Deb -
Let me tell you a quick story, and you take it for what it is worth to you.
My 2002 TM and my 2006 TM both had power cords whose inner end was hard wired from inside the bumper compartment up to the TM’s panel. When not deployed, the cord and plug were coiled up inside the bumper compartment - NOT pulled through the mousehole. I liked this arrangement - it was easy to use, and very quick. For example, I could pull out only the amount of cord that I needed, plug the end into the power post, and I'm done. Why pull out 25 or 30 feet of cord when I only need 5 or 10 feet to reach the power post? And re-stowing the cord was quick and easy, even when the cord was cold and stiff.
My 2020 TM has a hard-mounted Marinco-style plug where the mouse hole used to be. The power cord is fully detachable, with a mating Marinco twist-lock socket on one end. Sounds elegant, right?
When I was at the factory a couple years ago, I told Paul that I really disliked the arrangement, and he asked why. I handed him the Marinco end of the cord, and said “You just arrived in a campground - hook this up.” He flipped open the outlet cap, grabbed the Marinco plug with both hands - it is kind of big and clumsy. He started to insert it into the socket, but I said “No no. It is after dark, so one hand is holding a flashlight.” So he held the Marinco in one hand, and started to insert it. The operation was considerably slower, but it was working, until I said “No no. It is raining, so one hand is holding an umbrella.” Hmm. So he pretended to juggle a flashlight and an umbrella in one hand, while he aligned the plug to the correct orientation with the other. It won’t insert until you align it, of course. He got it done, but even on that dry sunny day, it took a while, and he was annoyed that it did. And he still hadn't even pulled out the other end of the cord to run to the power post - it was tangled in the Marinco end.
He said “I see your point”, and I finished up by saying “Good, because your power connection is burning up. You forgot to rotate the twist-lock, and it partially unseated while you were screwing on the retainer ring.”
Paul is a really good guy, and said he would rethink the idea of going back to a hard-wired cord. I don’t know if that happened. But I know that reverting to a hard-wired cord is (still!) on my TM To Do list, and I would certainly not pay the rather high price to add a Marinco arrangement if I didn't have one now.
Bill
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