12v wiring ?

Kory

Kory

Member
Has anyone been able to successfully wire up a 12v pump to a trailers lighting system? Can it be done? I am setting up a new trailer and it would help not to have another battery to worry about. I am fine with leaving the running lights on on the truck while working as it is a f350 with dual batteries. If this is not possible has anyone found a solar trickle charger worth a crap? I bought one at northern and it fried 2 batteries.
 
Hey Kory, I'm not an expert by any means, but my first thought would be the wires themselves wouldn't be heavy enough to carry the amperage these 12v pumps need. I think you would have blown fuses and /or fried wires.

Jeff
 
Mine is hooked to the battery in my truck which i run a 12 gauge wire and seperate fuse link and connects with a welders fitting at the bumper of my truck and the tongue of my trailer but this keeps the battery charged on the trailer to run my 12 volt transfer pump. I've never tried running the pump off the lights.
 
Guy Blackmon said:
We're gonna run leads from 12v pump to machine battery (Marine Battery) battery stays charged when PW is running.
Click to expand...

+1. This is what I recommend.
 
I had my trailer guy run the pin on the 7 pin connector for a charging wire to my marine battery that I use for my electric hose reel but will soon be adding a 12 volt pump to run off the battery as well.

Whenever the trailer is connected to the truck (not sure if the truck needs to be on, running or lights on) the truck system will be charging the marine battery on the trailer.

My battery is always charged up this way, I have not had to hook up the charger to the battery since changing to this method.

Maybe doing this will keep your battery or 2 batteries charged up?

Talking to the RV dealers sounds like a good idea.
 
The other option is to hook up 2 marine batteries. One on the power washer and one hooked up to the 12 volt pumps. Run a parallel line between the batteries. When the machine runs it will charge both batteries and allow you to never have to manually charge the batteries. I have mine set up like this and had it all year without charging them.
 
Kory said:
Has anyone been able to successfully wire up a 12v pump to a trailers lighting system? Can it be done? I am setting up a new trailer and it would help not to have another battery to worry about. I am fine with leaving the running lights on on the truck while working as it is a f350 with dual batteries. If this is not possible has anyone found a solar trickle charger worth a crap? I bought one at northern and it fried 2 batteries.
Click to expand...

The answer is no.

You may be able to recharge a battery from the trailer wiring harness but you will not be able to successfully power the pump from the trailer wiring itself.

What you are looking for is a good automatic battery isolator.

BlueSea is a brand that I have used before.
 
Timothy said:
The answer is no.

You may be able to recharge a battery from the trailer wiring harness but you will not be able to successfully power the pump from the trailer wiring itself.

What you are looking for is a good automatic battery isolator.

BlueSea is a brand that I have used before.
Click to expand...

I concur the draw on the wiring is too great and will damage the pumps you can use it to trickle charge the battery but not run the pump. If you want to do this just add a disconnect switch to the battery from the charging wires.
 
Don't run the pumps off the lights, you will have nothing but problems and issues with the pumps and lights. Before I switched to air pumps I just had a couple of diesel truck batteries that were recharged via the pressure washer. Burner is 120v so the power was not shared and never had an issue in the 2.5 years I did it.
 
Battery Wiring to accessories

Good thread ! .. and my I add..
Reliability and Long-Term-Low-Cost requires a very close look at ability and functionality..
running power out of a trailer connection is a shaky concept due to the abuse the take from the elements, including road-grime, moisture,
..but quite Doable IF you are meticulous..

consider these:
Corrosion in the existing connections..
..bad connections don't deliver much more than failure and downtime.
Size of existing wire and length !! ..
..Overloading a weak connection or a "long wire" can start a fire !
..Start at the battery: Install fuses with beefy connections,
..upgrade wiring, and run the wires WAY from anything flammable, ..especially carpet or plastic matts.
..in fact you should NEVER run a power wire inside the cabin your vehicle if you can avoid it.
At least protect the wires ! ..where wires go across metal edges, run wire through rubber or Teflon hose.

Add the amperage of all you want to run, additional to the existing tax on every circuit the lead involves.

BEST answer to larger amperage need.. is a beefy high current connector like tow trucks use..
easily accessible for the best possible Serviceablity and WorkSpeed.
I stock big beefy oversize connectors and wire, and fuses, and all..
I can make you a kit, if you like.
E-mail me for more.

Running charging systems across a truck or trailer can be very helpful,
..and multiple batteries have their place, but MUST consider ALL the above and more.
:{)
 
One hint on Pump wiring....you can NEVER go big enough. I switched over to 2/0 wiring from 12GA for our old FB-2 setup (prior to switching to a big Air pump setup this season) and the difference was noticeable within 5 seconds. Electric pumps draw a furious amount of power when running thru long runs of hose up to heights of sometimes 30' or more. Don't forget to protect the connectors....Plasti Dip Clear is great for stuff like this as it is A rated for chlorine. Likewise,don't compromise or skimp on fluid input...1" line makes the pump work less hard to supply fluid to the output side.
 
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