The RV Refrigerator BATTLE continues! Gas Electric vs Residential vs 12v
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- Опубліковано 22 жов 2024
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So, I came across this UA-cam video where a couple had to replace their residential fridge. After trying to remove it through the door with no luck, they ended up popping out the back window and sliding it out through there. The owners claimed it was actually quite easy to do. They replaced the original Frigidaire unit after 3 years. The repair quote was in the area of $400-1,000 so they opted to replace rather than repair. ua-cam.com/video/4zW1mnOrJhU/v-deo.html
You should check out Haylet RV's channel. They just did a video of why they will no longer sell RV's with residential refrigerators.
I have followed them for a long time, and they have never been a fan of the residential fridges, because for them, they do not hold up as well as your typical RV fridge.
@@Eric_at_Raney_Ridge Hello Eric, I did watch that video last night. The issue with it is that if you poll owners of both, you'll see that Residential owners tend to be happier and claim to have fewer issues overall than Gas Electric owners. That being said, residential fridges are becoming more and more popular in new RVs (Even though they have been in higher end units for some time, such as DRV, LUXE, Redwood, Riverstone, and several others). The percentage of failures is actually quite low in comparison to units out there vs Gas/Electric. The issue is when someone DOES have a problem that requires the fridge to be removed and replaced, which can be a challenge for RV service departments which are use to assigning 1 person to swap a G/E fridge in less than 2 hours. Residential fridges can take 4-10 hours and general requires a few people to remove, especially if there isn't a large enough window to remove it through and a slide must be removed. Basically it comes down to the dealership not wanting to do the work because it far more time and resource consuming to do it. That takes techs away from other jobs and more profitable tasks.
@@Eric_at_Raney_Ridge I was going to say the same thing!!! Josh has posted multiple good videos regarding fridges.
@@BigTruckBigRV if you watched more 9f his older videos he has stated many times that they do not like residential refrigerators in anything other than more of "destination style" trailers because they do not hold up as well. He is using their own service centers numbers of what comes in for repairs the most.
You really should go back and look at some of their earlier reviews, he spends a lot of time explaining things, and why they carry certain products over others.
@@tracyf.1148 Exactly. I love the fact that yes they are a dealership, and yes they are trying to sell products to make money, but Josh takes as much, if not more time educating on the how's and why's. And what they have found of what works, and what is really just a bad idea in some cases.
Haylett rv in Cold Water, Michigan. Just put out a video were they will not buy or stock any units that contain a residential refrigerator
I believe josh said that they won’t order them for their lot, but they will be happy to help you custom order an rv with one. 💰💰 talks. 😉
@@rreveler6705
And what will they do about warranty?
Frank Mitzen contact haylett rv. I _think_ josh said it would still be warranted, but I can’t/ don’t speak for them.
It will be warrantied, but the warranty is a wash. Must be moved, inspected and repaired by a residential appliance repair service, and that could take months! Good luck with that! Residential fridges in RV's are not top priority.
A few thoughts I have that I believe play a major part in the debate of G/E or residential...
1. Where you keep your RV - if you keep it at home you can turn the fridge on a day or two in advance to have it cold before loading anything in the fridge and then only load cold items. They cool so much better empty and I’ve even put the AC on in the camper to help. I’ve never had a problem with temp and we just camped 10 days in hot and humid 100* weather. If you have your RV in a storage yard and no access to power till you get to a campground, it will most likely never get cold over a weekend with items in it and the resi will work much better.
2. Where the fridge is located in the camper - non slide fridges have the benefit of the roof vent where as a fridge in a slide gets two wall vents. The saying is hot air rises, not hot air makes 90* turns. The airflow makes a difference in cooling the RV fridge
3. Shade - my last camper had the fridge on the driver side and my new camper had it on the passenger/camp side. My old one always worked better when it was shaded by a tree or not being blasted by direct sunlight. Fortunately the new one is always covered by the awning and stays in the shade.
4. Playing with the temp - Residential are much easier to dial in because they have number dial inside or actual temp settings where the RV fridge has a slide on the fins or cold to coldest selector. I know it is completely dependent on the weather and temp where those settings need to be to keep the RV fridge dialed in and unfortunately takes monitoring on the trip. I use cheap $15 amazon sensors with remote display in my inside fridge, freezer and outside fridge to keep track. I always check in passing to see how things are. If the kids have been in their a lot I may have to turn it higher vs overnight it may need to be lower so it doesn’t become a freezer too.
5.Use a small fan inside the fridge- you will be surprised how much this helps. They are cheap and really make a difference with airflow when loaded with items.
Anyway, just my two cents on the issue.
Exactly the reason we wanted a residential fridge in our Alliance. Our last rig had a gas/elec RV fridge and we couldn't keep ice cream frozen or anything else for that matter. We winter in south Texas and travel the rest of the country during the summer. We needed a residential unit and we love it.
