Supercharged111

I've got a 12k winch in my 24' enclosed, going to permanently add a deep cycle battery and also want to grab an inverter and some lights. Just curious to see what others have done.

Mjolitor 68

Got a new truck & trailer coming

Trying to convince Crew Chief to put photo of Hubbell Bubbles on it

carefulnow

Well that's the end of this thread.

TRAKOUT

Here's a picture of Williams DP

brkntrxn

I run a deep cycle battery to the winch in my enclosed. I also have a solar panel that I place on top of the trailer with a quick disconnect to charge the winch battery between track weekends.

As far as power at the track, we have Honda 2000i and a Honda 2000i Companion generators. Chained together, you can have 4000W at 30Amps (26.6). Very quiet, very reliable, gas sippers.

Larry Myers

At least one two bagger here.

Supercharged111

I like the solar panel idea, what does it put out? I do like those Honda generators, we have them at work and even the 3k is pretty quiet (inverter type). I got to looking at inverters and you can spend from $50 to $800 if you like for the same power rating. There's about a million different brands, not sure which ones that I've never heard of are any good.

brkntrxn

I purchased it from Tractor Supply, but you can get them anywhere. Coleman 10W Trickle Charge solar panel.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pro...r?cm_vc=IOPDP1


Look at Northern Tool for the Hondas. Their prices are pretty much on par with anywhere else, but they offer free drop shipping to your door. AND, if you search for Northern Tool discount codes online, you can save an easy 5%. Make it two orders, so you can save on each.

RDnomorecobra

I haven't added a winch yet to my open trailer but when I do I think I'm going to run a harness with quick connects from truck battery to rear so I can just plug the winch into and not worry about a battery.

something like this ... https://www.etrailer.com/p-sw2008.html

Charley Hoyt

That is what I did for the winch on my enclosed trailer. It works great and there isn't another battery to worry about.

Charley

Supercharged111

I want the battery for more than just the winch. How are you guys charging the battery? Ideally, I'd like to have it charge only when the truck is running so that the trailer can't draw from the truck overnight. My only idea right now is to have the taillights trigger a relay that'd activate the charging circuit which would require headlights on any time the trailer is plugged in to charge. Has anyone else dreamed up something different and idiot proof?

naschmitz

I've never had any problems with having the trailer battery connected to the truck battery while the trailer is hitched up. Simplest thing would be to unplug the trailer overnight if that bothered you.

Snorman

Bingo.
This is, IMO, one of the best ways to power a mid-sized trailer.
I run the same Honda setup 2000i/2000 paralleled and they work great with my 24' enclosed running a 15k BTU AC unit, lighting, small compressor, etc. in the Florida heat. Best thing is that they weigh less than 50# each, so they can be parked in the generator cubby and easily moved to the garage. Also, if you don't need AC or any other high load items, you can run the 2000i for lights, fan, etc..

As far as the winch...the batteries seem to last a few years with connecting/disconnecting/charging via pulling the trailer.
S.

redtopz

My truck(s) (and I thought all newer trucks with tow package) are wired so that the trailer plug only charges the trailer battery while the engine is running. Once the key is turned off, it stops charging.

naschmitz

My 2013 Silverado keeps the aux power line hot so the trailer battery is connected to the truck battery all the time. That is so you can run lights inside the trailer if you didn't have the trailer battery.

redtopz

Interesting. So it could potentially drain your truck batteries if you keep the lights on the trailer. When I wired my trailer to be charged off the truck I used a volt meter to find the line on the circular plug and IIRC it only put out 12V when the key was on. 2013 Chevy truck. Maybe there are different lines to choose from, or my memory is off. It's been several years since I wired it...

Supercharged111

This is how mine is too, so maybe the answer here is a bigass relay at the front on the power wire since I won't need truck battery to run the trailer lights.

C5Z06CE

I have 2 power sources.

I use a portable DC battery jumper/starter that plugs into a wall outlet for charging to power my DC winch. I just plug it in to charge in the hotel the night before a track day. Helps on those rare occasions truck or car battery needs jumping too.

I then have a newly installed A/C unit that runs off a 50amp RV style plug though a circuit breaker that also powers a set of 4 three prong outlets in case I need AC power to run power tools.

At the track I use the DC battery to unload/load the car and then plug the RV style plug into power at the track. No need for a generator at Sebring to keep cool and use power tools.