Most companies do not allow inverters for exactly that: the potential fire hazard.

Cigarette lighter inverters are notorious for running hot, melting wires, and blowing fuses.

Hard-wired inverters have the human touch, whether installed by the driver or a company shop. And it only takes one truck getting burnt to the ground with the driver in it... :shock: In addition, even if done right, doing so voids many of the warranties that companies have with truck sales companies.

So, if you're working for a company, better make sure you check and see what their inverter policies are before you plunk down your money for one.

 

USXpress says that they install inverters up to a certain wattage, I want to say 1500 but not sure. You just have to provide the inverter. Thinking about getting one myself so I can get a bigger fridge. Starting to spend more weeks out on the road to get the extra $$$ for that house I want

 

It was either 1500 or 2000watt max at USX. Can't remember for sure.

A 1500 is more than enough for anyone. On mine, I can run my microwave, a 13" tv and the computer at the same time with no problems (as long as the truck is running).

 

volts X amps = watts. or watts/volts = amps.

In other words, if you take a 1500 watt inverter and divide by the 120 volts (the output a/c voltage), you would get 12.5 amps. So that means that you could power 12.5 amps maximum of combined appliances with a 1500 watt inverter. And that does not include peaks which occur during refrigerator and microwave usage. This is a lot of A/C. It is almost the equivilant of what a normal standard circuit breaker (15 amp) in a house would supply!

All UL listed appliances should have a power consumption plate afixed to the apppliance indicating the power requirement. Determine what your combined power demand is and use the above formula to determine the size of inverter that you need.

To safely install a 1500 watt inverter, a very heavy cable is needed from the battery to the inverter. For a 0-6 ft run = 2 gauge wire, 7-12 ft run=1 gauge, 13-18 ft. run =0 gauge. also a 200 amp fuse is highly recommended.

Please consult the manufacturers installation manual for important information. I found some good information at this Cobra web site.

http://www.cobra.com/index.cfm?fusea...upport.FAQ#190

Be careful and don't forget the fuse.... It'll prevent the fire.

Good Luck.

 

USXpress is 1750 watt max... hard to fine

we have a 1500 watt and it does just fine for us, it runs our fridge, 1000 watt microwave, 15" lcd tv, laptop, dvd/vcr, satellite dish, froman grill, crock pot, cell charger. and yes we do unplug the fridge when using the microwave or grill and yes the truck needs to be running to use microwave for more than 3 min.

 

When we were company drivers for Digby (Green- got bought by someone), we covertly installed a 1500 watt inverter. We ran a 4 ft tall freezer and a microwave. About a year or two after we put that deal together, the microwave wigged out- it started sparking all over the place- kind of scary. We just unplugged it- no fire or anything. The inverter never had a problem, though.

In our last truck, we had a 3000 watt true sign wave inverter- that cost about $3000. We used it to run a lot of electronics we had stashed in our sleeper.