Ok, I think I've looked at every post HeyMcCall and the other guys who know about wiring these things have put up and I think I've narrowed it down and going to take a shot at the inverter. I've cut the plugs into the base of the B-pillars like HeyMcCall did and they look awesome! Thanks for the idea. I'm going to run Heavy guage extension cords out of the inverter's plugs, cut the ends off and use the bare wires to wire up the outlets. With the third cord, I'm going to run an extension cord down through the floor of the truck, up the back of the bed, drill a small hole with a rubber grommet through the inside of the bed and run that cord into my new Lo-side toolbox. It's at the metal shop right now getting dividers and brackets made for it to function as my working out of tool box. I'm going to mount my single battery Ridgid charger in the box and plug it in to the other end of the cord so it always has power. ( Weatherguard provides a pretty nifty little rubber grommet already for running power into one of their boxes ) I'm running 4 Guage stranded wire with Copper terminal blocks at each end for connections. Please let me know if you guys see any problems or inherent flaws with this idea. I also had a few questions about a couple things.

1. There are little black circle "plugs" with three tabs coming off of them at a few places towards the back of the cab structure under the truck, are these "grommets" that I could drill a hole in and pass a wire through, or is it somethign I should stay away from messing with?

2. I'm going to wire the relay up in place of the on/off switch of the inverter, where should I mount this relay? Right next to the inverter, in the engine compartment, etc?

3. Is the purpose of said relay to shut the inverter off when I shut the ignition off? if so, is there a way that I can override it to leave the inverter on when the truck is not on? or is the Toggle switch that's to be wired inline with the 12V power for the relay only to manually shut the inverter off even when the truck is running?

Sorry for all the questions, just want to get it right the first time. Thanks for all the great info so far! I'll post pics along the way to try and help someone else that is thinking about doing this.

well you could wire the relay either way you can make it to be that the switch turns it off and on or you could find a power source that is only hot with the key on i wouldn't think letting it run all the time would be good for the batteries so i wouldn't wire to stay on all the time but that is just me and with the tool box i would get me a bell box and put a GFI plug in it then plug your charger into it that way you will be able to run other things with out having to have your doors open just the tool box

1. There are little black circle "plugs" with three tabs coming off of them at a few places towards the back of the cab structure under the truck, are these "grommets" that I could drill a hole in and pass a wire through, or is it somethign I should stay away from messing with?

2. I'm going to wire the relay up in place of the on/off switch of the inverter, where should I mount this relay? Right next to the inverter, in the engine compartment, etc?

3. Is the purpose of said relay to shut the inverter off when I shut the ignition off? if so, is there a way that I can override it to leave the inverter on when the truck is not on? or is the Toggle switch that's to be wired inline with the 12V power for the relay only to manually shut the inverter off even when the truck is running?

Sorry for all the questions, just want to get it right the first time. Thanks for all the great info so far! I'll post pics along the way to try and help someone else that is thinking about doing this.

For #1 .... No idea. I drilled and grommeted thru the floor.
For #2 .... The relay I installed next to the Inverter. Since it handles no current, you could put it anywhere that is practical to reach with the wiring (under dash, under hood, etc). Mine keeps the inverter wiring short where I subbed the relay for the switch.
For #3 .... Use a ON/OFF/ON switch for control of your inverter. Wire it a little different than standard practice. Use the center terminal as an out to the relay (instead of voltage in). Then wire one outer terminal to 12V constant and the other outer to key switched 12V (obtainable in the MBEC 6 pin connector hole next to the Brake Controller socket.)
That will result in the switch positions as :
Up ... Keyswitched
Centered ... OFF
Down ... Always on
Or the opposite depending on the polarity of the wire to the outer terminals. You can also run an additional wire from the center wire of the switch to a pilot lamp to allow visual indication of inverter operation. My Wagan very seldom gets turned off (but it's key hot only) as it makes very little heat or noise when in use. I put the power relay to shut down in case of emergencies (bad alternator, short in the wiring, etc.).

Since your doing this to an LMM, for the power connection at battery, I set the breaker assy on top of the pass battery, and crimped two copper lugs together (like making a battery cable, but no wire) so that the breaker was simply secured in place with the nut on the battery cable and the nut on the breaker. It just left today before I saw this thread or I woulda shown a pic of the battery and breaker assy.

For #1 .... No idea. I drilled and grommeted thru the floor.
For #2 .... The relay I installed next to the Inverter. Since it handles no current, you could put it anywhere that is practical to reach with the wiring (under dash, under hood, etc). Mine keeps the inverter wiring short where I subbed the relay for the switch.
For #3 .... Use a ON/OFF/ON switch for control of your inverter. Wire it a little different than standard practice. Use the center terminal as an out to the relay (instead of voltage in). Then wire one outer terminal to 12V constant and the other outer to key switched 12V (obtainable in the MBEC 6 pin connector hole next to the Brake Controller socket.)
That will result in the switch positions as :
Up ... Keyswitched
Centered ... OFF
Down ... Always on
Or the opposite depending on the polarity of the wire to the outer terminals. You can also run an additional wire from the center wire of the switch to a pilot lamp to allow visual indication of inverter operation. My Wagan very seldom gets turned off (but it's key hot only) as it makes very little heat or noise when in use. I put the power relay to shut down in case of emergencies (bad alternator, short in the wiring, etc.).

Since your doing this to an LMM, for the power connection at battery, I set the breaker assy on top of the DRIVER'S side battery, and crimped two copper lugs together (like making a battery cable, but no wire) so that the breaker was simply secured in place with the nut on the battery cable and the nut on the breaker. It just left today before I saw this thread or I woulda shown a pic of the battery and breaker assy.

I meant to say driver's side battery.

HeyMcCall,

Thank you Sir! I really appreciate all your help. I ran all the wire today and installed the outlets in the B pillars. 4 Gu. wire is run from the battery up through the grommet under the drivers feet and down the wire loom to under the back seat. I fabricated a stand for the inverter that sets it horizontal flat under the seat, but is still accessible without removing the seat. I used the wing nut that hold down the tire changing rods to secure the bracket to the floor and hold the inverter in place.

Wire the relay as said before with the switch from the inverter, and then I will do as you suggested with the on off on switch.

Where do you get the breaker that you're talking about?

Any local autoparts store have them? I was also wondering if there is some sort of Bus bar for the battery terminal. Between the ring for my stereo, my amp running boards, the regular truck connection and now soon to be inverter, it's getting kind of crowded on that terminal. Thanks again, I'll take some pics and post them up when I'm done.

Also, What guage wire are you using to wire up the relay, the run from the relay to the switch and the switch to the 12V power?


If you don't mind, I'd like to see a pic of your breaker set up whenever you have a chance. It would probably help. Thanks!

I really like this style breaker
http://www.bussmann.com/images/067c175d-90f8-438c-8356-5adcf5cfc41c.JPG .
$70 at Napa, $26 +/- at other auto parts stores. 50 to 150 Amp are available.

Thank you Sir! Napa was one of the few I hadn't tried. Auto Zone looked at me like I had a horn growing out of my forehead! I'm on my way to pick one up now. Thanks for all your help!