I’m aware of one dealer who has recently announced that they will not stock trailers/5th wheels with residential refrigerators for the reasons JD mentions.
Bruce Lee saw that too.
That guy is such a nerd too.
Haylett RV
As a construction worker I have learned a lot about hauling equipment in trailers. I have a 15kw generator that holds 32 gallons of fuel. I had the least amount of fuel sloshing/spilling during travel when it was positioned over the axles and not in the front or the rear. Most sloshing occurred in the rear with the front being the 2nd best place.
You bring up some good points JD. I feel if the RV dealers want to sell RV's with residential fridges in them, they should train their service people to troubleshoot and repair them. If you took your F450 to a Ford dealer for warranty work for an undercharging alternator and the dealer said their service people weren't trained to repair it would you give that dealer any more of your business? I know I wouldn't. I used to be an RV tech for several years. I live in the NE, gas/electric has worked fine most of the time, only drawback I've seen is they are very expensive and the contents in the coils aren't very environmentally friendly. It is difficult to find anyone to recharge them any more. Most just want to replace them.
They should not train their techs to service or troubleshoot residential refrigerators. They should have an appliance repair person or an HVAC tech look at them. With inverter duty refrigerators hitting the market they are not easy to troubleshoot as they can be variable or multistage units and the pressures don’t match anything in a standard repair manual.
@@RadDadisRad Samsung doesnt replace much in their modern units. They told us of if the compressor is bad they'll change it but if the drive for it is bad then they will ship a new refrigerator
How would one recharge a sealed system like an RV absorption refrigerator? Didn’t think that was possible.
Currently, i have a jayco 338rets, which has a residential fridge. The first thing i noticed about it is that it doesnt fit in its space, the bottom of it sits on the bottom of the cutout. The first time i traveled with it relatively full, it fell over spilling its contents and had milk from one end of the trailer to the other, including milk in the heater duct work. I had to reinforce it to keep it from tipping over. My last rv was a keystone carbon 347 which was a gas/electric and in comparison, the gas/electrics seem to be mounted alot better. Me and family live full time in our trailer and travel part time. Based on my personal experience, it seems not only are gas/elec refers installed better, but they have the ability to use propane while using them for their intended purpose, which is traveling. I personally prefer having the ability to choose between gas or elect. I love your channel by the way, i have learned so much from you and really appreciate all the knowledge you share. You recently did a review about one of these full size jayco eagle travel trailers and you highly recommended a dually to tow one. I took your advice and bought a dually. I tried it with a f350 srw long bed before my dually purchase and still experienced conditions i wasnt comfortable with.
Thanks for watching! So both residential and RV fridges should be mounted properly. Most residential fridges should have a few mount brackets securing them in place. Gas Electric use screws in the front and back to hold them in. Congrats on the truck!
Residential doesn't have to mean large, there are many inexpensive, small, 120VAC refrigerators if you have the 120VAC power. I have been lucky, I love the flexibility of an absorption refrigerator but I do admit to avoiding very hot, very humid areas. I wonder if the manufacturers of high volume, small 120VAC refrigerators would see enough market to build more some 12VDC units? I am guessing the market is too small and that is why the "12V cooler frigs" are so expensive. Food for thought!
Check out JC refrigeration out of Shipshewana Indiana , they make replacement cooling units with 12 V compressors to retrofit into normal RV refrigerators
Would never go residental. They just can not handle the vibration. Some dealers are already, not ordering anything with a residental. You are also right about the gas-electric. Adding in some states, will not let you run the propane side while in motion. The 12v made by an rv appliance manufacturer, seem to be the best bet. Just like a 12 volt tv made for an rv seem to handle the vibration better. Talking brands like Furion.
Just my opinion . I have been Rving since 1993. If you are asking, I would advise gas/electric. Some campgrounds have power outages if you have regular electric refrigerator you either have to run your generator when the power goes out or lose some of your food. I have a1996 Holiday Ramble and have only serviced the computer board.
Same here. I have a gas/electric fridge and I have NEVER had an issue with keeping things cold/frozen. I only have electrical hookups about 1/2 the time I use my RV. I believe the only reason residential fridges are being used in RV's is because they are significantly cheaper, allowing the manufacturers to cut costs. If you have a residential fridge and you want to boon dock, you will need large/extra batteries and an inverter, and a way to charge the batteries (Generator/solar).
I just replaced my Nevercold 1200 with a Haier 16.4 residential. Couldn't be happier. Much more space, better looking, better cooling, and much cheaper than other options.
Residential if your FT and don’t bone dock. Gas/Electric if you do both and 12volt I’m not really sure because they haven’t been out that long to give a suggestion. Just my two cents. FT for the past four years in the south. Peace, Love and Happy Camping!!!!
