Does anyone know about ARK Portable battery boxes and where to buy them

[Brett From Ark]

Ark Pak USA possible road trip

Hi all

just wanted to also add in that mike Hiscox got one of the 1st US spec Ark Pak's released to the general public in the USA ,so he would have a lot of 1st hand user knowledge on the Ark Pak, he is a great bloke to deal with and chat to.

also on a different note which i will start a separate thread in due course when i have done a little more research but just wanted to ask. If Ark was to come and visit the USA what show / annual meeting would be a good starting point, as we really want to get out and meet the people 1st hand who take the Ark Pak out on the adventures of a life time, i wonder does jeep have a annual meeting related to the rubicon trail ???
in Australia we have several big 4x4 annual events such as
tuff truck - http://tufftruck.com.au/
son of trails - http://www.nissanpatrolclub.org/son-of-trials/
willow glen challange- http://www.tlcc.com.au/willowglen-challenge/willowglen-event-information.htm

if you want you can email me the suggestions or post up on this thread

best regards

Brett from Ark

 

[southpier]

...The case is no great piece of art--it's thin black plastic that fits the innards as tightly as possible. I assume the goal was to make it as small and light as needed for the job, and that's what it is. The cover for the controls seems a bit flimsy because it's made of the same thin black plastic, but the handles are secure and the case is protective enough. The key point is that I'm not sure you'd want to carry, or pay for, anything more elegant......

will there be a heavy duty, "expedition - proof" case offered in the near future? I can decide for myself if it is a value and within my budget. thanks.

 

[Corey]

Thanks Brett for signing up.
On regards to a battery, the Sears Platinum group 31 that Mike is using is very nice.
Can you also use say a cheaper group 31 AGM with good results?
My local Les Schwab tire store stocks lots of batteries there.

 

[fullofdays]

Interesting. I'm thinking of a dual Jeep/trailer setup. Curious if I can use this box and a group 31 for shore power 110v connection on my trailer to power fridge/LED's in my trailer and move it to my truck when not using the trailer.

 

[mhiscox]

Just wanted to also add in that Mike Hiscox got one of the 1st US spec Ark Pak's released to the general public in the USA ,so he would have a lot of 1st hand user knowledge on the Ark Pak . . .

Thanks for the kind words, Brett. It's good to have you posting--feel free to take over any of the consulting work here that you care to.

As far as where to show the ArkPak to prospective users, the two obvious suspects are Easter Jeep Safari in Moab around (duh) Easter and our own Overland Expo in Arizona, probably in May. But there are lots of off-road shows, Jeep Jamborees, and so one where the ArkPak would be well received and critiqued by knowledgeable prospective users, and where it would be worth attending if you were "in the neighborhood." (And if you were looking to expand with prospective dealers or distributors, those might best be chatted up at the SEMA show in early November in Las Vegas.)

 

[Corey]

I had prior watched three of the videos from the Australian site, but it looks like another popped up linked from the US site where I ordered mine from.
This is great stuff
I see Ark used an Excide AGM battery, so I will explore my options there.

Looking forward to this showing up at my door soon.

And Mike, thanks again for all of your help on this.

 

[mhiscox]

will there be a heavy duty, "expedition - proof" case offered in the near future?

I suspect that the current black plastic case isn't meant to be a work of art, but I don't know that many people would want/need anything more "expedition-proof." All the case does is house the battery and electronics and cover the controls and the connector ports, and it does that in the most obvious, minimalist way possible. The plastic is tough and unbreakable, so I don't see room for improvement there. And I don't think it's going to happen, but the covers for the ports and controls could wear or stop fitting tightly--there's no positive latch on them, just a sort of friction fit over tiny bumps molded into the plastic--but even if a cover stopped sealing tight, it wouldn't have any effect on the usefulness of the unit. And the hinge/latch between the top (electronics) half and the bottom (battery) isn't going to wear out because you only open it to change batteries, which I don't expect to do again for five+ years.

 

[mcieplinski]

Thanks Brett for signing up.
On regards to a battery, the Sears Platinum group 31 that Mike is using is very nice.
Can you also use say a cheaper group 31 AGM with good results?
My local Les Schwab tire store stocks lots of batteries there.

Hi, thanks for the battery recommendation. I just looked at sears website and their DieHard Platinum group 31M but I can't confirm if it is the 130ah version...

 

[mhiscox]

Can you also use say a cheaper group 31 AGM with good results? My local Les Schwab tire store stocks lots of batteries there.

