mlpeloquin
Well-known member
This shows that the slip rings need cleaning and lubrication over time to prevent this. Obviously they wore out which caused higher resistance and heat. My SOB Class A does not have one, but my 2013 Big Horn did. A feature I miss. This is a good post to let all that have a power reel see what can happen. Cleaning and lubing using Deoxit every two years or so may help, but disassembly and inspection seems to be a required safety maintenance item which should be done every two years or so depending on how much the fifth wheel is used. This will also allow one to check the tightness of the lugs. Mine had loosened up to produce a open neutral and one loose hot leg which causes it own problems.
NYSUPstater
Well-known member
Spoke how do you go about taking this item apart and where do you get the lube from/at? Biggest gripe I have is that somehow when things were made, the reel end cut a hole thru the sheet metal cuz the metal wasn't installed far enough away from the reel end. The hole is on bottom side of metal.
mlpeloquin
Well-known member
Deoxit
https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-D5S-6-D...=sr_1_2?keywords=Deoxit&qid=1584547370&sr=8-2
I would not suggest dielectric grease, because it would hold particles that would wear down the slip rings.
To get access, disconnect power and if you have a generator, make sure it is off. Then pull all of the cable out of the reel. A hatch is now accessible. Remove the eight screws that hold the hatch on. It should be self evident oh how to remove the cable connections etc.. Take a picture of the cable connections prior to removing them so you put them back in the proper order.
Yesterday I drove around town looking for answers. I went to RV dealers, electrical supply houses, parts distributors, trailer parts stores, auto parts shops, and even an RV mechanic shop. No one had ever seen the parts I put in front of them. The last RV dealer I went to is a registered Shoreline supplier and they called over to whoever owns the Shoreline brand right now and left a message (reduced business activity due to COVID). Hopefully I'll hear back from them.
I spoke with some electricians about what could have caused this and I doubt this is a maintenance or really a preventable issue. Maybe one of the insulating rings cracked and caused arcing or maybe one of the contacts wore away or lost some tension against the slip ring and promoted arcing.
To gain access to remove the reel, I removed a body panel, disconnected the 35' cord, disassembled the reel, and had to drill out 4 pop rivets just to see what the damage was. The average person isn't going to do this. Also, replacement parts are not available. If this was supposed to be maintained, there would be documentation noting as such and replacement parts would be available. It's just not a very solid design. It's about 3 hours worth of work and I didn't reinstall the reel (but I did put the body panel back on).
Shoreline is a TRC company which is a Southwire company.
Unsure of his current status, but here's who I dealt with at Southwire on a cord reel I had...
Steve Guarcello
Technical Support
Mechanical Engineer
Southwire Company, LLC
727-812-0578
stephen.guarcello@southwire.com
Nah - you're not wrong - they're all Southwire subsidiaries and Shoreline was at one time, under TRC, the makers of transfer switches and surge protection stuff.
Hope the contact info is helpful.
Thank you! That's very insightful but I'm working on a different solution. I'll post with pictures when I'm done.
Ok, after some thinking about this and a lot of procrastination, I finally decided to just delete the cord reel entirely and replace it with a 50amp twist lock connection. This essentially makes the power cord into a manual extension cord. Maybe not the most desirable fix but probably the most reliable fix. I personally refuse to replace the cord reel with another of the same because I feel the design is bad and the component parts are not strong enough to withstand normal expected use. That's my two cents whether others agree or not.
Here is the temporary 6/3 cord I wired in directly to the RV load side with wing nuts (in the old burned out ATS case):
Here is the new Progressive HW50C EMS I wired in (hadn't screwed it down yet) before the ATS to help prevent a recurrence of the initial problem:
Here is what I replaced the cord reel with (50 AMP RV Trailer Marine Power Cord Power Inlet - Female Twist locking Connector - Weatherproof Boot Kit [Item B077YVWCRB]):
I'll probably either make some type of hanger or pedestal to elevate the connection from the potential of it sitting in rain water as the cord reel had been.
That's it, nothing fancy or difficult. I'll miss the motorized reel function but for all the hassle and expense it has caused me, good riddance.
Here is the temporary 6/3 cord I wired in directly to the RV load side with wing nuts (in the old burned out ATS case):
Here is the new Progressive HW50C EMS I wired in (hadn't screwed it down yet) before the ATS to help prevent a recurrence of the initial problem:
Here is what I replaced the cord reel with (50 AMP RV Trailer Marine Power Cord Power Inlet - Female Twist locking Connector - Weatherproof Boot Kit [Item B077YVWCRB]):
I'll probably either make some type of hanger or pedestal to elevate the connection from the potential of it sitting in rain water as the cord reel had been.
That's it, nothing fancy or difficult. I'll miss the motorized reel function but for all the hassle and expense it has caused me, good riddance.
wdk450
Well-known member
Here is a Google search on "Manual RV Power Cord Reel": https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1...hUKEwi5rYGKudnqAhXJ7Z4KHcR7B4QQ4dUDCAw&uact=5
Any of the expensive ones are doing the electrical connection through a commutator, which you now don't want.
It beats me that no electrical manufacturer can't seem to build a LONG TERM RELIABLE product for this simple application. How long do automobile alternator commutators last? (10 years or more). How long do large electrical power plant alternator commutators last? (30 years or more).
Any of the expensive ones are doing the electrical connection through a commutator, which you now don't want.
It beats me that no electrical manufacturer can't seem to build a LONG TERM RELIABLE product for this simple application. How long do automobile alternator commutators last? (10 years or more). How long do large electrical power plant alternator commutators last? (30 years or more).
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