Dump Trailer Battery

[woody]

jaxs thanks for the information, I did post that I had a relay wired in so as my truck auto disconnects when trailer is dumping. This is exactly why I asked this question to start with to get different opinions and real world experiences.

LD1 thanks for your replies also I ordered the material including a breaker to wire into my truck I guess I will see how this works and if it works well on my dump trailer I will wire up my tilt bed.

 

[LD1]

jaxs thanks for the information, I did post that I had a relay wired in so as my truck auto disconnects when trailer is dumping. This is exactly why I asked this question to start with to get different opinions and real world experiences.

LD1 thanks for your replies also I ordered the material including a breaker to wire into my truck I guess I will see how this works and if it works well on my dump trailer I will wire up my tilt bed.

You get the Anderson type connectors?

I bought mine as a kit.....i don't have the tools to make a good crimp on wire that large.....and trying to piece together my own, by the time I bout the wire, connectors, and eyelets....then a crimper.....the kit was cheaper.

I took a good look at my truck with some string, and a measuring tape to see how long I needed on the truck side. Don't want to be a mile too long....and definitely don't want to be short.

But once the truck is done.....any other trailer becomes just the short run with matching connector. Easy and cheap.

I did look the kit I bought up last year off fleebay. It was $133 for 28ft and 8ft. Same guy now has it listed for $500. But I see several others in the $150 ballpark.


One note though.....watch for the cca or dcca wire. Not that they don't work.....they are just cheaper and don't last as long. I wanted pure copper

 

[skipmarcy]

If you don't have a battery in the trailer and the trailer breaks away from the truck you will not have break-away brakes unless those 2 ga. wires are still attached and dragging the trailer along still ...

 

[woody]

If you don't have a battery in the trailer and the trailer breaks away from the truck you will not have break-away brakes unless those 2 ga. wires are still attached and dragging the trailer along still ...

I am planning on leaving a battery in the trailer as a matter of fact I'm not changing what I do now I always leave home with a fully charged trailer battery.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

The guage of cord running all the way to truck battery would cost way more than a good battery and either a solar charger or a plug in charger.

We have to run ours off the truck batteries and the trailer batteries because it's daylight to dark hauling and dumping. Anything less and you're dead in the water.

 

[woody]

You get the Anderson type connectors?

I bought mine as a kit.....i don't have the tools to make a good crimp on wire that large.....and trying to piece together my own, by the time I bout the wire, connectors, and eyelets....then a crimper.....the kit was cheaper.

I took a good look at my truck with some string, and a measuring tape to see how long I needed on the truck side. Don't want to be a mile too long....and definitely don't want to be short.

But once the truck is done.....any other trailer becomes just the short run with matching connector. Easy and cheap.

I did look the kit I bought up last year off fleebay. It was $133 for 28ft and 8ft. Same guy now has it listed for $500. But I see several others in the $150 ballpark.


One note though.....watch for the cca or dcca wire. Not that they don't work.....they are just cheaper and don't last as long. I wanted pure copper

2Ga Permanent Installation 7pc Dump Trailer/Winch Kit 36ft Universal kit​

I ordered this from Amazon, I liked the fact it had a breaker and all connections were already made up.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

I'm considering connecting my dump trailer to my trucks battery, I have seen several kits to do this with but my concern is the strain it would put on my truck battery and since my Ram has two batteries does it make a difference which battery I connect to? I also have a tilt deck hydraulic trailer that would work with that set up. If I did set this up would it be better to keep a battery in the trailer so that maybe there is not as much strain on the truck?

We just run a welding lead from truck batteries to trailer batteries. Have a connection, twist lock, near the hitch ball. Can haul and dump daylight to dark no problem. 10 dumps a day easy.

 

[LD1]

2Ga Permanent Installation 7pc Dump Trailer/Winch Kit 36ft Universal kit​

I ordered this from Amazon, I liked the fact it had a breaker and all connections were already made up.

It's probably dcca wire....not as good as copper....but should work just fine

 

[woody]

I looked until I give up and this looked like the most complete kit I could find, don't like the DCCA wire either but the reviews were all good with the exception of one. I know a couple of scrap dealers I might have to put the word out I'm looking for some welding wire and see what shows up But on a good note it should arrive about the time my 83 year old Dad is coming to visit so that will give us a project to do he still likes to get out in the shop even he sits and supervises me.

