Living in Truck, Power Source?

[brannen]

So i lived outta my truck for 2 months this summer while on a monster road trip. We mostly stayed at Campsites in my tent, and slept in the truck on a few nights.
This winter I bought a power inverter and planned on having my uncle help me install it, using the alternator to recharge the bastard while not in use. Anyways, I ended up moving to Austria before he could help me, and now I need to figure it out when I return to the states at the end of the month.
Anyways, does anyone know any DIY pages or anything that show you how to do this? I found some on installing the inverter, but none told how to hook it up to the alternator.
If you got anything, thanks
B

[maniloff]

How much power do you need?

[brannen]

i think my converter is 1500 or 3000 watt. its for my laptop, a fan or space heater, and a stereo. used for tailgating purposes as well.

[maniloff]

Yeah, that's more than I've messed with. I got nuthin.

[Yeti]

In my experience, an inverter is used to turn the vehicle's 12VDC electric system (battery and/or rectified alternator output) into 110-120VAC "house current" so you can run devices powered by normal plugs.

The installation should have 3 aspects:

1. Connect the inverter's input to something at 12VDC -- generally battery terminals, but cigarette lighters can work too for lower wattage loads.

2. Connect the inverter's output to a power strip located where you want it so you can run your stuff.

3. Attach the inverter somewhere solid where road vibrations won't break the connections and where it won't overheat. Even relatively light-duty inverters have overheating issues; I have a small inverter (250W full-time, 500W short-time) that has a built-in fan to cool it. Even drawing zero load on a hot day, the fan is working to keep the inverter cooler. If you try to draw too much load, or it is too hot (hot day with windows up, or if the inverter is in your engine compartment), in theory the box will shut down. I have avoided experimenting with this feature.

Beyond this, you can get fancy if you want. You can pop a hole in the dash and run the 12VC inverter inputs into the cab, where you bolt your inverter to the floor. You could then run outdoor-grade 110V extension cords through a gasket to get power to the bed. You could run the cords on the exterior (underside), as for trailer lights, but mud and salt could wreak havoc with that.

Specifically regarding hooking to the alternator, I'd just hook to the battery contacts.

link to inverter faq

[brannen]

I live in the bed of the truck, with a topper (obviously). I was planning on adding a Fuse and mounting the badboy in the bed, and possibly addding a second battery for daily use when the engine is running or not. I am pretty car retarded, but can figure out electrical stuff fairly well. My uncle is hooking me up with the supplies, but he cant be there for the know-how. Again, thanks for any input
B

[brettf]

We have a similar system in our van. I should ask our roomie/mechanic more about it, but it is a deep cycle battery hooked in the back that is hooked up to an invertor that we use. There is an isolator that bridges the connection from that battery to the alternator. This keeps the flow going "one-way" so to speak, such that the battery always charges from the alternator, but doesn't lose juice in that direction. We also have solar hooked up. It is crazy.

If you are anywhere near the Golden area when you get back, PM me up. We are selling the van, but if we still have it, you can check out the setup.

[Yeti]

Sounds like brettf is doing it right. The isolator and the second battery are great ideas. As I see it, the truck's principal function is transportation, with housing and devices as secondary and tertiary objectives. If that's correct, then you don't want to compromise the truck's mobility by running your primary battery dead without a backup.

The external fuse isn't a bad idea, since it will save your invertor from blowing its internal (and often hard to replace) fuse.

[lemon boy]

One other thing to note is that unless you install a high output alternator you'll likely fry the current one in short order.

Solar pad for the laptop
batteries for the stereo

I don't think you'll be able to really run an electric space heater effectively with the power you'll have.

[jfost]

set it up like a boat - batt switch to isolate "house" batts from Starting batt, switch to charge all when engine is running, that way - you'll never be stuck somewhere!

[BigLineSeeker]

When you are wiring the batteries make sure you are using properly sized cables. Remember that 3000 watts at 12 Volts DC is 250A. According to the CEC (Canadian version of NEC) you will need at least 3/0 cable. Make sure that you size your fuse at about 300A for that same inverter (depending on its surge capacity).

The battery isolator is definitely the way to go. Vehicle batteries are designed for high current bursts to start your truck, not continuous discharge for appliances. Get an AGM (Absorbed Glass Matt) battery for the box of the truck. AGMs are sealed and will not gas (if charged properly).

If you need drawings on how to set this up in a solar application I can send you some.

[brannen]

I have an absolute lack of knowledge in solar cells, batteries, etc....but love the idea

Would I really need a new alternator, if running such a small amount of power?

The van sounds about right, Im a raft guide in Idaho Springs in about 2 1/2 months, so if you still have the van, Id love to take a look.
Most raft guides I lived with last year had some sweet set-ups that were similar, but I didnt purchase my truck until they were all gone. Hopefully some of them might return this year, so I can check out their systems.

This upcoming summer the truck will be used for:
1) Living quarters for me and the dog
2) Transportation to bike trails too far to ride to
3) Rides to A-B until June
4) Tailgating in aforementioned A-B
5) Transportation of any other kind, my bike works fine

I dont drive much
I will sleep in my truck every night (when not at the ladies in Boulder) for 3 months

so, basically i would like to have power source for my alarm clock, computer (which i use to watch movies, finish my memoirs, edit movies, email, power my iPod and speakers, so on and so forth), possibly a fan, a space heater for those cold nights, some lights, and charging all of my other useful gadgets like the leash of a cell phone

i found this DIY article ( http://www.i-hacked.com/content/view/161/45/ ), which is helpful for conversions and wire measurements. It doesnt however tell me how to recharge the sucker from the alternator.

[FJ62]

I hate working on my car's electrical stuff, but there's a really great book called Managing 12 Volts, by Harold Barre. Worth reading, as he covers various ways to get power into your vehicle, boat or even RV. Lots of good information that was more in-depth than any single website I ever found. He's got some good calculations in his book for estimating your power needs, too.