Retractable extension cord

Txhunter1

New member
Has anyone installed a retractable extention cord in their vehicle looking at putting a hidden one in my Cherokee in the back cargo area in the side wall
 

Txhunter1

New member
It will tie into my inverter from the vehicle battery. Ac 115-120v 10-15 amp. Want to be able to run a grinder or other power tools.
 

CampStewart

Observer
Most of the ones I have seen are light duty 16 or 14ga with poor electrical contacts in the rewind assembly. All my chords for use with tools or any high amperage load are either 12 or 10ga. I think a heavy gauge chord is more important with a marginal power source than with good land power.
 

danfromsyr

Adventurer
you can get 15amp rated retractable reels. and for the occasional use I'd deem them fine.
though in my travel vehicle I take my cordless dewalt grinder.. with a thin cutting disc it's a monster.
the universal key ;-)
 

Stumpalump

Expedition Leader
I removed the side panels from the cargo area on my XJ. You would not believe how much stuff that you can cram in those caverns.

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The left side is a little tighter due to the gas fill neck but there is a climbing rope, a quart of oil, rags and who knows what else in this side.

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As big as it is a retractable reel may be too much unless your going to service a lot of stuff. I'm thinking you are because 85% that have on board air claim no need for a grinder but as you probably know if I could have one power tool it would be a grinder.

My cord is in a bag. Almost all women buy dipity doo and make-up in fancy marketing cases. Ya know buy the expensive shampoo and conditioner and get the peach scented hand cream all in a nice bag. Snag those bags or buy them up at a Goodwill store. You should see the pink bag my Allen wrenches are in or the flower covered bag all my chemicals like epoxy and RTV are stored in. Saving space and cramping it all in is such a problem this forum even has a dedicated section on it. I zip tie parts and fluids under the hood as well. You learn to do that with a wife, two kids a dog and cooler. Good luck with your cord.

image.jpg
 

rayra

Expedition Leader
I think there'd be a lot of storage volume taken up by the reel. Tradesmen have a lot of neat tricks for neatly coiling and uncoiling power cords and rope, which make them easy to transport or use, maybe take a look at some of those ideas? Having a retractable cord is a sechsy idea, just not sure it's workable in a confined space, especially mid-size or smaller.
 

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