I'm putting an Anderson quick disconnect on my '05 Expedition to power a winch on my boat trailer. I plan on running two 2awg cables from the back of the truck to the front. In looking at routing the cables, I see metal lines for my rear heat-a/c. Is there any reason I shouldn't zip tie my winch cables to these? I would like to keep the cables routed neatly and secured out of the way. I could get cable clamps and self-tapping screws, but am wondering if the zip ties are good enough. I don't off-road at all so I don't see anything interfering with the cables. Thanks in advance.

 

You can use them...be sure to route them away from heat and they will last MUCH longer.

 

Why do you need 2 cables? Save money on copper, and bolt the one ground cable to the frame in the rear, and then a short one up front to the battery negative. The frame of the vehicle makes a good large conductor for something like this.

Also, when routing the hot cable, any points that go through holes in the frame or over something sharp, get a piece of garden hose or old heater hose and split it and put it over the cable at the point for extra protection.

You are also going to want to fuse this. This might be a little bit expensive(it will take a very large fuse) but it's the only way to guarentee you won't have a fire if something does happen to the cable. Remember this large cable is hooked directly to the battery, and even if you do not off-road, you might be involved in a accident and could damage the cable and cause a problem at the accident scene.