Water and Power Cord Storage

[inky]

I have an older motorhome and I am looking for a easy organized way to store my water and power cords when not in use while traveling. Yes, I can just curl them up and throw them in the basement, but I am using that method and it's not working for me. I don't have enough room to hang them. The worst one is the 50amp power cord.

[inky]

Thanks for all the great feed back on storing my power cord and water hose. I see a couple of suggestions that may work very well for me.

Joe

[mustang652]

I like keeping my hoses in separate containers. White fresh water hose and brown sewer flush hose. I use the plastic oil change pans that I get at O'Reilly's Auto parts then stack the white hose on top.
For power cord storage, I pulled out the cord as far as it would stretch on the asphalt street, gave it a "sun tan", then while still hot to the touch and pliable, rolled in to a tight fit in it's compartment. When I get to a set up location, pull out what I need and back feed it through the whole. It retains enough of its shape to easily roll up the next morning.

[lanerd]

This was a subject in Tuesday's RV TRAVEL newsletter, which read:

Bag those troublesome cords and hoses
by Russ and Tiña De Maris, Your RV Podcast

Of all the gear RVers have to struggle with, some of the most unruly in terms of storage are coils of hose and electrical cords. They all seem to have a marvelous ability to unravel and get scrambled in your basement storage compartment, making it a real mess when it comes time to set up camp.

Sure, there are cord reels and hose reels — they work to a limited degree. We once tried a "flat hose" and reel combination that proved most unsatisfactory when the packaging didn't warn users that the hose had to be completely unreeled before water pressure was applied. We had an interesting "experience" with an exploding hose reel on that occasion. Cord reels are rarely designed for the large-size cables needed for carrying lots of juice to an RV. They're best kept around for "normal" yard tool extension cords.

We've finally found the ticket for keeping cords and hoses put together while they bump around in your storage area: reusable grocery bags. The kind of bags that the stores are touting as an answer to paper versus plastic. Lightweight and durable, you can fit just about any size water hose or electrical cable common to RV use inside these critters. We coil our cords and hoses up first, then simply pop 'em in their respective bags. If there's enough room, you may be able to tie the handles together in a loose knot for further security.

If a storage bag gets a bit dirty, pop it in a wash load — they'll clean up and dry easily. If it gets completely out of hand, whistle on down to Walmart and pick up a new storage bag for a song.

Hope this helps

Ron

[deandec]

Planter container from Home Depot cost about $10 ten years ago.

I put the hoses on top of the 35' 50 Marinco cord.

Easier and cleaner to carry the cord from point to point also.

cord tub

[PastorCharlie]

I coil my 30-50 AMP electric cables around a 5 gallon bucket and put all the small items inside. Have 100 feet of cable and works great.

[AllegroD]

For water hoses I use open crates, I do not want to trap moisture inside a closed container.

[toedtoes]

I use packing cubes - those soft sided zippered square/rectangle bags to go in suitcases. Both my fresh water hoses go in one; power cord in another. Dump tank supplies (including hose) go in a plastic bin with lid.

Pros: they can fit in tighter and/or awkward places since they are soft-sided; they don't take up extra room that isn't needed by the hose/cord; they have a handle on the end that I can easily grab and pull it out of the compartment; there are many color choices so you can color code (one color for hoses, one for 50 amp cord, one for 30 amp cord, etc.); they have many different sizes so you can find the best fit for each item; they also work great to keep smaller items together in cupboards, etc.; if they get dirty, they can be washed.

Cons: none so far.

[sailor_lou]

I installed one of these for the hose:

Hose Reel

and one of these for the power cord:

Power Cord Reel

On the power reel I purchased a D.C. motor wireless controller so I can extend and retract the cord using a key fob. A bit more $$ than a bucket, but sometimes you can find them used too.

Lou
05 Travel Supreme Envoy

[Dick_B]

X2 on the plastic bins. However, the 50 amp cord may not coil up good enough. We only have the 30 amp cord.

[rockhillmanor]

When you don't have room in you bays for putting them in the bucket this works great for storing hoses and cords and then you can stack them on top of each other and they don't unwinds etc.

I use these for ALL my hoses, extension cords and power cords. The best part is the 'handle' so you can carry them to where you need them without them unrolling. AND it ratchets so it fits tight around any size stuff your working with. And releases with a just a flip of the lever.



http://cableclamp.com/

[pianotuna]

Hi,

I bought one of these--have not had a chance to try it yet, but I'm hopeful it will solve some issues.

Quick Winder

[cbshoestring]

I cut a five gallon bucket down to size (store in smaller storage compartment) that allows me to curl the hose inside. I can put the filter and pressure requlator in the middle of the curl. The bucket contains any leakage.

[Grandpere]

I measured the size of each basement and then bought plastic storage bins with lids. I have hoses in one, liquids in another, and my Camco blocking in another. I need to get one more that will go in where my spare tire is for water & oil filters, screws, duck tape, etc so they are not just bouncing around loose. I like lids because I can then put stuff on top of the containers and it is not getting lost in what I have inside.

[John_Joey]

I curl mine up into milk crates. I also toss any attachments into the crate. When I get to my site I pull out the crate, and use what I need.