Trailer Aux Power Source Recommendations

[jon_s_brady]

I need to run 12v to my boat trailer for a battery to run a winch. I'm looking for suggestions on where to draw the power from to go through the 6 pin adapter...run a new circuit or draw from somewhere else?

 

[colintrax]

Couldn't you run a 8 ga wire down there.

 

[jon_s_brady]

I guess I could...I was wondering if someone had a sneaky way to do it without stringing a new wire the length of the vehicle. I was wondering if Ford had done something nice by running a spare wire somewhere...

 

[iBrent]

You should already have it from the factory...

isn't that what pin 7 in this 7-pole diagram is for? The harness is behind the passenger side tail light whether your explorer came with the 7-pole connector in the upgraded trailer/tow package or the 4-pin standard class II.

http://www.chuckschevytruckpages.com/trailerlights.html

Looks like this:

 

[joecrna]

Thats a very small gage wire. How much current does this winch draw? There are tables that plot amperage vs length of run to determine the size wire required. For larger winches on trailers we usually mount a battery on the trailer. Run the winch off that and recharge the battery while driving via the 7 pin plug. Otherwise you need very large wire running from the truck battery.