Topic: Installing a car trailer electric winch

[hotwheels]

Got a question about a winch i am installing on my car trailer. I trying to set up the winch so it can be removed from the trailer and i want to use a battery on the trailer to power the winch. Looking and reading a few articles it appears i can use either a deep cycle marine battery or maybe a garden tractor battery. My question is about charging the battery, i have a 7 pin plug on the back of the truck and from the trailer, it has 1 hot wire that doesn't go to anything, it's just a spare i guess. Could i use that wire and run like a 10 gauge wire from the plug to the battery and use it to charge the battery? I'm not sure if a hot wire just being hot will actually charge the battery or not. Can't really find anyone that has done this, so i am hoping that someone here may have used a battery on the trailer before.

[Cornfield Customs]

on mine i used the hot wire to power the winch to eliminate the need for a battery, then i used a push connector to attach the wiring.

[Greybeards Customs]

the hot wire will charge the battery as long as the battery has a common ground with the vehicle . It will see the same voltage as the truck battery so it will charge as the alternator works .

[mdracers]

But that will also drain the battery of the truck.  Probly the best way would be to use a isolator like they do in motor homes so you don't drain your starting battery.  I also wonder if you could put a diode in the wire from the truck. They only let power go one way.

[hotwheels]

I ended up just buying a deep cycle battery and just insure that it stays charged. I have used it several times now and it works perfectly. After i get the cars off of it, i slap the charger on it and let it recharge.....thanks for the ideas though.