Longer Lifespan than a Traditional RV Fridge 3.7) 7. Hello we are getting ready to buy a nitro 36T15 5th wheel with the decision to make on the refrigerator. Another great article! We are rolling in a 2014 Excursion with the residential fridge. Personally I dont think it ever was true. I am running 6 6 volt deep cycle batteries. You would still have a deficit of approximately 150ah/day (my math could be wrong). Sorry dude, but Im a full time RVr who currently has BOTH types of fridges in his 38 RV and I agree 100% with the author of the article. I thought about going to 240 solar panels and getting a wind generator so I have power charge at night when its windy out. Does the DC power still need to stay on to? Depending on your choice of floorplan, the Greyhawk can include a queen or king-size bed as well as a small bathroom with a toilet and shower. Depending on your budget, you can also be on the lookout for a used one as well. Then, there are the normal heat created by the absorption fridge and the charred wood people have discovered when replacing their RV fridge Surprise!! We all look forward to hearing from you soon. Even with a family of 4, for a weekend it is plenty big for us. Checking it out now it looks awesome!! I cant wait to get rid of that RV fridge we have now. My wife loves the refrigerator, 11 c.f. Its a big investment for the perks of running a residential fridge. When people ask me How much power do I need to run a residential refrigerator in my RV? My go to answer is this: The minimum power for runningsolelythe residential fridge for 24 hours is six AGM batteries totaling 600 amp hours (300 ah usable). Something you can operate with a switch and not have to climb on the roof. Something most buyers never consider and arent informed about when purchasing! Keep in mind I said we looked for over a year! However, the popular Samsung RF18 residential refrigerator does not require a pure sine inverter. Thanks. The Freelander is available with a Chevy 4500, Ford F-350, or 450 chassis. I cant decide if it is worth the money to pay extra to get this fridge or to just stay with the standard one . The bedroom in the rear of the rig includes a power lift king-sized bed. It looks like residential fridges ought to be sold in combo with a good solar package. We would recommend solar power over the use of a wind generator. I would have to believe that the 2021 Leprechaun would have to be great as well. Now we have a conundrum. That was with numerous series set to record on those channels we were not getting. The difference is some residential refrigerators will require a pure sine wave inverter and only a small percentage will come with this. Anyway, just my viewpoint. The cost for everything for me added up to under $1000. We dont. I know at fleetwood (and I am sure others), Samsung is their fridge supplier and by contract they have to put in a pure sign wave inverterbecause a modified wont work. on coming soon and on order units must be estimated and based on the manufacturers information provided to MHS at the time of order. Deciding between aResidential Refrigeratoror anRV 2-Way or 3-Way Fridgein a motorhome is a no brainerat first glance. Thats about 120watts, right? Thank You. So you have made up your mind and want to join those that have successfully tackled and completed the conversion and installation of the just-like-home reefer. Salient Feature. We will be camping mostly at state parks etc. All Rights Reserved. Soros doesnt own any Thor Industries stock that I can see in any recent Wall Street listing. Love the way you two take the time to do everything so well. Our question is what do you really think is the best as youre traveling down the road to your grocery stay cold with the newer type refrigerators if in fact you dont have everything running on battery Im confused on how they keep all of your stuff colddoes that mean when youre driving the five and six hours to get somewhere or maybe even 9 to 10 that your refrigerator is running off your batteries while youre driving? We had already decided to switch to a residential when it happened and in fact it was set for delivery. If you wanted to test it out on your own fridge there are devices you can buy (a well known one is the Kill-A-Watt Electricity Monitor) to plug in-line that will monitor how much power an electrical device is using. Pick residential. The temperature was a mild 80 degrees and there was a slight breeze to keep the air moving inside the motorhome. It is definitely subjective though. Motor Home Specialist's prices, sales, and offers are subject to change without notice and Motor Home Specialist reserves the right to price any unit, including those spotlighted or specially marked, before, during