Residential fridge replacement

[NeverHome2]

We are in the process of replacing our Norcold 1200 with a Samsung RF18 in our 2005 HR Endeavor. We have an inverter & generator and almost never dry camp. The Samsung will fit thru our entry door nicely... maybe an inch to spare. All the dimensions of the Samsung indicated that it will fit nicely in the same opening as the Norcold. The only dimension that will be close is the height. We have Lipert furnace under the fridge (9.5" or 10"). That leaves about .125" to .5" clearance at the top of the Samsung. The debate is if the furnace should be removed or not. It is one of two furnaces in the coach.

Several questions:

We were wondering if anyone out there had a similar issue?
Were you able to leave the furnace and was the clearance adequate?
Can you provide tips on how you built the floor for residential fridge (either over the furnace or not)?
If you removed the furnace, how did you handle covering the outside hole? It is rather large and painted to match the coach.

[Bill_Satellite]

Do not remove the furnace. Unless you never plan to be in cool weather and plan to never sell the RV. It's likely that the floor can be lowered a tad if you need extra space. Lowering as much as possible also makes the top of the fridge more accessible to shorter folks (DW?).