Trailer mounted winch question

[Joel/ak]

How do you power it? Obviously the easiest solution is a battery in the box but how do you keep it charged? Can you wire it into the trailer lights with a trickle charger?

What's the best way?

 

[jjeff]

Id Get a small solar panel with charge controller. Have one on a pontoon boat and it's worked for a few years it can be permanently mounted anywhere if it has a bracket or its easy to remove and store. Or If you have a 7 pin you probably have continuous power, don't recommend it though.

 

[sandman2234]

I mounted not one, but FOUR semi truck style batteries in a stainless pan on top of the gooseneck level of my Big Tex and used a 4500 pound winch to drag 2 dead tractors up on the trailer with implements dragging! Only near the end did I bother to hook up the jumper cables to the truck, mainly because I didn't want to pull the batteries down too low.
These batteries were from a Prevost that we had get stuck up at the Church and they had an electric issue and blamed it on the 3-4 year old batteries. They put new ones in, and I snagged the old ones!
Got enough capacity and charging becomes secondary!! However, I would seriously consider a solar charger mounted on the trailer for all the time, and look into hooking up the tow vehicle for when it is being pulled!
David from jax

 

[Joel/ak]

Solar is nice but prefer using truck power. We use the trailer year round but if there's a lag in use, I'll pull the battery and put in basement on a tender thevway I do my lawnmowers battery in the winter.

Wonder if I can tie into the trailer brake system. It powers it while hooked up....

 

[sandman2234]

Probably not the "trailer brake system" but you can tap into the pigtail off the truck and use the power wire to feed the battery. It is usually the white wire, the center position on the pigtail, but I am sure someone with more recent experience might be more helpful!
David from jax

 

[nyone]

I ran heavy gauge wires to the rear of my tow vehicle. Dosnt cost much more than a battery, battery box and some way to charge it. It also is always charged..

 

[Jeepnford]

I'm thinking of getting some #1 battery cable and running from the truck battery to the back bumper and putting a high amp quick connect on it. I'm putting a winch on my new car hauler and on my small trailer I use to haul a zero turn. I found out how hard a dead zero turn is to load. I figure I can run the battery cable for about the same price as two batteries.

 

[CliffordK]

My winch is on a custom 1 1/2" receiver (to be deck height). I don't keep the battery connected to the winch, and trickle charge it at home after each use, and perhaps before each use. Currently a 12K Badlands Apex, but previously 12K Badlands ZXR (which died mid use 6 months ago).

Battery is generally an Odyssey PC1700 series AGM battery.

One of the heaviest things I've loaded was an Oliver AG6 Crawler. Non running, but the tracks did roll.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

How do you power it? Obviously the easiest solution is a battery in the box but how do you keep it charged? Can you wire it into the trailer lights with a trickle charger?

What's the best way?

I recently rewired things on my 32-foot flatbed to accommodate an 8K winch.

The trailer had two batteries (for air suspension and a hydraulic pump) which I removed, then put a large AGM in the front toolbox where it's a short run to the winch.

Ran 2 ga back to the compressor and pump, over a switch so those things can be turned off, and a smaller switch to interrupt the (upgraded) charging wire on the 7-pin. That one is always hot on my Ram.

It's only a 30 Amp fused circuit, and I do not want to end up feeding the Ram from the trailer, or vice versa. That switch is only on when driving.

Also put a quick disconnect at the battery for 25-foot jumper cables, to help the trailer battery during longer and/or heavier pulls.

When parked, the trailer gets charged with a small solar panel.

 

[Joel/ak]

Thanks guys. Got some good ideas

 

[John0829]

No more than I use the winch on the trailer I just use my heavy duty (custom made) jumper cables.

 

[sandman2234]

My heavy duty custom made jumper cables are made from 2-0 welding lead with some really good clamps.
Good connections and sufficient wire size is critical, and a good sized...or multiple good sized batteries helps a lot!
Keeping the batteries up is also critical, which is why trickle chargers or solar powered trickle chargers help to keep the batteries in shape, and ready to go. Once you start pulling with the winch, solar or trickle chargers don't matter. At that point, keeping the battery from draining is the main objective. How you do that, is up to you.
My dream connection would be to run serious cable to the rear of my tow vehicle, with the ability to hook jumper cables to a large battery kept charged by solar trickle charger. A setup from a tractor trailer might be a good way to go.
David from jax

 

[Too many Kubotas]

A setup from a tractor trailer might be a good way to go.

I'm guessing you mean four large batteries?

 

[sandman2234]

I'm guessing you mean four large batteries?

I was referring to the posts mounted on a lot of trucks nowadays that have a "terminal lug" which is a place to hook jumper cables to the truck. The batteries on the 2020 International I drive are tucked in under the steps, and while you can see them thru the access door, it is tight when you try to hook cables to them. However, under the hood is a pair of posts that are tied into the batteries and are there for easy access when you need to hook up jumper cables.
I don't have a picture, but might get one at some point if I get a chance.
David from jax

 

[sandman2234]

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This mounted on the back of your tow vehicle would make jumping the trailer winch battery easy when needed without pulling all that power thru the pigtail. You would need to run some serious wire to carry the current but once done, would make access to the vehicle battery a lot easier from rear of vehicle.
Another plus, is when your battery dies and you are pulled into a parking space and both spaces beside you are in use, you can jump the vehicle by attaching cables to these at the rear of the vehicle and get yourself going!
Just for the record, my F350 does not have these, although my daily driver (semi truck) does...and my Big Tex gooseneck does have 4 tractor trailer batteries to power the winch...
David from jax

 

[Too many Kubotas]

However, under the hood is a pair of posts that are tied into the batteries and are there for easy access when you need to hook up jumper cables.

Ah, that's the same concept as on Dodge Challengers, for example, that has the battery in the rear.