Top 5 12V accessories to make life better?

Blue tooth headset would be #1.

Back before I had an APU and a bunkheater, I really liked the 12volt bunk warmers.

 

Don't really have much as far as 12v accessories go. I have chargers for electronic devices, of course. The truck has an inverter installed already, and a microwave, so it alleviates the need for a lot of it.
But assuming I'm making recommendations for someone who doesn't have any of these things, the only one I would say which is actually vital in any way would be the fridge/cooler. Why waste your money eating prepared meals every day, when you can do a bit of grocery shopping at Target. If you don't have a microwave, truck stops do.

The coffee maker/water boiler might be good to have, if you actually use it. If you have stuff in the truck which only requires you to add hot water (Ramen, Fresh Mixers, etc)

If your company allows it, the small plug-in power inverters are good. You can run laptops, printers, a television, etc. Don't go buying one of these 1500 watt inverters, though, and think you're going to run it off a 12v outlet.

I keep a little mini fan in the truck. Good for nights when I'm not idling (I don't have an APU), or when I just want to take a few minutes break from securing loads and tarping in high heat and humidity.

Can't really think of any others I'd have much use for.

 

I bought one of those 12v water boiler things once. I don't recommend it, mine took 30 minutes to heat up enough water for coffee. I also try to avoid anything made by road pro if possible. It's guaranteed to be crap.

My favorite 12v powered devices are my fan, satellite radio receiver, gps and cell phone charger. I used to have a 12v coleman cooler, but the internal fan burned out after four months of use. Now I use a dorm fridge/freezer I bought at walmart (not 12v, though). That fridge has already paid for itself several times over.

 

Skip the 12 volt drip coffee makers. You could whittle a coffee maker out of granite with a toothbrush faster than those underpowered thing make coffee. Mine would take 45 minutes to make 4 of the weakest cups of coffee I've ever tasted.

On the other hand the 12 volt immersion heaters meant to re-heat coffee are very useful if you buy/bring a thermos of coffee with you. IIRC, 8 minutes will heat a cup to piping hot.

I loved my 12 volt DC Oven. It looks like a mini toaster oven and is very versatile for heating food, including TV dinners. Much more practical setup than the lunchbox style "oven." It takes about 45 minutes to heat up dinner entrees. I strapped mine to a small wooden cutting board because it got pretty hot and could melt plastic truck parts like dash or rubber flooring.

Some companies don't allow inverters, needed for microwaves, 12v oven is an alternative.

electric cooler is a must for me, or was. I packed a weeks worth of food into the truck and ate almost all meals from my groceries and save about 100 over eating out all week.

TV/DVD is you like, but I'd prefer small plug-in inverter and spend time on laptop rather than TV, but that's a matter of preference.

Don't buy stuff until you are in your own truck and carefully weight the space and the hassle of using 12v devices before you buy them.

 

The Rally 7413 200W Cup Holder Power Inverter with USB Port - I like how it works and according to these Amazon reviews so do they; [ame]http://www.amazon.com/Rally-7413-Holder-Power-Inverter/dp/B002JH7PEQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t[/ame]

I first bought one of those bright yellow Powerdrive pieces of $#!t; only lasted three weeks

 

A friend of mines just bought a 15 inch (i think) tv with a dvd player from the pilot that plugs in a outlet and she paid about $225 for it. I thought that was stupid but she thinks it was a good deal.

 

for 200 bucks she should've just bought a Dell laptop ...

 

I bought one of those Road Pro POS, coffeemakers. I didn't even get a full cup of coffee out of the thing. The stainless-steel cup is nice, that's about it. The coffeemaker went to the dumpster. For now I carry my thermos for coffee, and a cooler for soda and sandwiches.