# Charge wire for dump trailer



## rrk (Apr 22, 2012)

dayexco said:


> .run a 4 ott..how the hell you spell that..
> 
> .


4/0


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## Morning Wood (Jan 12, 2008)

The plow is using the truck battery which is connected right to the alternator. The dump trailer battery is only connected by a small wire with a 25 amp fuse. It’s not a high charging wire. I think my issue may have been more the battery than anything. But I’m still thinking about a heavier wire in case I run into that problem again. At least it’s gravity down.


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## 91782 (Sep 6, 2012)

dayexco said:


> it's nothing more than a 12 volt motor driving a hydraulic pump...very similar situation to a snow plow...shouldn't really draw much more than a starter motor. i plowed snow 35 years, never did the 2nd battery thing, the alternator always kept up. think the biggest one i had was about 100 amps.
> 
> were it me, and you're using that dump repeatedly during the day....run a 4 ott..how the hell you spell that...welder cable from battery to battery. that way the pickup battery can help while it's hoisting.
> 
> can't believe it would never keep up.





rrk said:


> 4/0


lololol !!! That's funny !

"aught"

"ought" vs "aught" vs "naught" - oye !


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## Seven-Delta-FortyOne (Mar 5, 2011)

Morning Wood said:


> Now the question is: if I’m running both wires together: the factory charge and the heavier wire I install, will the heavier wire back feed current into the factory charge wire since it’s running right off the truck batteries and the alternator?


Negative.

The current will split in parallel circuits, proportional to resistance. For a variety of reasons, it's not a good idea to have 2 different wire sizes in parallel.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Seven-Delta-FortyOne said:


> Negative.
> 
> The current will split in parallel circuits, proportional to resistance. For a variety of reasons, it's not a good idea to have 2 different wire sizes in parallel.


What variety would that be?


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## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

Morning Wood said:


> My truck has the charging wire and it works. It just doesn’t have enough charge in it when doing close dump cycles. That’s why I’m thinking heavier wire to really get a good charge and as backup power if my trailer battery can’t keep up with factory charge wire.
> 
> Now the question is: if I’m running both wires together: the factory charge and the heavier wire I install, will the heavier wire back feed current into the factory charge wire since it’s running right off the truck batteries and the alternator?


The current will follow the path of least resistance. It makes absolutely no difference if you leave the original charging wire connected. 

I have a 270 amp alternator on my truck. I run 4Ø cable to the batteries and have the factory lead connected also.

Tom


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## Seven-Delta-FortyOne (Mar 5, 2011)

Inner10 said:


> What variety would that be?


I'll give you a beginners lesson in electrical theory later. Kinda busy right now. :blink: :jester:


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Seven-Delta-FortyOne said:


> I'll give you a beginners lesson in electrical theory later. Kinda busy right now. :blink: :jester:


Inform me, I know nothing of electricity.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk


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## dave_dj1 (Mar 16, 2010)

I've had a charge wire on my dump trailer since I built it 8 years ago and have never had any issues. I don't dump on a regular basis but it's never let me down.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Windycity said:


> What about this?
> 
> https://youtu.be/KjA33ImEV7Y
> 
> ...


http://www.purkeys.net/boss-dump-trailer-charging-system/


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## Miggyman (Nov 20, 2021)

My f350 has a built in charging system. Blew the fuse when tried to dump my 14' trailer. Put a 30 amp circuit breaker fuse and now works fine. I imagine the circuit breaker disconnects my trucks charging wire if it trys to pull to much power. Much like the fuse did, but it then resets itself so i dont leave the dump with a battery not getting charged.


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## reggi (Oct 12, 2020)

Miggyman said:


> My f350 has a built in charging system. Blew the fuse when tried to dump my 14' trailer. Put a 30 amp circuit breaker fuse and now works fine. I imagine the circuit breaker disconnects my trucks charging wire if it trys to pull to much power. Much like the fuse did, but it then resets itself so i dont leave the dump with a battery not getting charged.


Something is wrong with your truck wiring and/or trailer wiring if this is happening.

Anyway, I have battery cables going from truck batteries all the way back to a disconnect at rear of truck. Plug in when hooking up trailer. It’s switched by a big solenoid, which is controlled by one of the upfitter switches in the cab (makes the cables back there tamperproof, and reduces risk of losing starting batteries if trailer battery goes bad and starts sucking power. This is a 300amp charging system.

I used to have issues with the battery, and would have to charge it often. Never have to charge it now. Recently I dumped over 14k lb of concrete and brick. That’s 5k more then the hoist is intended to dump. Just sat in the truck and high idled it while holding the dump button. Easy. Then I left the circuit closed while I drove for a while to recharge it.

There is a risk of frying your alternator, as they are not necessarily built for this. The overhear and fail. If mine goes I’ll put in a fancy one.


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## Stunt Carpenter (Dec 31, 2011)

When I rebuilt my dump I added a solar panel and charge controller and haven’t had a issue dumping since. I’ve had a few days hauling for garage pads where I have dumped 6-8 times with less than 10min drives between dumps.
I think it’s only a 10 w panel


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## Miggyman (Nov 20, 2021)

reggi said:


> Something is wrong with your truck wiring and/or trailer wiring if this is happening.
> 
> Anyway, I have battery cables going from truck batteries all the way back to a disconnect at rear of truck. Plug in when hooking up trailer. It’s switched by a big solenoid, which is controlled by one of the upfitter switches in the cab (makes the cables back there tamperproof, and reduces risk of losing starting batteries if trailer battery goes bad and starts sucking power. This is a 300amp charging system.
> 
> ...


Nothing is wrong with my truck wiring. sometimes if someone's battery has not charged in a while it might be a little low. Not giving it time for my 30 amp truck system to fully charge it is why more gets pulled through the charge wire than it can handle. another way to protect the fuses is with a relay that turns off the charge wire while raising the dump bed. another useful thing is dedicated 4 gauge wires that run all the way to the back that can run a winch or jump your trailer.


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## reggi (Oct 12, 2020)

Miggyman said:


> Nothing is wrong with my truck wiring.


Well, I'm not an electrician, but seems if you regularly blow fuses, something was either designed poorly or has become damaged/worn. I've never blown a fuse in my truck on account of my dump trailer battery dying, and it has died many a time.


Miggyman said:


> another useful thing is dedicated 4 gauge wires that run all the way to the back that can run a winch or jump your trailer.


You mean, like, what I just described I have installed on my truck?


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## dayexco (Mar 4, 2006)

Morning Wood said:


> The plow is using the truck battery which is connected right to the alternator. The dump trailer battery is only connected by a small wire with a 25 amp fuse. It’s not a high charging wire. I think my issue may have been more the battery than anything. But I’m still thinking about a heavier wire in case I run into that problem again. At least it’s gravity down.


My plows harness was hooked to battery, not alternator. My plows were Western brand, yours sounds different.


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