Jump Statt Battery Pack

Healeyman wrote:

My issue with the one I just bought is that the 12 VDC Power Port (cigarette lighter) output will not Turn ON and STAY hot unless the ON button is repeatedly pushed. It turns off after a few minutes.
.
.
.
Is this the way they ALL work?

Many/most do ! It will take some serious shopping to find one that does NOT !

Both DeWalt and Milwaukee make adapters for their batteries so that they can provide USB power and maybe 12V. Any DIY solution needs a charger.

I think option #1 is the more effective.

willald wrote:
I strongly recommend option #1 - Use a charge line from Motorhome to your towed vehicle.

Unless there is something wrong with the TOAD battery, I don't know why you would consider any other option.

If there is something wrong, probably better to fix it than do a work around.

I strongly recommend option #1 - Use a charge line from Motorhome to your towed vehicle.

Will be sooo much cheaper and easier in the long run. No extra battery to have to purchase, wire in, keep charged when not in use, etc. Let the Motorhome's 12V system keep your car's battery charged so it can run the brake system, and don't worry about it.

I did this with the last two vehicles I towed, and it worked great all the years I towed that way. Just plug in the red 6-way cable and forget about it. Nothing fancy is needed, either, just have to make sure you put a fuse on the charge wire right before it goes to your battery.

Current towed vehicle (Jeep Wrangler) does not need this, so did not wire in a charge line when we set it up to tow. The last two did, though, and if the situation ever changed and I needed to keep the battery charged, would be very easy to run the wire to do such.

FunTwoDrv wrote:
I did run our BrakeBuddy with it for a day due to a skechy battery in the Jeep. Seemed to work fine. Gary

Gary,

Thanks for your answer. Please read my response above.

I think that I will just get a larger capacity LI battery and LI specific charger and make some cables. Then I'll fab a small toolbox size case to house it all.

I feel naked without a spare battery on hand.

Tim

toedtoes wrote:
If you are trying to power a brake system that lays dormant until you engage the brakes, then no, these packs won't work.

toedtoes,

Thank you so much for your informed answer. It seems that few people and none of my car buddies have any experience with, or knowledge of, these Jump-Packs.

Yes, what I quoted from you (above) is exactly what I wanted to do.

After playing with it a bit more, I can agree with what you have said.

I have a couple of options:

1) I already have a charge line from the RV to the towed car. While I have not tried it yet, that will probably keep the towed battery charged.

2) After chatting with a local LI battery supplier, I can buy a much larger LI battery and a LI specific charger MUCH cheaper than this Jump-Pack cost. I already have the materials, tools, and knowledge to fabricate all of the needed cables.

For over 50 years, until the last few years, I have always had an extra battery "on the shelf", just for emergencies.

I'll probably go with option 2

Thanks again,

Tim

Tim, I took my jump pack apart and used the battery info to order a similar battery off of Amazon. With the new battery, I just wired an outlet to it and use that as a cheap Jackery to charge phones, run lights etc when our power is off. I did run our BrakeBuddy with it for a day due to a skechy battery in the Jeep. Seemed to work fine.
Gary

I'm not sure exactly what you are trying to do, however, I have a multitude of theses packs and use them for various devices so I can tell you this:

You cannot attach the jumper cables to a 12v battery AND use the USB or 12v output ports at the same time.

When using the jumper cables, they are not meant to run continuously - they just provide a starting current and then stop.

When using the output ports (USB or 12v), the pack will stay running as long as the connected device is pulling power from it and there is a charge left in the pack. Once the device is turned off or otherwise stops pulling power, the pack will shut down automatically.

If you are trying to power a brake system that lays dormant until you engage the brakes, then no, these packs won't work. You would need a different type of pack that does not have an automatic shut off.