Air compressor power from 7 way trailer plug?

[Tazman]

The plug is 50amps; fine. But what about the wire leading to the plug from the engine compartment? In fact if memory serves when I last checked on my Ford the fuse and/or relay was only 30A, and I'm not sure if that was just for like trailer brakes. So you'd be running the risk of overwhelming the wiring, and certainly blowing the fuse, with many compressors. Not to mention the voltage drop. Might be worth it to run another heavier gauge wire back there, with appropriate circuit protection, if you're gonna go to the trouble of using that socket. I ran welding wire back to run a small winch off an anderson plug; worked great. Sometimes you can find an easy route for the wire.



Or just use your jumper cables to extend the clamps from the battery to the air compressor. We do that all the time, and you may be carrying them already. Even used a heavy duty extension cord that we hacked for solar panel use. You could make it all cool by installing power poles on both ends.

I ran 6awg marine grade wire. I checked the charts, with the distance run, and planning for 40 amp, no issues should be had. You bring up a good point, "do you homework and don't take shortcuts." You would hate your rig catching on fire.

 

[Ducky's Dad]

You would hate your rig catching on fire.

A longer hose is not a fire hazard. Just sayin'...

 

[Rumpig]

I was thinking about using the Anderson plug on the back of my rig. I installed, this popular in Austrailia, to power the charging of the battery on the trailer. This location will allow me to air up the trailer or truck tires. It is rated to 50Amps and is fused and isolated. I will also attach an Anderson plug on the clip on compressor leads so I can always use for other vehicles.

https://www.autoelec.com.au/ssl/public_autoelec/store_v4/product_detail.asp?id=2102&cat=28

exactly how i have my vehicle set up, and funnily enough i live in Australia...lol. I have a heavy duty dedicated power lead that is fused at the battery and runs to an anderson plug on the back of my vehicle. The plug is mostly used for charging my 240AH battery bank in my camper trailer whilst i drive from one location to another, but is also used now for running my Bushranger Max Air11 compressor to reinflate the tyres also. I just cut the old aligator clips off the compressor and fitted the anderson plug onto it, simple and easy fix that allows the compressor to reach the camper trailer tyres with the one hose. The trick is not to skimp on the cable size you use to run to back of the vehicle, voltage drop can be a killer when charging camper trailer batteries. Cheaper option is just to buy another hose as others have alread mentioned though, unless you have a need for battery charging at rear of vehicle.

 

[JPR4LFE]

Well I went ahead as planned. Trial run went great, but no long term field testing yet. If you are thinking about this, make sure your charging circuit on your vehicle is rated for your specific compressor as I am sure they vary. I didn't end up cutting the wire on the clips, but rather was able to remove the solder and re-solder them to new wire for the adapter