Repairing Shore Power Cable Power Reel

[peepafox]

I have a 2004 Monaco Windsor coach and it has a power-driven, 50-amp cord storage reel. Over the New Year's camping trip I was in the process of rewinding the power cord back into the coach. It stopped winding in and all I could hear was the motor running. Now I had to hand wind the power cord on to the reel. That was not fun and If it had been cold it would have been less fun. I got it back on the reel by hand and we proceeded with our holiday travels.

On returning home I looked for information on the reel. I had none and I could not see the label on the reel as there is not much space on ether side of it in the compartment it is installed in.

I called Monaco and they said it was a TDA RV 5036 reel and not repairable. I then got on the internet and located TDA in Florida. The RV 5036 is no longer in there catalog so I called them. (1-904-242-0742) and they informed me that they had a gear replacemant Kit for less than $25. I was not sure that it was what I needed but for $25 I would take a chance so I ordered it and it came to me in 7 Days.

So today Saturday Jan 16 I took on the task of repairing the reel. The real challange was getting it out of the coach. There is not much space to work in the compartment it is located in my coach and it is heavy (over 40 lbs. with the cord on it and over 20 lbs with the cord pulled off of it.

The task of removing it was to disconnect the input feed wires that come out of the reel on a HEAVY and HARD to bend pegtail from the coach wirings. disconnecting was easy as all I had to do was loosen some wire nuts. I also had to disconnect the +12 volt motor drive leads. Remove 4 bolts from the top of the compartment and drop out the reel. It was not easy but not that hard.

Installing the new gears was a simple task of drilling out 10 rivets and removing a cover and the old gears. Clean the area and install the new gears. (Yes the small sun gear had broken) on the motor shaft and grease the new gears. Reinstall the cover and 10 new rivets (supplied with the kit).

Now the problem was to get this heavy reel assembly back in the compartment. I used a small hydrolic jack to lift it up so I could get it attached to the floor above. It is in and working as it should be but it took me about 6 hours but I think it saved myself about $1,000 if I paid to have replaced or repaired.

[wolfe10]

Larry,

Excellent information for anyone with a TDA reel.

Thanks for the detailed description.

Brett Wolfe

[hermanmullins]

peepa

I have a 02 Monaco Dynasty and I don't know which cable reel I have. Does yous wind into a tub or on to a reel? Was your cable in a bind when you were trying to rewind it? I am just asking these questions in hope that I can prevent having your same problem. By the way you gave a great presentation on the repair and will help folks that incure this repair.

Thanks.

[peepafox]

Herman:

My TDI is a reel and not the tub type. As it is a reel the cord was not in a birds nest. The problem was that the reel would not wind the cable back in under with it's motor. I had to wind the reel by hand to get the cable on the reel. The reel unit can be mounted to the floor of the coach and not on the floor of the storage compartment . This saves space in the storage compartment. I think that the tub type must be mounted on the floor of the storage compartment.

Note: TDI web site is http://www.tdiproducts.com/

Larry

[tbutler]

Larry, Thanks again. I've saved your information for later reference. Thanks for posting the repairs you are making to your coach. I'll try to do the same in return.

[mike@fleming.cc]

These motorized reel setups (cords & hoses) fairly well max out their components in my experience. The motor can be over-amped by having the cord head or cord/hose catch on something, and the gears & motors are barely up to the task at hand. Two things I have found are useful to keeping mine running (I've had the Glendinningdrum type and the Shorelinereel setup):

1) Clean the cord or hose when reeling in. Accumulation of dirt on the mechanisms dramatically increases friction over time and can ruin a reel setup in a few years. I have a rag handy & simply wipe down my cord as it gets sucked in.

2) Do a hand-over-hand assist when reeling in, so the motor only has to do enough reeling to store the cord or hose, not to haul it across the ground, pull it around the power pedestal,... This minimizes strain on the components and should make for a long life. This is easy to do while I wipe down the sand, mud, etc. It is really easy to do w/the Glendinning if you use their remote control fob (you hold the cord or hose and push the fob button for retract and walk it toward the coach). You can find the remote on line for about $250 and it will handle both the cord reel and hose reel in case your rig has both.

[734greg]

Larry, my 2002 39' Airstream 396XL also has the auto 50 Amp Cord Reel. Believe me when I say it is no fun manually stowing a 50 Amp cord in a basement compartment. My first 35' AS MH did not have an auto reel so I speak from experience. Here is my routine for not placing excess stress on the reel mechanism: 1) Unplug the cord from the electric box and place the plug on the ground where I will be standing to reel in the cord. 2) With a wet shop cloth in my right hand I grasp the cord at the cord entrance port and wipe it clean for approximately 30 inches with the switch in the off position. 3) With my left hand, I then move the switch to the "IN" position and reel in the cleaned portion of the cord steading the cord with my right hand as it is reeled in the approximately 30 inches. I then repeat steps 2 and 3 until the entire cord is cleaned and reeled into the plastic storage container taking just a few minutes from start to finish.

