Big, heavy and often in pairs
A 66-inch reel stands five and a half feet tall and, in its heavier builds, weighs close to 500 pounds empty. Southwire publishes two nailed wood reels and a steel one in this class. Its A-76 is 66 x 28 x 30 inches, 34 inches overall, with a 3⅛-inch arbor hole and about 473 pounds. Its N-76 has the same flange, traverse and drum at 32½ inches overall and about 370 pounds. Its S-77 steel reel, listed with the designation RM 66.32 and marked returnable, is 66 x 32 x 36 inches with a 3-inch arbor hole and 400 pounds. Okonite lists a lighter 66 x 36 x 36 wood reel at 42½ inches overall and 292 pounds.
Same dimensions, different reels
The A-76 and the N-76 show the same thing the 54-inch class does: identical dimensions, a hundred pounds apart, because one is built heavier. And the S-77 shows the 60-inch lesson again: a steel reel of nearly the same size belongs to the maker. In a utility yard with a row of 66-inch reels, the first job is to separate steel from wood and stencilled from plain.
Truck space
Sonoco lists up to 24 reels of 66 x 36 x 36 in one of its trucks. That is roughly a quarter of the count for 48-inch reels, and it explains why 66-inch reels are rarely collected one at a time. Two or three are worth a stop when a truck is in the area; a yard of a dozen or more is a planned load on its own.
Where they come from here
Reels this large carry medium-voltage and heavy feeder cable. In the Delaware Valley the likely sources are utility cable replacement and substation projects, large campus and hospital builds, data-centre and logistics construction in Bucks County and South Philadelphia, and industrial sites along the river in Delaware County. They sit in laydown yards between pulls and are often left after the project ends.
Handling and safety
- Use a forklift rated for the weight with long forks under the drum, inside the traverse.
- Chock the reel on both sides whenever it stands on its rims.
- Never stand downhill of a reel this size, or between a reel and a wall while it is moved.
- Do not try to roll a 66-inch reel by hand on anything but flat concrete, and then only a short distance with two people.
Reuse and recycling
Sound 66-inch wooden reels are wanted by companies that rewind heavy cable and by contractors storing long lengths. Matched pairs and sets are worth more. Damaged ones are worth taking apart: they yield long, heavy boards, many nails and often tie rods and arbor plates for scrap steel.
Sixty-six-inch reels and the river crossings
Reels this size travel on flatbeds or in box trucks with lift gates, and a load of them is heavy. When a pickup crosses the Delaware, the route matters: the Commodore Barry Bridge suits loads moving between Delaware County and Gloucester County, the Walt Whitman and Ben Franklin bridges serve Camden County and central Philadelphia, and the Tacony-Palmyra and Burlington-Bristol bridges link Burlington County with Northeast Philadelphia and Bucks County. Large-reel pickups are routed around those crossings, so a yard near one of them is easy to reach from either bank.
What wears out first
On reels of this weight, the rim takes the punishment. Rolling a 66-inch reel across gravel chews the flange edges, and dropping it a few inches from a forklift cracks the outer boards. Look for rim damage before anything else.
Pairs on a flatbed
Because they are so wide and heavy, 66-inch reels are often loaded in pairs, one in front of the other on a flatbed, each chained down through the arbor hole or around the drum with edge protectors on the flanges. Straps alone can slip on smooth plywood faces. On a box truck, the height inside the body often rules them out entirely, which is why we ask for counts at this size before choosing a vehicle.
Weathering on big flanges
Large flanges catch rain and sun across a lot of surface. Grey, checked wood on the top face is cosmetic; soft, crumbly wood near the bottom rim is not.
Count, then photograph
A clear side-on photo showing both flanges plus a tape measure answers most questions about build, condition and ownership in one go.
Questions
What does RM in RM 66.32 mean?
Southwire lists it as the designation for its S-77 steel reel, which it marks returnable. The numbers are the flange and traverse.
Can a 66-inch reel be a garden table?
It can, but it is very large and heavy. It needs a machine to place it and firm, level ground under it.
Last reviewed 2026-11-09.