This was a helpful explanation of regional climates and trade-offs between each fridge type. It was a good complement for the Haylett RV video. In my opinion, an RV manufacturer shouldn’t install any component (like a fridge or shower) that’s so large it’s impossible to remove without taking out a slide. These issues should be solved by the best design engineers working for the best RV brands. Better to provide smaller, separate refrigeration units: 1 fridge, 1 freezer. Or even 2 fridges rather than 1 huge residential fridge. Doing so may be more expensive in the short-run, but cheaper in the long-run. Ultimately, buyers will decide the issue over time. If/When RVs with residential sized fridges stop selling, smart manufacturers will switch to several smaller units that can be easily swapped for repair. Also, optimizing placement and adding cushion mounts (to help absorb some road vibration) may improve reliability/durability.
Like you I believe that position in the RV makes a big difference. We love ours and have had it for 2 years. Love the ice maker even though it takes a good 12 hours to get a decent amount of ice. Happy Camping!!!!
We have a 2017 Keystone Montana model 3791RD, which has the Samsung residential refer which in our unit is mounted
pretty close to the middle of the RV. We have been to Calif. and back to Pa. over some really rough roads. We have never
had a problem with the refer also our unit would go out the door after removing the doors of the refer. We both are in our
70's so we are always in a RV park. The only problem I have is I cant turn the unit on the night before a trip or it would
drain my two batteries, so the wife makes sure the food that has to be is always frozen the morning we are leaving.
The unit cools down so fast we have never had a problem. Our suspension is the Moryde 3000 system.
Thanks for the info JD. It's a tough subject no doubt, but the 5th wheel I want, my travel plans and being full time, makes the options for me. Always appreciate your knowledge and you greatly inspired me to take this leap. Thank you👍
I guess quality varies throughout time, because I have a 47 year old Royal Dometic on the hot & humid Texas coast, working great, and I keep it on level 4 of 7.
You know what they say, old things were built better!
In an airstream if it doesn’t fit though the door it ain’t going in😂
Residential have a disadvantage while Boondocking, reason why so many non residential are used out West largely is because few of the National parks don’t have hook ups or can’t accommodate units larger than 30 ft. Hence boondocking. I know for a fact slide in truck campers are using 3 way. Largely because of the ability for refrigeration while traveling and refueling. Residential would only work very well for Boondocking
if you have the capacity through solar system with expensive lithium batteries or generator
We have our second rv with LG residential. Only once did we have an issue, easily solved, LG have local service areas their technician came out the following day.
I recognize not everyone has a service center 40 miles away, but best thing to do if you have a problem is get in touch with the maker.
Thinking of a new rv, unfortunately all the big ones appear to come with 12v.
We're in Houston and have had issues with the gas-electric cooking down before trips. Once we're plugged in at the site it does much better. As I can, I'm trying to learn more about 12v fridges so I can have a better understanding of needed battery capacity. It's on the long list for our next trailer.
A very good balanced discussion.
I can't comment on 12V refrigerators, but a lot of RV techs and dealers *LOATHE* residential refrigerators, because of huge problems servicing them. Aside from removing them (which often requires disconnecting a slide), manufacturers often declare that the warranties are voided (take your pick of reasons); and replacement parts take a long time to get. Essentially, any owner with a residential refrigerator that requires service, could result in them being without access to their RV for weeks... or months.
9 times out of 10 a residential fridge can be removed through a window. It's when you see larger residential fridges in Travel Trailers that removing them becomes more of an issue.
@@BigTruckBigRV
Removing a residential refrigerator via a _"window?"_
I'm extremely skeptical.
I live and often camp in Florida and have never had an issue with our 13 yr old gas/electric rv refrigerator. However I do carry a small (1 cu ft) marine 12v fridge freezer just for making ice🧊 for our drinks and coolers while camping.
I wish I had gone with a 12 volt fridge rv. A lot of these semis running up and down the highways have small 2 cu. ft or so 12 volt refrigerators in them. A big dealer in Michigan just put out a video saying they are done specing residential refrigerators in all their trailers they sell. Too many failures and too much work to replace.
I'm in south Louisiana, and i have never experienced our gas/electric fridge not cooling like you described, but i give it overnight for the initial cool down. Also have you seen the latest video from haylett rv on this topic? The biggest thing that sticks in my mind from their video is you cant just go to lowes or wherever and get a new one because it will not fit, it makes it just another part you have to order from dealer
Well, availability is the big issue with Gas Electric fridges as well. However, you can order a residential fridge pretty easily. Case in point, here is the fridge that most people have (would be shipped in less than a week): www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-17-5-cu-ft-french-door-counter-depth-refrigerator-stainless-steel/5801600.p?
