Fitting Electric Reel and Through Floor Rollers

[ched999uk]

In the Black Friday deal I bought a Pure Freedom Electric reel and a set of through the floor rollers (alternative supplier no discount).
Over the next few days I hope to fit them both in a 2019 (new shape) Peugeot Partner.
I though I would take a few pictures of how the installation goes.
I spent the weekend insulating the van with ThermaWrap insulation.
This is the side panel where the reel controller is going. I didn't feel like I had a lot of room in the back and the controller made the depth of the reel larger. I asked if they did alternative mounting options and they do, so I went for a wall mount.


The panel board is a plastic honeycomb style from Streamline. I had a piece of 3mm ply that was a little bigger than the controller so drilled through the plastic panel and bolted the top of the controller wall bracket through both to make the mounting a bit more secure. The bottom mountings were into the strengthening ribs with self drilling screws. It's seems fairly secure, so Hopefully that will be OK, if not I will just use a bigger piece of 6mm ply coving in more of the back of the panel.
The push button is just cable tied on at the moment to stop it flying about when I drive the van, once the reel is in it clips on to that but I will see how I go.

The next bit is tricky.

This is the underside of the rear floor where the floor rollers will probably go. There is just enough space between the side chassis rail, the rear of the chassis and a strengthening beam.
The problem is the spare wheel is in the way by about 50mm. I should be able to get 3 of the extenders in but the 4th would need to go through the spare wheel!
I haven't got a picture of it but there are 2, what look like m8 or m10 studs sticking out of the chassis close by. I could use some steel bar to go from the bottom roller where I can't get the extender in and connect it to the chassis studs. This should give me back the strength I have lost by only using 3 extenders - well hopefully. By doing it this way I should be able to keep the spare in it's holder.
I will try and get some more pictures tomorrow as weather looks too cold to clean windows without all sorts of freezing issues - I'll just have to wrap up and start cutting into the van

 

[Pjj]

In the Black Friday deal I bought a Pure Freedom Electric reel and a set of through the floor rollers (alternative supplier no discount).
Over the next few days I hope to fit them both in a 2019 (new shape) Peugeot Partner.
I though I would take a few pictures of how the installation goes.
I spent the weekend insulating the van with ThermaWrap insulation.
View attachment 27666 This is the side panel where the reel controller is going. I didn't feel like I had a lot of room in the back and the controller made the depth of the reel larger. I asked if they did alternative mounting options and they do, so I went for a wall mount.

View attachment 27667
The panel board is a plastic honeycomb style from Streamline. I had a piece of 3mm ply that was a little bigger than the controller so drilled through the plastic panel and bolted the top of the controller wall bracket through both to make the mounting a bit more secure. The bottom mountings were into the strengthening ribs with self drilling screws. It's seems fairly secure, so Hopefully that will be OK, if not I will just use a bigger piece of 6mm ply coving in more of the back of the panel.
The push button is just cable tied on at the moment to stop it flying about when I drive the van, once the reel is in it clips on to that but I will see how I go.

The next bit is tricky.
View attachment 27668
This is the underside of the rear floor where the floor rollers will probably go. There is just enough space between the side chassis rail, the rear of the chassis and a strengthening beam.
The problem is the spare wheel is in the way by about 50mm. I should be able to get 3 of the extenders in but the 4th would need to go through the spare wheel!
I haven't got a picture of it but there are 2, what look like m8 or m10 studs sticking out of the chassis close by. I could use some steel bar to go from the bottom roller where I can't get the extender in and connect it to the chassis studs. This should give me back the strength I have lost by only using 3 extenders - well hopefully. By doing it this way I should be able to keep the spare in it's holder.
I will try and get some more pictures tomorrow as weather looks too cold to clean windows without all sorts of freezing issues - I'll just have to wrap up and start cutting into the van

I wouldn’t cut anything until you have the rollers , then work out ideally ware you would like it inside the van if you have some cover that area with masking tape and mark out the roller mounting points , then what I did was measure up as best I could underneath when I was fair,y sure it would fit I drilled a very small pilot hole in the floor central to the gap between the rollers then measured again underneath to make sure things would fit ok , then I drilled small holes ware the 4 main corners are then once ime 100% sure it will be ok drill the full size holes for the mounting . Then mark accross the 4 corners diagonally and ware the lines cross in the centre that’s the place to use for the main hole that the hose will go through I used a 70 mm hole saw then cut out into the corners using a jigsaw but if you dont have a hole saw just use a jigsaw . It sounds complicated but if you are ok with diy it’s a simple enough job just measure several times BEFORE CUTTING then use a tiny drill bit for the pilot holes

 

[Pjj]

These pictures might help this is two of my vans both done similarly

 

[ched999uk]

These pictures might help this is two of my vans both done similarly

Great images, thanks.
The rollers arrived Thursday!!! I was surprised too!
They look good but need the edges taking off them after they have been laser cut. I assume laser cut as they don't appear to have sheer lines.
Cheers for the tips.