 

[LD1]

I looked until I give up and this looked like the most complete kit I could find, don't like the DCCA wire either but the reviews were all good with the exception of one. I know a couple of scrap dealers I might have to put the word out I'm looking for some welding wire and see what shows up But on a good note it should arrive about the time my 83 year old Dad is coming to visit so that will give us a project to do he still likes to get out in the shop even he sits and supervises me.

I think you will like it. Never having to worry about the state of the battery back there and knowing it will always dump. And not have the embarrassing moment when your at a customers trying to get it up and just can't

 

[JCoastie]

semantics: isn't DCCA wire specific to audio, and what we are really talking about here is CCA wire? The "D" standing for both "developed" and "DAIKOKU" the company who designed it.

 

[woody]

semantics: isn't DCCA wire specific to audio, and what we are really talking about here is CCA wire? The "D" standing for both "developed" and "DAIKOKU" the company who designed it.

Sir I believe you are correct copper clad aluminum

 

[LD1]

semantics: isn't DCCA wire specific to audio, and what we are really talking about here is CCA wire? The "D" standing for both "developed" and "DAIKOKU" the company who designed it.

The term is used interchangeably. Not dissimilar to adjustable wrench/crescent wrench, Allen wrenches/hex keys, Kleenex/tissue paper, etc etc etc

 

[JCoastie]

lol they are using DCCA as "double" cca, that's funny marketing lol

 

[Thunder chicken]

A few years ago I had issues with keeping my dump trailer battery charged , lots of short trips, truck was not keeping it charged. I ran 4ga wire (marine cable) from truck battery, through an 80a fuse, through a solenoid (activated by switch in cab), Anderson plugs…. In trailer a 40a Circuit breaker to trailer 12v battery. This has been working great. I’m the meantime I added a 25a cb on the trailer end of the charge wire from the truck/7 pin. (Truck has 30a fuse on this circuit under the hood… seems crazy for a small wire)
Now, even when it’s -30° and the oil is stiff, I can engage the trucks battery via the solenoid and have lots of jam.
When I first made it up, i had a self resetting 40a CB in the trailer. It was a cheapo, and would trip/cycle all the while dumping, so I know the truck was able to feed it ~40 Amps via my added wiring. Voltage is in the 13’s if I recall….

I put a load meter on the hyd motor and it indeed draws ~200amps while dumping…..I wondered if a starting battery would be better for high draw short cycles, 200a for around 2 minutes is quite a bit of power….

 

[alexpops]

Amazon sells lengths of pure copper welding wire too, but price seems about 50% higher than when I bought mine in January. My neighbor's an electrical contractor & he ran underground conduit to his new shop 9 months ago, but hasn't pulled wire yet due to the cost of copper. If you can make due with the CCA for a while, I'm guessing the coming recession will help pricing sometime over the next year or so.

 

[JCoastie]

I put a load meter on the hyd motor and it indeed draws ~200amps while dumping…..I wondered if a starting battery would be better for high draw short cycles, 200a for around 2 minutes is quite a bit of power….

just another date point confirming that. I have a 6x12 10K dump, with a 7k capacity.
No load (empty) current draw was ~125a and lifting ~7000 pounds was ~225a

 

[woody]

All good information now I'm concerned about the cca cable but it's on the way so I will try it. does anyone know if they make a dummy plug just to hold the cable connector on the trailer when not in use or maybe when being pulled by a different vehicle?

 

[jaxs]

All good information now I'm concerned about the cca cable but it's on the way so I will try it. does anyone know if they make a dummy plug just to hold the cable connector on the trailer when not in use or maybe when being pulled by a different vehicle?

The same plug that's on truck is as good as you will ever find.

 

[LD1]

All good information now I'm concerned about the cca cable but it's on the way so I will try it. does anyone know if they make a dummy plug just to hold the cable connector on the trailer when not in use or maybe when being pulled by a different vehicle?

The Anderson connectors usually have a rubber cap. I simply coil the cable up and store it in the battery compartment when not in use