Because most cars and trucks do not consider  power inverter usage at the beginning of design, it’s important to avoid overusing vehicle power system.

One of the critical factor to consider is the capacity of the battery. If an inverter is used when the vehicle engine isn’t working, the battery trends to be run out soon (the using time depends on wattage of load).

Although some trucks have additional space for an extra battery, which is supposed to help reduce the affect of using an inverter when the engine isn’t working, that isn’t always an good choice.

Using an inverter with vehicle engine working will let vehicle battery be charged at the same time, if your load is not too big.

Since vehicle alternator is mainly designed to provide enough power to run some electronics in a vehicle, generally less than 200w and keep the battery charged for next engine startup, they may not have enough extra capacity to run a powerful inverter.

The best way to avoid this kinda problem is to check into the rated output of your vehiclel alternator and using a appropriate load with your inverter. If that isn’t enough, then you may need a specific battery for inverter using.