Bought a '04 31BH Cardinal and found out the fridge was bad so i decided to swap in a residential unit.
1.To be safe i made sure the propane was turned off, shore power disconnected and batteries were disconnected.
2.Unplug old fridge from outlet.
3.Disconnect gas line from fridge.
4.Put some pipe thread compound onto the plug and screw it into the gas line.
4.Disconnect the 2 12V wires from the block and cap each one separately.
5.Pull 2 screws out that go through the metal tracks (one on each side) that hold the fridge to the plywood deck.
6.Inside the camper, open bottom door and remove the 2 screws (one in each corner) that are on the bottom rail right under where the door would be.
7.Open the freezer door and you should be able to grab the top instrument panel (where the on/off button and Dometic logo is) and pull that panel off. Once off you will see 2 screws going up that hold the fridge to the wood facade/cabinet. Take those out.
8.Now this part would be good to have someone there to help you. Fortunately for me and my size i was able to do it myself. You should be able to grab the fridge and slide it right out! Just be prepared, it's heavier than it looks!
9.Once old unit is out, i took the time to shop vac that empty space and get it nice and clean.
10. The unit i put in there is a Visanni (made by Magic Chef). I paid $300 for the black unit from Home Depot. The unit fit right in, very snug, but it fit. I had to remove the hinge cap on the top as well as trim the front leveling pads a bit to get it in.
11.Go back outside and plug the new unit into the outlet. If you moved the new unit around alot or tipped it, be sure to let it settle for a couple hours before plugging it in.
I don't plan on moving my camper ever so i didn't take any steps to secure it beyond it's extremely sung fit or to keep the doors from opening so those are extra steps you will need to take.
1.To be safe i made sure the propane was turned off, shore power disconnected and batteries were disconnected.
2.Unplug old fridge from outlet.
3.Disconnect gas line from fridge.
4.Put some pipe thread compound onto the plug and screw it into the gas line.
4.Disconnect the 2 12V wires from the block and cap each one separately.
5.Pull 2 screws out that go through the metal tracks (one on each side) that hold the fridge to the plywood deck.
6.Inside the camper, open bottom door and remove the 2 screws (one in each corner) that are on the bottom rail right under where the door would be.
7.Open the freezer door and you should be able to grab the top instrument panel (where the on/off button and Dometic logo is) and pull that panel off. Once off you will see 2 screws going up that hold the fridge to the wood facade/cabinet. Take those out.
8.Now this part would be good to have someone there to help you. Fortunately for me and my size i was able to do it myself. You should be able to grab the fridge and slide it right out! Just be prepared, it's heavier than it looks!
9.Once old unit is out, i took the time to shop vac that empty space and get it nice and clean.
10. The unit i put in there is a Visanni (made by Magic Chef). I paid $300 for the black unit from Home Depot. The unit fit right in, very snug, but it fit. I had to remove the hinge cap on the top as well as trim the front leveling pads a bit to get it in.
11.Go back outside and plug the new unit into the outlet. If you moved the new unit around alot or tipped it, be sure to let it settle for a couple hours before plugging it in.
I don't plan on moving my camper ever so i didn't take any steps to secure it beyond it's extremely sung fit or to keep the doors from opening so those are extra steps you will need to take.
