Hi JD. I appreciate this video. Disclaimer: we have the Everchill 12v fridge in our Alliance Valor 40v13. (We love it.) But I have a lot of experience in creating testing environments (for software) and one of the key things that you didn't answer in this video that you need to figure out is this: What are you testing for? Your assertion that you can set it up in a cabin and put a probe in it indicates that you want to test its chilling ability. I don't think that's a terribly useful test, honestly. It is a fridge, it should get cold. Yes, even if it is hot outside. If it doesn't do that, I think the Internet would be full of that information already, so testing that doesn't really add to our collective knowledge or experience. If you are going to test it, I think making sure that you actually live with the fridge is important. An RV is a small living space and any appliance is going to have an impact on your experience: how loud is the compressor? how much heat does it throw off? Things like that. Simply setting it up in a remote place and making sure it gets cold isn't going to be too meaningful, in my opinion. Even in this video you talked about how quiet your air conditioners are. Living with the appliance is useful. Always appreciate your approach and content. Thanks for doing what you do!
Thank you Luke. I was thinking along the same lines. In addition to the tests you mentioned, longevity would be my number one concern. For a long term test, replacing his existing fridge would be the only way to test it.
I agree with Luke on this. I would also want to make sure that the fridge was getting opened regularly and that it was tested both when full and empty to test for the situation where a fridge might have cold and warm spots when full due to lack of air flow.
I have a norcold 18cf in my attitude toyhauler. I also live in Las Vegas. My norcold does not get cold or even cool if it's over 90° outside. The freezer freezes, but the fridge section is useless. I've had new cooling units replaced under warranty and it does the exact same thing as before. I am debating on switching over to residential style fridge specifically because of this issue. (80° in fridge after 3 days start up, and after coming back from the mountains where the temps were 85° outside and the fridge was able to cool down to 43°, by the time i got home, the fridge was back up to 60°)
Hi, We've had our RV for over a year now and it came with a 12volt Ever Chill refrigerator. It has been wonderful. We live in California where it reaches over 100° for weeks at a time. The refrigerator has never had a problem staying at temperature. We love this refrigerator and would recommend it to anyone. Thanks
About to rip out a propane fridge and replace it with the Dometic 4101. Such an obvious upgrade. Propane fridges suck in every way a fridge might suck.
One suggestion would be to contact Chad with Changing Lanes and install the 12v refrigerator in his fifth wheel for testing if he is willing. They did a video awhile back on the heat affecting their A/Cs and refrigerator.
I have a 12v refrigerator, 400w solar and 200ah lithium. I absolutely love this fridge. With my set-up I can have fresh food and cold drinks off grid indefinitely. It's so efficient that my batteries have yet to get below 80%. It cools fast and once at temp, runs very little.
In my main camper, I have the Everchill 12v fridge and love it. On the coldest setting it will freeze milk in the door tray. With one battery on the coach, I can go 15 hours before it kills the battery enough to not allow the slides to go in. This would be on a medium setting without AC in the rig but ambient temps around 70-80. I have an older spare camper that has the old 2way Dometic fridge installed. You are more than welcome to use that camper for testing if you’d like. I’m in San Antonio and currently in North Parde for the month with both campers. I could even bring the camper to your property for some real world testing that’s required for the channel and even show how the public how a retrofit would work. Figured I’d offer this to you.
Maybe install it in your cargo trailer? It would be nice to see some real-world numbers on power draw as it cools down to and then maintains temperature .
Test in your large enclosed cargo trailer, not worth taking yours out. Risk damage to current fridge and Rv. Using your enclosed trailer is best simulation and you can tow it around bouncing the unit like it would be in a travel trailer.
As a full timer not into boondocking, a residential is an absolute essential. Never Chill has shit the bed on me twice, never own one again. My current is a Frigidaire Galleria model, side by side. Came with the RV, and 3 years on it's working great. If people are worried about traveling with a domestic, we put 50,000 miles on our RV in the first 2 years. More than 100 RV stops in two years. It's never skipped a beat.
What about buying a somewhat inexpensive, basic - maybe 2-4 year-old - middle-of-the-road/size travel trailer specifically you can use for testing some of these products that you may not necessarily want to just yet do to your primary family unit? Sorta like the BTBRV Lab RV. Maybe you actually take it out every once in a while, or maybe you don't. But you could have some experiments running with it like with this refrigerator. Easy to check in on your upgrades/experiments since it'll be on your property, but at least you wouldn't feel like you're obligated to possibly mess something up on your main family RV and rendering it inoperable. It is another expense and could be a hassle, so understandable if unpractical.
We bought our travel trailer in January of 21. We have left it on since we brought it home. Our camper is plugged in to shore power when we park it but it's just a 20 amp cord with adapter so we don't run the AC and it gets over 100 degrees in the summer and it hasn't missed a beat.
We bought a 2022 Zinger 28ft it has one in it we've had it for a year no problems as of yet very satisfied as the price of propane keeps going up. I would say I am satisfied enough with it that if I had an RV that the refrigerator went out I would replace it with one of these.
Good afternoon JD. You hit the nail on the head. Garage,cabin,enclosed utility trailer, office/den/mancave. Outside grill/ patio/deck. Maybe if you put up a umbrella/canopy out by the pool, ya'll wouldn't have to go back to the house/tote a cooler for pool day/party/get together. I'm a truck driver, with company permission, we could tell if the juice is worth the squeeze. Most Class 8 truck refrigerator's aren't going to last and boy are they expensive. So pending sizes available, very interesting to see how it works out.
We converted our Norcold 2118 in our 2021 Montana to 12V by using the conversion kit from JC Refrigeration. It replaced the gas/electric evaporation system with 12v compressors, one each for the frig and freezer. We love it!!! It's keeping the freezer at 2 - 8 degrees. We did the install ourselves with help from other UA-cam videos.
