Well i have a 95 Ranger XLT and i recently got M$'s Streets and Trips 2006 and i like to use it along with my laptop to navigate when i go driving into a city and just for fun. My laptop battery isnt the best so i want to be able to plug in my charger to my car and not have it blow anything, i currently have a cheap walmart job of a power inverter, all of 70watts... little thing i can put into a cigarette outlet

Anyway i want to actually wire a nicer one, maybe one with more watts, im sure i just dont know how high to go. I want one that will have an outlet i can plug it into and it have enough juice to charge my laptop ( a beast one one) Im looking for suggestions on what wattage to get, where to get it, as well as what is the best way to wire it to my battery. Where can i put it in my cab that it goes somewhat decent and isnt huge (not looking for a huge inverter). How will i run it to the battery, whats the best path to take, how to get it outside the cab and near the battery without hurting anything. Should i run a fuse on it, or will the inverter have one in it. How much would i be looking to spend. How should i hook it up to the battery, etc.

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, since i have a little backgroung knowledge of electricity i dont have a problem soldering and running some cabling. I was thinking of running that plastic snake like stuff when i get the wire under my hood. Thanks in advance for anyone who takes the time to read this

 

power inverters are bad. what u want is a car charger for ur laptop.

 

I saw a 1500W on ebay it would look more professinal it mounts in engine bay with plugs and box in interior....thin it was about $120???

 

I run a Tripp lite 175 for my rear power tailgate party outlet. Works good. I used a heavy 10 guage wire direct from the battery, as those will draw a lot of amps.

http://silvertank.batcave.net/images/RearPower24.jpg

http://silvertank.batcave.net/rearpower.html

For a laptop, I would suggest getting the car adapter. Laptops only need about 12-14 DC volts, so there's no reason to run a 110 A/C inverter to get 12-14 volts.

 

Well since i have a no name laptop brand, i know that its out of the cards to get a car charger for it.

I want something that doesnt take up alot of room and i get it out to my battery and back into my cab without having to cut anything permanently. I like BlackRanger's idea, but im wondering where under my hood it could go. What is the minimum wattage i should be looking for and what should i be looking to spend on it? Should i just get cabling from Home Depot for the wiring portion and then put a snake kind of housing around it?

 

I bought the second to the cheapest inverter target has. it has 2 plugs and a fan that keeps it cool. Think i paid like 30 for it.
Did the same thing, borrowed a usb gps with streets and trips and the laptop going to and from vacation and never got lost. we tried it and never did.

 

Hey man, give me all the info as far as brand and part number for your Laptop, I sell AC and DC adapters and batteries where I work.

I'll at least be able to tell you if it's out there and the price.

 

well the box would go behind your seat like am amp someone here did it and thats what gave me the idea...My laptop has a batt. problem always has to be pluged in to use it, but the HD just went out so I said F** it

 

for a laptop you don't need that many watts but i'll tell you about my inverter.

its a 600W with a 1000W peak for 1.5 mins. I got this and some 6 gauge wire for free. the wire is to the battery for the positive comes in through a rubber plug in the firewall used for the wires to the fuse box. then i went up the drivers side kickplate and under the flooring to get to the passengers side. the inverter is mounted under the seat with the plugs pointed to the front of the truck for easy access. to mount it i took the seat out and used self tapping screws from lowes. MAKE SURE YOUR SEAT WILL FIT BACK before you secure it

 

that sounds good....yall got any pics of these installed?

 

i can get you some tomorrow but they will not be up loaded until tue. cause i'm going camping

oh i forgot i have a 60 Amp fuse in my wireing also just in case

 

Hey, I just got Streets and Maps '06 too.. My real proble is figuring out where to put the laptop when I'm driving. I think Im just going to buy a car adaptor for power...