Wiring for small winch

[Tim Claremont]

I have a 12 foot enclosed trailer that I want to mount my electric winch inside of. It is a Warn 2000 lb that is intended for an ATV. For such a light duty winch I am not sure what gauge the cables need to be, etc.

My question has to do with how to wire it. I can mount a battery box inside the trailer, but my limited experience with winches leaves me wondering how much winching I can do on a single charge. I could wire it into the truck, or run VERY long removable cables to the battery in the truck, or ????

Thoughts???

[Mike Lucius]

Tom,
I have an 8000 lb. Dayton winch on my trailer. I have a battery box mounted on the tongue and it's charged with the pickup's alternator. I'd use wire as haevy as a starter cable, or heavier if it;s a long run. A winch will pull about the same amps a a starter. Good luck!

[Ronald E. McClellan]

Tim ; I used 4 gage on my 2500 lb. winch. I installed an auxillary battery to opperate the winch with an electrical isolator/splitter between the alternator and the starting battery under the hood. This will allow you to charge both batterys but will not run down your starting battery while using your winch with the auxillary battery. Ron

[Franz©]

So Tim, what time will the trailer & winch be showing up in my driveway?

Personally, I favor the battery being outside of the trailer, unless theftproofing is a major factor. That allows battery replacement or bypass when the damn trailer is loaded and the battery fails, and the battery always craps out then.

Electric winches and starters are very similar in current usage, and need the same power wiring, usually at least #4 wire from the battery to the winch. If your winching operation will be of long duration, #2 will help due to the heat factor.

The charging lead from the truck should be minimally #14 with proper fusing.

Are you going to make me build a box to recess the winch into the floor of the trailer? Do I have to provide the #2 copper wire too? How long will the wire need to be? I can pick it up tomorrow.