Keeping Hookup leads tidy !! Forums

MOTORHOMER

[quote:984e363f21="scotjimland"]Kind of off topic but related.
If you ever do winter motorhoming and it starts to snow Shocked

lift the hook up cable on top of the fresh snow each day, if you don't then when you go to leave it will be frozen into the ground.
This happened to me at Aviemore in Dec 1999, I had to cut the plug and socket off and leave the cable buried in the hard snow. Crying or Very sad

[/quote:984e363f21]

Thats a very good tip.

Motorhomer

bigfoot

I make a loop of the appropriate size at the van socket and tape it in place. That then acts as a former for winding the rest, I then put it in a plastic bag.
If it is wet I wind it through a cloth.
I have 2 leads one conventional and the other made of armoured cable.
Useful on some continental sites when you need to run the cable over a road.

autostratus · Moderator

[quote:a82cd0ad6a="nukeadmin"].........that way if the lead is damp/dirty it doesnt matter and its easily grabbed ready for next site Smile

[/quote:a82cd0ad6a]

I forgot to say that if the coil is wet or dirty the bucket keeps it contained.
I currently use one of those bright checked polypropolene shopping bags which has got too tatty to use for the original purpose.
As it is not rigid it is harder to use than was my bucket.

pomme1

We coil into loops but use old bicycle toe straps to secure the cable rather than velcro. I then store it in a circular bag which was originally designed to take a cassette hose.

spykal · Moderator

Hi
Just a thought if you have the luxury of a garage:

Could you use/modify a small wall mounted garden hose reel...the sort that has a guide ....to wind up your hook up cable.

Mike

BarryandSue

Regarding totally unwinding a hook-up cable, I think good sense can be applied here.

If you're using 240v appliance[u:daab82b65a]s[/u:daab82b65a] or a larger-consumption appliance (singular), then it's good sense to totally unwind the cable. It will probably get hot, even to the point of melting, if you don't.

However, if all you're doing is battery charging and the cable is the usual thick 16a stuff, there will be no need to unwind completely. I have tested this to my satisfaction to ensure that no heat is generated.

Apply good sense and caution, though. If you're likely to use greater loads and/or may forget to unwind the cable, then err on the side of safety.

Barry

RobMD

I fold mine in half, then half again etc. until it is short enough to store in a zipped rectangular canvas tool bag I bought in a cheap shop.
To use, no need to unwind, just hold the 2 ends & throw the bundle away from you.

Jeanann

I start from the middle and wind in loops to one end, then transfer to the other hand and wind to the other end. When connecting, hold in hand and connect to 'the truck' then lay it on the floor with this side to the ground and pull it up to the requied length. When putting away, lift the loop up and wind from one end and then the other, in the same way. Find this stops it tangling. Have tried a special cable tidy but it seemed more trouble than helpful.

Jeanann

spykal · Moderator

[quote:ed1b6aef9e="RobMD"]I fold mine in half, then half again etc. until it is short enough to store in a zipped rectangular canvas tool bag I bought in a cheap shop.
To use, no need to unwind, just hold the 2 ends & throw the bundle away from you.[/quote:ed1b6aef9e]
Hi Rob
What a good way to do it and by a stange coincidence only last week I bought several of the "Blackspur" canvas tool bags you describe from our local pound shop when it was having a half price day, they cost 65p each....I always was a big spender! I bought them to organise my "travelling junk" that seems so essential in the van.

Presently for the hook up I use a DIY cable reel made from a welding wire reel fitted with a handle and knob, it works just fine but your "solution" sounds so much neaterI must give it a try.

Mike

hammy96

After trying various cable reels and having the problem of wiping off water & mud on a soggy wet site I decided to go for a method that had been mentioned in the MMM.

Go to B&Q and buy the mini type hose reel that is completly covered in discard the hose pipe(sell it at a car boot) then replace it with the cable use a small elastic braided stretcher to hold the M/H end to the outer side of the drum and wind it all in water, mud and grass then stand it in the toilet on yesterdays Telegraph
John Laughing