Second of two new problems

[Rock]

Leaving CO this morning 33 degrees my power cord would not roll up without me feeding it onto the 12 volt reel. The reel would also stop and pop like the drive gear was skipping a few teeth.
Is this normal in cold weather that this 12 v power real cannot wind up a 50 amp cold stiff cord or is about to fall. It never has seemed to have a bunch of power but I have never rolled in the cord that cold of a temp.

[Skinner]

Very normal my wife holds the switch and I feed the very stiff cord. The motor really boggs down.

[Radar57]

Motor does seem a bit under powered even in warm weather. Hard to imagine what it’s like when it’s cold.

[Rock]

Ok so cold weather pretty much kills it. The popping is what I do not like, the drum stops when it pops than moves again. It is way warmer now in OK so I will see if the pop goes away. Never had that before

[F350guy]

I've had the same issue with our cord. Left Colorado last fall on a below freezing morning and it was a chore getting the cord wound up. It gets really stiff in cold weather. On our last fifth wheel I replaced the cord with a 6/4 SOOW 50 amp cord which was much easier to handle. The SOOW is rated for cold weather flexibility and is somewhat thinner than the standard rv cord. I'm wondering if it would be possible to replace the cord with an SOOW cord. I haven't looked to see how it is connected so not sure what would be involved. Not cheap but could solve the problem.

[Rock]

Jim
Tks for the info. Did the drum do any popping when it was that cold trying to wind up. I had to feed mine in. But about every two loops it would pop and the drum stop for a second

[F350guy]

I remember the difficulty getting it to wind simply because it was so stiff and it was slow going. I don't remember any popping. We are in Colorado now until 10-7. I'm hopeful the weather could be warmer when we leave but not expecting it. I think replacing the cord will be a project after we are done for the winter, if it can be done. Our previous fifth wheel did not have a reel so it was just rolled up and stored in the storage bay. I rolled the flexible cord up on a below freezing morning several times and not much difference in rolling it up in warm weather.

[Rock]

Probably whatever kind of gears it has {nylon, metal) are wearing out. I have one year of my 7 year warranty left.
Already missing the low humidity we had out NW. Already sweating in OK packing up this morning.
By Oct u will need snow tires in CO.

[Sola123]

Yes the cord is stiff when cold and kinda hard to roll up…..my gears totally quit turning the storage reel…it has a slip clutch…after taking off the cover I had some bearing falling out and no way to figure how to get them back in…as they came from between the chain drive wheel …I was able to obtain some self tapping screws for metal building construction and screw the chain drive pulley to the inside clutch pulley…..so now I have direct drive both ways but it sure seems to roll up the cord a lot easier d stronger…..wife works the button…I pull the cord…easy to roll up with a little assistance….

[Rock]

U have any pics? What cover are u talking about? Did u have to pull the metal skirting down to access it.? This is what mine looks like.

[Sola123]

Rock…mine looks the same as yours….gearing is to the left….access by taking down the panel behind the rear wheel ….there is a cover over the gearing, etc…it is not the easiest to get to…I believe I did have to undo a couple of screws holding the skirting…..I did NOT take out the cord holder…just accessed from the left side…I think I have some pics just got to find them….

[Sola123]

Rock….just sent you a private message….

[Sola123]

I can tell you it took me about 30 minutes to wind the cord back up on the spool after mine quit working….and my elec cord was not all the way out….tough job 1/2 inch at a time….

[Rock]

I had the switch go bad when about a week old. I wrapped the cord around the ladder and tie wrapped in place.

[Skidawg]

Rock, same issue with my old 37MDQS and now the 21 RLTS. I by-passed all the labor and headaches by simply buying an extension. I do not roll out my 50AMP cord anymore. I pull enough out to get to the plug and then connect my extension cord. I was tried of trying to reel the cored in, trying to keep it clean while reeling in, and the painfully slow process entirely. Now I simple unlock the door, open the slot, hang out the plug and plug in the extension cord. The extension cord stays in the basement and is easily cleaned prior to storage. Again, this was my simple fix to rid myself of labor and additional expenses. You may want to consider simplistic way of thinking. BTW, my method does not require assistance from the DW and or her suggestions which means it is a painless operation. Happy Camping, SKIDAWG

[TWP723]

I think your coach hates you.

[Rock]

Yup another option.

[Bauernfeind]

We have the same Pinnacle. I've had three-reel motors replaced, the last one I had to pay for because the RV insurance I have no longer covers these small electric motors. I only wished they had installed an external crank port so that the reel could be manually turned.

[Levinehikeski]

Originally Posted by Skidawg

Rock, same issue with my old 37MDQS and now the 21 RLTS. I by-passed all the labor and headaches by simply buying an extension. I do not roll out my 50AMP cord anymore. I pull enough out to get to the plug and then connect my extension cord. I was tried of trying to reel the cored in, trying to keep it clean while reeling in, and the painfully slow process entirely. Now I simple unlock the door, open the slot, hang out the plug and plug in the extension cord. The extension cord stays in the basement and is easily cleaned prior to storage. Again, this was my simple fix to rid myself of labor and additional expenses. You may want to consider simplistic way of thinking. BTW, my method does not require assistance from the DW and or her suggestions which means it is a painless operation. Happy Camping, SKIDAWG

Great option for short term. You are still using all that cord, and loosing voltage due to length/potentially producing heat. Better option if it isn’t working is to just pull out and shed some weight. I’d think that unit with the 25’+- of cord would net you another 50 lbs or more of capacity. I have a smaller trailer, so I think about every lbs.

[29BHS ECO]

You can cause a fire leaving the cord all coiled up in the trailer. Simply cut off the cord, install a weather proof receptacle, build a extension cord with welding cable ( get the same rating as your cord) and it will be very flexible even in the cold.