Trailer Winch Wiring Question

Hey Guys - I have a 2010 dbl cab Off Road - I will be using it to tow my boat to and from the local boat ramp. On my boat trailer is a power winch to pull the boat on the trailer ( I use a double line to pull it on for less strain on the winch and cable ).

My question is this - What is the best way to power the winch. My prior vechicle was a Ford Explorer and all I would do was use the male plug into the winch and I had large clips on the opposite end that I would attach directly to the battery. Is this safe to do with my Tacoma or will it screw up the electrical system or computer some how?

Also, can anyone give me advise as to where I can attach a hot lead because I rather install a plug at the back of the Tacoma instead of using the cable and clips ?

Thanks for help ......... joe

 

You can hide one in the bed storage boxes but you might want to put a switch in the cab somewhere and an in-line fuse so it's not hot all the time. Otherwise, I believe the 7-pin trailer connections have a power line in them to charge a trailer battery, you might be able to tap into that for the winch. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong on that one.)

 

I would install a separate line for the winch power directly to the battery with a fuse in the line. If you make the circuit part of the regular lights hookup you run the possibility of blowing the fuses to your taillights if the current draw of the winch exceeds the small fuse in the light circuit.

I learned this from experience on a previous vehicle and pulled my trailer home with no taillights.

 

Isn't one of the wires for a 7-pin a dedicated (fused line to the battery) auxiliary power for the trailer? I'm talking about tapping into the red auxiliary power wire to run the winch.

http://www.etrailer.com/faq-wiring.aspx

 

That 12V line on the 7 pin adapter is provided for interior lights in the trailer. A winch can (and does!) draw a whole lot more amperage that 12V lights and the excess draw can blow the fuses. I know this from experience.

That's why I recommend a dedicated line for winch power.

 

The battery terminal in the hitch is probably not rated high enough for a winch. Check it's rating and match it to your hitch's max draw.
You can get a connector from snow plow suppliers or get a dedicated "jump start" connector from emergency service suppliers.
Personally, I would run a dedicated line off the battery and put a waterproof box inside the tool cubby in the bed or recess the box behind the bumper. Put a fuse and switch as close as possible to the battery.

 

Good to know. I've never wired anything like that to a trailer so I'm glad someone with experience chimed in.

 

Hey guys - Thanks for all the replys and info - the thing that scared me about using a dedicated line was a bad experience I had with 1986 Nissan pick up. I purchased the truck from a friend who is a volunteer firefighter. He told me that every now and then he had problems with it bucking as if the clutch wasn't being engaged smoothly or the tranny needed to be downshifted. He brought it back to the dealer numerous times and the problem was never resolved. I had a mechanic friend that worked for Nissan look at it and diagnosed the problem as a bad carb. We replaced the carb with a new one to the tune of $500.00 and the problem was still there. Then he tells me its probably the on board computer except I couldn't find one used and a new one was $1200.00 no way was I spending that much on something non returnable. I kept visitinig local junk yards until I found one. I changed out the computer and the engine ran as smooth as a baby's behind. One night while going home from responding to a fire call all of a sudden it happened again. On the way to the firehouse the engine ran fine on the way home it started bucking again. I thought about what was different about the usage of the truck when it hit me. On the way to the call I used my flashing blue lights that I plug in when needed into the 12 volt aux.outlet installed by my friend. He wired the outlet directly to the battery. Since I still had the original computer in my garage and figured maybe it lost its memory not being powered up for almost a week I put it back in the truck and it was the baby's behind all over again. I removed the aux. power outlet installed by my friend and only used the factory outlet and never had a problem.

I like the idea of a dedicated line to the battery and a waterproof box in the cubby hole. Should I bring a seperate line up there for the ground or should I just ground it in the back at the chassis?

Thansk again .. Joe

 

Ground to the frame.

 

The winch is probably grounded to the trailer so you might not need an additional ground. If you do a chassis ground should be sufficient. I only run a ground directly to the battery if I am trying to have clean power for electronics.

 

The winch needs to be grounded to the frame of the truck to get the best completion of the circuit.

 

How many amps does the winch draw?