I’ve heard that the Dometic 12V fridges are the most reliable. Hopefully it gives you good service for a long time. I switched to lithium batteries not because we needed them for boondocking but because they are so much lighter than lead acid batteries. I have a bad back and the two 6V batteries we had were really heavy! My back is much happier lugging the LiFePO4 batteries around.
This fridge was great for about a year. Now every few months it quits working without notice or reason and dometic refuses up help because they can't get it to repli the issue and they think it's fine. Next time it does it, it's getting replaced with a residential fridge since we have plenty of solar and lithium battery now
I have a 12 volt ever chill in ours and would never go back, there's not even a good discussion for not doing it. You will love this thing, its amazing how little things can mean so much in a RV.
Often times the old fridge had to come out the front windshield of a Class A MH, crazy! I added a pair of Battleborn batteries to our 2017 Lance Travel Trailer because we dry camped for 6 months camp hosting in Colorado. Fortunately, the residual heat from the batteries inside the group-27 battery box gave a couple extra degrees of protection, but I never had the BMS shut us down for charging due to the cold in the mornings. We typically had 66% battery capacity left in the morning so if the BMS shut us down due to the batteries seeing 20 deg F we still had plenty of capacity to run our furnace or all of the appliance 12-volt loads until the sun came out to warm the batteries up to 34 deg F so the BMS would reconnect. If we had to camp host longer than October, I would have sprung for the heated batteries but didn't feel the extra cost was worth it and we did just fine at 20 deg F to 90+, etc. I did change out the converter charger at $180 and I also added a second Victron 25-amp charger to boost as frankly, the RV converter charger needs to be located much closer to the batteries as that 6-gauge wire set is way too small to get a realistic 50-amps from it. I did not install a DC-DC charger on my truck because our RV roof on-board solar always gets the batteries full again during our excursions as long as we don't let the batteries get too crazy low. We carry a Champion 3400-watt generator that we power with propane so it has been a dream to own. This setup will have to do until Dave Middleton gives me a deal we can't refuse, complete with the mandatory Wagner upgrade package on a new Wraith 32W, LOL. ;-) I understand the Triumph is not eligible for the factory Liquid Springs option, which is crazy because they are supposed to be sister products. When we do upgrade to the Wraith I will try to set aside money for the Air seats and such. ;-) Cheers, David & Sheila
We camp in 0 degree weather and don't think the lithium batteries would like that so much haha just went a safer, more affordable route for now. We could have removed the fridge through the passenger seat if we would have removed the chair but just went this way instead. They glued this thing in HARD so just taking off the trim and doors messed it up and we were going to let Dave Fitch take the parts he needed to fix his gas fridge anyway so no point in keeping it in perfect condition haha I'm just happy the new one went in as easily as it did!👏🏻😁 Keep trying for the Wagner package on that triumph! And yes the super c triumph ARE eligible for liquid spring from factory order but we tell people to schedule it after purchase because it's so much cheaper that way but can't be rolled into a loan if you'd rather do that route.
We made the same refrigerator change in our 5th wheel. Ice cubes will freeze in less than an hour! A few comments about the install: It was much harder getting the old one out than putting the new one in. We didn’t have to pull it apart to fit through the door, but it still was a pain in the rear. The new one slid right in the opening. I used the original wiring and that was a mistake. It didn’t work very well until we added new heavier wire. Luckily, we didn’t harm the fridge. We swapped out our AGM 6 volts (and am giving them to our son for his 5th wheel) for two 206 AH lithiums (SOK marine). We have a LiFePO4 charger so that wasn’t a problem. We added a second solar panel (Go Power Overlanders - 190 watts each) We haven’t boon docked, but will do it some next year. I totally agree with your choice for AGM in your situation. Our problem was weight. I’m nearly maxed out and by swapping out the batteries and adding the solar I’m at a net loss of weight by 18 pounds. It’s not much but every little bit helps. Do yourself a huge favor, buy a battery monitor. They run from $75 (Renergy) to $160 (Go Power) and are worth every penny. They’re incredible easy to install, other than running the wire through the walls. You could probably put yours on the backside of your battery bay - easy/peasy. Then you’ll know how much power you are using and how much you need. Right now you run your generator when you think you need to, with a monitor you’ll know. One last warning to anyone who is thinking about this upgrade (and has read this far). The Dometic door is THICK! We didn’t about it when we installed it…, and then we pulled out slide in. Yikes! It cleared the island by less than 1/4 inch. When driving down the road it will actually lightly bump the island. We put a refrigerator magnet to cover the scratches on the door and protect it from further damage. Great video, happy camping!
We wish we didn't have to take it apart to get it out but our entry door seems skinnier than others unfortunately. Luckily the old one was removed and the new one went in pretty easily! Loving these upgrades so far though. Thanks for the comment!👍🏻
I’m gonna sound old saying this but I’m 36 so I’m getting there that’s a good looking fridge! Also, the lighting inside the fridge is very very very very good. I like good lighting in all situations I need light because I have zero night vision.
We will be boondocking this weekend! First time in this RV. Hoping the weather is cool enough to no need the generator much. We need to get some new AGM batteries soon. Nice new 12 volt fridge!
Oh fun! Hopefully weather is good for that. We are supposed to get a freeze this weekend here finally. The nice thing about this fridge swap is the back of the fridge is accessable through the panel on the outside. I guess having a RV fridge and changing to 12v is worth something lol
Hey guys. I am Chipper’s Island Adventures. Love the 12V Fridge. I own an Entegra Odyssey 24B and it came with a single 12v unknown AH battery. My tray accommodated a VMAX SLR 200 AH. Love it. I put it in in June ‘21 and so far it’s great. All the best!
Good to hear! We have high hopes for these batteries. We just didn't feel like doing all of the other lithium upgrades right now. So far everything has been awesome!
@@WanderingWagners You went thru the same thought process I did. Too many things to change out to consider lithium. The s there’s the cost vs. whether it’s worth it. All the best!
Here a thought: cut a hole in the back of the new fridge, add a door and you have an indoor outdoor beer fridge. Actually I had an Everchill 12v for 2 years loved it. Now our 2023 Wraith 34 has the GE 12v fridge. Only thing is need to ad the latch. Major plus no more propane fire hazard. Cools fast and COLD! My estimate is 55 AH per day when ambient is 70’s.
We have an Everchill 10.6 cubic inch 12V fridge that came from the factory. Absolutely love it. Turn it on, go shopping, and by the time we are ready to hitch up its cold. You are going to love the difference. Nice looking magnets on that brand new fridge. Looks like we made the “A” list 😂. Enjoy that new fridge!
We are loving the larger space inside! We can fit so much more inside, it's crazy! Easier maintenance since we never shut ours off but the speed it gets to temp is pretty impressive! Haha yep you guys definitely made the magnet cut 😂
@@matsulli2086 5 years now and it’s still purring along great. We keep the camper in storage so I turn it on, go grocery shopping, and in two hours it’s cold. Very little battery drain under four hours. We are pleased with our 12V Everchill fridge!
