Anyone add an interior inverter (75-90watt)?

I know it's not what you want, but I am happy with the plug-in 140W inverter I use. Its fan is audible, sure enough, but I wouldn't begin to describe it as loud. I've used it several times on highway trips, and the noise isn't bothersome at all. This also meets your "auto-shutoff" requirement, since the 12V outlet isn't hot when the car is off.

 

I have a "Statpower" that plugs into the cig. lighter. No fan. It is depowered also when the car is off, because the cig. lighter socket is on an "accessory" circuit, only on when the car is either in "ready" or "ign. on". Mine is a 100W unit. I also have had a 50W one for notebook computers.

You -could- put one of these under the center console. There is enough space under there, and the switched power is in there as well. It wouldn't be hard to make a short extension cord and mount a single female plugin on the side of the console. Too much work for my tastes, I just plug-in and use when I need it.

 

I installed my inverter in the center dash near the floor below the MFD. The inverter is hidden behind the lower panel (pops off very easy).

I removed the power switch from the inverter and mounted it on the outside of that panel so that I can shut the inverter off when not in use. I used a standard household outlet and faceplate next to the switch. My inverter has two outlets so I used short cords to get the power from the inverter to each outlet. It works quite well but you can hear the fan. Not loud enough to bother me.

No pics but it should be pretty self explanatory if you like this solution.

 

I have 100 watt inverter from Radio Shack that has no fan. I just plug it in when I need it, have not bothered with any permanent install.

 

same here.

 

It's a Craftsman, available at Sears or K-Mart. I can't tell you the exact model number right off -- it's in my glove box and I'm settled in for the evening -- but I wouldn't think they'd have multiple models of a 140W plug-in inverter.

 

I'm using this one from Circuit City (175W 1.5A) - pretty handy to charge the cell phone and laptop. I keep in the back and plug it in only when I need it.

link: Nexxtech 175

 

In my old pickup truck, there was a pocket in the dash in front of the gearshift (manual trans) that was basically useless. I had picked up a 400 watt power inverter from Meijer and slide it in there, wrapped the cord around the gearshift boot, and plugged it into the always hot outlet (It had 1 of each, factory)

On the exposed face, there were 2 110AC outlets, and an on/off switch. In one, I plugged in the charger for our camera, and set that next to me. In the other I had plugged in a power strip, and ran that under the seat. I had a (AAA/AA/C/D/9V) battery charger, my son's power supply for his GameBoy, my daughters Reading Light and a couple other things. The power strip stayed under the seat and had extra outlets for whatever, and I was very happy with it.

The fan made some noise, but was easily drowned out by a normal conversation or the radio at a comfortable level.

My Prius (07) has that little drawer in the front of the center console, you can (force?) fit an inverter in there, and use a standard strip like I did and have your power available...