Winch wiring

Going to be mounting a winch in the rear area of a cargo van to load a sewer machine with. Winch will be mounted around the middle of the cargo area. The cable will run from the middle to the back of the van.

What would be the best way to wire the thing? Run a decent sized wire from the battery back to the winch? Separate battery? If I do that then I will still need to run wires for the battery, right? Estimated use on a really busy day is load/unload about 9 times.

Sarge

I would set it up with a separate battery, and use an isolator switch to allow the alternator to charge it, but prevent the winch from drawing down the vehicle battery when used.

Any suggestions on isolator models? Use a deep cycle battery or just a decent regular battery? Winch will be a 1500lb planetary gear model. I'm assuming the isolator goes up front by the alternator....run 4ga wire back to winch? BTW I really hate electrical stuff.

Sarge

I'm not the right guy to ask for specifics. My approach would have to be based on my past experience. I'd go to a marine store and buy a dual-battery switch. Allows you to run on battery 'A,' battery 'B,' or both. 'A' is your vehicle battery, 'B' is the winch battery, and you can set it for "both" for a short time after each job to recharge the winch battery while driving.

I think RV stores have similar setups for RVs now. Like boats, the secondary battery is used to run lights and appliances, keeping the primary vehicle off-line when camped so it will be able to start the vehicle when called upon.

I'd ask at an RV supply place if they recommend a deep cycle battery or a regular one.

A deep cycle battery is the appropriate choice for winching, since it allows you to draw the battery way down while under load and recharge it for the next use. Deep cycle batteries are designed for high draw situations like winching and stereo blasting competitions. (Best alternate use I could think of, however, not my chosen passtime)

This brings more thoughts up...

1. The battery will be inside the cargo area which is separated from the seating area merely by a perforated steel barrier. Is there a concern due to battery vapors?

2. How large (capacity) would the battery have to be? Is there a formula to use depending on the size/draw of the winch?

3. I've seen winch ropes, can most winches use these versus the cables?

4. The battery will be mounted in a shelf intended for a cooler and the winch directly under it. I'm sorta assuming the shorter cable run from battery to winch is better?

5. What sort of periodic maintenance do winches need?

Sarge

1. Get an Optima or othe sealed battery like that. They still vent (through a small filtered hole) but you wont have to worry about battery acid if you some how knock the caps of a regular battery (like in an accident). You could also put the battery in a battery box.

2. For that small a winch you could use any Optima.

You mentioned 9 load and uload cycles during the day so between cycles you can top off the battery.

3. Dont know. Seems like they would work if they had shorter cables to fit the spool.

4. Yes.

5. A name brand winch has almost no maint required. Esp if its protected from the weather. The wire cable is the most prone to damage from kinking, chaffing etc. You should wind the cable on the spool nicely after each use so then you use it the cable won't wear on itself anymore than necessary. Other than that there really is nothing to maintain.

Suggestion for wiring up the separate battery for the winch, if you plan to use separate battery for the winch only, you can run a small wire from the alternator or the + side of the engine battery to your winch + side battery,( winch neg to the chassis near the winch ), put a small resetting CB on that wire forward of the fire wall for protection and add a on/off switch where you want it. Flip it on when you drive around, off when you need to winch and when you quit for the day. The alternator will still charge up the both batteries and its not as expensive as a battery switch or isolator. But you need to remember to switch it appropriately.

On second thought wire up an isolator so you wont have to worry about it.