This video is another reminder of the advantage of having an open concept toy hauler, no garage wall. I would love to have a 12 volt fridge and would switch it out in a minute but I understand why you wouldn’t want to do it.
We have a 2020 Grand Design Reflection and replacing the standard RV fridge for a residential fridge was by far the best upgrade we have ever done. Very tight squeeze getting in but we got it in with a few choice words and man power
@nancyjones6784 yes my Samsung still works after 4 years were currently renting that RV out. And I honestly like the Samsung one better than this Kitchen Aid one
I have a 37’ fifth wheel that I live in 6 months out of the year between October to April that has a Dometic 2852 in it and I can always use more storage space. I replaced two of them when I lived in my Alfa full time. It’s just a matter of time before I’ll have to replace this one. I have 400 watts of solar and 4 6 volt batteries and now have two Predator 3500 watt generators. It’s a center kitchen and the refrigerator is in the slide out and across from the door. I’d be more than willing to test one out this next winter and I do have a trip coming up in August. 😁
you could put the Everchill 12v fridge in your cargo trailer so you could still drive them around to simulate on road conditions of an RV. you could even put your ecoflow A/C in it to keep the temp down inside or leave it off to vary how it performs at different ambient temperatures.
Set them in a remotely located shed on a vibration base timed to simulate six to eight hours a day of travel. I'm thankful for my gas electric fridge. Several days of dry camping, Quartzsite for example, I don't have to worry about it. We still use the two group 27 batteries in our coach with a 200 watt portable solar set up to maintain our minimal use of them, and the generator for those brief times using the microwave. I'm not interested in the cost of, or space consumed by a large solar installation.
YES!!!!! Please review one! We had a 12V Ever chill 10.7cf in our last travel trailer and LOVED IT! Problem is, no one believes how off-grid usable they can be. So absolutely, YES, please get one and give it a full blown review.. in 1 battery (AGM), then 1 lithium, then repeat but add in a basic 200W solar panel. Let's test! Thanks JD!!
One thing we’ve learned on our 12 V refrigerator is to put a thermometer in the freezer and one in the fridge, so we can see exactly where it’s running. We’ve had our 12 V fridge for two years now and haven’t had a problem. I’m anxious to see what you will be testing. Thanks JD!
Well there is another removal option. My in laws bought a new freezer for their basement. The delivery crew removed the coolant and cut the old freezer into pieces and then removed it. That's a pretty violent way to swap out a fridge that is working quite well LOL. I'd like to see you test a few however because I have a gas/electric fridge and honestly it's cooling ability is questionable and potentially dangerous at times. Maybe this sounds silly but what about strapping one into your utility trailer and rigging up some power? A little driving around in an uninsulated trailer would be a great test. Another great video. Thanks JD.
Personally, I already prefer the 12v compressor fridge due to how well in works boon docking with solar. If you wanted to test one, my preference would be for you to get a loaner camper that had sufficient solar, but that setup is rare. I certainly would never pull a 115v residential to support any kind of testing. It’s only going to cause multiple problems down the road.
I would love to see the 12 V test no matter how you do it! I think the 12 V refrigerator is one of the better options for newer RVs. But I do not want to see you tear up your fifth wheel at all!
Propane refrigerators are garbage in my opinion. I've replaced 3 of them over the years in 3 different campers. I throw them in the garbage and put in residential refrigerators.
I personally would love to see your unbiased 💯 truthful review of these refrigerators. I’m revamping my older travel trailer and want to do a full size refrigerator but would like to stay away from the 115v models.
Personally I love the 12V propane option I have on my older TT. When I go boondocking I typically am in the woods under tree cover so solar wouldn't work too great for me with minimal generator run hours allowed per day. I understand solar especially in the west where there is a lot less tree cover and a lot sunnier but for me in the middle of the woods doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
I have a residential size 12V everchill fridge. It does cool FAST. It is also nice and large. That being said, it’s a battery hog. I have two golf cart batteries and it will flat-line them in 12 hours or so. Had to put 500w of solar on the roof, now I’m battery net positive. (Boondock 90% of the time) Also, my salesman, who is also my friend, heavily suggested an extended warranty while pointing at the fridge. In the fridges defense, It’s been fine for the first year.
To clarify, I didn’t need 500w. I would have to look at the consumption study I did, but I’m somewhat certain 200w would have been enough, I just got a deal on a used 500w system.
We’re looking to upgrade from a travel trailer to a Class C but I definitely want our next rig to have a 12v compressor fridge! I’m in west Texas where it’s supposed to be triple digits until September and our 2 way Dometic fridge just can’t keep up!
Maybe set one up in your cargo trailer and take it for a couple of drives over different roads, pot holes and smooth. Your cargo trailer would be a better place for listening for noise level and for the heat that can come with a travel trailer/rv.
Yes, run the test in your garage. I like the pro e idea for monitoring Temps, you could also measure amperage draw so people would have an idea on ivertor/battery size needed. Might be an opportunity to test inverters as well.
It will be interesting to see if Airstream starts putting these in vs the gas/electrics they’ve used for years. The sizes offered would fit perfect and residential ones are too big.
I would like to see that test in the garage. It would help me understand any struggles mine may have when the camper isn’t being used and the inside temp of the RV rises so high.
Many times the only way to get the residential refrigerator out of a unit like yours is to remove the slideout. Also, if you lay a residential refrigerator down it kills them. I have a 12v Furion compressor refrigerator in my 5th wheel and love it.
