trailer wiring help

[billie_boy]

first let me state..at wiring i am a novice now the background that will get me to the problem

i had a 7 wire RV plug installed on my truck after i boufht a dump trailer to haul wood for my home..the installer did not me any questions and i offered no input (because like i said i know nothing about it) now i come to find out after the battery that dumps the wagon goes dead, that the installer never hooked up a "hot" wire to charge the battery...now after reading all i could on the net about this, my truck, a 2001 GMC half ton came with no provision for anything but lights so the installer had to run a seperate line for the electric brakes (he did this as i had bought the controler so he knew i had to have it) i know enough to be dangerous and tried jumping the power wire to the same one that runs the running lights.it kind of charged the battery but caused confusion with my brake controller..a back yard mechaninc told me my computer was having a headache from this move so i tried something new...i hooked my trailer to the truck turned on all the lights hooked a trickle charger to the power wire going into the truck mounted plug and everything worked perfect

so now my big question..how and where do i hook a hot wire on my truck that will be hot when the key is on (i don't want to drain my truck battery when shut off)

do i have to hook to something under the dash or under the hood? and how do i get there?

if you have taken the time to read through this saga..thank you..if you can help..thanks even more

[jolute]

at yure fuse box under the hood run a wire to a 30 amp self resetting breaker then run a wire back to the plug and hook it to the position marked black this is the charge circut. or go to a rv service center and ask for a diagram they will give you one . hope this helps

[jolute]

if it is true you do not have a prewired truck you will have to unplug the trailer when the truck is not running but if the battery is charged there should not be a problem


a 01 chev for the most part is prewired you just have to find the wiring usually taped up under the master cylinder area use the orange wire to a lug at the fuse block find the other end under the truck at the rear in the frame rail hook up to the plug that says black then open fuse cover find the red plastic that says+ remove it and put in a 30 amp fuse

[billie_boy]

Originally Posted by jolute

at yure fuse box under the hood run a wire to a 30 amp self resetting breaker then run a wire back to the plug and hook it to the position marked black this is the charge circut. or go to a rv service center and ask for a diagram they will give you one . hope this helps

thanks jolute, that is what i needed to know..now one more thing, what size wire should i use for such a heavy breaker?

[jolute]

where i work we usually run a 12 guage wire in 10 years ive never had any problems

[billie_boy]

Originally Posted by jolute

if it is true you do not have a prewired truck you will have to unplug the trailer when the truck is not running but if the battery is charged there should not be a problem


a 01 chev for the most part is prewired you just have to find the wiring usually taped up under the master cylinder area use the orange wire to a lug at the fuse block find the other end under the truck at the rear in the frame rail hook up to the plug that says black then open fuse cover find the red plastic that says+ remove it and put in a 30 amp fuse

Joulet the only wires i found back there did not include a brake contorller or a power wire, there were ....running lights...left turn and stop...right turn and stop..ground...back up lights, and a brake light wire for a light on an onboard camper or something of that nature.

[Speedwrench]

1/2 tons a lot of them don't have the wire for power to the rv plug I would just run a 12 guage wire with a 30amp inline fuse from your under hood fuse block/power lug to the rv plug, as long as you don't leave the trailer plugged in when you don't need the battery charging, you will be fine.
life begins when the kids leave home and the dog dies

[billie_boy]

thanks fellas number 12 it is, i had a computer crash a while back and lost this site..glad i found it again, help is about as instant as it can get

[Speedwrench]

forgot to add while you are at it run a ground wire from the engine block to your trailer plug and it will prevent future problems with no ground for the lights and charging, most installers try to use a frame ground and don't get the connection clean so have intermitant ground problems. 12 ga also.

if we're not supposed to eat animals why are they made out of meat?

[GregH]

You could have a few problems if you connect power from the vehicle directly to the trailer battery.

If the trailer battery goes dead and you try to operate the hoist you could burn up the connecting wire from the high amperage of the hydraulic pump.
To prevent this you would need to install a battery isolator in the line going to the battery.


Click image:

Image courtesy of campingworld.com

Depending on your driving habits a remote battery connected to a vehicles charging system may occasionally not become fully charged.
All electric dump trailers I have come across will rather than be tied to the vehicle charging system, will have an on-board battery charger and be plugged in nightly to charge.

[billie_boy]

Greg thanks fo rthe info i fyou started at the top you know i am a real novice i have put my trust (with my money) in the hands of the builder i guess and this trailer came pre-wired and when i put power to the black wire on the rv plug it shows power is indeed going into the battery but i dont hink there is a charger but it may be or it is something else in there...there is a little thing with a + and a - with wires hooked to it that reads power as well but i thought that had something to do with the break away break system?

now you have me wondering...if needed i can take a photo of it..can you post photos here?

[GregH]

Did the person who wired your vehicle plug do so with the trailer attached to your vehicle?
What you really need is for the person who wired the seven wire RV plug to make sure everything is correct.
There is a standardized color code for trailer wiring but because we do not know if yours is wired to standard, discussing wire colors here will not help you.

It might be possible to wire a hot lead to the trailer's battery but there is a good chance that if you do a lot of stop and go driving the battery likely won't charge fully.
Like I said, most people that I see with these trailers use a battery charger built onto the trailer and plug it in nightly to charge.

If you want to show us a picture you need to sign on to a free host like Photobucket, post pics there and give us the link.


Click image:

[Image courtesy of etrailer.com]

[billie_boy]

the truck and trailer are wired exactly like the photo you supplied except auxillary and the 12v black are not used nor is there a black on the truck...however, if i hook my little 12 volt charger to the black pigtail from the plug and to the ground of the trailer battery it does charge..that is why i was thinking i could just run a black from the truck back to the pigtail but like i said i am a beginner..if you think i should just charge my battery often and that would be better?? i actually have been doing that but i find in the cold weather like now when i am hauling wood it drains down quicker

when transporting wood i drive about 8 miles, would that be long enough to recharge between dumps?

[billie_boy]

forgot to mention....local mechanic did the truck plug and the trailer came prewired...mechanic never seen trailer (my dumb mistake, other wise i probably wouldn't be here)