I have a 22' Lariat CCLB 6.7 on order and will be putting a custom color matched service body from Highway Products on it early next year. I'm a general contractor and want to have a great dependable inverter I can use for charging cordless tool batteries at a minimum and possibly power tools. Ideally, I would mount the inverter under the bed somewhere so I dont waste space and just have a few outlets inside one of the tool cabinets to house a few battery chargers. Hoping for something around 3000W that would also somehow stay live when the truck is off (for cordless tool battery charging) but not allow itself to drain the truck's batteries.

Anyone have a good setup they'd recommend? Specific links to products and photos of your setup would be a big help.

 

First, you're not going to want to put it under the bed. They're not water proof and they're not resistant to the elements. They typically have fans for cooling, so the fan needs to be pulling in clean air.

Next, 3,000 watts is a lot. If you're a GC, check with your electrician to find out how much current that will pull at full boogie. I'll give you a hint (lots). Then have him tell you the size of cable you'll need for the length of the run with minimal voltage drop (hint, look at your thumb).

A 2,000 watt inverter is a lot, but it can still run most of your power tools. Current draw running even a 12 amp tool is a lot. Don't expect to be doing that all day. Cable size is still large. Running your typical 12 amp tool a lot will consume a lot of battery. Many inverters will have a low-voltage shutoff, but depending on your conditions (temperature) and battery condition (Ford batteries suck after about a year or so), your truck may be dead after lots of use. This isn't a deal breaker, just a caution. I do this same activity often. And I have killed my truck batteries, even knowing this. ooops!

You'll surely want to run a pure sine-wave inverter. This "clean" power will better work with your battery chargers and other sensitive electronics, such as laptops.

A quality 2,000 watt pure sine wave inverter is still fairly large, so finding a home for it can still be a challenge. Keeping it closer to your batteries will allow you to get away with smaller cables for less voltage drop. Further distances require longer and larger cables.

Note that even in no load conditions but still on, the inverter will draw power, typically 1-2 amps. Larger inverters draw more than smaller. Better quality inverters typically less. Better quality inverters may also typically be more efficient, but the claimed rating spread is typically about 88-93% efficiency. Though I believe some of these ratings may be rather optimistic, especially for the lower priced units. There's a reason why a given company may offer two 2,000 watt inverters, one for $350 and the other for $1,200.

 

You might want to check out something like this:
https://www.jackery.com/products/exp...-power-station

3kW is a lot of draw. Unless you have dual alternators to keep up with it, I'm not sure the truck's base electrical system would keep up with it. Depending on the amperage you intend to draw, you may need a separate battery pack dedicated to the invertor so you don't tap out your truck's base system. I would spend a little time researching RV off grid power setups. They're basically solar panels, a battery bank and an invertor. You could cut out the solar panel and have the 'charge point' be the truck's base electrical system. Rather than reinvent the wheel, you might be able to steal some ideas from that community, they've got it pretty well figured out, some of those guys are running their A/C's off of a solar and battery set up.

The system above is basically a 2kW battery pack. You could hard wire it to charge when the truck's on and would still function when the truck is off.

 

Just a little FYI
2000watt @ 12 vdc is 167 amps
3000 watt @ 12 vdc is 250 amps

Not to discourage you from running an inverter, but if your main goal is to keep cordless tool batteries charged you could probably get away with something around 1200 watts. Which would also run your laptop with no issue.
if you are set on running power tools off the inverter you're going to need a rock solid DC system.

 

I would suggest a nice honda generator.. that would be the cheapest route, other than a couple of dual battery, 12v chargers in your cab. Most cordless tools have 12v chargers.

Here is the best way but cost prohibitive for most. Do you have a PTO prep pack on your truck?

Underdeck-Ford - Vanair