or after a sale or promotion of any kind or type of advertisement including that of an email blast, TV spot, written ad or any other type of advertisement at any price they wish after any sale or promotion ends to ultimately sell every unit. To be perfectly honest, we also did this test as a way to help us decide how much power well need for our big switch to the sailboat later this year. . Do your research first though so you have some input on your power needs, etc. It would be fun to see a blog on your dream-boat. Theyre so big that they are literally put onto the chasis first and the RV is built around them. These units required extra batteries and inverters to meet the additional off-grid electric load. If we have one day of bad weather, we know to be more conscious of our power usage and monitor it more closely. We have two fairly large AGM group 4D batteries (https://www.battsys.com/dc210-12-fullriver-12v-210ah-4d-sealed-lead-acid-agm-battery?gclid=CjwKCAiAqOriBRAfEiwAEb9oXS-MfwrXGrA42aMx2I4JG1RX46oeZPWt-Y5btL0DFV5NhvNq8E2zwRoCzbIQAvD_BwE) and a 600W Xantrex Pure Sine Wave Inverter installed already that we put in just to be able to watch tv overnight without running the generator. Our fridge runs on propane except for when driving (Just use battery/solar/vehicle power) and when camping if the batteries are fully or nearly fully charged (usually about 11am on sunny days) we switch over to Solar/Batteries/2000watt inverter to use the excess power available and often make ice in the ice maker during the afternoons home to refill the freezer. 2023 Good Sam Enterprises, LLC. It doesnt use much propane.my 13 gallon tank gets filled up about three times maybe four for the season so it is not too expensive to run. Very important info to have to make an informed decision. Refrigerator Size: Determine the overall dimensions of the new unit as to its adaptation into the existing space. This is generally accomplished by selecting the correct cabinet depth that will position the door to protrude out from the surrounding cabinetry by about the doors thickness. Residential refrigerators are becoming more commonplace in RVs. Hey Paul, thanks for the suggestion! I never liked our fridges in our houses because things get lost. In the strictest definition, Class C RVs are built with a cabin chassis and generally have an overcab sleeping area, which allows for more room in the living area. Household is great if you spend your time plugged in. But if the boat remains at an angle (heeled over like a monohull), the ammonia mixture puddles on one side of the coils & doesnt flow. Of note to CPAP (or BiPAP) users: if you do not have a unit that can be powered by 12 volt adapter, in addition to 110ac, contact your healthcare provider for a new machine, if insurance balks, file an appeal. If you permit your batts to do the work theyre designed to do, youll find much less need to run your gensets (the bane of RV living IMHO). The Jayco Seneca Prestige 37M is a super luxurious Class C RV floor plan perfect for snowbirds or those who want to travel in comfort. Any questions were answered promptly and we were encouraged to stay the night on their lot to ensure that everything was working to our satisfaction. What a breath of fresh air! Their solution was for us to use a bungy cord on our new bounder. Water heater and space heater problems will be detected by gas leak detectors, and routine smoke detectors will detect smoke from those fires. I am in love with being able to choose whether to be on propane or AC. Swivel seats are awesome and in some cases, a relatively easy DIY project. Please try refreshing or going back to the previous page. Why are the grey tanks smaller than the black tanks in these units. So residential fridge would be fine for that (in fact that is what we have put in the Boat). Much, of course, depends on your RV application. It was an excellent system that used keel-cooled technology. Only run generator if we experience overcast day. Upon receipt of deposit seller (MHSRV) agrees to hold the selected unit and prepare it for delivery and orientation to the buyer. If you dont want to be forced to run a generator Id say go for 800 amp hours of lithium, or 1200 amp hours of AGM and a solar array like our 960 watt All Electric kit from GoPower!. Norcold 3.7 CU FT N3150AGR 2. It was simply an awesome way for me to feel good about buying new when I normally would not. Most of my travelling is done alone, with the exception of my dog, Sam. So, lets dive in to the results. We dry camp maybe 20 days a year during long travel trips. We are from Ireland so cloudy weather has a big impact on solar power We have been living in our Mercedes Hymer for 6 months now. The only thing I dont like about