The difference is ours is on 24/7 so if yours messes up there's a good chance you'll never know with occasional weekend trips of it being turned on and off after every trip
You will like the 12 volt fridge. The full solar and lithium is more of a choice because you will never get your money back, it is a luxury item if you can afford it and do some Daniel Boonedocking it is nice. Many people go with generators and even with the current damaging price the generator will be cheaper for years. We used to camp and go offroading for weeks at a time and never had the solar or lithium and we made it. Now if it was free or cheap of course I would like it. We have solar and AGM batteries at home. Hope you guys stay safe and healthy.
So true! We will likely add a small solar system just to support the fridge if needed but nothing major like most people do. Our generator is rather efficient and quiet so we have no problem running that if we need it. So far everything has been great, thanks for watching😁
I can see the advantages to the 12 volt refrigerator, but I can also see the advantage to the RV refrigerator for dry camping like you said. As for the batteries I replaced mine too. If you are having trouble with those pop rivets in the battery tray wearing holes in your battery case the brown plastic shims they sell at the big box home improvement stores work will to keep the rivets away from your battery. The end of the rivets fit in the little holes in the shims which you can also used to keep your batteries centered in the tray. Good luck with the new fridge and keep the good stuff coming.
Yeah we like the RV fridge but really wanted more space inside. We can fit so much more in there without cramming things haha so far, one of our favorite upgrades to date
I enjoyed the common sense you displayed when discussing AGM verses Lithium Batteries. Your comment concerning the expense and additional parts need to support Lithium/Solar is spot on!!! Like you I just replaced my flooded house batteries with two MightyMax 12V 100Ah batteries. 99% of my camping in my Class B is done with hookups. Coupled with my AGM batteries and 2.8kw Onan generator I have plenty of power. By the way your pumpkin pie looked amazing!!
Thank you! We were actually expecting a lot of "backlash" regarding us not going with lithium but so far it's been the opposite, which was refreshing. And the pie was delicious!😋🥧
@@WanderingWagners glad the responses have been positive. Your comments made total sense. It really comes down to how you camp. I’ll look forward to sharing pie with you guys some day!!
I have been toying with the idea of going with a 12v fridge. It seems so much easier. I will be watching for updates. I have a 12v fridge cooler and it is very efficient. I also had AGM batteries. They were fantastic but heavy as hell. you won't be dissappointed.
We've had it a few weeks now and it's been awesome so far! We are going to be doing more upgrades in the near future as well. We are excited to see how the AGM batteries do with this setup
I too purchased a 12 V cooler, it was to back up my LP fridge that would frequently give me issues. I love the 12 V cooler so much. It pushed me over the edge to get a 12 V fridge! Now I use the cooler constantly at home for parties or extra fridge/freezer space, no more ice! Keeps the beer ice cold, without having wet bottles and cans! Highly recommend as a back up or for any use!
@@johnc3225 we have been using ours the same way. It has been running outside on the patio since we got it. I agree I'm strongly considering replacing the RVs fridge with a 12v.
I have always used 12v fridges in my campers going all the back to my 87 rockwood pop-up. Never had issues with them. My 2004 jayfeather hybrid still has the original fridge. No issues. I do use good batteries and a solar panel. Or leave it plugged in. My 2014 rex still has the original. No issues. It does take a while to cool down. To each his own guess. We're not full timers though. Something to consider.
We had no issues with our absorption fridge either other than it needed defrosted often and would freeze certain items like eggs and produce. We really just wanted more space and to have the compressor fridge. It served us well while we had it but it was time to upgrade. If you're happy with yours that's even better!😁👏🏻
Again I did the same AGM upgrade too! I also had same thoughts and issues as you! But I also have a 3,000 what hour solar Gen to back up my AGM! Also see what the cutoff voltage is for your refrigerator compressor, mine is 10.6 some fridges are much higher. That’s where lithiums come in handy, voltage stays high across their discharge!
@@WanderingWagners also something else I found out about a AGM’s the voltage, when fully charged, is slightly higher than a lead acid. Not a big deal really, but the AGM’s never get fully charged when you have the old style converter/charger like we do. The only fix I could do was throwing 200 W of solar on my roof with an MPPT charge controller that actually has settings to charge AGM. At least when the sun shining I’ll bring it all the way up it’s proper charging voltage. Not fully charging a battery can cause sulfation. (Sulfated) which shortens the life of the battery.
And putting solar on, isn’t the only fix, obviously, you can change your converter charger. But I was pre-wired for solar. It was very simple to do. And now I got the benefits of some extra power coming in. Also, your battery, isolation solenoid will charge your house batteries off your alternator however, those voltage settings, (on BIS), might not even be high enough to fully charge an AGM either! Like you said it never ends, to really do it right you have to change a bunch of components and spend so much money! And if you camp like we do, it’s just not worth it at this point.
I’m with you regarding Lithium. Mainly because I’m not a dry camping person. I love having full hookups and I don’t see that changing (I’m 61) so yeah, I’m a glamper. Lol. Please tell Guy and Piper “Hello” and give them some pets for me. I missed his crying so I’d have to give the video a 9.5. 🤣😂 🐾❤️🐾
We enjoy dry camping and boondocking but we just don't get to do it enough to justify the cost of a lithium system. It's crazy! Especially when we have a generator on board. We might add a little solar with the new fridge but that's about it. You didn't get to see Guy cry but trust us, he did😂
We bought a Dometic 4101 in Sept. and its already quit. Called Dometic and we got a smart ass for a C/S rep. SHE wouldn't listen to me all she could say was its a voltage issue. Carried it to a RV repair that was qualified Dometic repair facility. It was diagnosed with a faulty Fan motor. No voltage issue as the witch keep screeching
Have you seen our latest video where we talk about our fridge?? That must be the dometic script to say it's a voltage issue. They kept telling us that was it and we kept saying no it's not... We checked that and it was fine🤦🏼♀️
Just a note: you can put the LiFe batteries inside the coach which you cannot do with FLA. our new Wraith has a larger battery tray but doesn’t roll out. You are right about the reasons for investing in Lithium. If you don’t dry camp the extra cost just doesn’t pay. Although LiFe will charge faster when using the generator. I ran our 12v Everchill and the previous TT with a GE Residential on an inverter using a pair of Trojan T105’s. Gave me 2 easy days of power without running the generator or going past the 50% drawdown. And they lasted 7 years.
We do love dry camping and boondocking but we don't do it enough to justify the costs. We will probably add a little solar but just fort little stuff. We like using our generator when needed
@@matsulli2086 I am on my second one. This first one started to slowly get warmer and warmer over time. I I found that if i turned it off for a week and started it back up it would cool better but still wasn't great. Dometic warrantied it but claimed the new one would not be under warranty. I had to fight them and at the end of the day I have a new one with a new warranty.
Good choice not going with lithium unless you really need to for health issues. When going lithium, just about everything must be changed out and it's a massive undertaking and extremely expensive. My wife has health issues. So in our 2017 Navion, I re-engineered and installed six battleborn batteries and six 100 watt solar panels plus the ability to connect five additional solar panels on the aux port. All new wiring due to increased amps. We have the Victron suite and love it. Took me 3 months from start to finish.