 

[Pjj]

Great images, thanks.
The rollers arrived Thursday!!! I was surprised too!
They look good but need the edges taking off them after they have been laser cut. I assume laser cut as they don't appear to have sheer lines.
Cheers for the tips.

Yes the edges can be sharp , I haven’t had any issues with them but know some have had them cut the hose

 

[ched999uk]

No updates today - too cold. Might get chance to fit it all over the weekend unless I have to catch up on Saturday!

 

[Pjj]

No updates today - too cold. Might get chance to fit it all over the weekend unless I have to catch up on Saturday!

Get out there and fit it you wimp ?????

 

[ched999uk]

OK so it took a while but finally made some progress on the install!

I made 2 templates, 1 with the 4 main roller holes in plus a small centre hole so I could drill that one first to use as reference. The second had the same 4 main bolt holes plus the corners of the square hole that needed cutting.
Unfortunately there was a floor ridge in the way so I couldn't mark the centre hole from the underside. As it turned out there was so little space the template sat against the side chassis rail and the rear cross member, so I was able to mark the holes from the underside. Then used a centre punch to create a depression for the drill to sit in to start in the correct place. Drilled all 4 from underneath with a 4mm drill, then went and drilled progressively larger holes up to 10mm from inside the van.

Now I used some tape and the second template to draw the corners of the big square hole.

I drilled 4 x 6mm holes in the corners. Next the scary bit of the angle grinder. I have a very old (20 years plus) sort of big multitool (monster dremel - 700 watts) which has a 3" angle grinder attachment that I have never used, so thought it might be good as it's smaller.

It worked quite well, not perfect but that was user error ?
Smoothed the edges with files and normal sized dremel. Gave it a good coating of hammerite, then bolted the rollers in.

 

[ched999uk]

Had to do second post as 5 image limit.


Had to remove the spare while I was installing the rollers but It's too close to get it back - which I did expect. I will try and see if there is an alternative method to fit the spare.

The reel will have to go on unistrut as the rear is exactly where there is a huge cross member box section.
Hopefully I will be able to source some unistrut locally soon.

 

[Pjj]

Had to do second post as 5 image limit.
View attachment 27761
View attachment 27762
Had to remove the spare while I was installing the rollers but It's too close to get it back - which I did expect. I will try and see if there is an alternative method to fit the spare.

The reel will have to go on unistrut as the rear is exactly where there is a huge cross member box section.
Hopefully I will be able to source some unistrut locally soon.

Can you not mount the reel on some 3/4 ply shaped around the wheel arches it won’t move

 

[ched999uk]

Can you not mount the reel on some 3/4 ply shaped around the wheel arches it won’t move

Thanks for the suggestion. I could do but the wheel arches don't intrude into the floor, they have a flat plastic trim that goes from the side door all the way to the rear and about half way up the sides. So there is not an easy way to shape ply round the arches to keep it in place. I could use some flat steel bar and pickup 2 bolts from the rollers and maybe attach others to the tank mounting bolts. I think unistrut might be best as then I can mount the reel as far back (towards front of van) as possible but still allowing it to be loosened to use the emergency handle if that's ever necessary. If the reel is more towards the bulkhead the booster pump box gets in the way of the handle. Maybe I should have more of a shuffle and mount the pump box on the tank frame towards the top to free up some floor space.....

I have a few days to think about the best options ? .

Cheers, have a Great Christmas.

 

[Iron Giant]

Not sure that with an swb van there is enough room to have the spare wheel still in place, I had mine removed and rollers placed in the middle when I had my system fitted at PureFreedom back in April 2019 my spare wheel has been left at home since then.

They were rubbish rollers that they fitted and within the first year I sourced some better ones from elsewhere so having the spare wheel removed was a bonus the rollers I have you can barely see them under the van as I had them fitted much higher up they are almost above the bumper which is better for ground clearance, whilst I'm off I just need to give them a clean up and a lick of paint.

 

[steve garwood]

I’ve got a good tip when you want rollers.

Give some money to GrippaTank and have a pleasant day out in Cambridge ?.

Well done for attempting this. I bought my van brand new and didn’t have the bottle to start grinding away at the floor. Hence, my pleasant day out in Cambridge ?

 

[Iron Giant]

I’ve got a good tip when you want rollers.

Give some money to GrippaTank and have a pleasant day out in Cambridge ?.

Well done for attempting this. I bought my van brand new and didn’t have the bottle to start grinding away at the floor. Hence, my pleasant day out in Cambridge ?

Neither did I, so when I wanted better ones fitted I got my old neighbour to fit them plus he had all the tools,

I never had all gear or any idea!!

 

[ched999uk]

Not sure that with an swb van there is enough room to have the spare wheel still in place, I had mine removed and rollers placed in the middle when I had my system fitted at PureFreedom back in April 2019 my spare wheel has been left at home since then.

They were rubbish rollers that they fitted and within the first year I sourced some better ones from elsewhere so having the spare wheel removed was a bonus the rollers I have you can barely see them under the van as I had them fitted much higher up they are almost above the bumper which is better for ground clearance, whilst I'm off I just need to give them a clean up and a lick of paint.

