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Adding electric jack?

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Old Sep 19, 2024 | 02:26 PM
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Adding electric jack?

I have a 20' tilt-bed trailer from Kaufman. How hard would it be to replace the manual crank jack for an electric one? I assume (possibly incorrectly - that's why I'm here!) that there is power from the 7-way connector that I could use to do that? Or maybe the wiring isn't robust enough to handle the load? My main goal is to get rid of the turning radius of the crank so I can put a toolbox up front. But it would also be nice to not have to crank it...
 
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Old Sep 19, 2024 | 08:38 PM
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How big is the battery on the trailer? Wiring it to the trailer battery would be the best option, that way it could be operated without being plugged in to the truck.
 
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Old Sep 20, 2024 | 03:50 PM
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You'll want to wire it to the battery, the 7-pin wires don't put out much amperage for start-up.
 
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Old Sep 21, 2024 | 07:12 PM
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another vote to wire directly. Not that hard at all.
 
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Old Sep 22, 2024 | 08:57 AM
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If you have a modern truck like my 19, you won't get any power from the 12 volt battery charg wire unless the truck sees 12 volts. If any of my trailers that have batteries are under 12 volts I get a trailer charge fault message. Our 12, 16 and 17 F550's and 22 F450 at work are the same way.
 
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Old Sep 22, 2024 | 06:02 PM
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I agree with others, direct wire to a battery. If you do not have battery on trailer, you might need to add a connector, then run a line all the way to under the hood for best performance. This should work fine. Is this a pick up ? I have a jack like this on my travel trailer, I added, if I had a do-over, I'd find a jack that the head rotated on because my tailgate just barely does NOT open when hitched, and if head rotated 90 degrees, it would.
 
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Old Sep 23, 2024 | 08:02 AM
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Thanks for the info guys. I think I will add a battery to the trailer (it has gravity tilt) and put a solar trickle charger to keep it fresh.
 
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Old Sep 27, 2024 | 09:11 AM
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Isn't your trailer already wired for the 7 pin to charge the battery when you are driving? The 7 pin charge wire should have
12v once you hit the brake pedal and put it in gear or some other such nonsense. Just wire the trailer battery to the
electric jack and you should be golden. That it how it works on my Intech enclosed trailer.
 
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Old Sep 27, 2024 | 09:30 AM
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Originally Posted by helifixer
If you have a modern truck like my 19, you won't get any power from the 12 volt battery charg wire unless the truck sees 12 volts. If any of my trailers that have batteries are under 12 volts I get a trailer charge fault message. Our 12, 16 and 17 F550's and 22 F450 at work are the same way.
Originally Posted by tfalk
Isn't your trailer already wired for the 7 pin to charge the battery when you are driving? The 7 pin charge wire should have
12v once you hit the brake pedal and put it in gear or some other such nonsense..
The two comments above are worth thinking about. Many trucks don't put 12v to the trailer when it's in park. This isn't just a ford thing. I had to help a guy at the storage yard figure out how to pull up his landing gear by setting he parking brake and putting the truck in gear. Seems like that creates a dangerous situation, but I'm sure the manufacturers have some silly reason for it. Anywhooo, it's good to have a battery in the trailer, and it's good to have it be in good condition and large enough to run the jack and other items without hooking up, but sometimes there's workarounds.
 
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