the Norcold is the possibility of fire. ( I mean RV ). When our LP fridge died as a result or being on at a slope, I checked a few options and decided to give a try to the household fridge. Excellent video! Unfortunately an Apartment size fridge is the biggest size we could fit in this RV. The more popular sizes of RV refrigerators have heights of 55, 60, 63, and 65 inches, with widths of 24, 33, and 36 inches. Hope that helps! We are not living in the RV, just camping up to six weeks a year, so I was okay with getting a used working fridge 10cubic ft. Hey Curt, thanks for your comment and suggestion! So batteries are now the only major expense in a solar power set up but lithiums last a decade or more, require virtually no maintenence, are exceedingly safe(lifepo4), can be charge cycled between 2000 & 10000 times(lead acid a max of 500), and can be discharged up to 90% without harming them. We had a Norcold 1200 that was only 4 years old when it died. The inverter is 1000 watt and we have a 80 watt 10 amp solar panel. Youll feel safe pulling your favorite toy on the 5,000 lb. We will not be traveling until September 7 and dont need anything on right now. Norcold Polar Series 8 cu.ft. Other common RV fridges are 2-way or 3-way models. You also have the option of a dinette or a freestanding table with four chairs. As its name says, Winnebago Minnie Winnie is a compact and small RV with a small layout of 23 in length. Thanks for this information is is very helpful. The absorption coils are unevenly cast (made in China since at least the year 2000) and the chemicals corrode and leak through thin areas in the coils and onto the wiring below the fridge, dissolving the covering over the wires and shorting the wires. The generator never run. Ive heard about a soft start modification for RV air conditioners that kind of works along the same principle of the inverter which should work for a fridge as well. If youre referring to the solar setup thats much easier to tackle. Who does that?! Im hypothesizing that the modified sine and low batteries is affecting the performance of the fridge. This great information for me getting ready to buy a motor home this summer. Sun power was far more reliable. Like set a goal for the budget of the boat 250K? :-/. With this model, youll find plenty of storage space in the rear compartments. The Thor Quantum ends up topping many best Class C RV lists and for good reason. thanks. The Tiffin Wayfarer 25 TW is a great Class C RV floor plan for road trips with friends. Again great video, and thank you for sharing your findings. The rest of the camper is on a separate bank. This Class C RV is on the higher end of the price scale but also offers a lot of luxuries. But thanks so much for this info because it will help the next time some sales guy tries to convince us we need a residential fridge. New 2019 Holiday Rambler Augusta 30F Class C RV W/Ext TV, Residential Refrigerator M.S.R.P: $133,686 MHSRV Sale Price: $78,999 41% Discount $54,687 Savings Payments as low as: $551.00 (w.a.c)* Sold Window Sticker Floorplan Print Calculate Payment More of This Model Trade In Finance Contact Just the sheer size of the place is awesome! We purchased a preowned 2008 Winnebago Journey 39Z with the factory elec/propane double door fridge. I agree! Your article was the most helpful in our research decision to purchase new unit with residential frig, thank you: 2016 Thor, Outlaw, class a, toy hauler, 4 6 volt batteries, 1800 watt inverter, auto gen start. Several of the reviews mentioned that the coach could sleep more than two people, in one case as many as six. We learned the hard way. The fire will turn the ceiling into a broiler. While it is true these tests did not use 12Vdc to produce the power, watts is watts; force behind the current doesnt matter. New RVs from $19,999 to $1,500,000 and Every Price-Point in-between! NO OUTDOOR THERMOMTER. Personally, I enjoy the challenge of keeping it simple. with that said having the regular RV refrigerator that runs on gas which was another camper we were familiar with and kept the gas on most of the time when we were off the grid. But at least now I feel more informed! We removed the ice maker to leave more room for frozen food and still put a 12vdc/120v ac fridge/freezer (we use as freezer) in basement of 5th wheel. With a walk-through two-piece bathroom, mornings are made easy for couples who need to get ready at the same time. There are lots of sleeping and seating options for up to six people. We created this easy-to-reference list of the 5 best Class C RV floor plans for full-time living. Read reviews and see what other folks have to say on RV solar forums. After 3 days of dry camping, batteries lower in am, but still okay.