truck battery will be much happier.....

 

Yeah actually that may work. I will look into that. Thanks.

 

I 2nd this. I have one for my laptop, paid $90 for it and it's worth every penny. I wouldn't use an inverter for a laptop.

 

Yeah... Just ordered it. Can't believe no one in the company thought of this before...
Thanks guys

 

Your laptop battery should be good for more than 15 minutes also.

Keeping the laptop plugged in all the time will eventually lead to very little battery capacity on the laptop. At least once a week, drain the battery on the laptop until it dies to keep the battery from developing a short memory life.

I completely agree with the 12 volt charger for the laptop once it needs charged. Just remember to let the battery run down at least once a week.