Suncast 225 ft. Hosemobile Garden Hose Reel Cart with Wheels, Taupe

Putting this thing together requires an astonishing amount of mechanical ingenuity. Remember that section on your IQ test where you have to line up all those imaginary blocks and choose which ones will fit together? I hope you did well on that part of the test . . . . I blithely assumed that all I had to do was open the box and slide out my new hose cart. Actually what you get is a bunch of plastic parts that you have to snap together, and you need the following tools that are not included in the kit: Hammer, Phillip's head screwdriver, scissors. Cotton gloves are also useful - those plastic parts get slippy when you start to sweat, worrying if you are mistakenly inserting Tab A into Slot B and breaking something irreplaceable, thereby failing the test & proving you have the IQ of a squirrel. This kit is clearly aimed at someone with more DIY skills than myself; however, I did get it assembled with absolutely no mishaps. I love the casual assurance with which the writers of the instructions assume you will easily be able to put your hands on a 2"x2"x1/2" block of wood. (I substituted the wadded up sleeve of my hoodie, which I had to take off as soon as things started getting slippy.) It is still too cold where I live to hook up the hose and turn the faucet on, but the connections look good & there are instructions provided on how to fix any leaks. All in all, this seems like a fair price for a good product . . . plus, I have this magnificent sense of accomplishment that I actually got the thing put together.ADDENDUM: Okay, I was clearly pumped when I wrote the original review. The cart worked well for 2-3 months. The handle kept snapping off, but I would just snap it back on, and all was well. Then some contractors who were working on my house must have handled the cart roughly to get it out of the way. After that, the O-rings started leaking, and whenever I would try to wind the hose, the plastic snap-together pieces of the frame and spindle kept falling apart. I put the parts back together with industrial-strength zip ties and I am still using the cart, but now I have to be extra slow and careful when cranking the hose back onto the cart. I still think it works okay for the low price I paid, but sometime down the road, I will have to get a sturdier one. If you do buy this cart, I recommend to handle it gently, and don't put too much stress on the plastic joins.

if there could be a zero or negative star I would give that! I bought this because it said it would hold up to 225 feet of hose. I have 200 feet and barely fit. I took a few weeks to get it out of box and assembled. Put it together and then rolled up hose. first time I unrolled the bottom came apart and the crank handle came off! it says more than 30 days since order so they will not return it. it is horrible and cheap!!!

Purchased HRC200 in June and assembled in about 1 hour. The unit would leak out the "outtube" after every revolution when winding the hose up. Careful inspection showed that the connection had play within the frame. The frame sways side to side because the axle is 1 inch to long beyond the wheels. I called Suncast thinking that there was a defect in the outtube and was sent a replacement very quickly with no problems.The same outtube was sent. The design looked to short to make contact with the opposite reel side and offer any support. (see photo) The Craftsman Hose reel that this one replaced has the outtube screwed to the reel.Disassembly instructions were not included with the repair kit. The manual was not helpful. A u-tube video showed putty knives placed between the reel and crossbar to release the compressions tabs with gentile pounding from the oppisite direction. The fix was to add a 3/4 copper adapter pipe to extend the "outtube" A slit was cut in the pipe to allow the plastic rib access to slide on. A hole was drilled in the copper pipe to bolt pipe to the plastic reel. (See photo two)I ended up cutting the one inch off the axle and it tightened up the sway. To make it more sturdy I may add threaded rod across the bottom length or Gorilla glue the plastic front joints. The exploded diagram for the HRC200 shows a different outtube setup with release tabs, so I don't know what is going on. It does not leak now and may last a few years.

Should have read the reviews. The wheel cap is almost impossible to get on and they will come off. The company could have fixed this cheaply by drilling a hole and using a cotter pin. The reel itself is cheap and does not have a hose guide. I imagine it will not last long. When putting the thing together it is almost impossible to get the center braces together. The company tells me a little gap is OK. Yeah have fun with that. Basically a waste of money.

I'd been dealing with a hose reel cart I purchased from a large home repair retailer for about five years. Shortly after the purchase, the handle broke, making any and all attempts to move the cart around difficult. Because it wasn't exactly cheap, I put up with it. After purchasing this cart from Amazon, I'm thinking the other one, even in its less-than-perfect condition, was better than what I have now. There's no real sturdiness to this cart at all (and I thought the other one wasn't very sturdy). The Suncast cart is OK and serves its purpose. I just don't find it to be very durable.------------------------------UPDATE: August 2012Changed the rating from three stars to one. Why? My Suncast Hose Reel Cart never even lasted a year (and it's only left outside once the weather warms up). Really, really cheaply made. Read all the comments. There really is a reason why there are so many ONE STAR ratings for this product. Very disappointed. Went back to using my old cart at the start of the summer and am now waiting on a delivery of a sturdy, well built, four-wheel metal hose reel cart.

The attachment for the hose kept popping off when I would turn on the water and attempt to move the reel just the slightest bit. So I just use it to store my hoses so they aren't in a pile on my garage floor.

For the cost this should be a more stable substantial reel. This is overly lightweight and difficult to keep steady when rolling or unrolling hose. I get tired of paying for items that should not be offered to the public.

I am sorry that I did not spend more money. I paid for what I got.

I broke the crank handle on my old Suncast Hose Reel. I was not able to find the same model, so I purchased this one. Compared to the old one, it looks flimsy and in fact it is. It does not have guards on the reel itself, so you have to pay attention when you are winding a 100 feet hose. You will be scraped. It has to be on a very level surface, if not, it will get distorded and grind on the sides...That is why, I gave the product a 4/5.