[Nowhere Man]

If they are, I would expect a boom in conversion accessories to let you power your house using your car/truck electrical system.

I know in the 1950's and 1960's, many amateur radio operators and others added an extra alternator to their cars that will provide 120 volts A/C so they can run their ham radios. I have a Fall/Winter 1969 Montgomery Wards catalog that had one for sale that provided 3500 watts 120 volts A/C. I've also seen "dynamotors" where a motor converts 12 or 24 volts D/C into 120 or 240 volts D/C and them convert that to 60 cycle A/C. Other dynamotors only provided what the appliance required, usually the various voltages a radio needs for its vacuum tubes. Dynamotors used one set of windings for the 12/24 VDC input and the other winding put out the higher voltages needed. I saw a jeep from the Korean War with such a setup. getting back to the alternator, you just idled your 1950's/1960's era car and you get your electricity. Even some new cars do have inverters, the Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix has one, 115 volts A/C at sometime like 70 or 100 watts, I'll have to look at the one we have at work. It's good for plugging in laptops and "wardriving" for free Wi-Fi spots. B-)

[Steely Tom]

If they had 3500 watt aftermarker alternators back in 1969, they probably have 10 kW alternators (or more) today of the same size. Electrical machinery has gotten a lot smaller per unit output then it was then, although the shrink ratio isn't as much as for chips (if it had kept up with the shrinkage of circuitry, you'd be able to hold a 10 megawatt alternator in one hand; finding a 15,000 horsepower prime mover to hook it to might be a bit of a chore).

Dynamotors are old technology. Really old, we're talking WWII and before here. I've been told that they are quite inefficient, like 65% net. They're also quite heavy.

I use a little solid-state inverter I got at BJ's to power stuff in the car; it converts 250 watts and cost $29.95 two or three years ago. Plastic case. Weighs maybe a pound and a half. I've used it to power my computer for hours with the engine off; the battery seems to handle it fine. That's about the most you can draw from the cigarette lighter, at least in my car. If you need more than that, you need to do the kind of mods you were talking about.

Compared to the solutions that were available when I was a ham, 40 years ago, it's miraculous. Tiny, cheap, light, quiet, and efficient. Doesn't get hot. Doesn't buzz or hum.