Lithium just isn't worth it to us right now. We can always go there if we want in the future but for now I don't see that happening anyone soon. Sounds like a great system you have though! Enjoy👏🏻😁
This is not intended as a mean spirited reply... The accountant in me could not make a good argument for lithium batteries over the last 6 years. With our recent new tt I did go LIPo4 . I got 2- 100 Amp/hr . One is a smart/ heated and one is a standard. If it gets below 32 I switch off the "dumb" one or just do not charge it. We do Boondock about 50-70%. 6 years ago they would have ran me ~$3k. Today $775 for both. 2 'dumb' ones would be ~$600. I now have ~ 180 -190 useable amps, all with no voltage drop. My 225 amp golf carts gave me ~ 112 useable amps (50% discharge) and a dropping voltage. I lost ~90#'s of weight as well. I'm surprised for a newer upper end RV you can not toggle the converter/charger between LA & LIPo4. I can toggle between the two chemistries. BTW you do not have to change out your charger. The down side is you'll only charge LI up to ~80-85%%. You still end up with more useable power. Currently you have ~100amp's; (2 batteries x 100amps x 50%discharge ) vs 2 LIPO4 = 2 x100 x 80% (non Li charger) x 90% discharge = 144 amps.
As mentioned, we could go a different route in the future but for now we just wanted to get better batteries to assist with the 12v fridge. We have a generator for everything else if needed so it just didn't make sense right now.
Wonderful fridge video. I would love to get one but our 2 way still works. I need newer batteries too. I added one when our toy hauler was new 4 years ago. They are getting weak now. Oh, we are still running the Westinghouse 2500 we got from you. It runs our AC well with the Micro Air Easy Start. Hope to see you at Maumee Bay sometime. Beep when you go by our place on Norden Rd.
Thanks! Our fridge still worked but we really wanted the 12v for the space and to stop having to defrost it so much since we never shut it off and travel almost constantly. We'll beep next time we go by if we can remember and it's still light out haha
Ten cubic feet is still way too small for us. The newer Ghosts now come with a 21 cubic foot residential! We've had the 2-way and 12v and actually prefer residential for several reasons but hey, everyone likes something different.
Hey, the one RV I had the refrig died and they had to remove the front windshield to get the old one out and the new one in. I would never go back to 3 way frig again. I ran the water lines to the basement below and have a tray with 6 gallon water bottles and pump on 2 of them for water in the door and lce maker. Your Ice Cream will stay better in this frig than the 3 ways.
Like your chose for the batteries, I can see your reasoning for this type of battery with the amp hours, and lets talk money, the price is great, I jus paid 350.00 dollars each for lead cord 6 volts batteries and we need 4 of them to build our 4000 watt 120 volt solar system. I also know a bunch of people that viewing your video as they were looking for new RV frig.
I think the 12v fridges are the way to go room like a residential but convenient like the gas electric. Unfortunately the new trailer we are looking at does not have 12v as an option. I have not seen a 12v in double wide yet
Love the horn!! We put up our rig for the winter 😢. Hoping to run into you again next year. I want to have y’all to the camp site for “Chuck” burgers. We should probably plan that.
There is no hole there. That was from the cover that's on the outside that every RV has with a LP/electric fridge. It's for venting, electric lines and gas lines access. We just removed the cover to cap the gas line and run bigger wire for the fridge then put the cover back on👍🏻
A video I saw a few years back indicated that Lithium batteries should be in the heated and air conditioned part of the RV. That is, in the living quarters, not underneath.
They can't bed charged in below freezing temps which is another reason why we didn't go lithium (as mentioned). We didn't want to have to move them inside or buy heated ones.
That's nice! We actually like that we swapped it out because if we need to get to the back of the fridge we don't have to pull it out because we have the access panel from the RV fridge on the outside. Congratulations on the new rig!
Thank you! It's probably one of our favorite interior upgrades to date. So much more space inside! Thank you for subscribing👏🏻😁 we'd love to run into you on the road too
Yeah that doesn't sound too efficient for you unfortunately. We are loving this upgrade so far! Plus we have the easy access panel on the outside still haha
I thought they just have parts for fridges and not the actual fridges. Like they can supply parts for dometic and norcold but not the whole fridge etc.
I did the same on my class C! Only I bought a GE 12 V much less than at the medical other Norcold 12Volt!. I feel the same way don’t know why you would invert to make 12 V when it’s already there!
I’ll be testing it out on our way to Florida from northeast Pennsylvania right after Thanksgiving! We went shopping for all of our provisions, my wife is still shopping like we have the old 7 ft.³ fridge! So I went out today and bought a 12 pack for the ride south! Filling it up!
You mentioned that we don't have a lot of boondocking in our area okay I'm not sure on Ohio but Michigan and that's right up the road from you guys in state parks or State Forest you can camp just like they do boondock and they don't call The boondock in here though but you have to find out in a certain areas I know we go up to West Branch West Branch Michigan and we boondock up there and there's a lot of other places in the upper peninsula also
That's dry camping which we mentioned we can do. Dry camping is camping without hookups at a designated camping area. Boondocking is out at a random place for free that you can just pull over and camp on. If that makes sense. We do dry camp and love it but most places are campgrounds with electric.
Don't have a 12V fridge yet but thinking of upgrading those batteries when it's time. The 12V would be great to get away from leveling when just staying overnight! Freedom!!! Totally agree with your way of thinking about Solar and/or Lithium upgrades vs the heavy AGMs. Would love to hear from you guys what the new fridge is drawing !
We are loving the new 12v fridge! So much space haha we will everyone know how it does on power but we boondocked recently and only ran the generator minimally and didn't notice a huge draw. We will try to pay more attention let report back haha
Was thinking about a 12v compressor refrig to one day replace our 2003 Dometic 10 cu ft refrig when it dies but according to the manufacture you may need to upgrade the 12 volt wires to a larger size we're going to put in a Magic Chef or Visanni 10.1 120 v refrig(349-399.00) on an psw inverter. Its not that inefficient to convert the 12 v to 120 v via inverter. You lose maybe 10%. We run our 2003 Dometic on 120v via inverter while preparing to leave(hooking up tow car after unplugging from home or campground power and while traveling. Works great. How much was that 12v dc Dometic. Did you need to run larger 12v wires? Thanks, safe travels.
So how is the Fridge doing today? As you have 1 year under your belt. We just bought a new rv with a 12 volt Fridge and we find it a energy sucker. Same brand but 8 quick feet.
It still works most of the time. We've had on and off issues with it the last 6-9 months where it will just stop working with an error but eventually comes back on. Does it every few months so we just have to keep a close eye on it. Eventually we will probably trade it out for a residential because we have a lot more solar and battery power now than when we first got this fridge
was wondering when check temps in lower section what was temps on freezer?? what did you have to do to make the fit tight to prevent air flow from the outside louvered door or how did you handle air flow for the compressor, condenser to work.
We didn't have a thermometer in the freezer but it was always colder than the fridge. We added insulation behind the louvred door and it's been working great
Great video! It's been a year and you had one video where you had concerns about the fridge. I'm researching 12v fridge models and 12v vs residential. What are your thoughts? We boondock like you all do so really prefer 12v.
If you have the solar and battery capabilities, go residential if you plan to have it on 24/7 like we do. Our 12v isn't reliable and every few months turns off randomly without reason. Has done that right after the warranty ran out. Luckily we caught it fast the last 2 times it did it and we were able to get it back on before anything went bad. That wasn't the case in previous instances.
