New Furrion 50 Amp Flat Power Cable?

Stan&Sharon · 11-20-2022, 06:44 AM

youtube video

Recently watched a youtube video and the salesman mentions he's seeing these new Furrion flat power cables included in the 2023 Montanas. I've been searching the web and found nothing about them... and no mention on the Montana website either.

Since he says it's made by Furrion, surely they will sell it at RV parts stores. The image below is from the 7 minute mark on this video. I'm eager to see one of these cables. Have you seen one?

Radar57 · 11-20-2022, 07:07 AM

I've had a 14 or 16 GA, 15 amp 50' flat electrical cable and we have them at work. They are the worst type cable to try and roll up by hand. I can just imagine what it would be like to roll up a 30 or 50 amp cable. It would be great on a reel, if you could keep it flat and if you had a lot of patience (which I have been told I don't)!!! Just my opinion.

Stan&Sharon · 11-20-2022, 07:25 AM

Yeah, good point. It looks good in the original package. Once it's unrolled (and cold outside) getting it untwisted and back into a neat roll could be a whole lot of trouble.
It looks so neat - and takes up so little space - in this video.

Route 66 Traveler · 11-20-2022, 11:59 AM

Two years ago I switched over to SmartPlug on my RV. One of the best upgrades I have done in the 5 years I have owned it.

I have 50amp power so my cord is a bit heavy and was impossible to coil up in coldweather UNTIL I installed the Morryde cord reel. Now it rolls up easily in cold weather and takes up very little space.

https://smartplug.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI0euVc-R3Q

F350guy · 11-20-2022, 08:57 PM

My Pinnacle came with the powered cord reel. Some like it but I didn't. We do some cold weather camping and getting it to roll up on the reel was a real pain. I had changed the hookup on our last fifth wheel to a SmartPlug and really liked it. Solid as can be. After I had enough of fighting the powered reel I added a SmartPlug next to it and bypassed the reel. I also went to a local electrical supply and bought 30 feet of 6 gauge, 4 wire cold weather cord. It is not as heavy and rolls well in cold weather. I just toss it in a plastic bin and put in my storage bay.

mavrick0 · 11-28-2022, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by F350guy

My Pinnacle came with the powered cord reel. Some like it but I didn't. We do some cold weather camping and getting it to roll up on the reel was a real pain. I had changed the hookup on our last fifth wheel to a SmartPlug and really liked it. Solid as can be. After I had enough of fighting the powered reel I added a SmartPlug next to it and bypassed the reel. I also went to a local electrical supply and bought 30 feet of 6 gauge, 4 wire cold weather cord. It is not as heavy and rolls well in cold weather. I just toss it in a plastic bin and put in my storage bay.

Do you have any pics or a write up on bypassing the powered cord reel and adding the plug? I absolutely hate the cord reel and have been thinking about doing what you have done just haven't gotten to that point yet.

F350guy · 11-28-2022, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mavrick0

Do you have any pics or a write up on bypassing the powered cord reel and adding the plug? I absolutely hate the cord reel and have been thinking about doing what you have done just haven't gotten to that point yet.

I took couple of pics for you. It's actually pretty simple to do, other than drilling the hole for SmartPlug. When you pull the cord out all the way from the reel there are some screws holding the cover plates in place. If I remember right when I removed them it gave me access to the terminal ends for the cord so it can be removed. Then from underneath where the aluminum curves around to the frame I think there were some screws holding it in place. I removed enough of them to let me push the cover back enough to access the line that runs from the reel to the trailer. There was enough slack in the line on mine that I was able to pull it thru the hole to do the connecting before I mounted the SmartPlug.

I put some flashing tape over the seams to help keep water out.

Learjet · 11-28-2022, 07:32 PM

The onboard reel is not impressive at all and the cheap contacts inside it will fail in time. I have a Hughes Autoformer hardwired behind the basement...so I can unplug from there and use my 50 amp extension to bypass the reel when it fails. When it fails the Smart plug looks like a good choice.

Bandit12 · 12-10-2022, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Route 66 Traveler

Two years ago I switched over to SmartPlug on my RV. One of the best upgrades I have done in the 5 years I have owned it.

I switched the plug on our trailer to a smart plug this past spring. Agreed, it is one of the best upgrades ever. However, I did NOT use the factory 50 amp cord as my shore power cord for the new plug. Instead, I sacrificed my Camco 30 foot, 50 amp extension cord. I cut the male plug end off and installed the Smart Plug on it. It coils up easily in colder weather. Enough so that I can use the hose/cord basket I bought for my shore power cord. I put a couple Velcro strap handles on the basket, and I keep the cord in that for travel. When camp is set up, the basket with excess cord is slid under the back of the trailer to keep it out of the weather. Time will tell how well it stands up to continuous use. It's been sitting on the ground, under the back of the trailer since our last trip in Sept. First trip for next year is scheduled for departure on 1 Apr. We'll be headed to Death Valley for 5 nights in Furnace Creek Campground, then 3 nights in Vegas at the Oasis RV resort.

mavrick0 · 12-10-2022, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by F350guy

I took couple of pics for you. It's actually pretty simple to do, other than drilling the hole for SmartPlug. When you pull the cord out all the way from the reel there are some screws holding the cover plates in place. If I remember right when I removed them it gave me access to the terminal ends for the cord so it can be removed. Then from underneath where the aluminum curves around to the frame I think there were some screws holding it in place. I removed enough of them to let me push the cover back enough to access the line that runs from the reel to the trailer. There was enough slack in the line on mine that I was able to pull it thru the hole to do the connecting before I mounted the SmartPlug.

I put some flashing tape over the seams to help keep water out.

Thank you for the pics and info. Is there anything really holding the outlet to the side of the trailer or just the aluminum flashing itself?

cadman_ks · 12-11-2022, 09:14 AM

To echo what others have said, it's kind of a love-hate relationship with the cord reel for sure.

However, I think that a flat cable would work a lot better on the cord real. It would be interesting to see how pliable that flat cable is.

It might even be possible to get 50' on the cord reel then. We were in several spots this last year that we needed a longer cord in than the 35' that comes on the reel. We got around that by moving back or forward in the site, but then our steps where off the pad, or we were closer to the person behind us, etc. I think that we could have gotten it with a 50' in all sites we were in, but not 35', so longer would be better...

F350guy · 12-11-2022, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mavrick0

Thank you for the pics and info. Is there anything really holding the outlet to the side of the trailer or just the aluminum flashing itself?

I cut a piece of 3/4 inch plywood as a backing behind the aluminum flashing which gave the SmartPlug mounting screws something solid to bite.

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