CORD REEL OPTION

[Jayhawk 29]

You should be able to recess the battery switch location if the area has a void behind the mounting location. I hit mine quite often when putting one of my storage tubs in the cargo door. I know my void behind it has a decent amount of room behind it. Just frame in a pocket on the face panel similar to what most washer and dryer hose connectors and drain outlet have in most laundry rooms.

In general I will attempt to describe the method. You have the skills after building your truck bed arrangement. All it takes is to cut the panel with the battery switch mounted on it now about six or seven inches or more square, gently of course since its really thin and then frame the cut out piece with strips of 3/4" wood.

Use one of those Fein type vibrating blade cutters. Tape the area in which you plan to cut so that you don't get splintering and this makes for a guide too. You will need to cut some of the face veneer back to accommodate the finished recess pieces.

Then fasten some of your plywood pieces that you probably have laying around, run on your table saw enough of the width to get the switch sunk enough out of the way. Then screw some 3/4 strips to the cut out lines and then screw the plywood fastened to the strips. Hopefully you got the jest of it.

 

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

You should be able to recess the battery switch location if the area has a void behind the mounting location. I hit mine quite often when putting one of my storage tubs in the cargo door. I know my void behind it has a decent amount of room behind it. Just frame in a pocket on the face panel similar to what most washer and dryer hose connectors and drain outlet have in most laundry rooms.

In general I will attempt to describe the method. You have the skills after building your truck bed arrangement. All it takes is to cut the panel with the battery switch mounted on it now about six or seven inches or more square, gently of course since its really thin and then frame the cut out piece with strips of 3/4" wood.

Use one of those Fein type vibrating blade cutters. Tape the area in which you plan to cut so that you don't get splintering and this makes for a guide too. You will need to cut some of the face veneer back to accommodate the finished recess pieces.

Then fasten some of your plywood pieces that you probably have laying around, run on your table saw enough of the width to get the switch sunk enough out of the way. Then screw some 3/4 strips to the cut out lines and then screw the plywood fastened to the strips. Hopefully you got the jest of it.

I have a good idea of what the finished recess would look like. Also, I have lots of extra matching luan and wood pieces from the over bed shelf that I ripped out of the camper, when I first bought it. It was way too low, a head bonker, made even worse once I installed a thicker mattress.

The opposite side of that wall where the disconnect is located, is the front facing of my bedside stand. On that face is a set of outlets and a USB outlet. I’d have to do some measuring and figuring, to ensure they don’t share the same space directly behind each other. If so, it’ll take a bit more finishing.

I have the multi tool you mention. Thanks for your detailed explanation. That’s a good project for tomorrow. It’s going to be 70+ in CT!

 

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

You see those square trim pieces that run along the bottom and side of that wall where the battery disconnect is? (See my photo in earlier post). If I remove them, and any others up higher, I bet that piece of luan where the switch is mounted, isn’t held on by much after that.

 

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

Well, well, well.. 3 screws removed and look what we have here....

Before I say "It's gonna be easy to move."...I'll say it LOOKS as if it'd be easy to move the battery disconnect straight to the top of that panel.

 

[Jayhawk 29]

She says its "Easy" Hum, sumtin wrong here, But in that case, geturdone, clean up and with spare time before its a Margarita at five.

 

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

It's going well. Almost done. I'm a frequent 'break taker.' It's the attention deficit in me I can work on something for maybe 20 minutes at a time, then I have to do something else for 20, etc etc etc.

 

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

The Good the Bad and the Ugly.

Moving was a cinch. What I didn't discover until after I started cutting the NEW hole for the switch: I could have used the hole from the light and just swapped them. The original light hole would have needed to be enlarged just a bit. So, there's an extra hole higher up. I can cover it with an extra pice of matching luan OR I can stick something in it, like a USB outlet set or something like that. Also, going up just that little bit more to the top was a bit of a stretch for the amount negative battery wire. I supposed I could have tried to find more slack, but the extra hole was already cut, so I used it. The light in it's existing space would have been okay...I just thought...why not move it? Right?

I just plugged the camper back in and reattached the battery leads. Everything appears to work.

