I have a 24' round AG pool and I installed the solar reel on posts just outside of the pool. I had a couple of metal pipes from an old grapevine arbor that I used but 4 x 4 wood would work just as well. I used some carboard tubes (from Home depot) and concrete mix to make a base that sat in the ground about 16". The reel came with 5 straps but I ended up buying a roll of 50' of Feherguard strapping and used 7 straps spaced about 3 feet apart. (On that note there is a post somewhere from PhantomAndy about strapping - he found a cheap source for it if you need some). As I roll the cover up I have to walk from side to side to get the cover over the pool edge and keep it winding evenly but it's not that bad after you do it a couple of times.

My reel had three 8' tubes so I made the length as long as possible by only overlapping the tubes by 5". In addition to the 3 screws that came with the kit for assembling the tubes, I also used two stainless steel bolts and each joint for added stability. The length is still a little bit shorter than the cover at the widest part so I end up folding the edges in a couple of inches as I wind it in.

Peter