electrical cord

[ediemarie]

having a terrible time getting the cord back into the little hole thing that it comes out of
how's that for a description!

the 30amp cord has a little box thing on the side of the Rv that it stores away in, so no problem pulling it out to plug in but when leaving site that thing can take
10-15mins to get back in there. talking about a 2010 coachmen freelander.

thanks- EM

[Healeyman]

EM,

I have the same RV. I sent you an Email of how I coil my power cord into the hole/box in less than a minute.

I don't plug into the generator receptacle unless I forsee using the generator.

Tim

[gkainz]

2oldman wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
A coiled cord carrying a lot of current will heat. If it gets hot enough......

Uh oh.. now you've done it.

ditto that ... I had a couple of these

that heated up and melted. They were NOT overloaded based on appliance wattage and had survived a year of use before I got the neatnic bug and coiled them up.

[2oldman]

pianotuna wrote:
A coiled cord carrying a lot of current will heat. If it gets hot enough......

Uh oh.. now you've done it.

[pianotuna]

Hi JohnM,

Voltage drop is not the worry. A coiled cord carrying a lot of current will heat. If it gets hot enough......

[John_M1]

I do a combination of the two ideas.
When the weather is warm and we are going to be staying for more than just one night, I fight with the cord and coil it in.
For a one-nighter or cold weather, I leave the cord coiled in its space and add a 30 amp extension cord to the end. The extension cord is much easier to coil, even when cold. I know the extra length will add to the voltage drop, but we usually aren't running the AC in cold weather and we keep an eye on the amount of "juice" we use.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

Try to put it in at -30 F. You will soon wish you had cut the cable (leave a foot or two) and put on the male end.

[Horizon170]

navegator wrote:
As you place the corde in the oppening twist and turn the cord so that it corck screws into the hole instead of trying to push it in.

It should look like a tight coil inside the box, I have a Coachmen Catalina Sport and that is how I coil the cord in, it takes a few times to get the hang of it.

navegator

That is a better idea than mine.

[navegator]

As you place the corde in the oppening twist and turn the cord so that it corck screws into the hole instead of trying to push it in.

It should look like a tight coil inside the box, I have a Coachmen Catalina Sport and that is how I coil the cord in, it takes a few times to get the hang of it.

navegator

[pianotuna]

Hi Rolin,

Anything to save a dime.

Rolin wrote:
Another vote for cutting it off and putting a male end on.

Don't know why they made such a small space for such a thick stiff cord.

[Rolin]

Another vote for cutting it off and putting a male end on.

We cut the cord, put a female on the loose end and a male on the attached end. We have to plug the cord into a wall plug inside that little space if we want to use the generator. We store the 30amp cord in another larger compartment. We store our TV cable in that space and it is much easier now.

It was always a struggle getting the 30 cord back into that small space. Don't know why they made such a small space for such a thick stiff cord.

[Horizon170]

If you actually have a 5x5 hole just put a 180* bend in the electric line and put the "U" in the hole and push. When that runs out put in another "U", etc. Mine goes in a 1 inch hole and I have a time getting it in. Sometimes I have to pull out 2-3 feet and try again.

[2oldman]

I'll bet it's a real bear when it's cold.

[mlts22]

There is one advantage of the "mouse-hole" -- if you want to run another 15-20 amp device, you can thread another extension cord through that hole so you can have another electric heater.

Of course, there are advantages of cutting it off and putting a male plug on it. The "mouse-hole" does attract vermin, so sealing it off is one less place critters can get in.

If you do put a male plug on it, make sure you get a marine grade connector and do it right, so it isn't a place water can enter.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

Many of us have cut off the cord and put a male plug on it. Then we go to Walmart and get a new 30 foot cord to use.

30 amp rv plug