Just got a 2018 F-150 with two 110v outlets at the advertised 400w. I've plugged in a Milwaukee 18v battery charger and a 12v battery charger. Both are flagged with the blinking light. Brought to the dealer and they have no answers. What will Ford do when contractors find out they can't charge their cordless power tools? My wife's Jeep and friends Silverado charge both with no problem. Any suggestions? Can the inverter be replaced with something more robust? I can't believe there are complaints everywhere about this.

 

Those plugs are for charging cell phones...

I recommend getting a sine wave inverter that is about 1500W.

Not sure if you have a truck box, but I do, and I mounted mine (I got a 3000W) in there and then I made 4 whips off mine that go to various places. I got 2 whips in the cab, 1 whip in the bed, and 1 whip I store in the bumper. Very handy if you're out on a job site and you need a regular sidewinder...

This summer if I get time, I want to run another battery in parallel so I have more AH.

 

I have not tried charging multiple tools/batteries but I have used it to charge my 18v Dewalt batteries without any problems in my truck.

 

 

I am new to the industry (about 4 1/2 weeks), just got my truck last Friday from. I was told it might have a 1800 watt inverter in it turns out it doesn’t. I was given a 300 watt inverter with a deep cycle battery so I can run my CPAP machine. I was told to only run the CPAP off it. I was thinking of maybe just repeating the setup on my own, buying a battery and inverter. Things I am looking to run are a TV and PS4, I have an electric kettle and air fryer, also looking at a 12 volt cooler and also an induction hot plate.

Questions:

1. What ,if any, of the above things can be safely run off the 300 watt inverter? It is connected directly to the deep cycle battery.
2. What size is best inverter for truck here, do I need to run the things on the above list, I read that the kettle and Air Fryer take about 1800 Watts, seems like heating requires a lot of juice?
3. Can I run a large inverter (2000/3000 Watts) off one deep cycle battery? If so how long should I expect it to last between charges. My plan was to alternate days: charge company battery one day/my battery the next.
4. Do I need a specific type of deep cycle battery, I’ve read marine battery’s are better for this type of thing.

 

First off, before directly answering you questions, you need to understand the principle. If you want to do massive draws such as cooking appliances and what not, you'll need to have a dedicated battery (or a string of batteries for optimal performance). I'm running a complete 12v system on mine, to simplify things. I could convert what I have on the inverter circuit to be 24v with a 12v down conversion using a boost converter to charge it or use it. 24v runs more efficiently on high load situations. However, in my scenario it's not necessary at 3,000 watts. Depending on what I'm doing, I also have a disconnect to disconnect it from the truck's battery and charging system in the event of a fault with the secondary battery system. The wiring also needs to be robust. Remember: DC is somewhat inefficient, and needs thicker gauge wires to transfer more power! Shorter the better too!

So to directly answer your questions:
1. You'll need to load test what you plan on plugging into your 300w inverter. A fav of mine is the Kilowatt meter which doesn't require "splitting" of wiring to use a clamp meter.
2. A 3000 watt inverter will run cooking appliances. Keeping in mind that it's 3000w continuous. I've seen some cheap ones that claim 3000w, but it's only intermittent -- NOT continuous.
3. Yes, you can, but you'll need a rather large group size battery for it. I've found that things like separated forklift batteries have high capacities, or if you run them in parallel configuration; will give you a much high Ah rating and it splits the load up.
4. You need a AGM or Deep Cycle for this. Marine batteries are generally (not always) deep cycle.

I'll add to this, you may want to look at onboard charging systems. Possibly high-rate charging systems too.

On top of all of this, think safety. When you start messing with large batteries, then running them in parallel, it can be more dangerous than dealing with line voltage in many ways. Especially arcing and fire/explosion hazards. Make sure you fuse accordingly. If you want to do it right, go with marine-grade DC circuit breakers. I also have a regular Square-D load center on the AC side for the circuits with GFICs with a return to ground/earth on the negative DC side, basically chassis ground.

Good luck with your project.

 

I am installing a 3000 watt inverter in my 2020 F150 supercrew. Placing it under rear seat. Please post pictures of how to install power plug in the bed of truck. I have 4 outlets on inverter. I want to have two plugs in bed if possible

I need pics to see what it looks like

 

HOLD THE PHONE!
3000 Watts from a Battery is 12 Volts times 250 Amps = 3000 Watts not including losses.
First you need very heavy cables from the battery to the Inverter to limit the voltage drop and a series fuse rated about 10% higher.
Second, you will not draw 250 amps for more than a few minutes before the battery drops.
Extending 120-volt lines from an Inverter is the least of your desires.
BTW 120 volts times 25 amps = 3000 watts. This in itself requires #12 Wire size and 20 amp outlets.
Why, because your engine does not draw half that much from the battery when cranking the engine for starting.
Better rethink what your wanting to do.
A gas Genset would do the job without any hassle. just start, plug in and use.
Good luck.