???? Hi Mike, I know about home refrigerators not working in a cold environment. They won’t run in my detached garage in the winter. Does your new 12v have an operating range and is it good to go in winter without you having to insulate the outer wall.
How much do you guys actually boondock? Most of the videos I remember looked like you had full hookups. That means you weren't running your fridge off 12v but 120v being passed through from your hookups. Unless your system is way different from every other RV system out there it doesn't convert from 12v unless you are not plugged in.
We boondock often at family property, and have a a bunch while traveling. We almost never have fhu but most places do have power. That's why we said that in the video on why we didn't go lithium etc.
I have a 12 volt refrigerator and my travel trailer I pull out my 50 amp cable reduce it to 110 and it keeps my refrigerator going through the battery and inverter
We never hear the fridge running. I can't recall ever hearing it unless we stand outside the RV near the vent and listen for it... Or when you open the door and it's running. Very quiet!
We have a 7 cubic foot Dometic fridge, (with doors that we also put magnetic signs on.) Does Dometic make a retrofit for their different sizes? I have so much trouble keeping the inversion fridge at a constant temp, (constantly either too cold or too warm,) we're really thinking about doing this to our coach too!
We just went online and looked at the dimensions and compared it to the size of the space in the RV and this one was practically a perfect fit. Just need a trim kit now. We highly recommend it so far! Nothing has froze and nothing has been too warm.
We've had it for 1.5 years and overall it's been good HOWEVER we can't in good faith recommend this fridge anymore. Once we hit the 1 year mark, it started having problems... Coincidentally the warranty is only 1 year. Dometic has been no help because the issues are intermittent so they say they can't determine what the problem is... And say there isn't a problem. Every few months it will stop working without reason and we end up losing a fridge full of food. Next time it happens (which should be soon based on past occurrences every few months) we will probably replace it with a residential model since we have solar and batteries now to support it. ua-cam.com/video/suoKprH6uaI/v-deo.htmlsi=OirMuwI5EjKvDE3s
I think you answered my earlier question. That's so unfortunate, the last two RV shows I went to over 3/4 of the rigs had 12v fridges. I've yet to find an RV tech that will recommend them.
Our fresh water tank and lines are all inside the RV, and the black and gray tanks are in the wet bay and we have a space heater mounted there and it keeps it well above freezing
Hey, With your winter camping you would have to change a lot in the battery compartment and update chargers and other stuff. Lithium's don't like cold. I would add more solar panels on roof. I would put a backup heater in the battery bay. AGM Discharge at -14F so if its in the teens I would heat the area up to at least 68deg. AGM run good at 68Degs. check out this channel for heating RV and Battery compartment ua-cam.com/video/CGalqQvmYx8/v-deo.html
Oh no! Not a 12 volt. No no no. Terriable breakdown record during first year. Mobile RV mechanics won’t come to work on them, repair parts not available and multi fridge replacements. Might by a foam ice chest and plan on stopping for ice.
I have a 12 volt fridge in my travel trailer and when I'm not using it I have it hooked up to my 50 amp downsize to 110 keeps my refrigerator going by charging the battery with the inverter
THAT MUSIC IS FANTASTIC I SEEN THE FINCHS PROGRUM MADE AN APPEARANCE I HAVENT SEEN ANY NEW PROGRUMS FROM THAT OUTFIT
They might be putting out a new video soon! Thanks for the music compliment
Very nice what a huge upgrade! Looks nice as well.
Thank you! We've had it a few weeks now and it's been awesome😍
I’ve heard that the Dometic 12V fridges are the most reliable. Hopefully it gives you good service for a long time. I switched to lithium batteries not because we needed them for boondocking but because they are so much lighter than lead acid batteries. I have a bad back and the two 6V batteries we had were really heavy! My back is much happier lugging the LiFePO4 batteries around.
This fridge was great for about a year. Now every few months it quits working without notice or reason and dometic refuses up help because they can't get it to repli the issue and they think it's fine. Next time it does it, it's getting replaced with a residential fridge since we have plenty of solar and lithium battery now
I have a 12 volt ever chill in ours and would never go back, there's not even a good discussion for not doing it. You will love this thing, its amazing how little things can mean so much in a RV.
So far you're absolutely correct! In the few weeks we've had it, there's no going back haha
Often times the old fridge had to come out the front windshield of a Class A MH, crazy!
I added a pair of Battleborn batteries to our 2017 Lance Travel Trailer because we dry camped for 6 months camp hosting in Colorado. Fortunately, the residual heat from the batteries inside the group-27 battery box gave a couple extra degrees of protection, but I never had the BMS shut us down for charging due to the cold in the mornings. We typically had 66% battery capacity left in the morning so if the BMS shut us down due to the batteries seeing 20 deg F we still had plenty of capacity to run our furnace or all of the appliance 12-volt loads until the sun came out to warm the batteries up to 34 deg F so the BMS would reconnect. If we had to camp host longer than October, I would have sprung for the heated batteries but didn't feel the extra cost was worth it and we did just fine at 20 deg F to 90+, etc. I did change out the converter charger at $180 and I also added a second Victron 25-amp charger to boost as frankly, the RV converter charger needs to be located much closer to the batteries as that 6-gauge wire set is way too small to get a realistic 50-amps from it. I did not install a DC-DC charger on my truck because our RV roof on-board solar always gets the batteries full again during our excursions as long as we don't let the batteries get too crazy low. We carry a Champion 3400-watt generator that we power with propane so it has been a dream to own. This setup will have to do until Dave Middleton gives me a deal we can't refuse, complete with the mandatory Wagner upgrade package on a new Wraith 32W, LOL. ;-) I understand the Triumph is not eligible for the factory Liquid Springs option, which is crazy because they are supposed to be sister products. When we do upgrade to the Wraith I will try to set aside money for the Air seats and such. ;-) Cheers, David & Sheila
We camp in 0 degree weather and don't think the lithium batteries would like that so much haha just went a safer, more affordable route for now.
We could have removed the fridge through the passenger seat if we would have removed the chair but just went this way instead. They glued this thing in HARD so just taking off the trim and doors messed it up and we were going to let Dave Fitch take the parts he needed to fix his gas fridge anyway so no point in keeping it in perfect condition haha I'm just happy the new one went in as easily as it did!👏🏻😁
Keep trying for the Wagner package on that triumph! And yes the super c triumph ARE eligible for liquid spring from factory order but we tell people to schedule it after purchase because it's so much cheaper that way but can't be rolled into a loan if you'd rather do that route.
That fridge looks awesome! Like it was made that way. Nice upgrade.
I know! It matches so well
We made the same refrigerator change in our 5th wheel. Ice cubes will freeze in less than an hour!
A few comments about the install: It was much harder getting the old one out than putting the new one in. We didn’t have to pull it apart to fit through the door, but it still was a pain in the rear. The new one slid right in the opening. I used the original wiring and that was a mistake. It didn’t work very well until we added new heavier wire. Luckily, we didn’t harm the fridge.
We swapped out our AGM 6 volts (and am giving them to our son for his 5th wheel) for two 206 AH lithiums (SOK marine). We have a LiFePO4 charger so that wasn’t a problem. We added a second solar panel (Go Power Overlanders - 190 watts each) We haven’t boon docked, but will do it some next year. I totally agree with your choice for AGM in your situation. Our problem was weight. I’m nearly maxed out and by swapping out the batteries and adding the solar I’m at a net loss of weight by 18 pounds. It’s not much but every little bit helps.
