What Power Inverter I need 2014 Trail

[Rooster4289]

I am sure there is already a thread out here in regards to power inverters. However, I am new to this. I am getting a 2014 Trail Edition within the next week. I plan to camp/tailgate. I would like to be able to power a 36'' tv and maybe a fan. I would rather have more power than not enough, you never know what you will end up plugging in, laptop etc... Obvisiouly this is a brand new car and I will not be in the market for one for a very long time. I want to keep this thing clean as possible so I want to do everything right...

-What brand should I look at?
-Is hard wiring it a bad idea?
- What voltage inverter do I need to power this equipment?
ETC.....


By the way as I said before...I am new to this thread b/c I have put Chevy in my rearview and moved on to Toyota....Let me know if I am posting in the right place or any advice that can help me. I plan on using this often...

 

[Blacksunshyne]

You will get better answers in the 5th Generation 4Runner forum here 5th gen T4Rs - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum

Also would be helpful to know what kind the spec are on the TV that you plan on running.

 

[Rooster4289]

Thanks. I have moved it to that forum.

 

[jwyshrek]

Well, to get the best recommendations, the power specs of what you are going to 'plug in' would be needed...worst case.

But for argument sake, a 36" TV (flat, I assume) can be 30-40W. A typical table fan can be 15-25W.

Taking worst case TV+fan is 65W total...so, if just run those two things, I would go with a 100W inverter just for margin. You can safely plug in a 100W or so inverter into a 12Vdc outlet. Anything higher would probably need to be hard wired to the battery or you'll be blowing fuses.

But that's another thing...if you do hard wire an inverter, you'll need a heavy duty (deep cycle) battery or a dual battery setup or leave your engine running.

If you don't know exactly what you'll be 'plugging in' then a small portable generator might be better...

 

[Rocky5000100]

Pshh just get a 1000w inverter. Decent Ines can be had for <100, then you'll have enough room for a lot of items. I would go with a dual battery setup though. Then you can run it with the engine off.

 

[fourwd1]

If you want to run any expensive electronic equipment like a computer or nice flat screen TV make sure it is a true sine wave output, and that's going to eliminate all the inexpensive ones (the low dollar,high output types)
Your going to pay for a decent one.

 

[Rooster4289]

So if I do a dual battery setup, how much will that cost? I haven't gotten the 14 TE yet but do you think there will e room for a dual set up?
Also, if I run duals, would I not have to have my car on, and when it is on it charges that second battery. Basically the setup would be so I don't kill my primary battery?

 

[Rooster4289]

This is the tv I would run...I could not fine the wattage
Walmart Mobile

 

[bimrunner]

So if I do a dual battery setup, how much will that cost? I haven't gotten the 14 TE yet but do you think there will e room for a dual set up?
Also, if I run duals, would I not have to have my car on, and when it is on it charges that second battery. Basically the setup would be so I don't kill my primary battery?

I think I may be going with this setup: http://kodiakinc.com/powersystems/dualbatterykits.html It isn't cheap (somewhere near $800 I thought) but really easy to install and takes the same room as the stock battery but you end up with dual.

 

[snivilous]

You'd want a dual battery with deep cycle so you don't kill your primary battery. The main battery is meant for lots of short high amperage pulls (for your starter) and isn't meant for extended load. A deep cycle can be run down until it's nearly dead and then charged back up but less often, like you would be using it for to run electronics.

 

[Offroad_Medic]

If it were me I would just drop the money into a 1000-2000Wportable generator. That way you can run pretty much whatever you want on it plus you can take it with you anytime anywhere even if you're in a different vehicle.

 

[fourwd1]

Yeah, those new inverter generators from Honda are real nice.
Clean sinewave output and real quite. Pricey but worth it.