I’m in Louisiana too and my gas electric does pretty good. If it gets too hot I just sit my blower on a table and angle it up to blow into the back of the refrigerator. It helps it a lot.
So if I heard and understood the rear kitchen models beat up appliances. I can agree and the back of an RV is the most vibration. My guess is front kitchen is the best for applianced and mid kitchen ok for appliances.
Front or mid
With the debate over residential fridge VS two or three way RV fridge had those ask what type of camping they intend on doing when they plan on using solar and is plugged into shore power over 90% of the time when a residential fridge suits their needs. With those doing a lot of dry camping when a RV fridge made to run on household current along with propane suits their needs. With RV dealerships would not stock units with a rear kitchen when the debate over coach builders building units with a mid kitchen for optimal weight balance when those could be getting out of the RV industry if a residential fridge needs repair when they know the hassle of finding a technician who understands the right to repair when the hassle of removing a slide to get the fridge out.
Residential fridges were never designed to move. Rv dealers won't work on them . Gas/electric have the proble.s you already stated( although with fans added they work better). 12 bolt compresser models work well,were designed for rv/marine, but do use alot of battery power. All have good/bad points.
Arizona here, we mostly boondock and propane is king. 12v really does not work very well and residential would force me to run my generator all the time, which is really inefficient. My 8.5 cube refrigerator will run for over a week on 1 5gal tank and keeps things very cold.
Residential refrigerator are best in a class A diesel pusher due to the air most of them tend to have
We live in southwest Florida. We have a propane, electric refrigerator. We have it in a 5th wheel. We go camping all year here. We have never had a problem with the refrigerator on making sure the rv is level. We keep ice cream in the freezer. It stays nice and frozen.
JD, up north, we have the same issue with gas/electric when it is too cold out. They don't properly cool.
Happen to see another video on this subject matter yesterday posted by a dealer. Part of the video showed that they had to remove the slideout to get the residential refrigerator out of the travel trailer....they stated in the video that they have decided to no longer stock units with residential refrigerators. Another issue brought up in the video was the fact that residential refrigerators have to be serviced/repaired/warrantied by a third party. (Not the RV dealer) Extra people/3rd party involved for repairs/ parts.... Plus trying to coordinate the logistics.... Sounds like a nightmare. No Thanks... I'll stick with my 3 way 🤣
My 2005 Salem 27BHSS originally came with a gas/electric fridge, but over the years someone replaced it with a residential fridge. Which is what we did when we purchased it. Only problem with that is I'm now wanting to go boondocking and we won't be able to use the fridge.
I bought a large Kenmore Elite a few years ago for my sticks and bricks. The compressor went out in less than 2 years and was replaced under warranty, after about 3 weeks waiting for a compressor! And my fridge wasn't bouncing down the road! The repair man told me not to expect any new refrigerator to last over 8 years. So that means we need to plan on replacing the fridge before we plan on retiring the RV.
Saw an article recently where on the west coast almost never have residential refrigerators. Probably because so many boondock.
12v is where its at! In our TT it is about 30% larger than a gas/electric unit that would fit in the same space and it keeps cool very well. No propane burning to worry about and seems pretty efficient.
I would agree, had a 2 year old Norcold start leaking ammonia. It set off the CO2 detector. Had problems with it not staying cold enough. Replaced it with a 12 volt DC GE refrigerator. Better cooling way more space, and about $1000 delivered.
I have been full time for 10 years. Always had gas and electric fridge.This fall I'm gonna change out to a Furrion 12 v. Heard good things about them . I have solar and lithium batteries so I should be good to go. Looking forward to it.
I'd suggest against the Furrion brand. Most manufacturers are dropping them due to issues
Go with the Everchill 12V.. love ours!
@@krisbeaver2901 Never heard of ever chill I'll have to check it out
Once you've had a resedential Refridgeration you will never want a 3 way. My first Class C had a 3 way and I had a hard time making the coach level. Now my phaeton has a Samsung and I love it.
Great video JD! One note, I seen a video where they just took a Sawzall and cut the old broken fridge into 2 smaller pieces. That way it fit out the entry door , no problem. Might be worth considering if getting it out after it fails is the only hang up for some people.
What unit would you suggest for boondocking? This is where I would think the gas/electric would shine as you don’t need to be concerned about the draw on your batteries since you have gas, but you can also plug in at a campground.
A vitrifrigo
Norcold now has 12V refrigerators up to 10 cu. ft. (and the 10cu. ft. replace the 8cu. ft. gas/electric ones in terms of real-estate so you get 25% more capacity). I reached out to them recently to ask if they planned to release 12V versions of their 4-door 12 and 18 cu.ft. Gas/Elec and the response was that they had talked about it but there wasn't any R&D/Engineering going into it at the moment.
