Running a power line to the rear of the truck

[Snoots]

Welding cable has more, thinner strands to make it more flexible. Unfortunately the jacket is not as oil resistant as battery cable. Marine cable is similar to regular battery cable in that it has more oil resistant insulation. In addition, the strands are all tinned to help with corrosion resistance. It's also a more expensive.

DC circuit capacity is determined by the total length of the circuit, so from the battery to the load and back to the battery. Then acceptable voltage drop. 3% or 10%. So let's say you need 20ft of 2ga cable to get to the plug at the bumper and another 20 ft to get back to the battery. Allowing a 3% drop in a 40 ft circuit you can carry 30 Amps. If 10% voltage drop is acceptable you can carry over 100 Amps.

There are formulas for this, but it's easier to use a table like this:

https://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvisor/Marine-Wire-Size-And-Ampacity

Circuit protection is a must as stated earlier. You can probably get by with a fuse if you go with such heavy wire since you'll have excess capacity, but circuit breakers are available too. Just more $$$. Also as stated earlier, proper terminals, properly crimped and sealed with adhesive-lined heat shrink will go a long way to keeping everything working as intended.

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X2!

 

[highdesertrange]

it's impossible to say what gauge will work because we don't know the end power consumption. any guess before we have a for sure number is just speculation.

x2 on the marine cable. Ancor is top notch.

highdesertranger

 

[AuroraGirl]

The most it would power at once is a winch. Nothing over 10k pounds. Mostly for dragging stuff onto a trailer. The power might go to a winch I keep for the truck or my winch on the trailer(trailer winch is 6k i believe, it has a busted remote and my grandpa put it in the shed. thank god.)

 

[Blue Ox]

There should be a data plate on the winches that will tell you how many amps they draw. You'll need that info to verify the wire size. Although I'd be surprised if they draw over 30 Amps.

 

[highdesertrange]

Blue ox with all due respect. I have no idea where you got that info, maybe an ATV winch.

any of your larger winches draw in excess of 400 amps. like almost 500. if it draws that much it's better to place an aux battery near the winch and use the wire for charging that battery. but again I am just speculating because I don't have hard numbers.

highdesertranger

 

[Matt69olds]

A 10k winch with the motor approaching stall can pull the same current as a starter motor.

 

[AuroraGirl]

So a winch pulling that juice would melt a 2 gauge or start getting real hot at that distance, yes? Unless Im misunderstanding the physical size of 2 gauge wire visually compared to say, a positive from battery to solenoid.

 

[Turbo4whl]

2 gauge is larger/thicker than 4 gauge. Most vehicles currently have either 2 or 4 gauge battery cables. Diesel engines in a medium duty truck will have 2/0 or larger, which stands for double zero. This cable is three sizes larger than 2 gauge.

Tail lights will have 16 or 18 gauge wire, much smaller. Here is a chart:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wire_gauge

 

[dvdswan]

I would suggest also placing a connector on the end for when not in use to protect it from the elements. Similare to this...

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[Blue Ox]

Blue ox with all due respect. I have no idea where you got that info, maybe an ATV winch.

any of your larger winches draw in excess of 400 amps. like almost 500. if it draws that much it's better to place an aux battery near the winch and use the wire for charging that battery. but again I am just speculating because I don't have hard numbers.

highdesertranger

Well, color me surprised. I never owned an electric winch so I was just guessing. But I did say to look for the data plate so we would have the correct amperage to work with.

 

[Snoots]

Most folks that commonly use a winch have a 2 battery system, do not use a breaker, fuse or relay and almost always use 2/0 wires.

The max amps I've seen drawn are 370 but those are 'stated' numbers not actual.

You don't want any extra wire. I do like @dvdswan suggestion of disconnects tho.

 

[Matt69olds]

So a winch pulling that juice would melt a 2 gauge or start getting real hot at that distance, yes? Unless Im misunderstanding the physical size of 2 gauge wire visually compared to say, a positive from battery to solenoid.

The wire may not melt, but it would definitely get hot. Not to mention the voltage drop would be high enough the winch would run pretty slow. The more current, the bigger the cable needs to be. Make the power cable longer, the wire size needs to increase to keep this equal.

 

[AuroraGirl]

So maybe if I want to do this I should run a 0 gauge? Or 2/0? ID rather not run an aux. battery. Unless a deep cell can provide enough juice for a while, which I have doubts about.

 

[AuroraGirl]

Would perhaps running a smaller capacity winch(slower, yes) with pulley system help with amp load?
Im almost considering haveing a quick line in the engine bay of my OTHER truck and park it near my square while doing a heavy winching job, being able to provide that power from a high output alternator and another battery over a matter of a couple feet rather than the length of the truck.

 

[Matt69olds]

If your determined to run that much current to the back of the truck, I’d get the biggest deep cycle battery you can find. Don’t base your purchase on CCA ratings, look at the reserve capacity. That’s how long a fully charged battery can provide a constant 25 amp load, and not drop below 12volts. If your worried about the battery providing enough current, run 2 batteries.