It's margarita time.

 

[Jayhawk 29]

It's going well. Almost done. I'm a frequent 'break taker.' It's the attention deficit in me I can work on something for maybe 20 minutes at a time, then I have to do something else for 20, etc etc etc.

No, no, no, tell everyone you are part of a rv union and you are following their requirements to break often, so that you can thoroughly consider your next move in which to minimize mistakes.

 

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

I gotta say. Those wire clip boxes are super nice (maybe not to the trained professional) but for me? I love them. They made managing and separating and moving the wires so much easier.

 

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

No, no, no, tell everyone you are part of a rv union and you are following their requirements to break often, so that you can thoroughly consider your next move in which to minimize mistakes.

You are communicating with a real life SEIU New England Healthcare 1199 Union Delegate, right here.

 

[Jayhawk 29]

You are communicating with a real life SEIU New England Healthcare 1199 Union Delegate, right here.

Well even with the extra hole while being a card carrying healthcare professional, you did not cut off the wrong arm that we hear about on occasions for this procedure.

 

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

I just had a great idea. If any of you have been following my camper modifications and fixes, you'll remember last summer I finished off the pocket of space, behind my fridge. It is covered with the fridge access panel and not a compartment door. The newer model of my camper, they did finish that space and added a hinged door. I can access it easily by removing the panel. THAT space would be perfect to mount the hose reel (tall narrow reel option) sideways in there. There's plenty of space for it.

 

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

Just did some measuring. There's 10" of depth, 28" of width and aaaaall the height I need.
It 'might' squeak by, as the handle makes it protrude just about 10 1/2" If I position the handle to fall in the recesses of the access cover, it'll fit.
I can mount it further to the front and have plenty of access to the opening for cord loading.
I think it's a good use of the space, since you only have to open it once and close it once, on any trip.
It's definitely worth a try.

 

[Glamper64]

So every time you plug in you have unwind the whole cord and plug in both ends even if you need only 8'
What happen to the practicality of opening a little cover/door pulling out what you need then pushing it back in after you disconnect and close the little cover...so simple, no space need other than an hidden away unused space like under a bed/vanity. Plus you're constantly plugging in and unplugging which does cause wear and eventually a loose connection
Another bad design idea IMO...what's the advantage...both of my RV's 2018 & 2017 have the pull out and plug in one end system.
I get why you want a reel but what do you do with the extra extension cord you should carry at all times...another reel perhaps
I love how they say these reels free up valuable storage space, really

 

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

So every time you plug in you have unwind the whole cord and plug in both ends even if you need only 8'
What happen to the practicality of opening a little cover/door pulling out what you need then pushing it back in after you disconnect and close the little cover...so simple, no space need other than an hidden away unused space like under a bed/vanity. Plus you're constantly plugging in and unplugging which does cause wear and eventually a loose connection
Another bad design idea IMO...what's the advantage...both of my RV's 2018 & 2017 have the pull out and plug in one end system.
I get why you want a reel but what do you do with the extra extension cord you should carry at all times...another reel perhaps
I love how they say these reels free up valuable storage space, really

Most travel trailers now have the cord completely free of the camper, with an exterior receptacle you attach the cord. My cord is 30' 50amp. Big & heavy. Yes, you need to lug around the entire cord. As far as extra, I do not and will never have an extra cord. I park camp and will always be within 30' of the electrical post. If ever one day I find myself in a situation where the 30' is not enough, then I have an electric generator that'll work just fine.

You're right. I loved my pop-up where the cord was shoved into a hidden space. But, they're just not made that way anymore. Right now I keep the cord coiled up and stored in the outside compartment, under the backside of my U dinette. It's such a pain to coil and get back in there.

The purpose of a real, of rme, is to utilize that storage space that otherwise wouldn't be used due to its accessibility 'problem.' The, frees up quick accessible space in my U dinette outside compartment. The space where I want to put it is best used for an item I'd take out once and put back once, like the cord. The reel doesn't keep me from having to drag around the cord for use, but it sure does make stowing a lot easier.