When we look to upgrade to a 5th wheel in a couple years, if a 12V version is not available for the 12 or 18cu. ft. fridge, we'll drag it up to Indiana and have the guts replaced with a 12V Compressor system. Also removes any fire risk.
Our current TT has a Gas/Electric fridge and it can't keep the fridge in the 40's after 3-4 hours of driving in 80-90 degree temps and forget a marathon 9 hour trip. The freezer went above 32F and the fridge was up to 68F... That's with it running on gas... What's the point?
The gas/electric also take forever to cool down when you first start them up. Residential units also have much nicer features like temp readings for the fridge and freezer as well as fast cool settings.
The reality is that Gas/Electric fridges are very antiquated by design and WAY overpriced mainly because they aren't produced at near the quantity as Residential fridges. This drives the price UP and allows them to stay very "old fashion" without needing to innovate. Samsung, LG, Whirlpool, Frigidaire and others MUST innovate and make a better product each year to qualify for and maintain Energy Star standards as well extremely strict residential electrical/safety requirements that don't apply to G/E Fridges. It also forces Residential Manufactures to focus on keeping the price affordable since there is so much competition. If Gas/Electric was a popular HOME offering and you had 15 major brands directly competing against each other, you would see a major spike in quality, function, innovation, and at a lower price.
Two things not addressed with residential units. Clearances and heat output. They need at least 1-2" of clearance all around, sides, top and rear. Also the heat gets trapped inside, not vented outside like the gas/electric. That puts more stress on the roof top AC. 12v are the same, heat is pumped inside, not vented. If possible, adding some external ventilation inside the reefer box will help prolong the life of the unit as well as keep it cooler inside the RV.
I live in my 5th wheel RV and I have a 9.9 cu ft Household Fridge in my camper,take off the doors it slides right in and out easily! It can easily store up to a months worth of food in it to feed 2, so unless you are taking an army around with you why would anyone need a huge household fridge? Also I drove trucks many years down some of America's worst highways with a 4.7 cu ft mini fridge that had a top freezer and bottom fridge, It got tossed around shaken rattled rolled etc and in 10 years it never once gave me an issue....
Our old mpg trailer was propane 12volt, I liked the 12 volt for when we were driving, leave the fridge on. Recently on a loner trip my brother in law said just leave the propane on for the fridge whilst driving, so I did and no problems. I'm not sure if want just a residential fridge, the propane has worked for years and don't see he benefit unless as fellow below says, it's in a class A. That's my 2cents good video
Funny video, Trying to pick out a new frig and I live in Utah. But, I grew up in Corpus and watch ya go around my old neighborhood and HS.
My Jayco Humming bird has a G/E I also live in Central / Southern Tx. we usually RV between Austin, San Antonio and Houston we have had fair luck but we also keep a large ice chest for stuff so its less of a hassle if the fridge fails. I may even look into a 12v mini as a possible supplement just have to be mindful of space
Greetings Mr. JD, It is my pleasure to subscribe, I have been a listener for a long time. Thank you for your informative and straight-forward videos. We are in the prepping to launch phase to FT and your information has been invaluable in learning essential information to purchase and be mission-capable in the RV life. This video answered a question I have had on refrigerators, Gas Vs Residential. I live in the same latitude as you do over near Tampa and food temperature is a requirement I place a lot of emphasis on. I will only purchase a residential refrigerator. We have ordered a Dodge 3500 with dual alternators which will provide 5,280 watts of 12 volt power to run an inverter on travel days. This will require special, high-capacity 12 volt wiring, careful fusing and protection and an inverter. Keep up the good work.
Great Video! Great info thanks
I think it’s a bit much to say that gas/electric fridges don’t work in hot climates. Camping this last weekend with temps in the high 90’s and high humidity our gas/electric would freeze items on the top rack if set full cold.
I'd not fully factored in all the climate issues to this area -- great video man. Thanks.
I had a Residential Frig in my trailer didnt like it at all could not keep Temp below 45f i now have a Iceco 12 Volt and love it keeps food much colder.
Ok I have to jump in at the 2:13 mark. You can use a gas/electric fridge IF you have installed the proper cooling fans. That means, in a side type ridge where the upper vent is on the side, fans beneath the condenser. On a thru the roof vent, installed cooling fans under the roof cap of the fridge. Cooling in a cases and all temps is critical, especially Norcold double door units. Also it depends if you park in one spot for extended periods of time. Then maybe a residential one is right for you. But if you like to travel a lot a Rv fridge is best as residential one are not made for the road. Plus getting one fixed is a pia and, in most cases, to replace it requires removing the slide in bigger units. Ok rant over but I work on many fridges and cooling is the biggest issue.
