I have always liked having a small 110 AC inverter in the truck, it's handy for powering small things like the camera battery recharger, a drop light or even a small TV and VCR. I hate the space the inverter takes in the tool box and having to pull it out and put it away each time I use it. So I decided to mount the unit into the unused space above the right rear fender and bring the connections out to where I could reach them easily.
I also added a 12 VDC outlet near the 110 outlet (lower right of picture). Having both 12 DC and 110 AC in the bed of my 4Runner is very convenient. I chose to mount the switch and outlet in the hole that Toyota provides for the rear speakers as my truck only has front speakers. I purchased the switch, outlet and cover plate for $4 at the local hardware store.
It's so much easier to get to in this location! Just flip the switch and the 2 outlets have power. I ran power from the battery through a fuse box and then back to the switch (pictured left). When the switch is on, 12V power goes through the switch and turns on the inverter. 110 VAC then goes from the inverter to the outlets.
This inverter was a $150 unit from Radio Shack and it produces 220W of AC power. There are also more expensive units that run 400W-1500W but they get large and expensive quickly. This unit is small and runs all the devices I have plugged into it. Just don't try to use a hair drier on it! Pictured here is a 150W quartz work light. I should be able to run this for about an hour before I need to start up my truck to recharge my battery. The 4Runner is long enough to sleep in and this system provides plenty of power to run an electric blanket all night long.
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