Wiring a Trailer Mounted Winch to a Trailer Battery and Vehicle Battery

Question

Question:

I use an independent battery to runI the winch on my open car trailer. The winch and battery are mounted in a tongue tool box. Currently I am charging that battery at home before each use only. What do I need to do to allow my tow vehicle system to charge the winch battery when going down the road and then isolate that battery from tow vehicle when winching to keep from draining tow vehicle battery. 1 If I hook the black battery wire in my trailer harness to the winch battery, will this allow charging to the winch batterry? 2 Will my ignition switch isolate them when off? 3 Do I need a two battery universal isolater? 4 Do I need a isolater solenoid? 5 Also, do you see a problem with using this same winch battery as my hitch safety disconnect switch power source? I do not use the trailer very often but, I want optimum performance and safety when I do. I have just painted the trailer and I am in the process of updating all wiring. Please advise as to your recommendations!

asked by: Roger S

0

Expert Reply:

I have just what you will need. I have linked an FAQ article that explains the various ways to wire a winch. You will need the second half of the page titled Option 2: Wiring the Winch to a Separate, Trailer-Mounted Battery. I have also included a picture that shows how it would all go together.

You will need a battery isolator, # PK5231201, some wire like # 10-1-1 or # 12-1-1 sold in 1 foot increments, and a 40 amp circuit breaker # PK54540. You will wire it all up like in the picture.

Please note that a vehicle battery and the wiring will provide a maintenance charge only to the trailer mounted battery. The vehicle battery, alternator, and wiring is not strong enough to push enough amperage back to charge up the trailer mounted battery. The trailer connector must be disconnected from the vehicle before operating the winch to avoid damaging the vehicle battery or wiring.

To charge up the trailer mounted battery you are doing it right by charging it up using a battery charger and shore power. If you are interested in the latest in battery charging technology I recommend CTEK charger # CTEK56353. Three or four of us here own this charger and it is, in a word, awesome. It will not overcharge a battery and will actually help to extend battery life.

You could use the same battery for the winch and break away system but you should use a dedicated battery from the break away system. The reason is that if the shared battery were discharged too much the break away system may not work or work well enough to do its job.

expert reply by: Michael H

0

click to enlarge

Answer 1

You could certainly use Opti-Brite LED work light #TLL48FB on your horse trailer and put it on a switch but having it wired into the running light circuit could have some unintended issues. Specifically, if you forgot to turn the switch off and…

view full answer...

Answer 2

The Bulldog Winch part #BDW10031 would be a great winch for your application. You would want to center the drum with the center of your trailer so that when pulling the vehicle onto the trailer it would be pulling it straight and not to the side.…

view full answer...

Answer 3

The mounting bolt pattern for the ComeUp Winch part #CU644512 that you referenced is two mounting holes that are separated by 3-11/16 inches.

view full answer...

Answer 4

The ComeUp DV-4500i Utility Winch #CU644512 would work well for you and have more than enough capacity since it has a 3,500 lb rated line pull. Which if you check out the chart I attached you will see that the amount of weight this winch can pull…

view full answer...

Answer 5

I went out to our warehouse and got the following dimensions for the Stabilizer Jacks #TJ01RT-HD in the stowed position. I have included an image below so you can see the points I measured from. The overall length is 12-3/8" long,…

view full answer...

Answer 6

A brake controller like the P3 #90195 senses the brake magnets on the trailer when connected to the truck. It is possible that the blue wire (brake output wire from the controller to the trailer) is broken or missing somewhere so it cannot sense…

view full answer...

Answer 7

The Come Up winch #CU644512 that you referenced does have an integrated tensioner to help prevent bird nesting of the winch cable when retracting.

view full answer...

Answer 8

On your trailer if you can bolt winch #1120210 directly to that front frame structure then that would be ideal. If you want it on the diamond plate you will want to use a steel backing plate that is also bolted to that front frame structure. That…

view full answer...

Answer 9

The distance from the bottom of the mounting flange to the bottom of the outer tube on the Bulldog Round, A-Frame Jack part #BD155033 is 3-1/2". The mounting flange is 3/16" thick. I have attached a photo of these measurements for…

view full answer...

Answer 10

The Bulldog Winch 1.8 hp Trailer Winch w Mounting Plate, part #BDW15020 is indeed weatherproof. These winches are designed to be able to mount to a trailer and handle the weather. I also recommend using the Bulldog Winch Universal Wiring Kit, part…

view full answer...

Answer 11

You would not be able to charge your battery through the wiring on your 4-way trailer connector. Since your truck has a 7-way connector, you could maintain the power to the battery but not charge it. To begin, you would need to cut off your 4-way…

view full answer...

Answer 12

I was not able to find any ballard winches, but perhaps you mean Badland winch? I looked at the owner's manual for the Badland 9000lb truck/suv winch and they recommend a battery with a minimum of 650 cold cranking amps (CCA). If you are…

view full answer...

Wiring a Trailer Mounted Winch to a Trailer Battery and Vehicle Battery

Products Referenced in This Question

Product Page this Question was Asked From

Featured Help Information

Instructions

Miscellaneous Media

Continue Researching