Trailer Power Winch

[willy]

Anyone running one of these? if you look at the pics of FishBones you will see the unit.
Apparently I have to run a set up from my battery to the bumper. He gave me the wiring connector set up from there to the unit with its special connector plugs.
Can I just purchase a adapter that will allow me to plug it into my four pin or seven pin trailer harness I already have as part of the tow package or is a new set up needed?
And where would you get one?.
Thanks

[willy]

[chumbucket]

I think it would be on the 7 pin connector but could be wrong. The extra pins could be for electric trailer brakes. MJ had the power winch but kept a deep cycle battery in a plastic box mounted right to the tongue of the trailer.

[willy]

Thats not a bad idea, extra battery on the trailer.

Not sure I understand, can you hook these up with an adapter to the seven pin that comes as a tow package on the truck or do you have to run a dedicated line to the battery and install another bracket of some kind on the back of your truck?

[Destroyer]

Willy
That's a PowerWinch. With the exception of the Laminison-Dutton Winch it's probably the best boat winch on the market. Can't tell from the pics what model he has, (It looks like a 712 judging from the red stripe) but they all use the same connector though. It's a "Plastic Winch Plug Model #P7810500AJ". You can buy them on eBay or through most marina shops or directly from Power Winch.



If you're going to go the electric winch route I'd say that for our V20's the PowerWinch 712 or the Model 4000 is perfect. (I use a 4000) Given that the 712 is rated for up to a max boat weight of 7500 lbs I'd guess that' it's more than sufficient for Fishbones. The Powerwinch uses a lanyard that connects to a switch next to the clutch wheel on the winch itself, so you can stand in the water at the trailer and by simply pulling on the lanyard you can activate the winch and pull the boat onto the trailer while you guide it.

Unless you're going to run it from a battery on the trailer you have to run your wire as a dedicated line right from your vehicle battery to the winch. Your 7 pin connector wires are not heavy enough to stand up to the amperage draw that the winch makes (from the factory it uses a 60 amp circuit breaker). ALso you need (should) install a circuit breaker from the positive terminal on your battery and then connect the wire to that breaker. (Truthfully I've been using mine without a breaker since I installed it several years and several boats ago without any problems).

What I did with mine was to run the heavy wire from the battery under my Jeep along the frame and then up to and inside my Jeep. Then I installed a set of Anderson Power Products 50A connectors to that wire and a ground wire and another set from the wire to my winch wire.






The positive wire comes from the battery and the negative wire just goes to the frame of the vehicle. That way the wires are always in the vehicle and out of harms way until I need it, and then it's just a simple task to plug the two Anderson connectors together and plug in the winch on the other side.



Hope this helps... If you have any questions I'll be happy to try and answer them for you.

[macojoe]

CB is right, I have a battery Box mounted right on the trailer, I have the same wire as above hooked to pos & Neg I charge the battery like twice a year! Always perfect!

My gear has striped and the winch needs repair, so I am using a 2 speed hand winch right now, which is ok now that I am on a slip.
But I like to find the parts and fix mine this winter.



Just a battery box with a piece of ply inside for the U bolts to go thur, I use a bungee to hold cover on, But I know others that wrap a cable with a lock to protect it better.
Has a Sears Die Hard battery inside and it really just needs 2 charges a season!

[Destroyer]

MJ, I "might" be able to help you on the stripped gear. I have one PowerWinch unit that the motor burned out on, that I use for parts. I also have several other units that I've aquired over the years. (When I buy a junk boat for parts I strip everything including the winches (Unless I'm going to sell the trailer also) before I scrap them, then I sell off the parts on eBay or CraigsList).. but right now I have 3 hand winches and 4 working Powerwinches in "stock". What gear do you need? If I have it it's yours for the cost of postage to get it to you.

[willy]

Destroyer you are right except it is the 912 model, I have picked up the ring connectors to attach the battery end to the accessory terminals. I need to find some type of in-line 60 amp circuit breaker and no one around here seems to have anything bigger than 40 or 50 amp.
I may mount it to the trailer but like the idea of just sitting it inside my enclosed pick up truck and bringing it into the garage and charging it when I do need to use it which will be a rare thing most likely, probably four or five times a year.
It has the connection type set up with the same plug on both ends using what appears to be a 10 gauge ground wire and a 8 gauge positive wire. It is about five feet long so I can put it anywhere in the back of my truck and hook it up.

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by willy

Destroyer you are right except it is the 912 model, I have picked up the ring connectors to attach the battery end to the accessory terminals. I need to find some type of in-line 60 amp circuit breaker and no one around here seems to have anything bigger than 40 or 50 amp.
I may mount it to the trailer but like the idea of just sitting it inside my enclosed pick up truck and bringing it into the garage and charging it when I do need to use it which will be a rare thing most likely, probably four or five times a year.
It has the connection type set up with the same plug on both ends using what appears to be a 10 gauge ground wire and a 8 gauge positive wire. It is about five feet long so I can put it anywhere in the back of my truck and hook it up.

One of the reasons I don't use a circuit breaker is exactly that. No one (except PowerWinch) seems to have them. I've found several different ones on eBay that are 50A.. but the 60's are elusive. I use 8 gauge AWG Powerforce Cable made by JSC Wire and Cable Co. It's super flexible which made it great for routing through a tiny hole in the inside of my Jeep



The 712, 712A and 912 all have that red stripe... it was a "best guess" on my part..lol FYI, that 912 is rated up to 11,500 lbs ...great winch.

If you need/want some of those grey Anderson connectors I can give you my source on eBay. He sells them in packs of 4 at half the price other sellers on eBay charge for one. I like them because once you wire them up it's impossible to hook them up backwards when making a connection, so you never have to worry about connecting positive to negative. Peace of mind is a wonderful thing.

[phatdaddy]

Willy, i had a similar problem finding the power winch plug that mount to the vehicle. went to local marine store and changed both ends to "universal" trolling motor ends. not sure if the amp draw is correct, but works so far..