Sure put them in a building and test them. I would like to see that. I'm in the market of an RV in the next 8 to 10 months. and I hear so much about the 12 volt fridges. See how they work. Thanks
What about testing the fridge in your other trailer. The big black one that has your logo on it. I'd box it in like your RV. I think it's always good to be able to have access to cold drinks
Yes would be very interested in a 12v refrigerator review. We have a 2017 34’ grand design reflection travel trailer and we are in the process of renovating and upgrading our unit and would definitely consider replacing our gas electric fridge with a 12v unit. Great videos keep up the great work!
My take on the 12v fridges. They may not take over gas/electric fridges completely for a while but they’re going to end the practice of residential fridges being installed in RVs. They use way less power and do the same task. No inverter needed. You also don’t have to remove a window or a slide to replace it. That’s the big thing is serviceability. Many RV techs won’t touch them. A 12v fridge can be pulled out your door For gas/electrics: I think when real solar packages/lithium iron phosphate batteries become standard the gas/electrics days are numbered. For clarification I mean at least 400 watts solar and 200 ah lithium iron phosphate batteries. Another advantage people forget is with a 12v you have 2 less leak points in your RV. No roof or side vent required.
Would love a controlled test from your shed! A few 100ah lifepo4 batteries and shunts and away you go. A few other small things like clamp meter. We switched to 12 volt compressor fridge after our second gas/electric died :(. Have never looked back and we actually got 4 more cubic feet of fridge and it is great!
I wouldn’t pull your residential fridge either. Maybe you can put it in a loaner RV? Some other RV you have access to that’s laid out to where the swap out would be easier to do.
Ours drains our battery to about 40/50% in about 4 hours when boondocking so we need to start up the generator every 3-4 hours to save the life of the battery. I don't love it, but we only boondock one holiday weekend a year - so it's doable, just not sure I "love" it yet...
I replaced my NORCOLD with an EverChill Refrigerator about a year ago. Love IT!! I live in San Diego. This refrigerator cools off in less than an hour! Long story short, first EverChill I received was bent at the bottom and couldn't be installed in the RV. It was replaced free of charge. I connected a 12V power supply to the damaged 12v Everchill and put it in my garage. Like you stated, it is routinely over 100 degrees in the garage in the summer. It has worked flawlessly. It is very quite and I have had more issues with it being too cold and freezing items in the refrigerator. Unfortunately they are not like a residential refrig with a temp set, but a Number set just like the absorption refrigerators. So I think putting one in a garage would be an excellent test.
I would love a review. my new coach came with one. I am however used to gas/electric. I am also curious how my added solar can assist and how I can best utilize my power use. and does it always run off the battery and my invertor therefore need's to run all the time??
It runs off the battery only, not your inverter, unless your wiring is different than most. Most have the inverter tied into ONLY the 115V leg, not the 12V leg. I know a few inverters that can manage them both, but most only run the 115v side. Easy way to find out, turn it off, then go see if your 12V lights and fridge still run.
I think a a test in a garage could work, with 2 12volt batteries and a solar panel fixed and or a solar panel Mobile. If your boondocking then u probably wouldn’t be running AC, anyway. I just bought G.D. Imagine XLS 17MKE with a 12volt Furrion fridge with 2 batteries and a fixed 165w solar panel the fridge ran great for 3 days I feel a mobile solar panel would help this last longer. I turned the fridge off the 4th night it was running to much. Great video.
I am looking at some used RVs and several that I looked at need replacement fridges so I wouldn't mind the videos because I think I will be looking at different options. I understand your thought process however and understand why you don't really need to try them out.
I think if my gas/elec died I would look into replacing, maybe.. we have a nor cold and it works very well on both 110 and propane and only draws 2amp on gas. ours is a 12cuft. we run it off the inverter during travel but it does draw 30amps on DC. we have the benefit of taking the fridge out the toy hauler back so it would be a lot easier.
A 12V fridge is just a fridge with a built in inverter, at latest with the furion model. I would NOT change to a 12V unit unless you don't already have an inverter. The 320W rating you see on your fridge is worst case scenario, typically during defrost. We have a Hisense brand fridge and love the space and cooling capability compared to the gas abortion fridge from our previous RV. Our fridge draws 50w to 60w when running and spikes way up during defrost.
Yes, I would love your input on trying out the 12v fridge. I have a 2008 5th wheel that has the gas/elect. and with temps in the mid and upper 90s during the summer, it barely keeps it below 40 deg. I had been thinking about the 12v system for a bit and would love to know if it will stand up to the heat. If it will in S TX it should stand up to SW MO heat. Thanks JD for the videos that you do and all the testing you do.
I was thinking you could pick up a used RV, something 10 to 20 years older just to use as a test bed for the refrigerators and other modifications. Set it up for easy access from inside and out for filming upgrades and modifications?
Agree....it needs to shake, rattle & roll on a regular basis....I would ask them if they've reached out to any " Full Timers " .....they are the ones who can test durability and longevity.
For the 12 volt I thought they were expensive. Have they came down in price? I looked into a lp mini fridge for our outdoor kitchen. I ended up removing the 120volt mini fridge and switched to two flat grills stacked up with a slide out for coolers. We use a generator when away from full hookups but only to charge the battery or if we need to cool it down a bit. Could buy ice for 20 years before the price of a LP 12volt fridge.
JD, I understand your reluctance to just swap out the refrigerator in your unit for testing. I would like to see more on the 12 volt refrigerators though and the garage could be a good option but what about your cargo trailer? If you're still using it to do projects at places that's kind of like an RV if you put it inside there. I also really like the idea another viewer had to connect changing lanes with that deal if they are interested in going to the 12 volt instead of the gas electric. I like the way Chad does product reviews also.
We have 12v refractor I love how cool but eat my battery in about 48hrs. I think if get 12v you should get a 100w solar panel standard. We be adding a 2nd battery soon.
