Power Inverter for Laptop use in Van to WDW!

[LSUmom4kids]

What kind of power inverter should I buy so that I can use my laptop to watch DVDs in the van on the way to WDW?

My little tv and the kids game systems have the connectors that plug into the "cigaretter lighter adapters" for the back seats. If we buy a DVD system for the van headrests, that will use up one of my adapters. The Sirius radio system uses one adapter too. My van has a total of 4 adapters.

I have no clue about what kind to buy for all of our electronic gear! We have a 10-12 hour drive... Need advice from an expert!

 

[karrierock]

We got a 400 watt AC power inverter from Pep Boys about two years ago for $49. It runs my husbands laptop. Hubby just said car places are usually cheaper, but Best Buy sells them too.

 

[katdocnorf]

Sometimes Costco carries them also for a decent price. I think mine is a 400 also and I didn't have any issues either.

 

[LSUmom4kids]

How about an inverter with TWO plugs? Does anyone have one of these to power a laptop and another device? How "big" (wattage or volts) would it have to be? What's a good brand?

Thanks!

 

[Cruz91]

Just a bit of advice - be careful about the load you put on your van's electrical system. If you have all the 'appliances' plugged in and in-use at one time along with an air conditioner that's probably going to be blowing full blast, you may run into trouble...

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

How about an inverter with TWO plugs? Does anyone have one of these to power a laptop and another device? How "big" (wattage or volts) would it have to be? What's a good brand?

Thanks!

I bought a double plug inverter off of Amazon. It is a Xantrex Technologies brand and was $33 or $34 and had free shipping. We used it for my laptop and for the kids to play their Gamecube on the tv while we had a long road trip. As someone else had said, do be careful of the load...if you try and supply power to something that takes a lot, you could blow a fuse in your car or worse.

 

[degrapevine]

... Just echoing what everyone is saying about overloading your car's circuits.
I brought along our power inverter to use with my laptop to watch movies while the kids watched theirs on the in-car DVD system.
After only using it for about 1 1/2 hrs., my DS9 yells out, "Hey! What happened to our movie?"
I looked at the radio/DVD display on the console and it was blank.
I had shorted out a fuse by overloading the car's circuits.
Thank goodness we only had 2 hours of travel time left (of a 16 hour trip from FL to OH)!
When we got to OH, my DH went to an auto parts store and found the fuse we needed, which was only $2.
I felt very lucky that I didn't "disable" anything else in the car and that it was easily fixed.
... It could have been much worse! (What if our speedometer or air conditioning had gone out?)
I would only use the power inverter in the future if the kids aren't using the in-car DVD system to avoid a repeat.
The inverters are great on their own, but combining too many electronic gadgets in the car is just asking for trouble.
Now I know better!

 

[LSUmom4kids]

thanks for the advice everyone. I guess just because I have 5 plugs throughout the van doesn't mean I can use all the plugs at the same time!

DS has a laptop, I have a laptop, we have a Sirius radio, we're thinking about buying a portable DVD player and the kids may want to play their game system. Besides the fact that DH, DS and I all have different cell phone chargers...

I'll check with my dad for his advice - he's an auto mechanic and should know better than anyone. He'll also be able to tell me about the fuses I should buy just in case....

 

[checkwriter]

This one has worked well for us. 400 watts; two plugs; good for laptop or DVD player (or phone charger).

http://www.ecost.com/ecost/search/s...ncimage=on&Search=3140507+++++++&submit1=find

 

[5dwarves]

We bought a power inverter by Black and Decker at wal-mart last year. Ours had 2 plugs (we used a 13 inch TV and a DVD player on it). It worked fine for us, even while we were charging cell phones in the front. They sell power inverters with as many as 3 plugs at wal-mart. I think we paid $49 for ours.

 

[kangareaux]

thanks for the advice everyone. I guess just because I have 5 plugs throughout the van doesn't mean I can use all the plugs at the same time!

DS has a laptop, I have a laptop, we have a Sirius radio, we're thinking about buying a portable DVD player and the kids may want to play their game system. Besides the fact that DH, DS and I all have different cell phone chargers...

I'll check with my dad for his advice - he's an auto mechanic and should know better than anyone. He'll also be able to tell me about the fuses I should buy just in case....

Hop over to Sams and get the inverter they have there. We have that one and it powers DH's laptop and a camera charger just fine. (We found it at the seigen lane Sams if you live in the BTR area.)