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If you permanently mounted a power inverter in your car, where did you put it? I'm talking about those of you who hardwired it to your battery; not plugging it into the 12V socket. I have a spare radio slot in my truck that I can use to add a few 110V outlets and USB ports, but I can't seem to find any inverters that were made specifically for a single DIN installation. This would be my #1 choice for a clean installation. If this isn't an option then I guess under the seat and out of sight would be the next best choice, although I like the idea of having the plugs accessible.
This could be a lot more complex question that at first thought:
Connection: Wouldn't it be better to connect from the fuse block rather than the battery? My fuses are inside the cabin so when I added two direct-power connections (Smartphone and Radar detector) the wiring was out of the weather and didn't have to penetrate the firewall.
Which Circuit: My car (BMW) has a sophisticated computer control, which practically never fully shuts off, so anything tapping that needs to be connected to a very well thought out circuit. Some are monitored by the computer and any other power draws would be interpreted as faults.
Location: Inverters will generate a significant amount of heat. Make sure you take heat rejection into account for the location. If you mount it in the radio cavity, will there be enough air flow around it to cool it?
My truck has one built in. Not sure how powerful it is, but it is enough to power the air pump built into a king sized airbed. People laugh at us when we inflate a 24" king size airbed and wiggle it through the door of our tent. Camping is tough
IN the truck I use the inverter outlet and a 120 charger instead of a lighter or USB outlet charger. It charges much faster.
In the van we have a big inverter mounted under the rear seat. It needs a 20 Amp circuit and the one for the seat/bed motor was the only one readily accessible. The inverter is powerful enough there is not problem running extension cords as needed. We can really load up the big inverter when needed. On one trip we had five computers, seven phone chargers an X box and a table lamp running off the inverter at once. We also have a little inverter (400 watts peak I think) that is shaped like a cup. It goes in a cup holder and plugs in through a lighter outlet.
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