The 50 Amp lug prongs are cleaned of any dirt or mud leaving the equipment clean the next time it is needed. So far I have no problem with the cable power reel.

[backhoej]

Good piece of info Larry.

I had same problem,called Monaco-- they didn't have parts. Called TDA-- they no longer exist. Called TRC they took over TDA & they no longer have parts. They all want you to buy new reel ($1000).

All that's wrong with it is a small plastic drive gear & a few rivets. So my son owns a CNC machine shop & he made me some of these gears which work better than new. It is now installed in my coach 2005 Monaco.

PS: I have extra gears if any ones in need. There for Shoreline Reel RV5036 gear replacement.

Thanks

John

[hermanmullins]

John,

Welcome to the Forum.

With a son like yours you have a whole new career. With so many thing on an RV Made of Plastic, he can make the replacement parts and you can to the sales side.

Good luck.

Herman

[backhoej]

Thank you, he can make it out of any material. He's an engineering genius, saved me a lot of $ . John

[tkcas01]

I am so happy to have stumbled upon this thread. My Shoreline reel stripped its gears last year and I called the manufacturer who told me the unit was obsolete and no parts were available (as mentioned earlier).

I sent a PM to BackhoeJ - hope to hear back so I can get some replacement gears! Its a shame to have to toss the whole assembly just because of some broken gears.

[backhoej]

BackhoeJ contacted Terry about Shoreline reel, all's well. Will save him hundreds of $.

Thanks. John

[tkcas01]

Today I got my reel out and the gearbox off, and sure enough it is just the little drive gear that failed. Here is a pic John sent me of his failed gear and mine was exactly the same issue. Simple little fix to avoid tossing the whole thing in the trash and buying a new one!

[tkcas01]

OK, got my gear and rivets from John and had this thing repaired in no time. See documentation of my repair here:

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/26336645.cfm

Thanks again to John and his son for providing a means to make this repair and save about $600!

[backhoej]

Hi Terry glad you got it fixed and all's well. Glad i could help .Thanks backhoeJ

[glaxdal]

BackhoeJ,

I'm currently having the same problem with my 50 amp Shoreline Electrical reel. While researching on the internet an authorized repair service, I came upon this FMCA forum. While not very mechanically inclined, after reading the dialogue along with all the pictures, etc. I figured I "might" be able to do this, and to my surprise.....I have the same small gear that is broken.

If I may, I would like to purchase one of these gears to fix my current problem and one to keep as a spare. I am a current FMCA member, own a Tiffin 2006 Allegro Bus and reside in Polk City, Fl.

Please let me know how much your selling the gears for and I will be more than happy to pay for the parts, shipping, etc.

My address is:

Niel Laxdal

364 Meandering Way

Polk City, Fl. 33868

Email address: nlaxdal@tampabay.rr.com

Thanks so much for the helpful tips everyone!!!

[backhoej]

Hi everyone BackhoeJ here. Contacted glaxdal, will be shipping him some gears.

Thank You, John (BackhoeJ)

[tkcas01]

So great we have found a way to repair these and can work together to everyone's benefit. Thanks BackhoeJ for leading the charge! This will be a fun thread to watch!

[backhoej]

Glad to help, tired of being ripped off. Just had my Norcold 4-door refrig. circuitboard replaced ($650).Ripoff. BackhoeJ

[backhoej]

Hi everyone, shipped out gear kit to Niel Laxdal today, another happy camper.

Thanks, John (BackhoeJ)

[tkcas01]

Great to hear! No telling how many of these are out there! I hope more folks stumble upon this thread like I did so they can get their reel operational again as well.

[backhoej]

Hi everyone, shipped out another gear kit to fellow RV'er Ron & Vickie, another happy camper.Saved hundred$. Thanks, John (BackhoeJ)

[backhoej]

Hi ,BackhoeJ here , shipped out 3 more gear kits , more happy campers, saved them hundreds $.

Thanks, John (BackhoeJ) jondel1234@yahoo.com

[Monty114]

Thanks John....put the gear in and buttoned her up with the rivets and she works like new again.

[backhoej]

BackhoeJ here, shipped out 2 more gears, more happy campers, glad i could help.

Thanks Again; John ( BackhoeJ )