This post is about the 3000 watt (yes three thousand watt, max 6000 watt) inverter I added. The purpose of this inverter is that when I go camping I like to cut and split my own fire wood from felled trees in the area (Note: except not on California state land, that's a no-no... Only BLM land can I do that here.) I used to carry a chain saw all the time along with my axes (
NO I'm not some crazy murderer!!) but there would be times I may not camp for a year of more. Needless to say what old gas does to an engine. I also was tired of the smell in my rig, spills, not always starting right away, especially at high altitudes and all the other issues with gas powered tools. So I decided to go electric. No gas and instant on every time! Just pull the trigger! Just needs a little bar lube. Also I never cut wood further than 100 feet from my rig so a 100 foot extension cord is all I need.
This is the inverter, cable and circuit breaker:
Here's the chain saw:
This is the extension cord (it needed to be heavy gauge for that distance and amperage of saw):
I didn't know where I wanted to mount the inverter. I didn't want to loose the ability to used my third row seats so there wasn't a lot of options for that brick! I decided to used hook and loop (Velcro) and did a couple of experiments to test the holding strength. Here it is Velcroed to the back of the passenger side third seat. The photos show the seat in the up and the down position.
Back to the Velcro, trust me, the Velcro "hook" tape that I attached to the entire length of the mounting flange on the inverter (both sides) attached SO STRONG to the factory carpet that I CANNOT pull it up. The "tensile" strength to pull the inverter vertically up WILL tear the carpet up from the base. I tried and it was beginning to pull from the base. The "shear" strength is equally as strong. It CANNOT be budged in any X or Y position! In order for me to move the inverter I have to take a putty knife and slide it between the Velcro hook (on the inverter) and the carpet to release it.
This works great for me in that I can move and situate as needed for space in the rear!
Just an FYI, I ran this off my "House" battery. I have dual batteries.
Here's how I ran that 1/0 AWG wire from the rear:
I ran the 1/0 AWG from the rear forward. From the rear open cargo area with the rear seats down, I started the wire through the cubby where the factory bottle jack is kept (left rear). I then fed it under the rear seats and out through a port under the rear of the vehicle that has a rubber plug that is about 2" diameter. There's a picture below in this post.
After pulling all the wire through that port, I snaked it up and over to my left rock slider. I fed it over the top of the (perpendicular to the slider) mounts that the slider attaches to the frame. This will keep it from ever sagging or ever being pinched in a off roading event. I then pulled up through the left side the engine bay, as close to the ARB compressor as possible to avoid any exhaust heat on the wires. And from there to the batteries!
Third row seat up:
Third row seat down:
This is where I came in with the juice:
Below shows the port under the rear seats that I fed the 1/0 AWG wire through. I cut the rubber plug for the wire, placed the plug back in and then silicone all around it so if I should be in deep water, I'm not drawing water in. The view is looking forward. Thw red and black wires on the left are what I'm referring to.
