I am looking to buy a portable battery charger to keep in my truck in case of emergency. I live in Michigan so it gets pretty cold and I leave my car in drive way for weeks at a time.

What is the minimum cold cranking amps I should be looking for?
What would be the optimum AMP capacity I should buy? 350? 500? 1000?
Any specific make and model you guys would recommend?


I was thing about the Stanley J5C09 500-Amp Jump Starter with Built-In Air Compressor

with losses you want something bigger than the battery in your vehicle, and since your vehicle has more load than any other gm i would say the factory battery is around 7-800

So what you think about the charger I was thinking about getting? It says 500amp instant start and 1000 peak

not sure why they would call it a 500 if it can provide 1000. if its true it would be fine

Two things about starting your car: you'll need more amps in cold weather than you will in warm; and, if your battery is really dead, you'll need even more power to get your engine restarted.

Get as many amps as you can reasonably afford. A smaller jump-starter will easily get your truck going on a warm day when the battery'* a little dead, but on a freezing-cold morning when your battery went dead weeks ago, you'll need significantly more juice to get it restarted.

I have a small portable jump-starter, but the battery in my G5 is barely bigger than a lawn mower'*.

Finally, general advice: don't forget to keep your jump-starter charged. Two dead batteries will get you about as far as one. Plan to keep it plugged in overnight at least once a month.

I bought something similar years ago (another brand) and never ever had a need to use it and now its junk and won't hold a charge. Waste of money, the replacement battery for 2x what I paid new for it.

Buy a new battery for the SUV with the money and stop worrying. I live in Michigan as well, up here in da U.P.

Plug in a block heater and a battery tender, and buy a set of jumper cables.