 

[norty1]

I purchased 2 short hoses from China via the Big Blue Truck. They have crimped connections and I have already had to replace the end connectors for leaking. The best hose I have in my camper is a stainless that is mentioned in a prior post.

 

[Jayhawk 29]

The only downside reason that I see for using the additional space and the reel is what appears to be that you will need to mount it sideways. So if the cord reel is rigid mounted, you will be winding the stiff cord sideways onto the reel. You may ease the chore if someone holds the cord away from the reel mount frame as you wind it on. So in reverse you are wrestling with getting it back out.

If you can mount it directly to the outside, then this would be easier to do this chore. I don't know the depth in that compartment. I am almost on the side of just using that area for the storage, but without the reel. By the way how up is the access panel on the side? If its an unused section for the older propane fridge on my older campers, its still a ways up to lift it anyway.

A crazy thought, if the door panel does not have a hinge or easily removed and closed back, [ I don't recall the unused setup on your TT] you can hard wire the power cord into your panel, even getting an electrician to do the job and just create a notch in the panel in which to leave the extra inside. Sure its still pretty stiff unlike the 30 amp, but worth a try. I am actually surprised that your camper is wired with the 50 amp cord. YOu only have one ac, right and a 12 volt fridge? You can use the old style door panels that were used on the rigid mounted older ones in the panel door.

If you don't want to reduce the length, then its really easy to do the job with an additional length of cable and set a junction box or even mount a receptacle on the panel that I see thats inside the compartment.

 

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

I purchased 2 short hoses from China via the Big Blue Truck. They have crimped connections and I have already had to replace the end connectors for leaking. The best hose I have in my camper is a stainless that is mentioned in a prior post.

Those crimped ends look to be a real, fast failure problem. I loved my steel hose, too.

 

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

The only downside reason that I see for using the additional space and the reel is what appears to be that you will need to mount it sideways. So if the cord reel is rigid mounted, you will be winding the stiff cord sideways onto the reel. You may ease the chore if someone holds the cord away from the reel mount frame as you wind it on. So in reverse you are wrestling with getting it back out.

If you can mount it directly to the outside, then this would be easier to do this chore. I don't know the depth in that compartment. I am almost on the side of just using that area for the storage, but without the reel. By the way how up is the access panel on the side? If its an unused section for the older propane fridge on my older campers, its still a ways up to lift it anyway.

A crazy thought, if the door panel does not have a hinge or easily removed and closed back, [ I don't recall the unused setup on your TT] you can hard wire the power cord into your panel, even getting an electrician to do the job and just create a notch in the panel in which to leave the extra inside. Sure its still pretty stiff unlike the 30 amp, but worth a try. I am actually surprised that your camper is wired with the 50 amp cord. YOu only have one ac, right and a 12 volt fridge? You can use the old style door panels that were used on the rigid mounted older ones in the panel door.

If you don't want to reduce the length, then its really easy to do the job with an additional length of cable and set a junction box or even mount a receptacle on the panel that I see thats inside the compartment.

My camper is one A/C but 2 A/C prepped, that's why the 50 amp. The fridge access is a bit higher, not crazy though. See photo: (it's covered with a while plastic bag.) Right now I pretty much 'side load' my cord in the space where I store it, in that long skinner compartment on the slide. I don't think there's enough room to properly loop the cord in the 'fridge-back' space. I guess I should try.

The fridge panel looks like this...

 

[Jayhawk 29]

If the cord reel fits in the spare compartment, the cord without the cord reel should fit as well. What i am thinking is that if you only have the one ac and don't plan on installing a second one, then why not switch over to a 30 amp cord. The 50 amp is still 120, with two legs. But the second leg does not run anything on mine, anyway. The adapter that I use for my 50 amp to 30 at the male end that plugs into the power pole runs the entire camper, since I only have one air while being wired for two.

So if your camper is wired in a similar manner as mine, purchase a 30 amp cord and change the end of the cord for the 50 amp camper receptacle . You will end up with a spare leg on the female plug. You may need to check with an electrician, which can guide you thru this of course and check your setup.. But this should not change anything inside your power panel.