'00 F350 SuperDuty

Power Inverter

A 120v outlet is always a handy thing to have around. I picked up this 300-watt one awhile back "just to have" especially on long trips. It is (or "was") the kind that just plugs into the lighter socket and then has a couple outlets on the side. Been reaal useful for plugging in the laptop, charging video camera batteries, that sort of thing. Mostly for running the laptop. But it was getting a little annoying having all these cords hanging all over and the box kicking around on the floor, so decided to permanently mount it.

I started by pulling the passenger seat after deciding that was probabaly the best place to put it. Under the center seat woulld be great too, but a little tighter (read that less cooling), and then I'd have to take out all the front seats to get to it. I cut the lighter plug off the power cord, and grounded it to the cab right there under the seat. The outlet(s) are remotely mounted (see below), so to get power from the inverter, I used some old PC power cords and just plug them into the inverter. Decided this was the best way to do it, if I decide to upgrade the inverter, just have to unplug and plug them in - no re-wiring necessary. I then ran the power cords, along with a single heavy power wire from a relay under the dash, under the carpet up to the dash area where the heater ducts meet the floor so they can't be seen. Screw inverter to cab floor, reinstall seat. Done with the hard part!

This part is pretty neet. Wanted to mount it right in the dash like it was meant to be, so after a little searching the outlet was found at Home Depot - a standard push-in recepticle that only came in white so it had to be painted to match. Right next to the "power point" seemed like the perfect place for it. You guys with supercabs will have to find a new spot, your airbag disable switch is mounted here. A bit of careful work with the Dremel and it fits in the dash like it's factory (everyone thinks it's such a gret idea "Ford" had...). The switch above it controls the relay which powers the inverter. Didn't necesarily want to leave it on all the time, seems like a nice way to burn one up. The light is just an indicator for when it's on. The other part of the project which I didn't finish yet is I provisioned for a second outlet in the bed, up under the rail at the rear. Same deal as the first outlet, a cutoff extension cord that runs all the way back. Just wasn't able to find a good weathertight box that fit up under the rail well enough.

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