Even with the fans they will struggle down here. Experienced that alot
@@BigTruckBigRV Same here where it is in upper 90's and mid 100, buy if properly installed, it makes a huge difference. Plus getting the right fans instead of the cheap ons helps a lot
@@Cptstokes they made a huge difference when it was 90 degrees outside. They failed to help at all when it was 95-100degrees. We would often go out in the morning and come back around 3 or 4pm and the fridge would be at 55-60 degrees.
For a long time I thought you and Josh from Haylett were the same youtuber.
I think is he in Michigan and I'm in Texas.
12V chest style fridge/freezer combos are popular in the overlanding community. They are basically always boondocking when traveling. A few channels are 4XOverland, Ronny Dahl, Expedition Overland, Overland Bound, Jason Koertge, and Mountain State Overland. I'm certain I misspelled Jason's last name. I'll go find it and come back and edit to correct.
The other thought I have is that given advances in solar, batteries and magnets(DC motors)... are absorption refrigerators living on borrowed time?
So here’s my 2 cents. If someone buys a TT, RV or anything in between. Most people buy a warranty for their RV and if the equipment isn’t covered directly through the manufacturer of the RV it is directly covered by the manufacturer of the appliance. Register all your appliances, save all the receipts and validate your warranties. It’s frustrating to deal with warranty claims but the alternative is pulling into a big box store and purchasing a new appliance out of pocket. If you don’t like either of those 2 options you aren’t ready to RV.
I am friends with Josh Winters at Haylett. I agree with his recent video. For a small town dealership they do huge business; 221 units in June and 150++ in July. Point is they see a lot of business and the service that comes with that. If Josh says to avoid them, I’ll take that as gospel. Exceptions would be class A and Super C diesel on air ride suspensions and I know Josh agrees with that. Bottom line is after many hours of conversation with Josh I can assure you that he/they are looking out for the consumer. I am keeping my eye on the evolution of the 12V fridges. 🤔
Thanks for the informative video, now the decision will be harder but informed. I was also wondering the pro’s and con’s of whisper quiet a/c versus standard style. Have you ever used your decibel meter to gauge the difference? Look forward to your videos.
Funny because Josh Hayley RV just put out a video saying the exact opposite. Leave the residential refrigerator in residences! Guess it’s “to each its own”!!!
I think his video focuses more on the dealerships view of services if the unit has a problem. The RV he shows is a Jayco product with a 21cu ft Whirlpool French Door fridge. It's hard to tell, but it may not be a counter depth unit either since some manufacturers use full depth fridges. Most have switched to Samsung or LG products which are shallower and in some cases permit being removed through the entry door.
@@BigTruckBigRV The Haier 16.4 is a good replacement for the norcold 1200. That's what I put in my camper.
You can always remove the doors on the refrigerator to fit it through the door
That’s what I was wondering but I’m sure if it was that easy, there wouldn’t be such a discussion. Never measured the refrigerator depths but that will be done next shopping trip. I’m sure the sales person will say “no problem”.
@@JW-pp8nj It really depends on the fridge and the door placement
I loved your video. I do wish you would do the pros and cons of residential vs gas electric fridge and what you use each for the most. Ex. Gas electric could be better used for those that boondock vs residential fridge is used for those that stay at RV parks and use shore power.
I did a video on that exact topic about 2 weeks ago
How do you keep a residential cooling while going down the road? Thats what I like about gas it will cool while driving( I know the controversy of this). Then switch to elec when you get there.
Typically the inverter will have the ability draw from your batteries and switch to AC mode when plugged into shore power. Check out this video: ua-cam.com/video/YY_Fi2E002I/v-deo.html
Idk if you have heard of or follow Josh the RV need of Haylett RV, but he just posted a rant video, I think yesterday about residential refrigerators and what it’s like to deal with from a dealers perspective. Pretty interesting for sure, and it makes it difficult on their end to provide a good customer experience.
It's just very time consuming and generally can't be assigned to a single technician.... Something service departments hate.
Biggest issue with Residential refrigerators is the battery power consumption. Not to much of an issue if you are always with full hookup...but WHO does that! :)
Solar, end of problem!
Furrion has a 12v 4-door fridge/freezer with a wine cooler.
Yea but if you are doing a lot of boondocking the full size and the 12volts one take a lot more 12 batter snd solar to be able to use for the amount of time from shore power
I've tested my 12v.. kept 39 fridge, 0 freezer.. on a single deep cycle house battery.. for 43 hours before it started eating beyond the 50% mark. If your running even a basic solar set up, you should be able to boondock easily.
@@krisbeaver2901 I'm sure how you got that number. Forest River says there is good for 15 - 20 hours before it kills the batter and the research I have come about says different 1) 12V DC at 60 Hz Rated current: 2.5 amps. I don't why they are using these instead of the good old 3 way or 2-way refrigerators butt they are.
