Wiring In Lights And A Battery Charger For A Horse Trailer Tac Room

Updated 04/23/2024 | Published 04/21/2024

Products Featured in This Question

Trailer Wiring Junction Box

(821)

$31.98

NOCO Genius Smart Battery Charger - AC to DC - 12V - 2 Amp

(156)

$40.18

Bright Way Smart Charger and Maintainer - 12V - 7.5 Amp

$69.74

Opti-Brite 12V/24V LED RV Dome Light - Single - 6-3/4" Long - White Housing

(651)

$43.51

Opti-Brite 12V/24V LED RV Dome Light - Single - 6-3/4" Long x 3-15/16" Wide - White Trim

(651)

$29.73

Spectro 14-Gauge ATO-ATC Fuse Holder - Qty 1

(14)

$2.04

Question:

I have a horse trailer that has a tac room. I would like to add a battery and 12v lights to the tac room. I would like the battery to be charged from the trucks 7pin RV connector, plus a small battery charger to keep the battery charged when not connected to the truck. Do you have the products and a wiring schematic for this type of installation.

asked by: Steven S

Expert Reply:

Hi Steven,

To trickle charge from the 7-way you can just run a 12AWG line from the 12v accessory wire in the 7-way/junction box to the battery. From there you can install a small charger like the NOCO Genius Smart Battery Charger # 329-GENIUS2D. This charger can plug into an outlet and will provide a small 2 amp charge for the battery and is recommended for batteries rated up to 40 amp-hours. You can go bigger but if you're just powering some 12v lights you really shouldn't use much power, especially if you install LED's.

If you go with a larger battery then I'd switch to the Bright Way Smart Charger and Maintainer # 3805212, which can handle batteries from 28 to 250 amp-hours.

If you don't have the lights then I recommend the Opti-Brite 12V/24V LED RV Dome Light # OPT48FR if you don't want to install a separate switch since these have touch sensors to turn the light on/off and adjust the brightness. If you're wanting to use a separate switch then I'd go with the Opti-Brite 12V/24V LED RV Dome Light # OPT98FR instead. I've attached a couple of my videos below to help walk you through this installation. These lights can be ran to a DC distribution panel or just directly to the battery with an inline fuse holder # SWC9538 to help protect the lights.