Trailer Winch Wiring

[Newblue]

I have four other winches so I mounted mine permanently to the front of the gooseneck. Didn't want to lose the D ring so I made a bridge/mount for the winch.

 

[fried1765]

The kit at eTrailer was $119. I can put the same kit together via Amazon for about $60 using 4-awg wire and 350 amp quick connects (winch draws 240 amps). But then I saw a 25' 2-awg set of jumper cables for $30. Since my truck is almost 15 years old I might skip wiring it up and just use these jumper cables if I need them. Then, when I get a new truck I'll wire it up and I'll still have a good long set of jumper cables too.

Thanks for the help guys. At least I'll know how to wire the new truck properly whenever that time comes.

Yours is the best idea of all those posted!
Make up a set of 2AWG jumper cables that are 25' long.
Put a 400 amp quick connect on the winch end.
Put 400+ jumper cable clamps on the battery end.
Now you can use the winch/trailer, behind your truck, or any other truck, any time.

 

[N80]

Yours is the best idea of all those posted!
Make up a set of 2AWG jumper cables that are 25' long.
Put a 400 amp quick connect on the winch end.
Put 400+ jumper cable clamps on the battery end.
Now you can use the winch/trailer, behind your truck, or any other truck, any time.

I cannot find 400 amp connectors and the 350 amp connectors that I can find say that 2 awg wire really won't fit them well.

 

[N80]

I have four other winches so I mounted mine permanently to the front of the gooseneck. Didn't want to lose the D ring so I made a bridge/mount for the winch.

Nice fab work. I do not weld so I have come up with an ingenious bolt on system using hitch parts because I want the winch removable and don't wanted bolted to my trailer deck. I say ingenious because it is still in the planning stages We'll see how ingenious it looks when I'm done.

 

[fried1765]

I cannot find 400 amp connectors and the 350 amp connectors that I can find say that 2 awg wire really won't fit them well.

I think with the 25' length, that 4 AWG wire would be fine.
You also could just snip out a couple of strands from the 2 AWG wire where it enters the connector.
The winch will likely have only 6 AWG wire.

 

[N80]

I think with the 25' length, that 4 AWG wire would be fine.

That is what I'll do when I get my new truck (it will be used/new to me, I never buy new anymore).

You also could just snip out a couple of strands from the 2 AWG wire where it enters the connector.

That is what most folks online have done.

 

[Argonne]

I had a removable electric crane mounted in the bed of a pickup back when I was cutting a lot of firewood. To power the crane (12vdc electric winch), I a 3 ga pair from the battery, through an inline fuse, under the truck, and terminated it to a 3 blade 50A welder outlet mounted inside the bed at the rear near the tailgate. The crane had a matching male plug. Both the 50A outlets and plugs are cheap at the store. Although the rating is low for a winch, they easily handled the current of the winch's intermittent operation...those conductors are massive. Worked out great for years and I only had like $30 invested in the connectors.

 

[N80]

Thanks. I just now looked up welding connectors. I found 350 amp ones. Those look interesting and it looks like a set screw clamps the wire into the connector which means no crimping or soldering if that is correct. I might go that route. They aren't cheap but I only need 2 pairs at the most.

 

[Fallon]

I'm a huge fan of Anderson connectors. I love the PowerPoles for up 45@ draws for my HAM radio & portable automotive type stuff.

I'm standardizing on Anderson SB175 connectors for all my big power needs. Yellow is technically the correct color for 12v. Grey or red is used a bit too. Different color Anderson's are keyed differently & can't connect across colors.

Loped the end off a new pair of jumper cables & put a SB175 on em. Makes hooking up for a jump so much easier. Clamp both ends up with no fear of arcing, then just connect the plugs when ready. I'm going to be mounting a pigtail to my tractor & truck so I only need 1 end of the cable & won't have to pop the hood on either of em.

I will be using the same interface for wiring up my new Harbor Freight 12,000lbs winch. The SB175s are a hair under rated for the max current draw of the winch, but the low duty cycle on the winch means there won't be overheating issues.

 

[N80]

I'm a huge fan of Anderson connectors.

That's what comes with most of the commercial wiring kits. I like them too. In fact, I used to race RC trucks and I always converted my battery leads to PowerPoles. Still have the crimp tool but it is too small for these large gauge wires.