I am fairly sure there isn't enough room for the spare, as you said. When I get it back on the axle stands to fit the reel I will put the wheel carrier back and see if there is anyway to 'adjust' the carrier to move the spare over towards drivers side by about 50 mm. I think that would do it but I suspect the tyre would be too close the the exhaust back box!

 

[Iron Giant]

I am fairly sure there isn't enough room for the spare, as you said. When I get it back on the axle stands to fit the reel I will put the wheel carrier back and see if there is anyway to 'adjust' the carrier to move the spare over towards drivers side by about 50 mm. I think that would do it but I suspect the tyre would be too close the the exhaust back box!

Can you not just remove the spare altogether and put it in the back of your van down the side of the tank on the driver's side you can get a storage bag for the spare wheel just cheap things off Amazon for £10 then at least you have the spare in the van for peace of mind and not be concerned about the spare been too close to the exhaust.

 

[ched999uk]

Can you not just remove the spare altogether and put it in the back of your van down the side of the tank on the driver's side you can get a storage bag for the spare wheel just cheap things off Amazon for £10 then at least you have the spare in the van for peace of mind and not be concerned about the spare been too close to the exhaust.

Cheers for the suggestion. I don't think there is room down the drivers side as it's a 400lts vertical tank, I will double check though as that would be a good space to keep it. It's probably not really an issue as all my work is within 3 miles of home and if I where planning on going further I would just put the spare in the back.
Cheers.

 

[THL4KEL]

Put run flat tyres on the van or get a can of tyre foam what a lot of new cars give you instead a spare tyre

 

[ched999uk]

So today was dry so I had another go at fitting the reel.

I bought a 3m length of Unistrut (slotted channel) and 8 x M8 long spring nuts (Zebs). I cut 2 lengths about 50cm long and drilled through the floor and bolted them down. It was a bit tricky as the chassis was a bit in the way hence the position of the 4 bolts. As you can see they are not in an ideal position because there is a big chassis box section in front of the battery box.

The square plates came with the reel, they are nice and thick. I had some M8 x 40mm A2 stainless bolts as the ones supplied are very long.
Then I cut 2 more lengths (same width as reel) of the unistrut to go at 90 degrees to the floor mounted ones. I use the Zebs (sort of rectangular plate with a M8 treaded hole and a spring to hold it in position in the unistrut. I had some M8 x 30mm A2 stainless steel allen bolts together with some M8 penny washers for bolting the 2 together.
Then I placed the reel on the second level of unistrut and aligned it all.

Once I had things in a good position I fitted the battery supply cable which is round the back of the reel.
I put the reel back and tightened all the bolts.
I managed to undo the bumper port hose and pull it back into the van, it was the perfect length!
I pulled the flexi conduit out from the front of the reel and ran it back and up to the controller that I had already fitted. Reconnected the wires making sure to check the colour coding and then plugged in the big power cable to the back of the reel.
Pulled out some hose and powered on the controller. All good, came factory set at 43 speed and starts slowly and speeds up quite quickly.

All done, working and mounting is very secure. no movement at all.

 

[Pjj]

So today was dry so I had another go at fitting the reel.
View attachment 27769
I bought a 3m length of Unistrut (slotted channel) and 8 x M8 long spring nuts (Zebs). I cut 2 lengths about 50cm long and drilled through the floor and bolted them down. It was a bit tricky as the chassis was a bit in the way hence the position of the 4 bolts. As you can see they are not in an ideal position because there is a big chassis box section in front of the battery box.
View attachment 27770
The square plates came with the reel, they are nice and thick. I had some M8 x 40mm A2 stainless bolts as the ones supplied are very long.
Then I cut 2 more lengths (same width as reel) of the unistrut to go at 90 degrees to the floor mounted ones. I use the Zebs (sort of rectangular plate with a M8 treaded hole and a spring to hold it in position in the unistrut. I had some M8 x 30mm A2 stainless steel allen bolts together with some M8 penny washers for bolting the 2 together.
Then I placed the reel on the second level of unistrut and aligned it all.
View attachment 27771
Once I had things in a good position I fitted the battery supply cable which is round the back of the reel.
I put the reel back and tightened all the bolts.
I managed to undo the bumper port hose and pull it back into the van, it was the perfect length!
I pulled the flexi conduit out from the front of the reel and ran it back and up to the controller that I had already fitted. Reconnected the wires making sure to check the colour coding and then plugged in the big power cable to the back of the reel.
Pulled out some hose and powered on the controller. All good, came factory set at 43 speed and starts slowly and speeds up quite quickly.
View attachment 27772
All done, working and mounting is very secure. no movement at all.

Well done looking good bet you cannot Waite to get back to work ???

 

[Part Timer]

Pulled out some hose and powered on the controller. All good, came factory set at 43 speed and starts slowly and speeds up quite quickly.

That's the newbie speed, we have ours on full speed, with the size of the reel even 8mm there's enough room without having to be neat. If you need to slow it down just grip a bit tighter