12 volt appliances

>That was cool. I don't know why more cars don't have inverters.
My 120 volt AC laptop power adapter also has a 12 volt DC input so no inverter is needed when used in a car. Getting rid of the inverter also makes it more efficient and there isn't a stepped AC waveform problem. I bought that adapter at Fry's Electronics.

if it's rated at 12V then yes.
otherwise you'll need a small adapter that you can get for like 20 bucks

Yeah, I have one of those, too. But there are all sorts of other things you might think to plug in, and people these days can barely remember to charge their phones, let alone bring a thing that makes a USB charger for their whatnot, or the fact that there are actually 5 people in the car who all were dumbasses and the kids want to play some stupid game instead of being a PITA and there you are saving the day because your laptop has 3 USB ports and enough charge for little jimmy to use the 12V instead of you, on and on. And that's to say nothing of what dad might want to plug in to a household electrical outlet.

It's so cheap to do these days, and I don't think I've ever been in a vehicle with an inverter and never seen the inverter in use.

how fucking far are you driving that you have to eat in the car like a bum?

Yes, there are DC to DC adapters, I believe there are even universal ones made to go up to the Amperage required by laptops

>Not just using your engine's heat to cook shit wrapped in foil

If you want lighting, just buy LED lights that are made to run right off 12v. Their draw is so low you can leave them on all the time. Also, switch your dome light and all your other small bulbs to LED they're expensive but you can leave them on without draining your battery

Inverters are wasteful to your battery. Don't use them to power DC electronics, use DC to DC converters and if you want heat and/or AC when you're parked invest in a propane unit. You can get ones that have a hot water tank, too.

Immersion heaters are the most effective way to cook in your car if you must use electricity. Drop it into your cup of water until it's practically boiling then pour it over your ramen. You'll still be able to watch Netflix on your phone all night while it charges and have light until you turn it off.

One thing I'm shopping for now is a fairly large LCD HDTV that runs from 12v. I'm researching what the thinnest one is and how many amps it consumes with the brightness turned down.

I used to do that in college.
>christmas lights in cab
>christmas lights tied around headache rack
>wreeth with bow on grill
>big bells hanging where truck nuts hang.

>have a laptop in my always empty passenger seat
danger to manifold

Laptops generally run at 12V internally anyway. That's what the big power bricks for them do, they transform the grid voltage. You just gotta make sure it gets enough Amps as well.

Aftermarket 12V adapters for laptops are pretty common. Halfo f them run at some weirdass voltage like 19V or some stupid thing, so you wind up needing a switching supply anyway, but your typical 12V socket can handle boiling water and running a tire pump at the same time, so a few amps for the laptop is no problem as long as they don't start putting in cuck sockets or something.

For your 12v HDTV, if you're handy with electronics, you can get some chinese buck-boost converters and just replace the power board inside a normal TV with a couple of buck-boost converters set to the right voltage. Most of the time the board is actually labelled with the voltages it outputs, typically, 3.3/5 and 15v, as well as something for the backlights.

We had a 6 inch black and white the hung from the ceiling of our conversation van.
Audio didn't work for some reason.

Slightly off topic, but I'm wanting to use my car as a centerpiece for my halloween decorations. I'd like to run the off-road lights on it, but I don't want to drain the battery. Is it possible to power my car's electrics off my house's grid?

>pic related

Yeah if you have a beefy enough supply you can clamp that on to the positive post of the battery and something metal in the engine bay as if you were jump-starting the car. But you'd probably build one yourself to supply enough current for off-road lights and to keep the battery float-charged at 14.4V instead of 12V.

But if you disconnect the battery and your current demands aren't too bad, you might be able to run it off the 12V tap on a computer power supply or something convenient like that. Or any kind of plug-in power brick that puts out 12V-14V (e.g. for a laptop) with enough current.

>To bring some semblance of home amenities along for the journey with you
I prefer real amenities so I stay in motels or hotels, but use my own pillow from home. I avoid hotel/motel problems so I don't use any coverlets from the hotel because who knows what kind of body fluids are on it from previous room users....

Some things are built into the car so there is no need for an external 12 volt appliance. The laptop has no problem with internet since the GM car has built-in internet and a wifi router connected by 4G. I signed up for the $20/month unlimited internet package special. It's fine as long as you don't mind that GM and the ISP collect and sell all the data on what you access and when you access it.

Depending on how much bandwith you need, you can get a mifi plan that is actually 100% free except for the cost of the hot spot. I've got one and it's super duper handy when you need it, and the costs for exceeding the amount of free bandwith you get are pretty trivial compared to like if you need to buy food, gas, a room, whatever else.

It's the hawtness.

>how fucking far are you driving that you have to eat in the car like a bum?

If you were a real american you would understand about roadtrips.
Pls leeve

>tfw there are Americans who have never driven across the country before
what a waste :(

>never been west of the Mississippi
>never driven more than 3 hours on my own
JUST

I had that same oven. It was shitty, but it did work to heat up food that I made and wrapped in foil. I used to eat chicken breast, rice and broccoli and wrap it up and throw it in there for 45 minutes or more to get it warm. I cant imagine how long it would take to cook a frozen pizza, much less get it brown.

SHUT UP

>tfw you need to go on a grocery run during an /out/ing with your gf
>tfw driving on an empty country road in bumfuck nowhere on a lazy afternoon with creedence on the aux

Pure bliss

do it fgt

Easymode there's tons of stuff to see if you just take I80 across. I70 is cool in some parts, but boring as hell through like Nebraska unless you like to look at an endless straight road through corn field for a few hours while you huff pig shit.

>never been west of the Mississippi
Youre only missing out on the best parts of America

You're thinking of a motel. Sorry you're so poor.

Like some other anons have mentioned, inverters.

Also, I've got this 11" crt tv with an aux audio/video in and a built in VCR. The regular power cord comes out and has a 12v cigarette lighter adapter that you plug in. Shit is baller for putting on the middle console and laying down in the back. Watch a classic movie when I'm out camping. I remember in the early 2000s I think we somehow got an N64 or Playstation hooked up to it but I'm not sure how we did it without an inverter. Nowadays it would be super easy to hook up a second battery in my truck and keep one of those mini battery jumpers just in case.

Other good accessories? 12 volt FM transmitter (I have one off Amazon that also has a 2.1amp charging port for your phone cord as well.