There's a problem with that statement, maybe check the source. 60 HZ is for 120 VAC NOT DC. The Everchill website lists that fridge
" Voltage: 12V DC at 60 Hz, Rated current: 2.5 amps"
ALSO on their website I found this statement (by a responder NOT Everchill) in response to a question:
For operating a 12V refrigerator you'll want to use a separate dedicated high amp-hour battery. The Everchill Refrigerator # 324-000119 will draw 11-amps per hour, so for example, this unit powered by a 100-Ah battery (with nothing else drawing power from it) will operate for about 9 hours.
ALSO found this response (NOT from Everchill) to a question:
"spoke to my contact at Way Interglobal about the Everchill Refrigerator part # 324-000119. They informed me that upon startup and until the set temperature is reached, the unit will draw 8-9 amps. Once the set temperature is reached, it will draw around 3 amps to remain at this temperature."
ALSO found this response to a question:
The Everchill Refrigerator for RVs # 324-000119 you referenced draws 11 amps under normal operation. That means every hour it would pull 11 amps from your battery bank. So lets say your battery bank is rated for 220 amps (a common RV deep cycle amp rating), that would mean that it would take 20 hours to totally drain it
THEREFORE I CANT SAY FROM HERE how much ENERGY (Volts x Amps x Time) the fridge requires and that depends on ambient temperature,,,,,,,,,,,how much time doors are open or closed,,,,,, the interior load,,,,,,,,,,,,,,your actual needs and use.
@@NYTROeast I can tell you *EXACTLY* how I got that number. I have the fridge in my unit.
The "test" wasn't done intentionally.
The fridge was already at temperature, and about 3/4 full of cold and frozen foods when the power to my RV was pulled and the unit moved inside a repair facility for work on the water heater.
The fridge was NOT opened/closed at all during the down time period.
The whole RV was unplugged for a total of 43 hours before I returned to the unit for the weekend, and the fridge was still operating, but WAS giving off the low voltage beep that it gives.
This is on a single AGM battery without solar. That's how that number was found out.
I've met several people who DO boondock, and have reported numbers very similiar for non-solar applications on AGM, and even farther on LiFePo4.. and even farther still for solar back up options, even using just a basic battery tender extends it quite a bit. These units from Everchill cool quickly, do not have a huge draw once they are cooled, and stay cooled if you have them loaded with cool/frozen items to start. I cannot say this is the same for the Furrion or other 12V manufacturers. I will personally be looking to have one of these in my fifth wheel upgrade in the future, unless a bigger version comes along with similar capabilities, but I'll also be going solar.
I will never have a gas electric again. I don’t boom dock I live in my fifth wheel while I’m working out of town. In hot Kansas and Oklahoma. I have fought my gas/electric for the last 5 years. When I purchase another RV it will have a residential.
Take your RV back for warranty work for anything; learn why nobody enjoys that experience. You might need a spare RV to use while you're waiting for the first one to get fixed.
Sorry, but I disagree with your comment about a gas/electric frig. I live in SW FL with temps over 100 and a 100 percent humidity and our Dometic works perfectly. Thank for the video.
That's awesome. Glad you have had that experience that's been so different from mine and many others.
Haylett RV part two...
I’m baffled as to why more R/V owners have not embraced the marine approach. It is soooo much more efficient than solutions for an R/V. We have a sailboat and a travel trailer, and have been through engineering solar for both. The marine community is way better thought out than the R/V community.
Residential fridge is the loser every time...They don't last in the long run going down the road.
For some. For others they have been extremely reliable.
After having two LG fridges fail, one within warranty, one just out of warranty, and the hassles of getting repairs In the HOME, there is no way I would want one in an RV. Beware of french door ones, they are notorious for failing due to the evaporator designs and especially stay away from anything that has a linear compressor. When the compressor fails, and they do a lot, oil gets pumped into the system clogging the coils, making them impossible to purge and have to also be replaced, and labor is NOT covered! Been there, Done that, twice, no more French Doors for me. Went back to a side by side and have been problem free ever since.
Really interested in the 2021 Keystone Avalanche 339GK.. wondering if you could do a review on that type of RV?
JD I’m also in south Texas, I’m sure you tried the various fans inside and outside your gas/electric refrigerators. Did they not help?
No, they didn't.
After a year and a half I had to take my 5th wheel back to the dealer due to being at Alabama Hills Ca for the fourth of July the furrion gas electric refrig went out so it is getting the cooling unit replaced. Not fun but while it's in there I got a recall and am having that fixed as well. But just informing since you were on the topic of refrigerators. Thanks for the good video..RickM117 stealth pioneer....
You mention the concern about spoiling food, but what if your destination is 17 hours away? What good is a residential fridge in that situation while you are going down the road? RVs are for traveling.
