Computer info

Plenty of DC laptop supplys on eBay.

http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_nkw=universal+dc+laptop&_sacat=0&_dmpt=AU_Laptop_Accessories&_odkw=universal+12v+laptop+supply&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

Just check how much power you laptop requires.

Thats the Wattage on the Power supply. Also make sure you buy one that provides the correct voltage.

We travel with an inverter under the seat pluged into a power outlet into which the comuter plugs into
Daz

Also depends if your laptop is still under warranty. If so you may have to buy the recommended one for that make/model.
We have a HP laptop and bought a 12 volt charger at Jaycar and never had a problem with it. The charger came with a number of plug sizes to fit most laptops and had settings for the correct power. Just check what your 240 volt charger says, check the watts. Incorrect or dodgy chargers can kill your battery. So watch the very cheap ones.
Kevin

Hi Michelle,

Some people happily use a cheap inverter to power the laptop ........

Others have tales of destroyed machines, lost uni projects and no photographs from a month long trip ...... BTW, we took some 2700 images on our last eight day trip.

We use a 12 volt power supply with multi tips to power both laptops, in fact ALL our chargers for cameras, video cams, AA and AAA batteries are 12v.

Much easier in our opinion.

Cheers ........ and have a great trip.

Wayne & Sally.

P.S. Some people are very shy about having 240v running in the vehicle when there is any form of water crossing. Yes, we do understand the safety aspects too.
W&S.

I bought a pure sine wave 240v inverter for charging up those devices that I don't have a 12v plug for.

Especially with sensitive devices like laptops you must buy a 'pure sine wave' inverter. These are more expensive than a square sine wave inverter.

My inverter is a 1000w nominal with 2000w peak. This will power most all 240v devices that I may need on the road.

I cost about $180 a year ago and I bought it from bit-deals on ebay - they are an Austalian outlet that others on this forum use regularly.

The only thing about having a 240v inverter when traveling is the danger of 240v which can kill you. You either need to make sure it is unplugged or isolated when driving just in case you have an accident and end up with 240v charged metal around you. Unlike your household these devices don't have a safety trip switch and will just keep zapping you until you are dead. This also applies when you are using the device to charge your gear. Should you cut or damage you 240v cable to your appliance it will kill you.

Even applies to having a generator when camping.

But 240v is handy.

Cheers

Serendipity