A friend rescued me a while back with a jump starter & I decided that I ought to own my own...  Sure, probably start more gassers than diesel BUT worst case would be one of these stone cold diesels.  So I'm looking for recommendations from those who own them.  What to buy, what to avoid?

 

Those who have them...  do you carry in a vehicle or store them in a shop or central location?

 

Thanks!

I bought a Diehard platinum portable power 1150 from sears, one of the more expensive ones at over a hundred bucks as It does and offers a lot, it had the most reserve and highest cranking amps, has a 150 psi air compressor with built in gauge and hose has a 120 v inverter and 2 plug ins and 2 12 v plug ins and has USB charging ports too plus an LED light built in. I carry it on my pontoon mainly as I boat on a large lake and can end up many miles from the closest person or shore at times and its nice o have a bit of extra insurance from a dead battery if a storm is coming ect.

 

They do make a car charger for it but I do not have it, I store mine at home and it has to be checked and recharged every couple of weeks at least as it does draw down over time, It has a digital read out that shows the % of charge and it is slow to charge if it is down below 50% it takes 4-8 hours to top off, even if it is at 70-80% it takes a couple hours to charge to 100%.

Edited December 19, 201311 yr by Wild and Free

I'm in the market just to replace the set of jumper cables some stole out of the back of the 1996 Dodge Ram. I've thought about those boxes at times but with all the maintenance I do on my truck I've never had a dead battery yet.

 

I like the one W&F mentions...

http://www.kmart.com/diehard-platinum-portable-power-1150-with-jumpstarter-air-inflator/p-082CO54125312B

Can the 2nd and 3rd and 4th gen trucks be "PUSH" started if they have manual tranny??!!

Can the 2nd and 3rd and 4th gen trucks be "PUSH" started if they have manual tranny??!!

Yep

Can the 2nd and 3rd and 4th gen trucks be "PUSH" started if they have manual tranny??!!

Only if the Battery voltage is at or above 9.5 volts, anything less and the ECM will not function thus a no start...............................But I would have fun watching it.

 

Another reason I like these is the places vehicle do wind up with dead batteries makes for a challenge getting close enough to get a set of jumper cables to reach from one vehicle to another a lot of times, can't cont the times I have had to move things or pull a vehicle out of a tight spot to even get close.

Edited December 20, 201311 yr by Wild and Free

I myself just carry a good set of cables. I think mine are 2 gauge wire by 20 feet long so usually I can get to wherever the vehicle is parked without having to move anything. I would get a jump box but it is not worth it to me having to make sure its charged all the time and what not. I woud imagine leaving the box in the truck wouldnt really work out either with how cold it is here. The cold would suck the juice out of it pretty quick.