Do yourself a huge favor, buy a battery monitor. They run from $75 (Renergy) to $160 (Go Power) and are worth every penny. They’re incredible easy to install, other than running the wire through the walls. You could probably put yours on the backside of your battery bay - easy/peasy. Then you’ll know how much power you are using and how much you need. Right now you run your generator when you think you need to, with a monitor you’ll know.
One last warning to anyone who is thinking about this upgrade (and has read this far). The Dometic door is THICK! We didn’t about it when we installed it…, and then we pulled out slide in. Yikes! It cleared the island by less than 1/4 inch. When driving down the road it will actually lightly bump the island. We put a refrigerator magnet to cover the scratches on the door and protect it from further damage.
Great video, happy camping!
We wish we didn't have to take it apart to get it out but our entry door seems skinnier than others unfortunately.
Luckily the old one was removed and the new one went in pretty easily! Loving these upgrades so far though. Thanks for the comment!👍🏻
Just ordered mine today. Can’t wait to install it. I hated the absorption reefer and so excited it finally died lol
Awesome! We are still very happy with this fridge. Well worth it!👏🏻
I’m gonna sound old saying this but I’m 36 so I’m getting there that’s a good looking fridge! Also, the lighting inside the fridge is very very very very good. I like good lighting in all situations I need light because I have zero night vision.
You're definitely right about that! The lighting inside is so much better than the old one.
Plus we really like how they match now
You will love the 12 volt fridge. We had it in our last travel trailer and it did a great job. Even while boon docking over night.
So far we are so happy we made the change. So much room for everything! It did well wren we boondocked recently as well (that video is forthcoming)
We will be boondocking this weekend! First time in this RV. Hoping the weather is cool enough to no need the generator much. We need to get some new AGM batteries soon. Nice new 12 volt fridge!
Oh fun! Hopefully weather is good for that. We are supposed to get a freeze this weekend here finally.
The nice thing about this fridge swap is the back of the fridge is accessable through the panel on the outside. I guess having a RV fridge and changing to 12v is worth something lol
Hey guys. I am Chipper’s Island Adventures. Love the 12V Fridge. I own an Entegra Odyssey 24B and it came with a single 12v unknown AH battery. My tray accommodated a VMAX SLR 200 AH. Love it. I put it in in June ‘21 and so far it’s great. All the best!
Good to hear! We have high hopes for these batteries. We just didn't feel like doing all of the other lithium upgrades right now. So far everything has been awesome!
@@WanderingWagners You went thru the same thought process I did. Too many things to change out to consider lithium. The s there’s the cost vs. whether it’s worth it. All the best!
Totally agree with you on the AGM Batteries 👍👍👍
Thank you!! It's been refreshing to hear that. We expected many opposite comments so we really appreciate it
Here a thought: cut a hole in the back of the new fridge, add a door and you have an indoor outdoor beer fridge.
Actually I had an Everchill 12v for 2 years loved it. Now our 2023 Wraith 34 has the GE 12v fridge. Only thing is need to ad the latch. Major plus no more propane fire hazard. Cools fast and COLD! My estimate is 55 AH per day when ambient is 70’s.
Haha fun thought
We have an Everchill 10.6 cubic inch 12V fridge that came from the factory. Absolutely love it. Turn it on, go shopping, and by the time we are ready to hitch up its cold. You are going to love the difference. Nice looking magnets on that brand new fridge. Looks like we made the “A” list 😂. Enjoy that new fridge!
We are loving the larger space inside! We can fit so much more inside, it's crazy! Easier maintenance since we never shut ours off but the speed it gets to temp is pretty impressive!
Haha yep you guys definitely made the magnet cut 😂
Hey Boondockin, how's that Everchill after one year now? I'm considering a 12v but I keep hearing about mixed results.
@@matsulli2086 5 years now and it’s still purring along great. We keep the camper in storage so I turn it on, go grocery shopping, and in two hours it’s cold. Very little battery drain under four hours. We are pleased with our 12V Everchill fridge!
The difference is ours is on 24/7 so if yours messes up there's a good chance you'll never know with occasional weekend trips of it being turned on and off after every trip
You will like the 12 volt fridge. The full solar and lithium is more of a choice because you will never get your money back, it is a luxury item if you can afford it and do some Daniel Boonedocking it is nice. Many people go with generators and even with the current damaging price the generator will be cheaper for years. We used to camp and go offroading for weeks at a time and never had the solar or lithium and we made it. Now if it was free or cheap of course I would like it. We have solar and AGM batteries at home. Hope you guys stay safe and healthy.
So true! We will likely add a small solar system just to support the fridge if needed but nothing major like most people do.
Our generator is rather efficient and quiet so we have no problem running that if we need it. So far everything has been great, thanks for watching😁
I can see the advantages to the 12 volt refrigerator, but I can also see the advantage to the RV refrigerator for dry camping like you said. As for the batteries I replaced mine too. If you are having trouble with those pop rivets in the battery tray wearing holes in your battery case the brown plastic shims they sell at the big box home improvement stores work will to keep the rivets away from your battery. The end of the rivets fit in the little holes in the shims which you can also used to keep your batteries centered in the tray. Good luck with the new fridge and keep the good stuff coming.
Yeah we like the RV fridge but really wanted more space inside. We can fit so much more in there without cramming things haha so far, one of our favorite upgrades to date
I was considering on going with a 12 volt fridge when I purchased my camper but wasn't 100 percent decided. Looks like a great upgrade.
We have been loving this upgrade! Granted we knew we would be doing some solar to support it as well but overall we'd definitely do this again
I enjoyed the common sense you displayed when discussing AGM verses Lithium Batteries.
Your comment concerning the expense and additional parts need to support Lithium/Solar is spot on!!!
Like you I just replaced my flooded house batteries with two MightyMax 12V 100Ah batteries.
99% of my camping in my Class B is done with hookups. Coupled with my AGM batteries and 2.8kw Onan generator I have plenty of power.
By the way your pumpkin pie looked amazing!!
Thank you! We were actually expecting a lot of "backlash" regarding us not going with lithium but so far it's been the opposite, which was refreshing.
And the pie was delicious!😋🥧
@@WanderingWagners glad the responses have been positive. Your comments made total sense. It really comes down to how you camp.
I’ll look forward to sharing pie with you guys some day!!
I have been toying with the idea of going with a 12v fridge. It seems so much easier. I will be watching for updates. I have a 12v fridge cooler and it is very efficient. I also had AGM batteries. They were fantastic but heavy as hell. you won't be dissappointed.
We've had it a few weeks now and it's been awesome so far! We are going to be doing more upgrades in the near future as well. We are excited to see how the AGM batteries do with this setup
I too purchased a 12 V cooler, it was to back up my LP fridge that would frequently give me issues. I love the 12 V cooler so much. It pushed me over the edge to get a 12 V fridge! Now I use the cooler constantly at home for parties or extra fridge/freezer space, no more ice! Keeps the beer ice cold, without having wet bottles and cans! Highly recommend as a back up or for any use!
