Installation of Auxillary Trailer Lighting On a 16 Foot Landscape Trailer, Behind a 2006 Ford F-150

Updated 12/07/2009 | Published 12/06/2009

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Question:

I built a 16 foot landscape style trailer. I installed LED lighting in the bed to help aid in loading at dusk. These LED lights total 1 amp when operating. I have installed a battery on the trailer to operate these lights. Should the wire feeding these lights be fused to protect this wire ? Also, when I hook up this battery, do I ground the negative terminal to the frame where I ground the 7 way trailer plug also?

asked by: Nate

Expert Reply:

If you have installed a separate battery for the LED lights that you installed then you will need to use a inline fuse to protect the LED lights and battery from shorting out. I would recommend the Modulite Installation Wiring Kit, item # 118151, which has the inline fuse needed and wire for wiring the power to the lights.

You will need to ground the trailer battery to the trailer frame and the lights can then be grounded to the trailer frame. I would use a 6 gauge or larger wire and ground to the closest available point on the frame that will supply a good ground. The second battery will require charging when the battery gets ran down so this system would not be self sustaining. I believe a better choice would be to use the 7-Way power connection to power the led lights (see wiring link). This way the LED lights can be grounded through the trailer frame and they can be powered by the vehicles power connection. This will eliminate the need for an extra battery. Also if you decide to install the second battery because you want to be able to use the lighting when not connected to the truck, you can charge the battery with the power connection from the vehicle while the trailer is being towed. To charge the battery just ground it as mentioned before and run the power wire from the 7-Way connector to the positive terminal of the auxillary battery.

One other safety factor you need to keep in mind is that, if the trailer is enclosed, you need to install the auxillary battery outside of the enclosed space. Fumes from the battery could cause a fire in an enclosed space. You should use a battery box to protect the battery from weather.

expert reply by: Robert G