There's not really any Consumers Reports-type information on Group 31 deep cycle AGM batteries, but a few brands have gotten some reputation among marine users . . . Odyssey, Deka, Braille, Penn, Exide, Trojan and Concord/Lifeline batteries are some you hear mentioned favorably. Rolls-Surette might be the most highly regarded of all, but you probably wouldn't want to pay for them. As you'd perhaps expect, multiple brands come out of the same factories--the Platinum DieHard started getting attention when people decided it was the really the same as the Johnson Controls-built Odyssey with Sears branding and an lower price.

But for this sort of use, I wouldn't agonize. For one thing, comparing the warranties will go a long way toward estimating how much life the manufacturer expects out of the battery and allow you to figure a per-year cost. And a good warranty will help protect your investment should you get a "lemon." (Which happens . . . I've had both an Odyssey and a Lifeline that had to be replaced.)

 

[zimm]

Hi all

just wanted to also add in that mike Hiscox got one of the 1st US spec Ark Pak's released to the general public in the USA ,so he would have a lot of 1st hand user knowledge on the Ark Pak, he is a great bloke to deal with and chat to.

also on a different note which i will start a separate thread in due course when i have done a little more research but just wanted to ask. If Ark was to come and visit the USA what show / annual meeting would be a good starting point, as we really want to get out and meet the people 1st hand who take the Ark Pak out on the adventures of a life time, i wonder does jeep have a annual meeting related to the rubicon trail ???
in Australia we have several big 4x4 annual events such as
tuff truck - http://tufftruck.com.au/
son of trails - http://www.nissanpatrolclub.org/son-of-trials/
willow glen challange- http://www.tlcc.com.au/willowglen-challenge/willowglen-event-information.htm

if you want you can email me the suggestions or post up on this thread

best regards

Brett from Ark

http://www.vermontoverland.com/overland-rally-workshop/

 

[mhiscox]

Hi, thanks for the battery recommendation. I just looked at sears website and their DieHard Platinum group 31M but I can't confirm if it is the 130ah version...

OK, WTH?!

Using Google, I just went to the Sears Group 31 Platinum DieHard page:

http://www.sears.com/diehard-platin...1x000001&kpid=02850131000&kispla=02850131000P

and found that the current product is spec'd as a 100 amp-hour battery. (It's the amp-hours at the "20-Hour Discharge Rate" that's the commonly used metric.)

Where the heck did the 130 amp-hour unit go?? It's not the end of the earth, as 100 amp hours is still a hefty amount of current, but still . . .

So here's what I think (not an expert, though) . . . I'm going to guess it's the same battery and that the old rating was inflated (perhaps as the result of poor testing procedures), and just as the EPA mileage ratings of some cars have had to be lowered, this AH rating of this DieHard's been dropped. I'm making this guess because everyone else's Group 31 deep cycle AGM is more in the 100 AH range. Excides are 104, Lifelines are 105, the East Penn Deka is 105, and, most significantly, the Odyssey Group 31 that is supposed to be the same battery as the Platinum DieHard is 100 amp-hours. Nothing I found is higher than 105 AH, which is a long way from 130.

So . . . it appears that the 130 amp-hour Group 31 AGM is now as hard to find as Bigfoot and Nessie. If anyone can locate a 130 amp-hour group 31, PLEASE post up here, and if Brett or anyone else from ArkPak can say where they got their 130 AH batteries . . . well, inquiring minds want to know.

 

[zimm]

plate thickness/design.

the deka has a lower cca and higher amp hour. its less of a starting battery and more of trolling motor/accessory battery .

i have the platinum marine in my boats and a truck, mostly due to the fact that a sears is always convenient and i have turned in platinums no questions asked.

that having been said, the 850 cca is more than ample to start anything were driving, and the extra amp hours would be sweet. taking a winch out of the equation, the deka is clearly the better battery choice for this application, if youre not worried about warranty ease.

 

[Corey]

Mike, I see ArkPac was using an AGM made by Exide in one of their videos, the one I posted above at 50 seconds.
Exide Stowaway 120 amp.
I do not see it listed on the Exide site though.
http://www.exide.com/us/en/product-...ns-transportation/marine--transportation.aspx

 

[Ed B]

I'm in, just completed my order. Are they shipping from Australia or the U.S.? Trying to estimate delivery time.

Thanks

 

[Corey]

I think from Chicago from what I read earlier.
Hope to see mine next week.