Giraffe Tools Garden Hose Reel Cart with Wheels, Heavy Duty Metal Water Hose Reel Cart, 200 ft of 1/2 Capacity, Mobile Hose Reel Cart for Outside

I was looking to replace an old plastic movable water hose reel. I saw this on Amazon and was interested. However, some of the product purchaser reviews were beginning to dissuade me. One review said the axle shaft was too short, another said it leaked water. I ended up going ahead with and ordering one since I didn't see anything else that I really liked.When my order arrived, I was surprised with how heavy the box was. The contents were well packed and everything in the box looked okay. Assembly of the frame was easy and more-or-less straight forward. I did run into an issue when placing the wheels on the axle. Something didn't seem right. Upon closer examination, I noticed that the wheel hubs are not centered in the middle of the wheels. The hubs are off-set to one side. Once the wheels were put into the correct orientation (hub off-set closer to the frame), the axle washers and cotter-pins went on with no issue.I then connected my water hose to the reel and turned on the water. It leaked at the hose connection. I spent hours trying to figure out why it leaked. New hose washers were used but they became damaged from over tightening the hose fitting and the leak continued. After taking a break to clear my head, I wondered if the water hose fitting was the problem. The water hose is a old Craftsman 5/8" heavy-duty rubber water hose. I decided to cut off the old hose end and change it to a different type with brass knurled end. That fixed my water leak problem! The problem wasn't the hose reel after all.I'm happy with the over-all function of the hose reel. When pulling out the water hose, it doesn't move around as much as my old plastic reel.

Following the instructions step by step, the hose reel would not assemble unless I machined out one of the parts but that would void my worry so I didn’t do that. . I have to buy 3 boxes to ship it back. I am a degreed manufacturing engineer. I had to rebuild an automotive assembly line so I have lots of experience in assembly. When putting the final part onto the other parts, the last part did not fit to the others.In Detroit we called that “last guy in loses” because when multiple parts don’t fit properly mistakes are not apparent until you try and put on the final part which, in effect, connects all the parts. This is what happened here; the final part did not fit because other parts were wrong. I have pics but it doesn’t really show the actual problem very well.

It wasn't hard at all to put together, and is very well made. Heavy enough to not be dragged sideways by me unrolling the hose! I am glad I bought it!

The reel seems well built and sturdy. It work well and I like the design. Be aware; assembly will take some time. The instructions are poorly worded. Take a close look at pictures, it will help. Also, I ended up with 4 bolts that are listed in the parts page, but are never used in the assembly process. i don't know why. Also, this is the second one I had to order. The first came damaged, missing parts, and with no instructions. It looks like someone gave up mid assembly and threw it in the box to return. The company should not have sent it back out to the next customer.

Iy took 5 emails and 3 weeks to get all its parts and the cotter keys to hold on the wheels were to small so I used some I had. The screws to hold on the basket were incorrect so I used my own, but the handle and cartridge finally arrived and it is a nice hose reel that works great, but oh the headache to get it working.

I learned my lessons with previous hose reels. Cheaper prices : lower quality. This reel was a bit more on the pricey side, but this thing is solid. The reel mechanism that evenly distributes the hose across the Barrell is amazing. I don't have to worry about 100ft hose bunching on one side anymore!

Looks like a very sturdy hose reel. Tried to assemble it and the axle rod is missing. Searched through the packing three times - still not there. Will update ratings after I see how my support request is handled.Got my missing part in the mail. Very sturdy and used it a lot over the summer. New lawn in the back yard. Just put in the garage yesterday as it is snowing today.

When I started assembling this hose reel cart, I found that the axle for the wheels was not in the box. Hey, it could happen to anyone. No one's perfect. So, as directed in the manual, I contacted Giraffe Tools via their website. Apparently, they have no interest in taking care of their customers unless you buy directly from them. Since I bought it on Amazon...oh well, sorry about your luck. Guess I needed to file it with Amazon...so I did...and they directed me to contact the manufacturer. Want to guess how that went?I no longer want the missing part. I want a refund.As for the reel itself, the foam grip on the handle was torn to shreds in the undamaged box. The guide mechanism is cheap plastic that will likely fail pretty quickly. The reel needs some kind of resistance or a ratcheting mechanism to stop the reel from springing backwards and making the hose unravel. This is a good idea poorly implemented.If you want a good product, you'd best look at a different manufacturer.Update: Giraffe Tools did offer to let me BUY the missing part from them. Anyone else see something inherently wrong with that?