# Power Cord Cabinet



## letstravelnow (Oct 2, 2007)

Has anyone redone the cabinet that the power cord coils into. It seems like a lot of wasted space. 
I found it by mistake when I sat on it and found it really was not made to hold to much weight.

I thought about putting a removable shelf in it beef up the sides and install a lid that would hold some weight. It would be a great storage area.

Olyfire2


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

There was one person that put in a self reel and several have removed the cord and set up the trailer with a 30 amp plug on the side of the trailer so the cord is detachable.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

I got the for this mod from another Outbacker...just can't remember who. (sorry)

I built my replacedment step to something much better than what came from the factory.

Go here for all the photo's, but here is the basic idea. http://home.comcast.net/~tannerjim1/Mods/step_to_storage.htm










Replace the power cord with a removable cord and you will never have to stuff that darn cord back in. 
Go here for more info on the power cord replacement. http://home.comcast.net/~tannerjim1/Mods/p...d_coversion.htm

Here is one picture.


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## letstravelnow (Oct 2, 2007)

olyfire2 said:


> Has anyone redone the cabinet that the power cord coils into. It seems like a lot of wasted space.
> I found it by mistake when I sat on it and found it really was not made to hold to much weight.
> 
> I thought about putting a removable shelf in it beef up the sides and install a lid that would hold some weight. It would be a great storage area.
> ...


Thanks for the great ideas. This is what I was looking for except I never thought about the exterior plug.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

olyfire2 said:


> Has anyone redone the cabinet that the power cord coils into. It seems like a lot of wasted space.
> I found it by mistake when I sat on it and found it really was not made to hold to much weight.
> 
> I thought about putting a removable shelf in it beef up the sides and install a lid that would hold some weight. It would be a great storage area.
> ...


Thanks for the great ideas. This is what I was looking for except I never thought about the exterior plug.
[/quote]

The exterior plug is very nice. Easy to get out and put away. Plus I have all the room inside the step now. I highly recommend both of these mods.


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## Compulynx (Oct 15, 2008)

Not trying to be negative here, but it seems much easier to me to just slide the cord into the housing than it would be to have to roll up a cord and store it somewhere else. I have never had the cord hang up when pushing it in or pulling it out. Also, you only pull out as much as needed, so you do not have extra cord laying on the ground as you would if you had it rolled up. Doing away with the coil area just means you have to find storage for the cord somewhere else.

Am I missing something here?

C


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Compulynx said:


> Not trying to be negative here, but it seems much easier to me to just slide the cord into the housing than it would be to have to roll up a cord and store it somewhere else. I have never had the cord hang up when pushing it in or pulling it out. Also, you only pull out as much as needed, so you do not have extra cord laying on the ground as you would if you had it rolled up. Doing away with the coil area just means you have to find storage for the cord somewhere else.
> 
> Am I missing something here?
> 
> C


Perhaps, but I don't use power that often and when I do, using the external cord is easy. On my 28RSS, I have a storage compartment on the drivers side that is really large. I unhook the power...wrap the cord as I walk to the power pole and simply put the cord into the storage area. Works great for me. My Outback came with this mod (thanks Y-Guy!!) so I didn't have a choice. I've heard a lot of folks complain there cord get tangled and the area where the cord slides back in get muddy/dirty....so I think this is a great mod.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Compulynx said:


> Not trying to be negative here, but it seems much easier to me to just slide the cord into the housing than it would be to have to roll up a cord and store it somewhere else. I have never had the cord hang up when pushing it in or pulling it out. Also, you only pull out as much as needed, so you do not have extra cord laying on the ground as you would if you had it rolled up. Doing away with the coil area just means you have to find storage for the cord somewhere else.
> 
> Am I missing something here?
> 
> C


The cord storage box area on some of the trailers is very small and a tangle happens more often then not. Also there have been issues of people pulling too hard and causing issues with the way the wires are terminated.

It is always recommended to pull the full length of the cord out. If you are running high loads on the shore power the cord can and will heat up and the storage area in the trailer is unventilated, this could lead to over heating issues.


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## letstravelnow (Oct 2, 2007)

[quote name='olyfire2' date='Feb 8 2009, 09:18 PM' post='331456']
Has anyone redone the cabinet that the power cord coils into. It seems like a lot of wasted space. 
I found it by mistake when I sat on it and found it really was not made to hold to much weight.

I thought about putting a removable shelf in it beef up the sides and install a lid that would hold some weight. It would be a great storage area.

Olyfire2

I Have not had the cord tangle, although a few time I thought it was going to and I use a rag to clean the cord whenever I store it, but the amount of area the cord takes up is quite small compared to the size of the storage unit.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

The cord on my 28RSDS used to tangle nearly constantly. I would have to remove the front cover for the couch and unhook it. Most often it would catch on the junction box under that couch where it was wired in.









I really like the detachable shore cord like OC has. I did the mod on my pop up, but never got aroudn to it on the OB. The 5'er came from the factory with one, and I love having it back.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Just being able to build that extra storage area was worth the power cord conversion. I have so much room now for board games and other stuff. Oh, and it is taller and wide than the factory step, so getting in/out of the slide out bed is a lot easier. My DW is 5'1", so this was really great for her.


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## 153Syr (May 9, 2007)

I did the same mod on the shore power cord for our 26RLS. On one trip I discovered that little ants were using the power cord and the cable hatch as point of entry to the trailer. Since the mod, the ants have stayed outside. I think it's easier to handle to cord this way, too.


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## GoodTimes (Mar 9, 2009)

CamperAndy said:


> Not trying to be negative here, but it seems much easier to me to just slide the cord into the housing than it would be to have to roll up a cord and store it somewhere else. I have never had the cord hang up when pushing it in or pulling it out. Also, you only pull out as much as needed, so you do not have extra cord laying on the ground as you would if you had it rolled up. Doing away with the coil area just means you have to find storage for the cord somewhere else.
> 
> Am I missing something here?
> 
> C


The cord storage box area on some of the trailers is very small and a tangle happens more often then not. Also there have been issues of people pulling too hard and causing issues with the way the wires are terminated.

It is always recommended to pull the full length of the cord out. If you are running high loads on the shore power the cord can and will heat up and the storage area in the trailer is unventilated, this could lead to over heating issues.
[/quote]

This is the first time I've ever heard that it's recommended to pull the full length of the cord out. Makes sense - Thanks for posting that!


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