Jump Starter

[Dippytwo]

I'm looking for a fairly inexpensive battery jump starter that I can carry around in my MH (6.8L gasser). With these batteries now days there is no warning when they die and I don't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere. What have you used?

[Gary A]

I have a "rugged geek" and it works very well. Holds a charge at 100% for a long time. Jumps a 6.8L,

[steve76]

I carry a battery pack jump starter I bought for Harbor Freight. Haven't used yet but nice small unit for around $60.

[Bob Denman]

Ditto on the Rugged Geek: it's powerful medicine!

[Pete'sMH]

I’ve not carried one of these because the house batteries provide a backup. But I wouldn’t mind adding one to my emergency kit. Am I correct in assuming the rugged geek unit would jump an Onan? Can you jump it by connecting to one of a pair of dead coach batteries?

[revjeffrey]

For the price of that.. I purchased a full size battery & I have my set of good cables. Try starting a dead motorhome in cold weather or any conditions with that....No Thanks.

[SuperD]

I vote for the Rugged Geek too!!! I have three Geeks, one in the MH, one in my Yukon, and one in my wife’s car.

[Shawn62]

Originally Posted by SuperD

I vote for the Rugged Geek too!!! I have three Geeks, one in the MH, one in my Yukon, and one in my wife’s car.

Dave,
What model Rugged Geek do you recommend? The first time I saw one of those small boosters a AAA service truck used it to boost a Ford Super Duty. I like how small and light they are and you can recharge phones and laptops.

[Gary A]

I've got the Rugged Geek RG 1000. Bought it after I was jumped by roadside assistance. Couldn't believe this thing, the size of a VCR tape, would do it. Went to Amazon that night an ordered it.

[SuperD]

I have the RG1000 jump starter and power supply, no air compressor. My friends at a local motorcycle shop ordered 10 units and this is where I first saw the Rugged Geek. Guess no one was buying them so they were put on sale and I bought three, knew I wasn’t going to get a better price.

[Dippytwo]

i was looking at the GOOLOO 1000A Peak 20800mAh SuperSafe Car Jump Starter (Up to 8.0L Gas, 6.0L Diesel Engine) and it has some good reviews, but made in China and not sure about the quality. I took a look at the Rugged Geek and it looks like it is well made.

[blw2]

yeah, those little things look interesting. Several months back I picked up something similar, although I'm sure a lower quality level device, from walmart.
I forget even why I bought it now, but I think I was looking for a little something to take out in the boat one time for some reason, thinking that I'd then keep it in DW's car....

which reminds me I probably should pull it out and recharge the thing!
..... in my thinking, THAT is the biggest problem with something like this.

Anyway, so far I haven't really considered one in the RV. Mainly I suppose because living and travelling in the east we are almost always around other folks so a set of cables is a nice tertiary backup to the house battery..... which brings up a thought just for brainstorming purposes....while not as good in some ways as one that would handle starting the V-10, considering it's just for back-up purposes a smaller one that could handle starting the genny could be just as well...and smaller/cheaper/easier to store.


Oh, I'm curious about the OP's comment, "With these batteries now days there is no warning when they die ". That hasn't been my experience..but I suppose my experience is very limited. What makes you say that?

[Dippytwo]

Originally Posted by blw2

Oh, I'm curious about the OP's comment, "With these batteries now days there is no warning when they die ". That hasn't been my experience..but I suppose my experience is very limited. What makes you say that?

I just had this happen to my car and has happen to me with other cars. The battery works fine, starts the car like it's supposed to, then just a clicking noise when trying to start again (sometimes just an hour after I had driven). In the old days (way back in the 70's and 80's) you could tell when the car battery was wearing down by how it sounded when starting the car, and taking longer to start the car. Now it works one minute and not the next.

[tmshih]

There's are new jump starters that use Supercapacitors instead of lithium battery banks. The advantage is you can use the reserve energy from your "dead battery" to charge it right before jump starting your vehicle. This means it doesn't use batteries and doesn't need to be kept charged before using them. So far the highest capacity chargers I've seen are 800A for a couple hundred dollars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq3ihYJ4rbE

[blw2]

Originally Posted by Dippytwo

I just had this happen to my car and has happen to me with other cars. The battery works fine, starts the car like it's supposed to, then just a clicking noise when trying to start again (sometimes just an hour after I had driven). In the old days (way back in the 70's and 80's) you could tell when the car battery was wearing down by how it sounded when starting the car, and taking longer to start the car. Now it works one minute and not the next.

interesting.... shorted cell maybe??
it's been maybe 2-3 years since the battery in my daily driver died. I knew it was going down by the starter running just a hair slower...it was subtle. I've seen it go this way a few other times too over the years, but none recently and none with the newest generation of cars.
The only batteries I've had that were just plane dead as a door nail without "warning", was two when my wife left her lights on all night, and in my boat and old popup camper when I left those in storage for many months and they were done in by self discharge.

Anyway, I wonder what has changed....