The garage would be a static test site. Should the refrigerator be "installed" in a box similar to an RV? Should the fridge experience road movement to create a typical RV environment? How large of a solar bank and battery bank would be required to maintain that fridge in a hot (unconditioned) environment like a garage or poorly air-conditioned RV? Those would be my testing questions.
It’s obvious the company values your opinion enough to provide you with a product to test. With that said, I agree with not pulling out your current fridge and replacing it except if it fails and you need to replace it anyway. Is there another RV you could use as a test site instead? From what I understand, the 12v models tend to cool quicker even in hot climates. I would accept the company’s offer and test their product. Maybe review build quality as well as performance. Great channel by the way.
We have a 2021 Chapparall with the 12 volt fridge. It works really well. I prefer that over our previous gas/ electric models. I would like your feedback on the 12 volt. Jayco Eagle did not offer the 12volt or may have bought the one of their units. Boondocking one weekend and it's a learning curve to not run out of battery. Thanks
I would be more interested in seeing how 12 volt refrigerators work towing down the road and when your camping with electric will that keep the battery charged.
Would have to come up with a "Test Bench" and decide what to test. Energy usage comparison (how many amps does 12v use compared to 115v over a day), Heat (would need to build a box to simulate being installed in a RV) blown into the 'living space', Sound (how much annoying noise does the compressor make), effective cooling (accuracy of temperature, fluctuations, time to cool when loading it up as if to travel). Might be more ideas and ways to meaningfully provide data.
Probably not very helpful, but I would love to see head to head data on the 2-way vs compressor fridge. Perhaps running the 2-way in electric only mode against the 12 volt and compare the power draw on both to determine which might be more efficient as well as effective.
Hey, Big Truck, great question: answer, yes, please do test the 12V residential fridge in the garage...do not move that fridge out of your RV! It will not go well for you, and your RV is so beautiful, it would be a sin to mar any of the woodwork or flooring. Question for you: if 12V fridges are so good on power, why can't we use one on our homes? In power outage situations which happen quite frequently where I live, I could keep my fridge running on my LiFePo, couldn't I? Also, it'd be so cheap to get a solar panel dedicated just for the fridge in my house if it was a 12V with my LiFePo as a backup on cloudy days. So, you can see why I would love to have your review of the 12V residential fridge...probably have more questions after the review. Losing power to the fridge is my only concern in power outages. I am really set up to go "1890" with everything else...just won't have TV, and that is not a big deal for me.
Agree that swapping a refrigerator is a major project for many of us, especially as a DIY project. But there is another AC vs DC test I’d like to see. We recently bought a travel trailer. Though it came with a 12 v refrigerator, I was surprised to find the TV is 120 volts AC. I’m wondering if changing the TV over to DC would be a worthwhile upgrade? It would be great to see this type of evaluation on your channel.
We are having problems with the shelves in the doors breaking. We’ve tried repositioning and not overloading the shelves. Our last trip we lost another one 😕so not happy. I’m thinking because fridge is in the rear of the trailer it’s receiving the blunt of the vibration and shaking of the trailer when traveling. Would appreciate any input on this.
JD my wife and I are full time RVrs. I have a question about the AC units ( 2part question). Wife and I own this version of RV but the 2020 version that has 2 units bedroom and living room. I noticed you have 2 units in the living room/kitchen area. Is it possible for us to add a second unit in our living room/kitchen area to our Brookstone? And if so how difficult would it be and expensive to do this? Hope this makes sense. Love your channel have learned lots from your videos.
Any thoughts of installing in one of the BTBRV enclosed trailers? Doesn’t the larger “shop” trailer have AC? Would be able to bounce it around and utilize it there.
I would love a review. A 12 volt refrigerator could be great even at home when the power goes out. I don’t know, but I would love to know if it works off of a solar generator.
Correction does the invertor run all the time when on shore power to convert power, or is the power need split between the battery/solar and the invertor?
A 12v is more for boondocking with enough solar. Don't do it. You'll have gaps. Put it in one of the other trailers. You do have solar on the BTBRV 20 Ft.
I would 1000% rather have a gas electric two way fridge then a 12 V fridge any day of the week. Especially for people who actually camp. Why would you not want the added functionality? And I’m talking people who camp not people who buy a house on wheels… Having that option is just logically a better choice Just my opinion 🤷♂️
Hi JD. I appreciate this video.
Disclaimer: we have the Everchill 12v fridge in our Alliance Valor 40v13. (We love it.) But I have a lot of experience in creating testing environments (for software) and one of the key things that you didn't answer in this video that you need to figure out is this: What are you testing for? Your assertion that you can set it up in a cabin and put a probe in it indicates that you want to test its chilling ability. I don't think that's a terribly useful test, honestly. It is a fridge, it should get cold. Yes, even if it is hot outside. If it doesn't do that, I think the Internet would be full of that information already, so testing that doesn't really add to our collective knowledge or experience.
If you are going to test it, I think making sure that you actually live with the fridge is important. An RV is a small living space and any appliance is going to have an impact on your experience: how loud is the compressor? how much heat does it throw off? Things like that. Simply setting it up in a remote place and making sure it gets cold isn't going to be too meaningful, in my opinion. Even in this video you talked about how quiet your air conditioners are. Living with the appliance is useful.
Always appreciate your approach and content. Thanks for doing what you do!
Thank you Luke. I was thinking along the same lines. In addition to the tests you mentioned, longevity would be my number one concern. For a long term test, replacing his existing fridge would be the only way to test it.
I agree with Luke on this. I would also want to make sure that the fridge was getting opened regularly and that it was tested both when full and empty to test for the situation where a fridge might have cold and warm spots when full due to lack of air flow.
