Reel for 50/30 amp cord

[turk123]

This topic is reviewed from time to time but I think I just found something that might work. The company is MORryde from Elkhart Indiana and they have a line of reels that look promising.

My 50 amp cord is TOO HEAVY! I'm getting good a winding it up (if you can call it that!) but lifting into the rear compartment is getting old. We met a guy at Alumapolosa that told us about a reel they were working on and showed us a product picture of a crank model and talked about an electric model.

We are at the Hershey RV show and saw the electric model (about $200). It is just about finished and can ship very soon. It comes in at 13.8" high which is 1/4" smaller than the height of my rear compartment. A bit tight.

The crank version is 13.4' high and has a bit more clearance. I just ordered the crank version on Amazon to see how well this will work. I will have to mount it on the moveable floor in the rear compartment (left side) and may have to fasten the left board down. I can store hoses under that area so I don't have to remove it to get under it. The saving of space using the reel should actually free up extra space do to the cord not being strewn all of the rear compartment and I am hoping to make the lifting a thing of the past.

The picture is of the electric version. Follow the link to the crank version on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[turk123]

So I ordered the reel and we are back from the Hershey RV show and I'm excited to try this out.

I mounted it on a wooden bench out front to see how well the 50 Amp cord would wind up on it. It takes a little getting used to it. First of all, the instructions talk about releasing the tensioner (knob on crank) to let the reel freewheel. Mine does not have a tensioner. The instructions say how important it is to use the tensioner as to not cause the cord to spring back on you. Guess they decided they didn't need it. On the other side of the crank is a large nut that actually adjusts the tension. Mine must be the "new" model.

You want to let it run free as we will see as we wind up the cord. The round head on the cord is best to fit into the center of the reel. This is a stiff cord and requires a bit of guiding onto the reel. Start with getting 2-3 wraps running right to left (or left to right) but keep it neat. You cannot just crank or the hose on the reel will fill the reel in 4-5 turns and no more cord will fit. I have a classic and the rear compartment is 14" tall and plenty deep. The classics have a removable floor that opens to another compartment underneath the floor. The reel will fit in a side cabinet also. Not knowing what is under your side compartment, I don't know if you can run 4 screws through the floor.

[turk123]

The next issue was the size of the compartment doors. this thing will not fit through and of the Airstream compartment doors. You have to take it apart. Drill out four rivets that hold the side bracket on and the reel will come off. One of the two bolds has to be removed to get this thing into the compartment.

[turk123]

So I got it into the compartment, pop-riveted it back together (standard large Pop rivets) and needed to locate it to give me the most room for my rear compartment. I ended up mounting it on the left rear floorboard (one of three) and on the right side of that board.

The board slides left and right letting you get under it for your other items below. I store my hoses and extra cords under the left side, so I don't need to get in there that often.

[turk123]

So how does it work? It is OK. After 3-4 attempts, I got better at reeling the cord in. Getting it started properly is the key and the rest is easy. I added some Gaffer tape to the top left edge of the compartment door as the sharp edges there started to "peel off" bits of rubber cord. That stopped it and made it slide better.

Two people would make this go very fast and being this is the last thing we put away when moving, this will go nicely with one person cranking while the other helps hold the cord up and feed it in.

I'm glad I got it. It makes the compartment so much more accessible while traveling and getting the cord out is as simple as walking backward with cord in hand. No more horsing the thing around and around trying to form something that resembles a circle and then dragging it all in one heap lifting and tossing into the compartment. Pushing it all in and trying to get the door shut. Those days are gone.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Is the compartment "floor" material heavy enough to properly anchor the bolts? Put another way - should you reenforce the floor (like with some giant washers and / or a chunk of plywood) while doing this?

When it gets cold out, that cord gets mighty stiff. That will put a lot of force on the winder ....

Bob

[turk123]

Buying this from Amazon is your best bet. If for some reason it does not fit your compartment the way you like, it can be returned no harm, no foul.

One more note: I fastened mine down to the movable floorboard in a Classic. I did not have to fasten the board down to the trailer allowing it to slide back and forth. This reel requires it to be held down to something. A 3/4" plywood floor added to a side compartment would be good. My side compartment is 1 1/4" taller than my rear compartment. Fastening the reel to the plywood set onto the floor of the compartment will let you screw down to it. Keep it large enough to offer as much support as possible or even add an "L" bracket fastened to the back of the compartment to hold the rear of the plywood down when reeling.

By the way, the four strips of tape in the picture was temporary as I did not want to scratch the compartment door getting the reel in.

I just ran the cord on and off again and I'm giving this "Two Thumbs up"!