That old winch

Shoepeg

Member
I recently bought a used deck trailer to haul my tractor with. The trailer has a 6000 lb winch mounted on the tongue. The winch battery is mounted inside the tongue area just under the winch. Here's my question; how should I wire the winch battery so that it can be charged by the trucks' alternator?
 
I have a larger winch on my Gooseneck but only charge the battery every 5 or six heavy uses. I have always been concerned that under heavy load there would be to much draw back to the truck system that it would burn up the wiring. If any thing I would think hooking into the driving lights for power which is where my breaj away coupler is wired to. Just would need to make sure the lights are turned off during use.
 
If your truck is modern enough to have a trailer wiring package, the hot wire is already installed. Just run a jumper from the breakaway batt on the trailer to the winch batt.
Otherwise, starting at the truck batt, using #10 or even better #8 wire, run a 30 amp breaker, relay, & line to plug. Wire the relay so it is controlled by the accessory side of the key. This way the trailer batt will always be charging while driving, won't draw down the truck batt while parked, & won't overload the ignition switch.
It only takes about 1/4 amp to trigger the relay while the contacts carry the load.

Willie
 
I have a 2000 Chevy with a 4-way trailering plug. Would I need to change the plug out to a bigger one say, like a seven?
 
Is this 2000 Chevy the new style or old style? Some 2500 and 3500 models were still the old style in 2000.

If you have a new style truck, it's pre-wired for a 7-pin plug, trailer brakes, and the charging wire.

All you need to do is get the 7-pin plug for GM trucks (available at any auto parts store, walmart, tractor supply, etc.) and mount it on your bumper. There is a wiring harness plug hanging from the underside of the bed. All you do is pull it down, pull the cap off, and plug it in.

Up under the hood in the fuse box, you need to put a 40A fuse in the Stud #1 position to get power to charge the trailer battery.

For trailer brakes, there is a socket underneath a cover by where your left big toe rests when you're driving. If you buy a Tekonsha brake controller, it's plug and play because you can also buy a pre-wired adapter cable that plugs right into the truck's wiring harness.

As you can tell, I've done this a time or three. I've set up a 2000, 2002, and 2003 Chevy for towing with full power and brakes. It's really easy.
 
I'm not sure what you mean old or new style?? I wish I had a 2500! All I have is a 1500 with towing package. I'll crawl up under my truck and see if the wires are there that you speak of. I know, I need a 2500 to tow a 20' deck loaded with a seven or eight thousand pound tractor. Right now, I have no choice. I appreciate that info, I'll get out here and check it out!
 
I removed my breakaway battery and use the winch battery for that purpose as well. It does charge from the truck. I suggest you unplug the trailer from the truck when using the winch. If something would happen to the wiring, there is a possibility of burning up wiring harness to the back of the truck. That is a lot of $$ to fix.
 
GM redesigned their trucks in 2000. Some of the 25/3500s were the old style while the 1500s and some 25/3500s were new.
 
I have a winch on my gooseneck that I use to load dead tractors. I made up a long set of jumper cables out of some extra weld lead I had. For hard pulls that I know will use a lot of power on the winch, I just hook the jumpers to the battery for the winch and to one of my truck batteries. I just don't trust the small wires in the tow package for that much draw. It has worked great for me. Just my thoughts, Keith
 

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