I have a norcold 18cf in my attitude toyhauler. I also live in Las Vegas. My norcold does not get cold or even cool if it's over 90° outside. The freezer freezes, but the fridge section is useless. I've had new cooling units replaced under warranty and it does the exact same thing as before. I am debating on switching over to residential style fridge specifically because of this issue. (80° in fridge after 3 days start up, and after coming back from the mountains where the temps were 85° outside and the fridge was able to cool down to 43°, by the time i got home, the fridge was back up to 60°)
Hi,
We've had our RV for over a year now and it came with a 12volt Ever Chill refrigerator. It has been wonderful. We live in California where it reaches over 100° for weeks at a time. The refrigerator has never had a problem staying at temperature. We love this refrigerator and would recommend it to anyone. Thanks
About to rip out a propane fridge and replace it with the Dometic 4101. Such an obvious upgrade. Propane fridges suck in every way a fridge might suck.
One suggestion would be to contact Chad with Changing Lanes and install the 12v refrigerator in his fifth wheel for testing if he is willing. They did a video awhile back on the heat affecting their A/Cs and refrigerator.
Easy answer. Tell everchill you need the fridge sent in a loaner rv.
I have a 12v refrigerator, 400w solar and 200ah lithium. I absolutely love this fridge. With my set-up I can have fresh food and cold drinks off grid indefinitely. It's so efficient that my batteries have yet to get below 80%. It cools fast and once at temp, runs very little.
Which 12 volt frig do you have?
Is it still working well?
In my main camper, I have the Everchill 12v fridge and love it. On the coldest setting it will freeze milk in the door tray. With one battery on the coach, I can go 15 hours before it kills the battery enough to not allow the slides to go in. This would be on a medium setting without AC in the rig but ambient temps around 70-80.
I have an older spare camper that has the old 2way Dometic fridge installed. You are more than welcome to use that camper for testing if you’d like. I’m in San Antonio and currently in North Parde for the month with both campers. I could even bring the camper to your property for some real world testing that’s required for the channel and even show how the public how a retrofit would work. Figured I’d offer this to you.
Maybe install it in your cargo trailer? It would be nice to see some real-world numbers on power draw as it cools down to and then maintains temperature .
Test in your large enclosed cargo trailer, not worth taking yours out. Risk damage to current fridge and Rv. Using your enclosed trailer is best simulation and you can tow it around bouncing the unit like it would be in a travel trailer.
As a full timer not into boondocking, a residential is an absolute essential. Never Chill has shit the bed on me twice, never own one again. My current is a Frigidaire Galleria model, side by side. Came with the RV, and 3 years on it's working great. If people are worried about traveling with a domestic, we put 50,000 miles on our RV in the first 2 years. More than 100 RV stops in two years. It's never skipped a beat.
What about buying a somewhat inexpensive, basic - maybe 2-4 year-old - middle-of-the-road/size travel trailer specifically you can use for testing some of these products that you may not necessarily want to just yet do to your primary family unit? Sorta like the BTBRV Lab RV. Maybe you actually take it out every once in a while, or maybe you don't. But you could have some experiments running with it like with this refrigerator. Easy to check in on your upgrades/experiments since it'll be on your property, but at least you wouldn't feel like you're obligated to possibly mess something up on your main family RV and rendering it inoperable. It is another expense and could be a hassle, so understandable if unpractical.
That's not a bad idea.
We bought our travel trailer in January of 21. We have left it on since we brought it home. Our camper is plugged in to shore power when we park it but it's just a 20 amp cord with adapter so we don't run the AC and it gets over 100 degrees in the summer and it hasn't missed a beat.
Yes do the test in your garage/shop! Please!
We bought a 2022 Zinger 28ft it has one in it we've had it for a year no problems as of yet very satisfied as the price of propane keeps going up. I would say I am satisfied enough with it that if I had an RV that the refrigerator went out I would replace it with one of these.
Good afternoon JD. You hit the nail on the head.
Garage,cabin,enclosed utility trailer, office/den/mancave. Outside grill/ patio/deck.
Maybe if you put up a umbrella/canopy out by the pool, ya'll wouldn't have to go back to the house/tote a cooler for pool day/party/get together.
I'm a truck driver, with company permission, we could tell if the juice is worth the squeeze. Most Class 8 truck refrigerator's aren't going to last and boy are they expensive.
So pending sizes available, very interesting to see how it works out.
JD if you don't want to go through that hassle. I will be glade to put my self through the pain and help you review it in my 5th wheel.
We converted our Norcold 2118 in our 2021 Montana to 12V by using the conversion kit from JC Refrigeration. It replaced the gas/electric evaporation system with 12v compressors, one each for the frig and freezer. We love it!!! It's keeping the freezer at 2 - 8 degrees. We did the install ourselves with help from other UA-cam videos.
Test one in your cargo trailer? it’s already set up with 12v and solar, also you can test that portable air conditioner in there at the same time?
Yes test it! I would love to see the whole process including removing the old one!
This video is another reminder of the advantage of having an open concept toy hauler, no garage wall. I would love to have a 12 volt fridge and would switch it out in a minute but I understand why you wouldn’t want to do it.
We have a 2020 Grand Design Reflection and replacing the standard RV fridge for a residential fridge was by far the best upgrade we have ever done. Very tight squeeze getting in but we got it in with a few choice words and man power
I have a 2022 Grand Design and wondering which refrigerator you chose? Is it still working good?
@nancyjones6784 yes my Samsung still works after 4 years were currently renting that RV out. And I honestly like the Samsung one better than this Kitchen Aid one
I have a 37’ fifth wheel that I live in 6 months out of the year between October to April that has a Dometic 2852 in it and I can always use more storage space. I replaced two of them when I lived in my Alfa full time. It’s just a matter of time before I’ll have to replace this one.
