Questions About Installing a Residential Refrig in a RV?

I found a Hotpoint Refrigerator that is only on inch taller than the Dometic I am thinking about replacing. Both refrigerators are 14.5 cubic feet. If I remove the top trim it should slide in. If I have to I could lower the cabinet floor by modify the set of drawers below the opening, but DW doesn't want to do that. It is narrower than the Dometic so there will be some trim work on the sides. That is why I am interested in the trim gaps. I have gotten some good ideas.

you dont say how big of a unit you are putting in, so does it include remodeling the cabinet? I had to build a frame around my new residential fridge, I glued the frame to the fridge with a good adhesive, slide it into place, then through the roof vent I screwed a 2x4 from side to side on the walls of the cabinet on top of the fridge, then glued that to the top of the fridge

I blocked the side door access with 1 inch foam board rigged so that I can remove the foam board to get to back of refrigerator. It is not "air tight" but does block a lot of the air movement. I completely sealed the roof vent. Refrigerator is bolted to floor in rear with through bolts/nuts/washers.

Mine has furnace below the refrigerator platform, so I drilled some air holes in the refrigerator platform. When operating, I get a good flow of air out of the small gap above the refrigerator and it cools good even in hot weather.

Velcro straps top and bottom with tabs on doors keep the doors closed when traveling. Additional tabs on cabinet so I can push the strap into the cabinet when parked and keep the velcro strap out of sight.

I love the additional space inside the refrigerator.

Fred

Did mind in about 3 he's in a motor home. With help took a winds out sled it in and bolted to the floor. No grets

I put one in our travel trailer years ago with great results. I left the venting as it was, the sidewall louver with the roof vent. I used a few "L" brackets for the install, built it in, Velcro for the door, and went camping.
Brian

ILVMYGT wrote:
I will be doing the installation myself and am looking for suggestions and recommendation for the installation.

How is the refrigerator physically mounted? Most refrigerator have rollers.
How were they chocked?
Are screws used in the back frame to secure it?
Were any straps installed on the top to prevent it from tipping?

What do you do with the refrigerator vents? So on your installation did they close the vents off? Or were they left partially left open? For the cabinetry around the refrigerator how much gap did they leave for air circulation?

Can it be vented to the outside? If they did that, how was it done? Did they close off the gap between the refrigerator and cabinetry? How was that done?

What suggestion do you have for securing the door during travel?

Thanks

Dont know if you have facecrook or not but there is a site RVtips and they have a great article on this. My friend installed one on his 10 year old camper. He breaks it all down plus has pictures of his install.
randy

It would help if you said what fridge you're taking out and which one you intend to put in. Some are easier than others.

I had a Norcold 1200LRIM and replaced it with the Samsung 197RF. I've provided a link to my install, with pictures, if that will help you. Please scroll down about the middle of the page. I lagged the fridge front and rear, left the wheels on but removed the trim piece on the bottom, which I replaced with a oak piece to give it a more finished, built-in look.

I did my install at a campground in about 6 hours....if you put 'residential fridge install' in the above search box, you'll get tons of reading....good luck....Dennis

Residential Fridge Install

I had many of the same questions when I installed a Residential fridge but I'm sure you probably have a much larger area to work with. I installed a 10.3 cf Haier(much larger than what I had for my absorption refer)...it was a perfect fit for me though. First thing I did was insulate the entire compartment with rigid foam board, I installed bilge exhaust fans behind the fridge, I did anchor the fridge frame to the floor, initially I sealed the rear vent, I put a side vent and vent under the floor of the new fridge to allow conditioned air to enter into the compartment. During travel, I use straps to keep the doors from flying open and to secure the fridge from tilting/moving. I also placed a temp probe in the compartment so I could tract the temp.

OK...so the results......I keep my eye on the temps and when needed use the exhaust fans, during extremely hot weather(100+), I will sometimes place a fan in front of the vent under the fridge to expedite cooler operating temp's(it works quite well). I partially opened the rear vent, which also seems to support cooler operating temp's. I didn't need to seal around the top, bottom or sides...it fit with no modification.

Anyways...all in all, I'm extremely Happy with the extra room and the cooling ability. The unit cools and freezes quickly and in 8 months of part time use, it's been great. Couple that with the 400.00 dollar price tag opposed to 1200-1500-00 for heat absorption refrig....what can I say. Hope that helps, I'm sure others will have plenty of suggestions.