Any downside to a domestic refrigerator?

[klebs]

I'm am a total newb to RV'ing and I'm also new to this forum. I'm coming up on retirement and am researching the purchase of our first Class A RV for full-timing when we sell our house. I see that a popular option is a double door stainless refrigerator with a thru-door ice/water dispenser. In fact, one I saw in RVTRADER looks suspiciously like the one I have in my house. The wife saw this and has added them to her list of must-haves when we go to buy the rig.

My question is: am I giving anything up when I choose an RV with one of these fridges? In my short history with other venues (pop-up trailers) I liked the fridges designed for campers that can be powered with 12V, LP gas or 120V alternatively. When on the road, whether engine-on or engine-off, what provides the capacity to keep a domestic fridge running? I hope this isn't too basic a question for this forum.

[Admin]

See thread running in Class A
Double posted

Thanks
Admin
RV.net

[Mile_High]

donn0128 wrote:
Resedential refer conversion is very common now days when the OE Norcold dies. Pepople are installing a Samsung refer with excellent results.
As a side question I just have to ask..... why a Motor Home as a first ever RV??

I guess I've heard the opposite - a good portion of the chatter about fridges on our brand have been issues with the Samsung residential fridge. Not so much the fridge, just the peripheral issues getting it to work (i.e. batteries, inverter, winterizing, door latches). I have no doubt the residential fridge will have a place in a 5er, but for some companies it has not been a smooth transition to that option.

[donn0128]

Resedential refer conversion is very common now days when the OE Norcold dies. Pepople are installing a Samsung refer with excellent results.
As a side question I just have to ask..... why a Motor Home as a first ever RV??

[klebs]

I should say that I accidentally posted this to the 5th wheel forum. When I realized my mistake I reposted in the Class A forum and got answers there. Unless anybody has anything else to add about household fridges in a 5th wheel, which as Mile High suggests are not as useful as in a Class A for a few reasons, I propose to close this thread out.

[past-MIdirector]

Only real draw back from being 25 in the Appliance repair business is getting service. In most cases it will cost double to triple what you would pay for a service repair in a stick and brick home. Mainly because of access.
Live span on most home refrigerator has drop from an average 18 years with 3 service calls back in the 90s to 7-8 years today with 2 service calls. Another myth is the house refrigerator does not need to be level to operate, read the manual that comes with a household fridge. They do need to be as level as possible for proper operation since defrost water goes into a small pan under the unit.
The biggest problem is refrigerators today use mostly circuit boards and this is the most common and one of the most expensive items other than the compressor to fail. Either one will fail prematurely from low voltage.
The use of a household refrigerator is an owner decision since there are advantage to both types used in the RV industry.

[Mile_High]

Depending on battery sizes - the are good for about 6 hours on their own. Not quite overnight. I'm not convinced it is that easy for the truck charge circuit to recharge those batteries plus keep up with the inverter down the road the next day.

Jury is still out. Also issues with how they are installed, doors don't lock closed, not real "off" on a residential fridge, and winterizing the ice maker without the rear access.

Motorhomes may be a more suitable application, but for towing and camping - I think I'll stick to my ice making 4-dr 2-way LP/Electric

[D_E_Bishop]

Back some time ago, my daughter was comparing printers before buying one for home. Her only professional contact way back then was her employers ITE contractor He told her that for the best results from peripheral she needed to by separate pieces for each function. Each time a manufacturer combined two pieces, printer & Scanner, both were a little less effective than as separate machines.

Since that time technology has changed and now we have very high grade printer/scanner/fax...

In a RV, if you try and go back to the separate function pieces of equipment you "generally" get a more efficient product. So the answer in my round about way is yes you gain a "generally" more efficient refrigerator if you buy a household refrigerator but you introduce a few more inefficient peripherals. Batteries are heavy and it takes more of them, I have two house batteries for the entire RV. Put a 18 or 20 cubic foot residential in and you need (from what I have read here) 4 to 6 more batteries, a large and expensive inverter to turn the 12 VDC to 120 VAC and some expensive wires, and, abigger RV to get the storage space and carry the extra weight..

If you are going full time and will be settled in at just a few places a year or season it'll work, if you move frequently, I think it may be a pain.

It's a trade off and really hard to answer without knowing how you are going to be RVing.

[klebs]

So the RV's I see with two house batteries in addition to the single automotive battery are enough to keep a fridge running if, say, you pull off the road for a couple hours? Does the generator kick on automatically if, say, the house batteries get too low for the load?

[chast]

Hi! Please never hesitate to ask a question--none are too basic--that's is how we all learn! Most RVs with household type refers use an inverter system to convert 12 volt DC to 110 AC. They also have increase battery bank sizes to supply ample current. There is usually a generator also that supplies power. This setup doesn't allow much boondocking (parking without full hookups), but then a lot of people with big rigs and a household refrigerator don't boondock much anyway. Hope this helps and good luck--just remember--if Mama ain't happy, nobody is happy!

[klebs]

oops, I see that I should have posted this to the Class A forum.