Refrigerator Replacement

I have had both Norcold and Dometic. Both served me well. In my many years of RV experience and the many Rvers I have met it seems the Norcolds have problems that require full replacements more so than Dometic. Things like the insulation inside the refrigerator deteriorating and more electronic problems than Dometic. Dometics have cooling unit problems, which can be repaired by replacing the cooling unit only. This can be done inside the RV so a window doesn’t have to be removed to replace the whole refrigerator.

Residential Refrigerators can be a bad option for the following reasons;
You are limited to driving less hours and only camping with electrical hookups unless you add more batteries and an inverter, which with the refrigerator can cost you more than the RV unit.
A window or windshield usually has to be removed to remove the RV unit and add the residential one.
Unless you get one that is designed for RV use, they are not designed for bouncing down the road.
They usually vent hot air out the front, which can be a real bad idea if you use your RV in hot locations and have trouble keeping it cool in the first place.
The patch job to install it usually doesn’t look as neat as the original.
It is not a direct replacement, mods have to be made as well as beefing up the bottom of the cabinet to carry the weight.
They generally only last about 10 years in fulltime use, which isn’t much better than an RV unit.
They can be noisy especially in a small space like an RV.

I realize that a lot of people have done the swap and have not had most of these problems and their refrigerator is running well and has lasted a long time but so have the ones that have elected to stick with the RV units.

Old-Biscuit wrote:

Mile-High-Endura wrote:
Don't want to do a residential refrigerator because we do boondock sometimes. We don't have solar panels either, just two 12 volt batteries. It seems like Norcold had/has a bad reputation or has that changed? The repair guy mentioned going with a Norcold. I just thought I'd ask for opinions between the two brands. Thanks.

Jeff

You got 10 yrs out of that Dometic.

I would just do a cooling unit replacement.

I didn't know that was a option. I'm not refrigerator savvy. As long as the food and beer is cold I'm good. I'll check into that. Thanks.

Jeff

Mile-High-Endura wrote:
Don't want to do a residential refrigerator because we do boondock sometimes. We don't have solar panels either, just two 12 volt batteries. It seems like Norcold had/has a bad reputation or has that changed? The repair guy mentioned going with a Norcold. I just thought I'd ask for opinions between the two brands. Thanks.

Jeff

You got 10 yrs out of that Dometic.

I would just do a cooling unit replacement.

Hi

Cheaper where I live to move to a residential fridge, including the cost of solar and an extra couple of batteries.

Don't want to do a residential refrigerator because we do boondock sometimes. We don't have solar panels either, just two 12 volt batteries. It seems like Norcold had/has a bad reputation or has that changed? The repair guy mentioned going with a Norcold. I just thought I'd ask for opinions between the two brands. Thanks.

Jeff

HERE is a Dometic Replacement Chart


HERE is Norcold Chart


HERE is Atwood Helium Chart


Your Dometic RM2852

59 15/16" Height
23 11/16" Width
24" Depth

If you've got solar, get a 12v compressor fridge.

I've got a 2 cubic foot Vitrifrigo to which I've added extra insulation and made sure the cooling unit is well ventilated, and it is a rare and hot day when it consumes more than 0.75A per hour.

Propane is for cooking :)

Have you considered a residental refer?
If you do choose an absortion refer, dont consider a nevercold.