Power on the Go: Installing a 375 Watt Power Inverter
Does it feel like you’re always in need of auxiliary power when you’re off the grid with no electrical outlet anywhere sight?
Whether it’s to charge spare batteries of a digital camera or simply get those reports out on your laptop, there’s always a need for AC power. Tripp-Lite solves that problem with their portable 375 watt Power Inverter. Its compact size makes it a perfect fit for carrying along in any vehicle.
This unit plugs directly into your vehicle’s existing auxiliary outlet. For safety, this unit will sense when your vehicle battery is getting low and will emit beeps to alert you.
If you continue operate the unit in this state, it will eventually shut off automatically when it detects your battery reaching to low of a charge.
Of course you can plug it in and just lay it on your vehicle’s console or leave it sitting in the floorboard, but we wanted to tuck it out of sight, yet still be able to quickly access it when needed. The solution: install it under our vehicle’s passenger seat.
In order to do so, simply remove your vehicle’s center dash to access one of the existing auxiliary outlets.
Tap new wires into the factory auxiliary outlet wiring and run the new wires under the trim, under the shifter and under the carpet to the area under the passenger seat. (You’re effectively just relocating the auxiliary outlet from the dash to under the seat.)
Purchase an auxiliary outlet and mount it using a bolt, lock washer and wing nut. Then just slide the power inverter under the seat, plug it in and you’re all set!
As you can see, it’s tucked away discretely under the passenger seat, yet can still be easily accessed when in need of electrical power.
We’ve already used it to charge our phones (after leaving our car chargers behind), charged an 18 volt cordless drill battery, hooked up a 13″ TV and even used it to power our video game system. The possibilities are endless. For $40, it has definitely paid for itself.
To check out the full thread on this install, click here.