Fred vs. Hose Reel

[ViewRVs]

I called an RV repairman about my hose reel and the guy wanted to charge 4 hours at $50/hour plus $35 just for coming to look at it. That's $235! What a joke.

I have decided to puchase a Dremel tool on Friday and carve/cut a bigger hole in the reel hub. This way I avoid taking out the hose reel and solve my long term problem at the same time. Dremel makes a right angle adapter that will make working in the tight space easier.

I will not be defeated! More to come......

[PeterH-350LE]

Fred:0
Hose reel:1

[ViewRVs]

I know that seems like I am avoiding taking it apart and putting it back together properly. The bigger issue is the need to easily access the hose fitting. Should I have to take apart the whole thing every time I want to change the hose?

I am only going to cut away a large enough section to access the hose fitting. If I cut too large a hole, I do risk effecting the structural integrity of the reel.

Yes, the reel gets a point for fighting back my attempt at getting it off but this is a long game! Besides, I can't use my MH until this gets fixed. If I turn on my pump, water shoots out the hose fitting. I normally have a cap on the hose to hold the water in.

[PeterH-350LE]

I believe, there should be a check valve on the hose side of the waterpump. (besides the pressure regulator). You should not have to cap your hose.

[ViewRVs]

'should be' being the operative words. I think the check valve is there but broken. The pump and hoses look like a bowl of spaghetti. I had Walt's RV take a look and he just capped the hose. The hoses go everywhere and there are a dozen knobs in there. The person who did this did not love the coach like we do (oh, this from the guy getting ready to cut up his hose reel instead of doing the right thing by taking it apart!!!!!!)

One of these days I'll trace the hoses and label them. Right now it's my dirty little secret under the bed. That WON'T be part of the tour in April!!!!!!!

[PeterH-350LE]

My bowl of spaghetti also had a build-in sprinkler system.
Instead of messing around, I just redid it all. Now I know each and every line by first name.
The picture shows it about 80% complete.

[PeterH-350LE]

ROUND 2

[ViewRVs]

The Dremel tool worked great. I did break a good 10 of the bits for metal. I cut two 1"x1" sections out. Just enough to put the new hose on. The new hose is on and is not leaking.

I painted the battery tray with Rust-o-leum Aluminum color paint. After that dried, I put the batteries in.

I sanded down the left outside drawer and painted it with primer. Some bright individual put a carpet welcome mat in there that soaked up water and rusted the drawer.

A very productive day!

[ViewRVs]

Here's my dirty little secret. Since I know more now than I did 6 months ago when I took the photo, I need to figure out where these pipes go.

[ALANSD]

Fred -2 Hose Reel -1 Winner "Fred" by a nozzel.

How about that water filter? I changed mine(same type) and it was amazingly nasty inside. The reason I carry bottled water for drinking, and keep the tank water for washing. As easy as the filters are to clean , I plan on cleaning mine more often.
If you get a raincoat on and want to check where those lines go, you could disconnect/plug them one at a time and see where the water comes out, then write on the hose with a magic marker.
Mine are easy to trace, under the sink in the kitchen.

[jagcb750]

I just did this mod on my 345. It worked like a charm. However, there was a little leak inside the reel. I thought I was in for a long haul, but when I came back later the leak had stopped. I figure there must be an o-ring or something inside of it or something that was leaking and just stopped. go figure?