Rocky's Eazy Rollers solar cover reel owners

[LapPoolMike]

Howdy,
I'm looking at possibly purchasing the #5A Portable model with the AT-1 Tube to be used with a 12mil thick, 11 feet wide by 60 feet long solar cover (lap pool). Anybody use a Rocky's Eazy Rollers reel? Been happy with the performance/durability? Any tips on where to buy / best prices? Any better alternatives for the same or less money? Thanks!

 

[LapPoolMike]

The other unit I'm looking at is the "Doheny's Inground Commercial Solar Reel, 14-18 ft". Anybody have that one? It's probably about $100 less than the Rocky's unit, but currently on back order. Thanks.

 

[Newdude]

Hey Mike !! I got my Rockys reel from intheswim. It was the cheapest there at the time before the world went to the dogs. I was very happy with it at first and it seemed a lot beefier than other reels that I had seen. You have a couple of things going for you in that you probably will just leave it together all year, I took mine apart to store it for winter. You also have a short span (width) and all reels fail over time due to sag. Your 11 ft should help that greatly, but a 60 ft long cover will still be very heavy. Get the thinnest one you can to keep the weight down on the middle of the reel.

I chose the Rockys for the upgraded bushings in the handles. There were many reviews of the other models saying they were unable to turn them after a short time. Mine got harder as time went on also, but it took a few years before gradually failing, so by my guess I got about twice as long as I should have. After 5 years I had rebolted the span pieces (thicker bolts each season) so many times that it was just too saggy. That put too much stress on the bushings so they wore out next.

I also really liked the ‘T’ style feet. Even with all the weight of my 800 sq ft 16 mil cover, it never wanted to tip when rolling up and stayed firmly planted on the ground. The upside down ‘V’ ones would have walked around more.

 

[LapPoolMike]

Thanks for the reply Newdude! I pulled the trigger this morning on the #5A Portable model with the AT-1 Tube, and a 12mil thick solar cover. Ordered the Rocky's Reel from solarcovers.com. Doesn't look like intheswim has them at the moment. I'll post back once I get it all set up! Good to hear that you got some good years out of your reel. Ya, I see me leaving it assembled all year, maybe during summer I'll roll it over next to the house under the eaves (to somewhat protect from rain) and get a Sunbrella cover maybe to cover the whole reel/cover to protect from sun. I have no experience with using solar covers or reels, so will be a small learning curve to figure out what works. Thanks!

 

[Newdude]

You also need a cover for the cover when it’s on the reel. The inside folds will boil themselves in the direct sunlight and that will make the bubbles pop. Good luck and keep us posted

 

[LapPoolMike]

Rocky's has their 2019 Product Catalog under SUPPORT menu on web site. They have Residential Sizing Charts starting on page 50. I believe these are based on using a 12 mil thick cover. Says the #5A Portable model is good for a 16' x 65' cover, so I should be good at 11' x 60'. Thanks!