rk911
Wheaton IL
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a64armt wrote:OK, we are on the hunt for a 5er’ to not only facilitate a relocation but we are planning on getting back into RV travel and adventure. We are looking at some used units, including several Lifestyle RV’s. I see a few with “residential refrigerators” and inverters. I am curious what the thoughts are from experienced owners. I have considered some differences, these include;
Plus – More room, usually ice and water in door, more visually appealing, probably better for full time operation / reliability
Minus – Expensive to purchase / replace, required removal of slide to replace, requires narrow range of models for fit and application.
Thoughts?
OJ
depends on the type of camping/RVing you plan to do. mostly boondocking: traditional RV fridge. mostly full hookup parks and resorts: residential.
your cons are not necessarily accurate. replacing an an RV fridge can be more $ than a resi depending on size. removing the doors on our resi allows it to be removed from our MH.
Rich
Ham Radio, Sport Pilot
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ScottG
Bothell Wa.
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I agree with Rich and I don't believe this is a black or white issue. It all depends on what is going to work best for you, which could be either one.
Scott, Grace and Wesly
2003 Dodge 3500 4x4, 6 speed Cummins.
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CavemanCharlie
Storden,MN
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I sometimes go dry camping with o electric and I love my gas fridge ! But, it is one of the older ones that seemed to work better then the new ones. I never have any trouble keeping things cold.
My brother has a nice new 5th wheel and his gas fridge won't stay cool on gas even during the day while traveling down the road.
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bikendan
Camano Island, Wash.
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Joined: 11/21/2005
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We dry camp a lot and would NEVER have a residential fridge.
We don't need that much fridge space, for just two people.
Dan- Firefighter, Retired">, Shawn- Musician/Entrepreneur">, Zoe- Faithful Golden Retriever(RIP">), 2014 Ford F150 3.5 EcoboostMax Tow pkg, 2016 PrimeTime TracerAIR 255 w/4pt Equalizer and 5 Mtn. bikes and 2 Road bikes
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DrewE
Vermont
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dodge guy wrote:A good solar system will take care of a residential fridge when you don’t have electric hookups. Once they are up to operating temp they require very minimal energy to operate.
Last time I quickly looked around, modest fridges at Home Depot were around 1 kWh/day or a little less per the Energy Star labels. That's not a lot of power all things considered, but it's perhaps a bit more than very minimal energy too. It's certainly not beyond the reach of a decent but not extravagant solar setup assuming you are camping in an area where solar power is a reasonable option. (Solar power when out in the woods doesn't work quite so effectively!)
My Dometic RV fridge has so far worked pretty much flawlessly. Plenty of people have had good experiences with residential fridges. Both systems can work out fine, or not do well at all if improperly/poorly installed and set up.
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valhalla360
No paticular place.
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If you are mostly on shore power, residential is fine.
If you are away from shore power a lot, propane makes a lot of sense. You can make residential work but it gets expensive adding an inverter, upgrading the battery bank and a charging system to keep up with the fridge.
Tammy & Mike
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Dtank
USA
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Joined: 12/13/2005
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bikendan wrote:We dry camp a lot and would NEVER have a residential fridge.
We don't need that much fridge space, for just two people.
Retired Firefighter huh!..![[emoticon]](https://forums.trailerlife.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/rolleyes.gif "rolleyes")
You need to explore the fire hazard potential - and if you're still happy with your gas/electric - add fusible link actuated extinguisher in the rear of the fridge compt.
"Space" - Refrigerators are available in all sizes, whether gas/elect or electric only (residential).
BTW - NEVER -say- NEVER, ROTFL!!
.
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nightshift
Vancouver, BC
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bikendan wrote:We dry camp a lot and would NEVER have a residential fridge.
We don't need that much fridge space, for just two people.
X2 We boondock 4 weeks at atime. Even with 600w of solar and 2 l16 batteries, a residential would drain us.
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valhalla360
No paticular place.
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Dtank wrote:bikendan wrote:We dry camp a lot and would NEVER have a residential fridge.
We don't need that much fridge space, for just two people.
Retired Firefighter huh!..
You need to explore the fire hazard potential - and if you're still happy with your gas/electric - add fusible link actuated extinguisher in the rear of the fridge compt.
"Space" - Refrigerators are available in all sizes, whether gas/elect or electric only (residential).
BTW - NEVER -say- NEVER, ROTFL!!
.
Ummm... I've seen 3 RV fires. All 3 were electrical related. I know it's a common cause of RV fires.
Are you planning to rip out the electrical system in your RV?
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bikendan
Camano Island, Wash.
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Dtank wrote:bikendan wrote:We dry camp a lot and would NEVER have a residential fridge.
We don't need that much fridge space, for just two people.
Retired Firefighter huh!..
You need to explore the fire hazard potential - and if you're still happy with your gas/electric - add fusible link actuated extinguisher in the rear of the fridge compt.
"Space" - Refrigerators are available in all sizes, whether gas/elect or electric only (residential).
BTW - NEVER -say- NEVER, ROTFL!!
.
i consider the fire hazard potential as minimal. Are you a firefighter?
We love dry camping too much, to give in to having a residential fridge. Haven't seen any RV fridges as big as the residential fridges. So they aren't available in ALL sizes.
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