I have 400 watts of solar and 4 6 volt batteries and now have two Predator 3500 watt generators. It’s a center kitchen and the refrigerator is in the slide out and across from the door.
I’d be more than willing to test one out this next winter and I do have a trip coming up in August. 😁
Yes. I would like to hear more about 12 volt refrigerators. This video has been very helpful.
you could put the Everchill 12v fridge in your cargo trailer so you could still drive them around to simulate on road conditions of an RV. you could even put your ecoflow A/C in it to keep the temp down inside or leave it off to vary how it performs at different ambient temperatures.
Set them in a remotely located shed on a vibration base timed to simulate six to eight hours a day of travel.
I'm thankful for my gas electric fridge. Several days of dry camping, Quartzsite for example, I don't have to worry about it. We still use the two group 27 batteries in our coach with a 200 watt portable solar set up to maintain our minimal use of them, and the generator for those brief times using the microwave. I'm not interested in the cost of, or space consumed by a large solar installation.
YES!!!!! Please review one! We had a 12V Ever chill 10.7cf in our last travel trailer and LOVED IT! Problem is, no one believes how off-grid usable they can be. So absolutely, YES, please get one and give it a full blown review.. in 1 battery (AGM), then 1 lithium, then repeat but add in a basic 200W solar panel. Let's test!
Thanks JD!!
One thing we’ve learned on our 12 V refrigerator is to put a thermometer in the freezer and one in the fridge, so we can see exactly where it’s running. We’ve had our 12 V fridge for two years now and haven’t had a problem. I’m anxious to see what you will be testing. Thanks JD!
Well there is another removal option. My in laws bought a new freezer for their basement. The delivery crew removed the coolant and cut the old freezer into pieces and then removed it. That's a pretty violent way to swap out a fridge that is working quite well LOL.
I'd like to see you test a few however because I have a gas/electric fridge and honestly it's cooling ability is questionable and potentially dangerous at times. Maybe this sounds silly but what about strapping one into your utility trailer and rigging up some power? A little driving around in an uninsulated trailer would be a great test.
Another great video. Thanks JD.
Personally, I already prefer the 12v compressor fridge due to how well in works boon docking with solar. If you wanted to test one, my preference would be for you to get a loaner camper that had sufficient solar, but that setup is rare. I certainly would never pull a 115v residential to support any kind of testing. It’s only going to cause multiple problems down the road.
I would love to see the 12 V test no matter how you do it! I think the 12 V refrigerator is one of the better options for newer RVs. But I do not want to see you tear up your fifth wheel at all!
Yes please! We have a 32 ft Coachman Pursuit. We are looking at upgrading from the rv fridge to a 12 volt one. Would love to see your input.
I think the only realistic option is to have the Ever Chill installed from the factory. 12V would be a great option if you could get it.
It's still nice to have a propane option when boondocking, simpler setup and very proven technology.
Propane refrigerators are garbage in my opinion. I've replaced 3 of them over the years in 3 different campers. I throw them in the garbage and put in residential refrigerators.
Yes do the review. This was an interesting video on the comparison of the three styles.
I personally would love to see your unbiased 💯 truthful review of these refrigerators.
I’m revamping my older travel trailer and want to do a full size refrigerator but would like to stay away from the 115v models.
Personally I love the 12V propane option I have on my older TT. When I go boondocking I typically am in the woods under tree cover so solar wouldn't work too great for me with minimal generator run hours allowed per day. I understand solar especially in the west where there is a lot less tree cover and a lot sunnier but for me in the middle of the woods doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
I have a residential size 12V everchill fridge. It does cool FAST. It is also nice and large.
That being said, it’s a battery hog. I have two golf cart batteries and it will flat-line them in 12 hours or so. Had to put 500w of solar on the roof, now I’m battery net positive. (Boondock 90% of the time)
Also, my salesman, who is also my friend, heavily suggested an extended warranty while pointing at the fridge. In the fridges defense, It’s been fine for the first year.
To clarify, I didn’t need 500w. I would have to look at the consumption study I did, but I’m somewhat certain 200w would have been enough, I just got a deal on a used 500w system.
We’re looking to upgrade from a travel trailer to a Class C but I definitely want our next rig to have a 12v compressor fridge! I’m in west Texas where it’s supposed to be triple digits until September and our 2 way Dometic fridge just can’t keep up!
Our 2022 GD Reflection will come with a Furrion 16CU Ft. 12V side-by-side fridge.
Maybe set one up in your cargo trailer and take it for a couple of drives over different roads, pot holes and smooth. Your cargo trailer would be a better place for listening for noise level and for the heat that can come with a travel trailer/rv.
Yes I would like to see a review. I personally think the 12volt option is the future of RV Refrigerators.
Yes, run the test in your garage. I like the pro e idea for monitoring Temps, you could also measure amperage draw so people would have an idea on ivertor/battery size needed. Might be an opportunity to test inverters as well.
It will be interesting to see if Airstream starts putting these in vs the gas/electrics they’ve used for years. The sizes offered would fit perfect and residential ones are too big.
I would like to see that test in the garage. It would help me understand any struggles mine may have when the camper isn’t being used and the inside temp of the RV rises so high.
A review of the 12v refrigerator would be great. Don't put one in your RV to test it. Use somewhere else.
Many times the only way to get the residential refrigerator out of a unit like yours is to remove the slideout. Also, if you lay a residential refrigerator down it kills them. I have a 12v Furion compressor refrigerator in my 5th wheel and love it.
