I was under the truck today looking at running heavy 8 gauge wire from the batteries to the back of the truck for my boat loader. It works out good cuz I'm also doing the vent mod so I can pull the fuel tank out and run the wires between the frame and tank following the route of the factory wiring harness.
Running a 8 gauge ground back to the battery too, would you do this or just drill and bolt the ground to the frame? I saw no obvious groung lug under there.

While under therer I peaked at the factory hitch wires, the 12 volt lead to the trailer (to charge your batteries as you drive) is only about 14 gauge. While I'm there I was thinking about running a 10 gauge to the trailer plug to get more amperage to the trailer batteries as I drive, has anyone else done this? How do I get the factory plug in the bumper apart and where under the hood does the other end go, to the fuse panel or?

14 gauge to charge 2 6 volt golf cart batteries 30 feet or so from the batteries under the hood seems kinda stupid.

Thanks
Will

 

Fisherman,

Was searching for some other stuff and ran across this thread, what did you end up doing? Im going to try and finish up my boat loader this weekend and need to run some wire to power the 3000lb winch. Picked up some 8 guage and will try and follow the factory wiring to the back of the truck. Did you fuse yours? Did you upgrade the factory wiring harness for charging purposes?

I guess most people dont have boat/boat rack combos. Although the guy I bought mine off says hes selling quite a few down in the states.

 

Fisherman: I see no reason to run a ground from battery back as your whole chassis is ground. #2. Since you are already running a 8 ga. positive back, why not just splice into it for your charging in motion system?
My 2cents
Happy Truck'n

 

I ran 2 8 gauge to the back, a ground and a hot straight off the battery, the pos I fused with a breaker. I also ran 2 smaller wires, 14's I think from the front to inside my canopy for future, I'll use one for some back up lights mounted under the bumper somehow. I put all the new wiring in some of that split loom, I took out a tail light and ran the new wires up the stake pocket into the canopy.

I didn't beef up the charging circuit to the trailer, but I think WB6 has a good idea, tapping into the heavy wire I just ran. I think I'll take the pos and neg right out of the 7 pin trailer plug and use a seperate heavy 2 conductor trailer plug right to the battery with 10 gauge or something. While I'm at it I'll rig another branch off it to charge my boat battery as I drive too. Maybe a battery isolator under the hood might be a good idea?

I wish I could find a power centre box or something I could attach to the inside of the canopy, one with a cover so I don't have to worry about anything shorting out.

What kinda loader did you get? There's a "Load It" guy locally that sells them, from Coquitlam I think. We should get together one day, leaving Sunday for the first trip of the year...

 

Got the system from the loadit guy, lives in Cloverdale 5 mins from me. Got the heavy duty version, its all aluminum and should last me a lifetime.

You cant be going too far?? figure there is still snow and ice up on the higher lakes. Ill up around north of Kamloops on the May long weekend, weather better start shaping up.

 

No, we're going to a lake just North of Kamloops, it's kinda tradition, we go there every year for opening day.