@@johnc3225 we have been using ours the same way. It has been running outside on the patio since we got it. I agree I'm strongly considering replacing the RVs fridge with a 12v.
I have always used 12v fridges in my campers going all the back to my 87 rockwood pop-up. Never had issues with them. My 2004 jayfeather hybrid still has the original fridge. No issues. I do use good batteries and a solar panel. Or leave it plugged in. My 2014 rex still has the original. No issues. It does take a while to cool down. To each his own guess. We're not full timers though. Something to consider.
We had no issues with our absorption fridge either other than it needed defrosted often and would freeze certain items like eggs and produce. We really just wanted more space and to have the compressor fridge. It served us well while we had it but it was time to upgrade. If you're happy with yours that's even better!😁👏🏻
I bought a VMax 125 amp hour agm battery this spring. The times we were at dirt tracks dry camping it done a great job. It is a back breaker to lift.
Awesome! Good to know they're working out great for you😁👍🏻
I don't think I've ever complimented someone about a fridge before, but dang, that thing is nice! Money shot at 9:01
9:01 should be on only fans🍑
Thanks for all your help!
We love your videos wife and I watch you guys all the time hope one day we'll run into each other meanwhile keep up the good work and have fun
That would be great! If you ever see us feel free to stop by and say hi☺️
Good change over.
Thank you, Richard👍🏻
Nice use of the ham radio power supply and power distribution testing that fridge ;)
Haha why thank you😁
Love your videos, great channel!! Congratulations on your new 12V fridge, looks like a winner!!
Thank you so much!👏🏻😁 This fridge has been a great upgrade... We only wish we did it sooner haha appreciate the comment, Edward!
Again I did the same AGM upgrade too! I also had same thoughts and issues as you! But I also have a 3,000 what hour solar Gen to back up my AGM!
Also see what the cutoff voltage is for your refrigerator compressor, mine is 10.6 some fridges are much higher. That’s where lithiums come in handy, voltage stays high across their discharge!
Thanks for the info!
@@WanderingWagners also something else I found out about a AGM’s the voltage, when fully charged, is slightly higher than a lead acid. Not a big deal really, but the AGM’s never get fully charged when you have the old style converter/charger like we do. The only fix I could do was throwing 200 W of solar on my roof with an MPPT charge controller that actually has settings to charge AGM. At least when the sun shining I’ll bring it all the way up it’s proper charging voltage. Not fully charging a battery can cause sulfation. (Sulfated) which shortens the life of the battery.
And putting solar on, isn’t the only fix, obviously, you can change your converter charger. But I was pre-wired for solar. It was very simple to do. And now I got the benefits of some extra power coming in.
Also, your battery, isolation solenoid will charge your house batteries off your alternator however, those voltage settings, (on BIS), might not even be high enough to fully charge an AGM either! Like you said it never ends, to really do it right you have to change a bunch of components and spend so much money! And if you camp like we do, it’s just not worth it at this point.
I’m with you regarding Lithium. Mainly because I’m not a dry camping person. I love having full hookups and I don’t see that changing (I’m 61) so yeah, I’m a glamper. Lol. Please tell Guy and Piper “Hello” and give them some pets for me. I missed his crying so I’d have to give the video a 9.5. 🤣😂 🐾❤️🐾
We enjoy dry camping and boondocking but we just don't get to do it enough to justify the cost of a lithium system. It's crazy! Especially when we have a generator on board. We might add a little solar with the new fridge but that's about it.
You didn't get to see Guy cry but trust us, he did😂
@@WanderingWagners Hahaa! I’m sure he did!🤣
We bought a Dometic 4101 in Sept. and its already quit. Called Dometic and we got a smart ass for a C/S rep. SHE wouldn't listen to me all she could say was its a voltage issue. Carried it to a RV repair that was qualified Dometic repair facility. It was diagnosed with a faulty Fan motor. No voltage issue as the witch keep screeching
Have you seen our latest video where we talk about our fridge?? That must be the dometic script to say it's a voltage issue. They kept telling us that was it and we kept saying no it's not... We checked that and it was fine🤦🏼♀️
Yea thats there excuse for putting out this crap.
I have had one for 3 years and fridge quit on me but freezer is still working
Just a note: you can put the LiFe batteries inside the coach which you cannot do with FLA. our new Wraith has a larger battery tray but doesn’t roll out. You are right about the reasons for investing in Lithium. If you don’t dry camp the extra cost just doesn’t pay. Although LiFe will charge faster when using the generator. I ran our 12v Everchill and the previous TT with a GE Residential on an inverter using a pair of Trojan T105’s. Gave me 2 easy days of power without running the generator or going past the 50% drawdown. And they lasted 7 years.
We do love dry camping and boondocking but we don't do it enough to justify the costs. We will probably add a little solar but just fort little stuff. We like using our generator when needed
just purchased the same fridge. Mine is the 4108. One model down. Only had it out once since the upgrade, so far so good.
Ours has been a great choice for the upgrade and glad to hear yours has been too!😁 thanks for the comment
How's your 12v fridge after a year? I'm considering one.
@@matsulli2086 I am on my second one. This first one started to slowly get warmer and warmer over time. I I found that if i turned it off for a week and started it back up it would cool better but still wasn't great. Dometic warrantied it but claimed the new one would not be under warranty. I had to fight them and at the end of the day I have a new one with a new warranty.
Good choice not going with lithium unless you really need to for health issues. When going lithium, just about everything must be changed out and it's a massive undertaking and extremely expensive.
My wife has health issues. So in our 2017 Navion, I re-engineered and installed six battleborn batteries and six 100 watt solar panels plus the ability to connect five additional solar panels on the aux port. All new wiring due to increased amps. We have the Victron suite and love it. Took me 3 months from start to finish.
Lithium just isn't worth it to us right now. We can always go there if we want in the future but for now I don't see that happening anyone soon.
Sounds like a great system you have though! Enjoy👏🏻😁
Wow DC 12v
We are really loving this new 12v fridge! Amazing space
This is not intended as a mean spirited reply... The accountant in me could not make a good argument for lithium batteries over the last 6 years. With our recent new tt I did go LIPo4 . I got 2- 100 Amp/hr . One is a smart/ heated and one is a standard. If it gets below 32 I switch off the "dumb" one or just do not charge it. We do Boondock about 50-70%. 6 years ago they would have ran me ~$3k. Today $775 for both. 2 'dumb' ones would be ~$600. I now have ~ 180 -190 useable amps, all with no voltage drop. My 225 amp golf carts gave me ~ 112 useable amps (50% discharge) and a dropping voltage. I lost ~90#'s of weight as well. I'm surprised for a newer upper end RV you can not toggle the converter/charger between LA & LIPo4. I can toggle between the two chemistries. BTW you do not have to change out your charger. The down side is you'll only charge LI up to ~80-85%%. You still end up with more useable power. Currently you have ~100amp's; (2 batteries x 100amps x 50%discharge ) vs 2 LIPO4 = 2 x100 x 80% (non Li charger) x 90% discharge = 144 amps.
As mentioned, we could go a different route in the future but for now we just wanted to get better batteries to assist with the 12v fridge. We have a generator for everything else if needed so it just didn't make sense right now.
