They you’re doing it wrong. I needed a jump this weekend (left a light on in the car) and was up and running in 10 minutes vs over an hour estimated for AAA. And no dirty hands. I’ve also needed them at remote trailheads where there’s no cell phone reception or very long arrival times for AAA.
I used to keep cables in my vehicle, now I just keep a set at the house. I can’t remember the last time I needed them, now that pretty much every vehicle has headlights that auto-shutoff. I also have money for a tow, and a wife that can come pick my ass up. Failing that, I can always jump start it.
I’ve always carried jumper cables, a few tools (pliers, screwdrivers, vicegrips), a windup flashlight, an avalanche shovel (small, light weight ,and sturdy), spare gloves, and wool socks (which can double as mittens when shoveling).
I definitely do. I’ve needed them maybe once or twice myself, but have bailed out other people maybe half-a-dozen times.
The problem with that is I always find that about a day or three after I jump someone’s car my battery is completely dead. It’s happened too many times to be just a coincidence. But I have them in there regardless.
I just bought a new set relatively recently actually because my old pair heated up so much the plastic coating melted and started on fire right on my engine :eek:.
I ended up buying a super heavy duty pair so that shit don’t happen again!
FTR I also keep a toolset, funnels, towels, tranny fluid, washer fluid and a gas can back there.
I don’t as the old ones broke but this thread reminded me to get some.
I find that people don’t know how to give a jump and think you’re screwing things up when you make the last connection to the frame and not the remaining battery lead.
I have them too. As well as a pair of leather work gloves and some simple tools. As the winter season is upon us, I will also place a box with insulated gloves, blanket, folding shovel and various other things to keep me warm and hopefully not stranded for long.
Not to hijack the thread, but I also keep a full change of clothes including shoes in my truck. (Usually older stuff, but something to get me out of wet stuff). Does anyone else do that?
I used to in my old 87 Mazda 323 once it got on in years. My 1998 and 2001 Corollas are too young to worry about yet.
But I do carry a little tool kit, flashlights, ropes, quart of oil, and such.
I also keep a shallow cardboard box in the trunk for when I’m carrying plants and other dirty items.
I used to have some, I think somebody borrowed them and never brought them back.
I do have a pump that plugs into the cigarette lighter in case I get a flat.
I have roadside assistance on my phone as well. I haven’t used it in years, but at 2.99/month it is worth it.
Heh. Can’t count the number of times I’ve been told that! They’re always amazed that it works. I do take the time to explain why, though.
A vehicle is never too young to have a dead battery!
I carry a pair of jumper cables in each of my vehicles and have made sure my kids have a pair as well. Whether they keep them in their vehicles, however, is another discussion!
Always. Also a folding shovel and a regular floor jack rather than just the standard issue scissor jack.
I have cables in both vehicles. Some new cars have batteries that are tough to reach and connect to. I think there are (or were) vehicles that had remote terminals specifically for jumper cables but I couldn’t name one. I got a jump once from a guy that had jumper cables permanently wired to his battery and kept coiled around the brush guard on the front. I don’t remember how he kept the hot one from touching ground. He never popped his hood, just unwound the cables and hooked to my car. Jumper cables are one of those things where it pays to spend the money and get good ones that don’t get stiff in cold weather.
Also, I had a battery go bad with zero advance warning that it was close to failing. Decided to fail on a warm spring day at the put-in for a paddling trip out in the middle of nowhere. Really glad I had cables that day.
Sears battery charger & a nice/long 300’ orange extension cable.
All street lights have a 220 AC plug inside of them under the face plate at the base.
That and jumping via jumper cables will kill one of our modern car’s computers*.
*****Per an ex co-worker who was possibly the best damn natural mechanic that I’ve ever seen.
I have the heavy gauge ones based on advice from here on the SDMB. For convenience, I also have a Halo Bolt with which I am supposed to be able to charge my own car.
And the compressor to fill my tires, and a coat, boots and a snow shovel. And hand/foot warmers. I had a nice million whatever (candlepower?) flashlight which was never used but stopped working anyway. Now I have a smaller flashlight which probably also doesn’t work.
Jumper cables, tire patch kit, air pump, first aid kit with cpr masks, blankets plus foil survival blankets, candles and matches in a can, flashlight, flares, and in the winter spare coats, mitts and snow pants. All of it takes up about a small gym bags worth of space and when you’re driving in an area that regularly sees -40 and the nearest garage could be an hour or more on the highway if you aren’t carrying most of this you’re asking to be a statistic. Even when I lived in the city I still carried most of this.
Jumper cables and tire air compressor. As said earlier, one learns better to have and not need than need and not have. In this environment no actual survival gear is required.
I always have. Nothing worse than getting stuck in -40° weather because the cold sapped the battery, so it is best to be prepared.
Definitely have the cables. Actually, I have a small roadside kit with flares, pliers, tape etc but I actually went and bought heavier duty jumper cables because my old car used to eat batteries. I don’t think it ever made it through a warrantee period and nobody could figure out why. The big problem was finding somebody to help jumpstart my car. I usually had to assure them that yes I had cables and that I knew how to use them and I wouldn’t blow up their car. I was amazed at how many people had no idea how to jumpstart a car. And then there were the men (always men) who insisted on doing it for me and that they knew much better than me how to do it (and invariably connected both negative ends to the negative terminals instead of grounding the one on my car). It’s hard to shove somebody aside and take over when they’re doing you a favor, though. Still pisses me off.
I have cables in my pickup as well as one of the LiIon jumper power pack units. I’ve never had to use the LiIon unit on my own vehicle, but I’ve used it on several others. Folks are always amazed that a device the size of a tablet PC can crank a V8 with no problems.
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Fahrenheit or centigrade?
I used to, and they at some point worked, but they stopped working. I definitely have thought about getting a back-up battery supply like the guys have when they come out to jump my car after calling roadside assistance.