The inverter powering the RV draws from the House batteries which are maintained by the tow vehicle (in most cases). This provides the power to keep the fridge running. Sometimes adding a solar system can also do this. Since residential fridges (per sq ft) are so much less than Gas/Electric, you may be able to get a solar system with your fridge for about the same price.
When you owned the gas electric did you install the titan electric ehaust fan and evap cyrculater fan? I had a problem up in northern wiconsin when it was parked in the sun and 105 degrees. Seem to work after i did the mods . Im wandering you did this mod and was in texas , because it gets quite abit hotter done there and if you did those mods did it work
How did you keep your food cold before you purchased the "residential refrigerator"? Thank you for your information!
Quick question, is a travel trailer with cre 3000 fairly good for residential fridge ? I have had 12volt/ gas for 20 years and tired of the problems. Thanks
Oh, Samsung. It’s not a question of if it will fail, but when....
I'd have to agree since we are replacing the Samsung in our kitchen (sticks and bricks) this weekend
What is your opinion on running any fridge on gas while driving over the road...
You shouldn't, but many do.
What kind of amperage draw do these 12v refrigerators draw? In a "normal" 24 hour period with average use and outside temps ... Many years ago I had a 3 way refer in my slide in camper but rarely used the 12v feature. When I did it really chewed tru the battery quickly. But again that was ~30 years ago.
Good information but no mention of the energy consumption differences between gas/electric and residential, especially dry camping.
That was my previous videos topic 2 weeks ago.
Deal with that even in Nebraska. But it is still pretty dang hot and humid up here. Not a fan of the gas electric
Lol, come to Texas. Happy to share our heat with you. It'll make yours feel like springtime.
Rv fridges DO NOT have compressors. They are absorption systems, basically a heater.
Yep, that's what I said. 12vt and 110vt have compressors
@@BigTruckBigRV The 12 vt/110 rv fridges do not have compressors. I work on a lot rv fridges and Dometic and Norcold rv units do not have compressors. Unless you did a high price upgrade
You need to look at 12V Everchill fridges. They are compressor fridges. There are also compressor swap kits to turn a gas/elec into a 12v.
Great Dane, I’ve looked at several manufacturers’ 12 volt fridges after reading reviews which seemed to favor the “Dan Foss” compressor. Are those not real compressors?
I have a question, I have a 2018 kz sportsman 271ble? Maybe? It's definitely not a gas/electric, and it is definitely not a residential, does that mean i have a 12v? Because I feel like it is always on, even when I'm running down the road...
Is a 12-volt a replacement only? All the trailer specs I look at list either gas/electric or residential. I've yet to find one that listed 12-volt as an option.
Forest River and Keystone come with 12v fridges from the factory. They can also be optioned with the gas/electric. All depends on how its ordered
Everchill makes an 11cf. 12v fridge. I have one and I love it
Just wondering if the style of the RV review videos will change since you got a new camera that is much better and also heavier?
Not at all. My tours and rants will likely be remain unchanged. My special videos where beauty shots and a more cinematic style is needed, it will help. And yes, it's significantly heavier.
Hello, I am a long time subscriber to your channel. I bought a brand new fifth wheel and wanted to hear your thoughts on traveling with propane on to keep the refrigerator cold? Is it safe to do in a new trailer? Any safety tips that you recommend? Thank you for your time. Ryan
Hello, thanks for watching! So... Is it safe? Probably not completely safe. Do people do it? All the time. Why? Because G/E fridges take forever to cool down. Would people do it if their G/E fridges would cool down quicker? Probably not
Every rv company should put the shop under a 15
Week study of refrigerators that way they can not say it is hard
I'd be happy if the APU running the A/C on my brand new 2020 International could perform for 10 hours. It was replaced under warranty at 40K miles and the replacement only runs 6 to 7 hours before dying,...in a black truck,...running 2/3 of the way in Texas,...in the Summer.
Your video didn't address the issue with a residential unit during extended drive times. Say eight hours or more. Is it assumed that a unit with a residential unit will have a generator to keep the fridge working during extended drive times?
Solar and truck 10 amp pin works for me all day.
How much gas does a fridge use? If a fridge runs on gas once you start down the road, how much of your 20 gal propane tank will be left after your 12-16 hour drive?
I'm not one to drive for 5 hours then call it a day, I gots places to be!
Get the tank refilled when you get to the campground if they sell propane.
You should just change the title to "A DIRECT RESPONSE TO HAYLETT RV'S RECENT FRIDGE VIDEO" lol
Actually, this video was a response to viewer suggestions and emails I was flooded with over the last few days. Likey a reaction after viewing his video. I saw his video first the first time yesterday.
which refrig should I get. I live in Wisconsin?
Did you get your new rig? I didn’t see any video?
If you remove the doors from my residential fridge it’ll fit thru my entry door easily
Wish the entrances are wide enough to remove a fridge without cutting