Want to wire a winch on trailer to my truck.

Wing Rider · January 17, 2018

New to the forum. Recently purchased my first GMC product. 2017 GMC Sierra, 5.3, 4x4, SLT. I have a car hauler trailer with a Smittybilt, 12000lb winch on it. I would like to run a wire from the battery connections of the truck to the rear with a quick disconnect plug at the rear to be able to connect the winch. Does anyone know if the fusible links at the battery are sufficient enough to carry the load and if so, which one should I connect to? I see there is a blank space at a 175 amp and a 400 amp. I assume you could also put it under the lug for the jump start also, as long as you installed some type of circuit protection for it as well? Thanks in advance for any input.

austingta · January 17, 2018

You'll want a very large wire, at least 4 gauge, with a big fuse in it. Car stereo wiring kits can accomplish this easily. Run it direct off the battery and terminate it at the back with something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Engineering-Universal-Electric-Wiring-Disconnect/dp/B0758X8KP7/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1516147967&sr=1-2&keywords=20+foot+power+cable+with+quick+disconnect

Buy a male version of this and wire your winch to it, and voila! power for your trailer winch when you need it.

Roadking01 · January 17, 2018

I recommend putting a separate battery on the trailer to power the winch ...a good deep cycle ..

then use a 7 pin trailer plug and use the hot wire to charge the battery as the truck is running / driving ....

running a winch directly off truck power source is inviting trouble ...IMHO...

Paintor · January 17, 2018

Easier to put a battery on the trailer an charge via the 7 pin trailer plug...like a camper.

Hoginedgewood · January 17, 2018

Might make a difference what winch.

I like the idea of a battery on the trailer.

I bought the wife a Warn winch that’s driven by a cordless drill, rated at 500 lbs. I think it would pull a mower on the trailer, possibly a car if it wasn’t up hill, but doesn’t sound like it would work for your needs.

carkhz316 · January 17, 2018

15 hours ago, austingta said:

You'll want a very large wire, at least 4 gauge, with a big fuse in it. Car stereo wiring kits can accomplish this easily. Run it direct off the battery and terminate it at the back with something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Engineering-Universal-Electric-Wiring-Disconnect/dp/B0758X8KP7/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1516147967&sr=1-2&keywords=20+foot+power+cable+with+quick+disconnect

Buy a male version of this and wire your winch to it, and voila! power for your trailer winch when you need it.

I wired up a friends truck exactly like this (he does logging with it as a side-gig) It's been 4 years and it's been trouble free. Sure, it taxes the alternator and battery a little bit more, but he loves it.

cossack · January 17, 2018

Wing we need to know how big the winch is, not in pounds but an amp rating.

wforrest08 · January 17, 2018

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-how-to-wire-an-electric-winch.aspx

If you go with option one use a quality quick connect I’d recommend ones with covers if you live in a wet/cold climate I ran tow trucks for years you get what you pay for in automotive wiring. Also getting a good ground on some kinds of trailers is something of an art form as to why I like opt 1 as it uses the truck for the ground. If you go with opt 2 (batt on trailer) wire yourself in a solar quick connect charger for your winch batt and your trailer brake batt (if you have one) Amazon has them “on sale” all the time for 10 bucks that way your trailer is ready to go when you are...

Wing Rider · January 17, 2018

Thanks to all for the input. The winch I have will have a motor draw of 330 amps.

I am still leaning toward installing the cables to the truck with a quick connect, because I really only see me using the winch occasionally. If I purchase a battery for the trailer, it will have to be maintained also to keep it ready to go. I typically only use this trailer a couple times a year.

If I used it more often, I would definitely go with the separate battery and charge it from the 7 pin connector.

audioworks04 · January 18, 2018

330amp?!? Are you sure? You’ll need a minimum of 1/0 gauge wire and you’ll want to add a second battery to the truck for that amount of current draw. Your best option in my opinion would be to add two deep cycle batteries to the trailer and charge them from the 7pin plug as others have mentioned. 330amp pull is very large, you’ll be hard pressed to find a fuse that large. I would guess you have something more around 40-60amp which would still recommend 4 gauge wire, which by the time you buy it and a quality disconnect you will probably spend more than you would a battery and battery box with probably lower performance.

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Paintor · January 18, 2018

If you are serious about running it....google “humvee nato slave connector”.

Rated for 24 volts up to 500 amps.

probably pick up the cables for jump starting humvees on Ebay and all the connectors you need.

.....yer truck is gonna need another battery to send that much amperage out the back of your truck.

Wing Rider · January 18, 2018

Looking at the spec sheet, the max draw for the 12000 lb winch is 330 amps.

I will check out the Humvee connector today also.Spec Sheet.docx

Wing Rider · January 26, 2018

Thanks for all the input. I called the winch manufacturer and got their recommendations also and thought I would pass them along.

They definitely recommend coming directly off the vehicle battery. Run 1/0 cables from the battery to the rear of the truck and put on an Anderson Connector at the rear. Mount the positive and negative cables directly to the battery. Install a switch on the positive cable near the battery so the power can be turned off when not in use. They recommended part # 3001 on Bluesea.com for the switch. The switch is capable of 600 amps continuous.

Roadking01 · January 26, 2018

just something to ad and maybe others can input ..

I always was told to put the shut off on the neg cable ... as the positive connections and switch are more prone to corrode

wforrest08 · January 26, 2018

I’m guessing the winch manufacturer is saying the positive cable for the fact that if you were to rub/cut though the insulation and separator then ground out the 1/0 positive cable on the undercarriage your best case scenario would be a welded/melted battery and worse case would be a burned to the ground truck.

Otherwise if you were just going to install a battery shut off switch you would want to install it on the negative side (except for racing applications) for the same reasons you disconnect the negative first and reconnect last when changing a battery.