Reddit reviews Cobra CPI 1575 1500 Watt 12 Volt DC to 120 Volt AC Power Inverter

Get a PO Box immediately so youhave a place for your mail to go. Don't check "commercial or business use" or the post office will be obligated to give out your contact info for anyone who asks. They are about $30 for six months.

Buy a little urinal jug for $5 or pack of disposable ones for $12.

(You have to pee when in a car a lot more than your tire goes flat so why do you have a spare tire and no pee jug in your trunk?)

Here is one with a female adapter for $5. everyone should have one of these in their car trunk anyway.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000M3DCHI?ie=UTF8&tag=reddit0e-20

here are some disposable cardboard paper ones 6 for $12 if you want something smaller.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NV878S?ie=UTF8&tag=reddit0e-20

You don't want to exit a car at night to walk the woods or city streets to find privacy. Aircraft supply stores came up with these women's pee jugs which are used in small airplanes flying for several hours when no one wants to land just to pee.

Other practical things from a friend of mine who has camped across the country:

If you have a car to sleep in find the neighborhoods with lots of apartments becuase they usually have a lot of apartment dwellers who park overnight on the streets so your car won't get hassled.

IF you live near a swimming pool park, beach or lake a lot of them have open showers.

If you have a sportsclub membership you can usually shower and change clothes there (might be worth the monthly purchase for national shower privileges alone.) If you go to a 24 hr one in work out sweats no one will think anything of it if you "accidentally fall asleep" on a floor mat "doing your exercises".

Buy a small wind up or battery powered alarm clock.
A plastic jar of peanut butter, a half gallon jug of spring water, a multivitamin and aspirin bottle, cold cans of chicken based Progresso soups with rice or veggies (which taste like high end gazpacho cold) and a spoon or fork and a can opener a wash cloth, deodorant, hairspray, toilet paper are wonderful things to have in a car at all times whether or not you are homeless/camping whatever.

A wool blanket is a wonderful thing for warmth and window privacy. A Sunday newspaper and tape makes great car window privacy (but also alerts police you might be sleeping in your car which is illegal some places.) An alternative is some of those sun reflectors for car windows which you can get at the 99cents store. Lots of people leave those on windows when they aren't sleeping in a car.

Even an out of service (with canceled monthly bill etc) cell phone can be used for emergency 911 calls if you keep it charged.

Get a thing that plugs into your cigarettes lighter that lets you pull in regular electrical plug devices to do things like run your cell phone and small laptop.here's one for $25

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000157TNA?ie=UTF8&tag=reddit0e-20

WARNING they CANNOT BE USED WITH HAIRDRYERS or HEATING THINGS becuase those use to much electricity.

for that you need a heavy duty one 1500 watt one which will be a few hundred like this
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00126IDDC?ie=UTF8&tag=reddit0e-20

no 2000 watt hairdryers if it's 1500 watts! (you should really not use a hairdryer in your car)

Even the smaller ones for cell phones and laptops will run down your car battery within an hour if the car isn't running and the larger one may even run it down when the car IS running becuase they pull so much electric juice.

If you are ever sleeping in your car, the easiest way to stay warm is to get a 2 liter soda bottle and empty it and fill it to the top (no air) with the hottest tap water you can find from a public sink, screw the plastic lid back on tight, and then put that bottle in a blanket or sleeping bag with you. You will stay very warm all night. You probably will need to wrap the hot water bottle in a pants leg or blanket becuase it will be hot on your skin otherwise. Don't leave air in there or it will expand and pressurize the bottle as soon as the hot water gets shaken. got o an aquarium store and buy two clear hoses like in aquariums.
One small diameter and one larger.

The small one can fill jugs from sinks etc when you can't get the jug under the sink faucet.
The large one can be used to route fluids outside your car without opening the door or to help fill radiators etc.

Get a $5 led flashlight and bunches of batteries for 99 cents

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LIQQ7M?ie=UTF8&tag=reddit0e-20

Those are all good things to have in your car anyway.

So, I've been doing some research on this topic to sort of plan out my options, take note that I have not used any of these products yet. There are a few different routes to go as far as cooking in a vehicle. Assuming you have no AC power inverter, you can run 12v appliances. Such as a lunch box cooker or a 12v slow cooker. The problem with this seems to be that these products are more expensive, and are prone to crap wiring and breaking(something to do with the circuits heating and cooling too often).

What seems to be a better option, is to install an AC inverter. You absolutely need to add the correct size fuse, as close to the battery as you can, on the power cable(and perhaps more fuses near outlets). This is to prevent fires, that could potentially kill you. Use the biggest gauge wire you can to power your inverter, this will let you pull the most amps. Bigger inverter = more crap running at once, or bigger appliances.

The most basic option would be to install 400 watt inverter and buy a $10 crock-pot from Walmart, or one of those simple rice cookers. If you install a 1000/1500 watt inverter, you should be able to run something like a 700 watt microwave. You really need to be careful, and do some research and check the power levels on everything. Many consumer products are advertised according to their power output, not input. A 900-watt microwave oven might actually use 1400 watts (on its highest setting). So plan accordingly. Something like this 1500 watt cobra inverter should be able to run a 700 watt microwave without incident.

I'm a van camper and use one of these.

Well if a DA polisher needs 450-600w then you could power one with one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00126IDDC/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_yv9-ub05SQPK8

One could wire it into the trunk of their mobile detail vehicle like an amplifier.

Meh, I have a 1500w inverter that isn't pure sine. I've been using it the past year, without any serious issue, charging and running electronics.

https://www.amazon.com/Cobra-CPI-1575-Power-Inverter/dp/B00126IDDC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1468430313&sr=8-2&keywords=1500w+inverter

I will say that it is finicky, and I'm certainly not in love with it. But it has worked.