Wonderful fridge video. I would love to get one but our 2 way still works. I need newer batteries too. I added one when our toy hauler was new 4 years ago. They are getting weak now. Oh, we are still running the Westinghouse 2500 we got from you. It runs our AC well with the Micro Air Easy Start. Hope to see you at Maumee Bay sometime. Beep when you go by our place on Norden Rd.
Thanks! Our fridge still worked but we really wanted the 12v for the space and to stop having to defrost it so much since we never shut it off and travel almost constantly. We'll beep next time we go by if we can remember and it's still light out haha
your channel is great for "do it yourselves". Awesome. Know your going to love that frig a tater...lol
Thank you! Mike is awesome and can do pretty much anything!! He saves us a ton of money by doing things himself haha
@@WanderingWagners He is handy as a pocket on a shirt that is for sure.
So been wanting one of these....glad you guys finally got it 👍 can't wait for the long term review and awesome that it's magnetic as well 🍻
So far it's been an amazing upgrade!
Quite the spending spree. : - ) I agree with Mike on the batteries. My converter isn't set up for lithium either.
Haha you're telling us!🤑 But if it makes us love this rig even more, why not haha
Changing stuff on In rv motorhome that’s good 👍
Yep, updating it and making it more "ours" is a good thing😁
Ten cubic feet is still way too small for us. The newer Ghosts now come with a 21 cubic foot residential!
We've had the 2-way and 12v and actually prefer residential for several reasons but hey, everyone likes something different.
Yep, we just didn't want residential. But that's personal preference!👍🏻
Hey, the one RV I had the refrig died and they had to remove the front windshield to get the old one out and the new one in. I would never go back to 3 way frig again. I ran the water lines to the basement below and have a tray with 6 gallon water bottles and pump on 2 of them for water in the door and lce maker. Your Ice Cream will stay better in this frig than the 3 ways.
We had the option to remove the passenger seat and go that way but decided to just go this way instead and it worked out alright haha
I had my norcold converted to a 12 volt by the amish in October
12 volt dual compressor, had to run on 9, now run on 4.
Norcold was the other option we considered as well. Crazy we just heard they're shutting down some of their factories here in Ohio
Like your chose for the batteries, I can see your reasoning for this type of battery with the amp hours, and lets talk money, the price is great, I jus paid 350.00 dollars each for lead cord 6 volts batteries and we need 4 of them to build our 4000 watt 120 volt solar system. I also know a bunch of people that viewing your video as they were looking for new RV frig.
Thanks! This route just made the most sense to us. So far we are happy with everything!
@09:44 & @11:10 - That's What She Said. 😆 Great Fridge swap too!
😂😂
Thank you! We are loving it so far
We have a cheaper 12v GE fridge in our Rockwood - we love it !!
Nice! We are loving this 12v fridge😁
How is your GE 12v working out?
I think the 12v fridges are the way to go room like a residential but convenient like the gas electric. Unfortunately the new trailer we are looking at does not have 12v as an option. I have not seen a 12v in double wide yet
Agreed, best of both worlds for RV fridge options. So far we are loving it in the few weeks we've been using it😁
Love the horn!! We put up our rig for the winter 😢. Hoping to run into you again next year. I want to have y’all to the camp site for “Chuck” burgers. We should probably plan that.
Sorry to hear you had to winterize. You can live vicariously through our Winter travels haha Mike does love a good burger!😁
You didn’t show what you did to cover the hole on the exterior of your rig. I curious.
There is no hole there. That was from the cover that's on the outside that every RV has with a LP/electric fridge. It's for venting, electric lines and gas lines access. We just removed the cover to cap the gas line and run bigger wire for the fridge then put the cover back on👍🏻
A video I saw a few years back indicated that Lithium batteries should be in the heated and air conditioned part of the RV. That is, in the living quarters, not underneath.
They can't bed charged in below freezing temps which is another reason why we didn't go lithium (as mentioned). We didn't want to have to move them inside or buy heated ones.
Yes we just put a deposit down on a 2023 Grand Design Imagine XLS 23LDE. And it has a solar package with a 12 volt fridge from factory
That's nice! We actually like that we swapped it out because if we need to get to the back of the fridge we don't have to pull it out because we have the access panel from the RV fridge on the outside.
Congratulations on the new rig!
Congratulations on your new refrigerator, looks great. We just subscribed. Hope to see you on the road😊.
Thank you! It's probably one of our favorite interior upgrades to date. So much more space inside!
Thank you for subscribing👏🏻😁 we'd love to run into you on the road too
Nice frig upgrade and I agree on the AGM batteries. We upgraded our 4 lead acid to AGM and love them, long life and have double the capacity.
Exactly! We are excited to put these to use. The old ones weren't "bad" but we were happy to upgrade
@@WanderingWagners Plus no service, huge plus.
Where did you guys find a helper like that . 😂
At Hooters almost 4 years ago😂
I also heard they vent from the sides. So if you are having trouble with cooling take down insulation on sides.
This one does not vent from the sides👍🏻
@@WanderingWagners cool.
Looks like the latches are much better than mine. Mine only has a magnetic catch and a lever which doesn't work well.
Yeah that doesn't sound too efficient for you unfortunately. We are loving this upgrade so far! Plus we have the easy access panel on the outside still haha
Should have went with Jc-refrigeration. Uses only 11amps 12vDc
I thought they just have parts for fridges and not the actual fridges. Like they can supply parts for dometic and norcold but not the whole fridge etc.
I did the same on my class C! Only I bought a GE 12 V much less than at the medical other Norcold 12Volt!. I feel the same way don’t know why you would invert to make 12 V when it’s already there!
We are really loving this new fridge too! Glad to hear you did the same and after enjoying it as well👏🏻😁
I’ll be testing it out on our way to Florida from northeast Pennsylvania right after Thanksgiving! We went shopping for all of our provisions, my wife is still shopping like we have the old 7 ft.³ fridge! So I went out today and bought a 12 pack for the ride south! Filling it up!
@@johnc3225 yes! Stock it up😁🍺
You could have taken the cool pack off the back, I know they are replaceable. Dave could have taken a full working unit with him.
Haha we told him to take everything he wanted!
You mentioned that we don't have a lot of boondocking in our area okay I'm not sure on Ohio but Michigan and that's right up the road from you guys in state parks or State Forest you can camp just like they do boondock and they don't call The boondock in here though but you have to find out in a certain areas I know we go up to West Branch West Branch Michigan and we boondock up there and there's a lot of other places in the upper peninsula also
That's dry camping which we mentioned we can do. Dry camping is camping without hookups at a designated camping area. Boondocking is out at a random place for free that you can just pull over and camp on. If that makes sense. We do dry camp and love it but most places are campgrounds with electric.
I agree with AGM batteries not a big fan of lithium/ solar
We will probably add a little solar just to supplement the new fridge but that's about it. No need for dinner l some big solar system
Don't have a 12V fridge yet but thinking of upgrading those batteries when it's time. The 12V would be great to get away from leveling when just staying overnight! Freedom!!!
Totally agree with your way of thinking about Solar and/or Lithium upgrades vs the heavy AGMs. Would love to hear from you guys what the new fridge is drawing !