Sure put them in a building and test them. I would like to see that. I'm in the market of an RV in the next 8 to 10 months. and I hear so much about the 12 volt fridges. See how they work. Thanks
That's why I've never gone with the residential fridge usually the slide has to come out to get the fridge out its a big expensive pain in the rear
What about testing the fridge in your other trailer. The big black one that has your logo on it. I'd box it in like your RV. I think it's always good to be able to have access to cold drinks
Yes would be very interested in a 12v refrigerator review. We have a 2017 34’ grand design reflection travel trailer and we are in the process of renovating and upgrading our unit and would definitely consider replacing our gas electric fridge with a 12v unit. Great videos keep up the great work!
Would you consider testing it in your house instead ?
This way it would be easier and you would have a more realistic experience.
My take on the 12v fridges. They may not take over gas/electric fridges completely for a while but they’re going to end the practice of residential fridges being installed in RVs.
They use way less power and do the same task. No inverter needed.
You also don’t have to remove a window or a slide to replace it. That’s the big thing is serviceability. Many RV techs won’t touch them. A 12v fridge can be pulled out your door
For gas/electrics:
I think when real solar packages/lithium iron phosphate batteries become standard the gas/electrics days are numbered. For clarification I mean at least 400 watts solar and 200 ah lithium iron phosphate batteries.
Another advantage people forget is with a 12v you have 2 less leak points in your RV. No roof or side vent required.
Please test each 12 volt frig. From everchill. My interests are amp usage and db levels.Thanks
Would love a controlled test from your shed! A few 100ah lifepo4 batteries and shunts and away you go. A few other small things like clamp meter. We switched to 12 volt compressor fridge after our second gas/electric died :(. Have never looked back and we actually got 4 more cubic feet of fridge and it is great!
I wouldn’t pull your residential fridge either.
Maybe you can put it in a loaner RV? Some other RV you have access to that’s laid out to where the swap out would be easier to do.
Ours drains our battery to about 40/50% in about 4 hours when boondocking so we need to start up the generator every 3-4 hours to save the life of the battery. I don't love it, but we only boondock one holiday weekend a year - so it's doable, just not sure I "love" it yet...
Get lithium batteries... problem fixed !!!!!
@@MrDerick79 yeah. But not worth it for the one time we boondock a year…
I replaced my NORCOLD with an EverChill Refrigerator about a year ago. Love IT!! I live in San Diego. This refrigerator cools off in less than an hour!
Long story short, first EverChill I received was bent at the bottom and couldn't be installed in the RV. It was replaced free of charge. I connected a 12V power supply to the damaged 12v Everchill and put it in my garage. Like you stated, it is routinely over 100 degrees in the garage in the summer. It has worked flawlessly. It is very quite and I have had more issues with it being too cold and freezing items in the refrigerator. Unfortunately they are not like a residential refrig with a temp set, but a Number set just like the absorption refrigerators.
So I think putting one in a garage would be an excellent test.
Use your enclosed trailers! Easy in or out. Input a 7cf everchill in my AS last year: even in 110 degrees it kept it's temp just fine.
They should make an exact replacement for like the Norcold 18 CF gas /electric as seen on many,many RVs
I would love a review. my new coach came with one. I am however used to gas/electric. I am also curious how my added solar can assist and how I can best utilize my power use. and does it always run off the battery and my invertor therefore need's to run all the time??
It runs off the battery only, not your inverter, unless your wiring is different than most. Most have the inverter tied into ONLY the 115V leg, not the 12V leg. I know a few inverters that can manage them both, but most only run the 115v side. Easy way to find out, turn it off, then go see if your 12V lights and fridge still run.
I think a a test in a garage could work, with 2 12volt batteries and a solar panel fixed and or a solar panel Mobile.
If your boondocking then u probably wouldn’t be running AC, anyway. I just bought G.D. Imagine XLS 17MKE with a 12volt Furrion fridge with 2 batteries and a fixed 165w solar panel the fridge ran great for 3 days I feel a mobile solar panel would help this last longer. I turned the fridge off the 4th night it was running to much. Great video.
I am looking at some used RVs and several that I looked at need replacement fridges so I wouldn't mind the videos because I think I will be looking at different options. I understand your thought process however and understand why you don't really need to try them out.
I think if my gas/elec died I would look into replacing, maybe.. we have a nor cold and it works very well on both 110 and propane and only draws 2amp on gas. ours is a 12cuft. we run it off the inverter during travel but it does draw 30amps on DC. we have the benefit of taking the fridge out the toy hauler back so it would be a lot easier.
A 12V fridge is just a fridge with a built in inverter, at latest with the furion model. I would NOT change to a 12V unit unless you don't already have an inverter. The 320W rating you see on your fridge is worst case scenario, typically during defrost. We have a Hisense brand fridge and love the space and cooling capability compared to the gas abortion fridge from our previous RV. Our fridge draws 50w to 60w when running and spikes way up during defrost.
Yes, I would love your input on trying out the 12v fridge. I have a 2008 5th wheel that has the gas/elect. and with temps in the mid and upper 90s during the summer, it barely keeps it below 40 deg. I had been thinking about the 12v system for a bit and would love to know if it will stand up to the heat. If it will in S TX it should stand up to SW MO heat. Thanks JD for the videos that you do and all the testing you do.
I was thinking you could pick up a used RV, something 10 to 20 years older just to use as a test bed for the refrigerators and other modifications. Set it up for easy access from inside and out for filming upgrades and modifications?
Real world test, going down the road is all that matters we are talking RVs.
Agree....it needs to shake, rattle & roll on a regular basis....I would ask them if they've reached out to any
" Full Timers " .....they are the ones who can test durability and longevity.
How about putting in one of your utility trailers?
Beautiful RV
For the 12 volt I thought they were expensive. Have they came down in price? I looked into a lp mini fridge for our outdoor kitchen. I ended up removing the 120volt mini fridge and switched to two flat grills stacked up with a slide out for coolers. We use a generator when away from full hookups but only to charge the battery or if we need to cool it down a bit. Could buy ice for 20 years before the price of a LP 12volt fridge.
