Jump Box, Jumper Cables or Both?

[armyRN]

(to continue from my previous post above)... A couple years ago my wife and I took the ferry from Port Angeles, WA to Victoria, BC to celebrate our 20th anniversary (we went to Victoria on our honeymoon in 1998). On the return trip to Port Angeles, we got in line at the ferry terminal in Victoria in plenty of time, and had some time to kill before they started checking passports and such. And other vehicles started lining up too. One was a large van, and I guess they had a kid (or two?) playing video games or something in the back seat (running down the van's battery) while waiting. Anyways, when it was time to start up vehicles to start loading the ferry, his van wouldn't start. He was stuck. I had cables, but even then I couldn't get out-of-line to turn my car around to give him a jump. It was at this time I decided "I need to buy one of those portable jump start thingies so this never happens to me". If I had had one, I could have just walked back there and given him a jump. So the next time we went to Costco, I bought their "Type S" brand jump starter thingy (the only one they sold - $50 or so). I can toss it under the seat - it really doesn't take up much space.

When I go overlanding (in either my truck or Jeep) it comes with me. Or if my wife and I go somewhere for a few days in her Crosstrek, it goes with us. You can also charge cell phones with it, and use it as a portable power pack. I guess if you were going on a long (multi-day) hike you could just bring the box itself to keep a cell phone charged.

This one is mine - I know there are a bunch of different models out there. And I'm sure if you searched someone has done reviews and comparisons of different makes and models. I am so not the expert. I did do a search on them before I bought this one, but I figured if I got it at Costco (vs Amazon or direct from some manufacturer) if I had an issue I could easily return it. And it was cheaper than a lot of the ones I was looking at. It has been a few years, so I don't know what jump-starter thingy Costco is selling now.

Dynamic Plus - DP40

A high-capacity, portable power bank with smart and safe jumper cables, the TYPE S Dynamic Plus - DP40 12V 6.0L Jump Starter Power Bank With Wireless Charging features two USB ports and a built-in wireless charging mat that can keep all of your devices powered for hours on end. More importantly...

typesauto.com

And according to their video, if you buy this one, you'll have more fun, be better looking, have better looking friends, be the hero, and will be able to better enjoy the great outdoors.

 

[Jeremy M.]

I prefer the jump box

 

[El-Dracho]

I prefer the jump box, but carry both, also jumper cables. Maybe this because of the luxury of space. Don´t know. But a couple of weeks ago I borrowed the jump box to a buddy to jumpstart a small lorry. The problem there was, that the jump box was strong enough to start that thing but the connecting cables were to short to reach the battery which was mounted somewhere under the floor under the seat. So good to have both sometimes.

 

[Zarddog]

I carry both I have flat plugs front and rear on my rig and 20 foot cables. That way I don't have to go crazy trying to get into position to give or receive. I use a cheaper box (can't remember the brand) that has served me well but gets depleted quickly when the draw is high. I have an inverter and keep it charged. I've used it to provide a 12v source testing trailer lights or charging devices as others have mentioned.

 

[Brewbud]

Some of the newer cars/trucks with push-button type starting have the computer monitoring the battery state of charge. With those, you should have the negative lead of the battery pack attached to a good ground or at least to the ground side of the Battery Sensor and not to the battery's actual negative terminal. Otherwise, the computer may not know current has flowed into the battery and may not release the start command when the button is pushed. The same applies when hooking up a battery charger. New fangled stuff designed to trip you up.

On my new Ram the Intelligent Battery Sensor is located right at the negative terminal. The correct place to hook up the charger is just a couple of inches away from the battery terminal.

 

[18163.175]

Some of the newer cars/trucks with push-button type starting have the computer monitoring the battery state of charge. With those, you should have the negative lead of the battery pack attached to a good ground or at least to the ground side of the Battery Sensor and not to the battery's actual negative terminal. Otherwise, the computer may not know current has flowed into the battery and may not release the start command when the button is pushed. The same applies when hooking up a battery charger. New fangled stuff designed to trip you up.

On my new Ram the Intelligent Battery Sensor is located right at the negative terminal. The correct place to hook up the charger is just a couple of inches away from the battery terminal.

Land Rovers are very picky when it comes to stuff like this. I would never use a Rover to jump start anyone, it sounds bad as I'm typing this, but it could easily cost thousands to replace the scrambled computers.