We are loving the new 12v fridge! So much space haha we will everyone know how it does on power but we boondocked recently and only ran the generator minimally and didn't notice a huge draw. We will try to pay more attention let report back haha
Was thinking about a 12v compressor refrig to one day replace our 2003 Dometic 10 cu ft refrig when it dies but according to the manufacture you may need to upgrade the 12 volt wires to a larger size we're going to put in a Magic Chef or Visanni 10.1 120 v refrig(349-399.00) on an psw inverter. Its not that inefficient to convert the 12 v to 120 v via inverter. You lose maybe 10%. We run our 2003 Dometic on 120v via inverter while preparing to leave(hooking up tow car after unplugging from home or campground power and while traveling. Works great. How much was that 12v dc Dometic. Did you need to run larger 12v wires? Thanks, safe travels.
We talk about the wiring at 8:30
The fridge was $1500 or so
So how is the Fridge doing today? As you have 1 year under your belt. We just bought a new rv with a 12 volt Fridge and we find it a energy sucker. Same brand but 8 quick feet.
It still works most of the time. We've had on and off issues with it the last 6-9 months where it will just stop working with an error but eventually comes back on. Does it every few months so we just have to keep a close eye on it. Eventually we will probably trade it out for a residential because we have a lot more solar and battery power now than when we first got this fridge
was wondering when check temps in lower section what was temps on freezer?? what did you have to do to make the fit tight to prevent air flow from the outside louvered door or how did you handle air flow for the compressor, condenser to work.
We didn't have a thermometer in the freezer but it was always colder than the fridge.
We added insulation behind the louvred door and it's been working great
Great video! It's been a year and you had one video where you had concerns about the fridge. I'm researching 12v fridge models and 12v vs residential. What are your thoughts? We boondock like you all do so really prefer 12v.
If you have the solar and battery capabilities, go residential if you plan to have it on 24/7 like we do. Our 12v isn't reliable and every few months turns off randomly without reason. Has done that right after the warranty ran out. Luckily we caught it fast the last 2 times it did it and we were able to get it back on before anything went bad. That wasn't the case in previous instances.
@@WanderingWagners How much solar and battery do you have now that you think will maintain a future residential fridge?
We have 800 watts on the roof, and 1100 watts portable solar panels and 820Ah lithium batteries
????
Hi Mike, I know about home refrigerators not working in a cold environment. They won’t run in my detached garage in the winter. Does your new 12v have an operating range and is it good to go in winter without you having to insulate the outer wall.
Haven't had any issues here like that, but we don't expect it to be an issue. One way to find out😁
How much do you guys actually boondock? Most of the videos I remember looked like you had full hookups. That means you weren't running your fridge off 12v but 120v being passed through from your hookups. Unless your system is way different from every other RV system out there it doesn't convert from 12v unless you are not plugged in.
We boondock often at family property, and have a a bunch while traveling. We almost never have fhu but most places do have power. That's why we said that in the video on why we didn't go lithium etc.
Do you know how long your new fridge will run off just the battery by any chance ,great video guys
We haven't tested yet to the max it'll do, but the batteries will run it fine overnight. We will have to test for that
You guys win the lottery...the way you been spending money!?
Nope but we work for it I promise😁
@@WanderingWagners the old fashioned way...good on ya!
I have a 12 volt refrigerator and my travel trailer I pull out my 50 amp cable reduce it to 110 and it keeps my refrigerator going through the battery and inverter
Nice!
Is AGM a direct replacement to lead acid with out any problems with the inverter charger?
Correct, just drop them in and go.
How noisy is the new fridge compared to the old one? That is the only thing holding us back.
We never hear the fridge running. I can't recall ever hearing it unless we stand outside the RV near the vent and listen for it... Or when you open the door and it's running. Very quiet!
We have a 7 cubic foot Dometic fridge, (with doors that we also put magnetic signs on.) Does Dometic make a retrofit for their different sizes? I have so much trouble keeping the inversion fridge at a constant temp, (constantly either too cold or too warm,) we're really thinking about doing this to our coach too!
We just went online and looked at the dimensions and compared it to the size of the space in the RV and this one was practically a perfect fit. Just need a trim kit now. We highly recommend it so far! Nothing has froze and nothing has been too warm.
After a year are you still happy with the Dometic? Any issues?
We've had it for 1.5 years and overall it's been good HOWEVER we can't in good faith recommend this fridge anymore.
Once we hit the 1 year mark, it started having problems... Coincidentally the warranty is only 1 year.
Dometic has been no help because the issues are intermittent so they say they can't determine what the problem is... And say there isn't a problem.
Every few months it will stop working without reason and we end up losing a fridge full of food. Next time it happens (which should be soon based on past occurrences every few months) we will probably replace it with a residential model since we have solar and batteries now to support it.
ua-cam.com/video/suoKprH6uaI/v-deo.htmlsi=OirMuwI5EjKvDE3s
I think you answered my earlier question. That's so unfortunate, the last two RV shows I went to over 3/4 of the rigs had 12v fridges.
I've yet to find an RV tech that will recommend them.
When looking at rv's and they say electric. How do you know if it's one that just draws 12v of electric
Label inside the fridge will indicate the power requirements
Do you have to run tank heaters when winter camping?
Our fresh water tank and lines are all inside the RV, and the black and gray tanks are in the wet bay and we have a space heater mounted there and it keeps it well above freezing
WHAT - no Hershey candy bars in the new fridge???
Haha he's been keeping them in the pantry lately. They're in there though!
I hope you bought fitch some beer.
We definitely did!
You have a onboard generator so you really don’t need lithium.
Yep we even mentioned that😁 if we need power, we have power with the generator👍🏻
@@WanderingWagners yes. I already sent comments then you said it.
lead acid batteries only last so long beforbefore they die and can't recharge to work.
Yes that's true
Hey, With your winter camping you would have to change a lot in the battery compartment and update chargers and other stuff.
Lithium's don't like cold. I would add more solar panels on roof. I would put a backup heater in the battery bay.
AGM Discharge at -14F so if its in the teens I would heat the area up to at least 68deg. AGM run good at 68Degs.
check out this channel for heating RV and Battery compartment ua-cam.com/video/CGalqQvmYx8/v-deo.html
We will see how they do this Winter and we do plan to add a small solar system for backup but nothing huge like most people do
Cut it up and take out in pieces
Pretty much what we did😂
Oh no! Not a 12 volt. No no no. Terriable breakdown record during first year. Mobile RV mechanics won’t come to work on them, repair parts not available and multi fridge replacements. Might by a foam ice chest and plan on stopping for ice.
If it dies we will just replace it with a residential.
Try buying a Tesla. Then you have transportation and battery storage for your appliances. Also on occasion, you may have a weiner roaster.
Haha we'll stick with the motorhome for now
Yo girl, hit you up with some Venmo. Waiting for them pics now 😉
Enjoy lol but no pics through Venmo
venmo.com/u/WanderingWagners
I have a 12 volt fridge in my travel trailer and when I'm not using it I have it hooked up to my 50 amp downsize to 110 keeps my refrigerator going by charging the battery with the inverter
Another great video, with significant upgrades! 😜Boy, I wish I could win that Powerball then I could buy a super C and get out there!
We could all use a winning ticket... Of course I'd have to buy one to have a chance lol