Portable jumpstarters - what will work with D1?

[BlackAndTan]

Is a 400 amp portable jumpstarter sufficient for starting a D1 should it ever have a dead or partly-drained battery? (I have one of these jumpstarters already, by Vector, that also has a tire inflator... so I'm curious as well about whether anyone has found these kinds of devices sufficient too for inflating Disco tires?)

Thanks..

 

[James Fulcher]

I have 400 amp portable charger that I have kept in the back of my 95 D1 for a year. I have used it numerous times myself due to leaving the radio on or something else stupid, and have used it countless times helping others. I dont know what I did before I got it. I have a 12v outlet ran to the rear so I can hook it up and charge it while on the road if neccessary. Mine does not have a air compressor with it but it is worth carrying for the jumpers alone.

 

[Disco Mike]

Usually the combination does not work that well, except for emergencys. The compressor side is minimal at best, but it is also better than nothing for those once a year problems.
Mike J.

 

[hardtoguess03]

I've had one for a couple of years. I've never needed the jumpstart feature for my D1, but have used it to bail out others in varying vehicles with great success.

The inflation feature is a different story altogether. I carry a puncture repair kit (plugs, plug tool & rasp) So far I've fixed two of my own roadside flats without removing the tire from vehicle or jacking. It takes less time than changing the wheel and it's a lot cleaner, too!

Eric

 

[BlackAndTan]

Thanks. I carry a puncture repair kit too, just on the premise that it's a good idea and Disco tires are heavy suckers.

I've used the jumpstarter device to start a tiny car, but never the behemoth. (I will say that having jumped other vehicles from the D1, it's amazing... like the D1 doesn't even *notice* a power drain in the slightest! I love this thing.)

There are really varying prices on the jumpstarters.. Costco has a fairly high amp one that looked decent.. if I had it to do all over, I would get the highest-amp one possible, would definitely stick with the tire inflator too. Mine has a DC input (to run DC stuff on) and also a DC recharge capability for itself. I would *love* it if there was also an conventional household AC plug in there so that minimal household electrics could be run off of it.

In that regard, I do have a separate device called a power pack, I think - Target brand called "Greatland"... it's basically a battery - about 1/3 the size/weight of the jumpstarter device. It's basically a rechargable battery with an inverter built in... you charge it up and can run small household electrics from it, or can use it to run DC (cigarette lighter plug) electrics.

At moment it's hooked up to a 1.5 watt trickle charger in the trunk of a sitting vehicle that needed a slow round-the-clock charge vs. a one-time jump. We'll see how it does... it still had juice after about 24 hours.

Now, in *theory* I suppose I could, if I ever needed to, charge up the jumpstarter from the DC while driving. And then plug the power pack into it, to charge from it... and then run small electrics off of that.

I don't even want to think about how inefficient that would be, however...

(One additional thought... if outfitting a D1 with an 'emergency kit' that includes a jumpstarter/inflator.. might be worth it to compare the inflation capabilities of a multi-use kind of device I have, to a dedicated inflator device that runs off DC (or DC/AC). I kind of suspect there are dedicated devices out there with more oomph than mine. But it's been handy for inflating floats and did a handsome job inflating a tire on a small, lightweight car.)