JD, I understand your reluctance to just swap out the refrigerator in your unit for testing. I would like to see more on the 12 volt refrigerators though and the garage could be a good option but what about your cargo trailer? If you're still using it to do projects at places that's kind of like an RV if you put it inside there. I also really like the idea another viewer had to connect changing lanes with that deal if they are interested in going to the 12 volt instead of the gas electric. I like the way Chad does product reviews also.
Would love to see some 12v fridge content. Our Gas/electric fridge isn't cutting it and looking for an alternative.
We have 12v refractor I love how cool but eat my battery in about 48hrs. I think if get 12v you should get a 100w solar panel standard. We be adding a 2nd battery soon.
The garage would be a static test site. Should the refrigerator be "installed" in a box similar to an RV? Should the fridge experience road movement to create a typical RV environment? How large of a solar bank and battery bank would be required to maintain that fridge in a hot (unconditioned) environment like a garage or poorly air-conditioned RV? Those would be my testing questions.
It’s obvious the company values your opinion enough to provide you with a product to test. With that said, I agree with not pulling out your current fridge and replacing it except if it fails and you need to replace it anyway. Is there another RV you could use as a test site instead? From what I understand, the 12v models tend to cool quicker even in hot climates. I would accept the company’s offer and test their product. Maybe review build quality as well as performance. Great channel by the way.
We have a 2021 Chapparall with the 12 volt fridge. It works really well. I prefer that over our previous gas/ electric models. I would like your feedback on the 12 volt. Jayco Eagle did not offer the 12volt or may have bought the one of their units. Boondocking one weekend and it's a learning curve to not run out of battery. Thanks
A review would be good. You could mount one in your cargo trailer to give it a mobile test platform 🤷♂️
I would be more interested in seeing how 12 volt refrigerators work towing down the road and when your camping with electric will that keep the battery charged.
Would have to come up with a "Test Bench" and decide what to test. Energy usage comparison (how many amps does 12v use compared to 115v over a day), Heat (would need to build a box to simulate being installed in a RV) blown into the 'living space', Sound (how much annoying noise does the compressor make), effective cooling (accuracy of temperature, fluctuations, time to cool when loading it up as if to travel). Might be more ideas and ways to meaningfully provide data.
I would be willing to provide a good test. I currently have a 12volt 16 cu feet Furrion and I am having issues with the refrig keeping temp
Probably not very helpful, but I would love to see head to head data on the 2-way vs compressor fridge. Perhaps running the 2-way in electric only mode against the 12 volt and compare the power draw on both to determine which might be more efficient as well as effective.
Would be very interested in seeing your review!
Simply love it
Hey, Big Truck, great question: answer, yes, please do test the 12V residential fridge in the garage...do not move that fridge out of your RV! It will not go well for you, and your RV is so beautiful, it would be a sin to mar any of the woodwork or flooring. Question for you: if 12V fridges are so good on power, why can't we use one on our homes? In power outage situations which happen quite frequently where I live, I could keep my fridge running on my LiFePo, couldn't I? Also, it'd be so cheap to get a solar panel dedicated just for the fridge in my house if it was a 12V with my LiFePo as a backup on cloudy days. So, you can see why I would love to have your review of the 12V residential fridge...probably have more questions after the review. Losing power to the fridge is my only concern in power outages. I am really set up to go "1890" with everything else...just won't have TV, and that is not a big deal for me.
Well you can put one in your black cargo trailer, and put the other in the garage for a beer fridge 🤫
If you don't want the hassle of removing/installing, I would tell Everchill thanks but no thanks.
Agree that swapping a refrigerator is a major project for many of us, especially as a DIY project. But there is another AC vs DC test I’d like to see. We recently bought a travel trailer. Though it came with a 12 v refrigerator, I was surprised to find the TV is 120 volts AC. I’m wondering if changing the TV over to DC would be a worthwhile upgrade? It would be great to see this type of evaluation on your channel.
We are having problems with the shelves in the doors breaking. We’ve tried repositioning and not overloading the shelves. Our last trip we lost another one 😕so not happy. I’m thinking because fridge is in the rear of the trailer it’s receiving the blunt of the vibration and shaking of the trailer when traveling. Would appreciate any input on this.
JD my wife and I are full time RVrs. I have a question about the AC units ( 2part question). Wife and I own this version of RV but the 2020 version that has 2 units bedroom and living room. I noticed you have 2 units in the living room/kitchen area. Is it possible for us to add a second unit in our living room/kitchen area to our Brookstone? And if so how difficult would it be and expensive to do this? Hope this makes sense. Love your channel have learned lots from your videos.
Go to Morton’s on the Move……he did a conversion kit made by a company in Elkhart
Any thoughts of installing in one of the BTBRV enclosed trailers? Doesn’t the larger “shop” trailer have AC? Would be able to bounce it around and utilize it there.
I did consider that
What about temporarily moving the table and chairs and put 1 there to test?
Test the power dran and what it take to run them for 7 days.
I would love a review. A 12 volt refrigerator could be great even at home when the power goes out. I don’t know, but I would love to know if it works off of a solar generator.
Correction does the invertor run all the time when on shore power to convert power, or is the power need split between the battery/solar and the invertor?
It would be nice to see a review
I’d be interested in your review.
have them give you a test rv to test the fridge
A 12v is more for boondocking with enough solar. Don't do it. You'll have gaps. Put it in one of the other trailers. You do have solar on the BTBRV 20 Ft.
I would 1000% rather have a gas electric two way fridge then a 12 V fridge any day of the week.
Especially for people who actually camp. Why would you not want the added functionality? And I’m talking people who camp
not people who buy a house on wheels… Having that option is just logically a better choice
Just my opinion 🤷♂️