Prime Time Wants To Know

[TURBS]

geeee if only someone could figure out perpetual motion .

[caper]

The footprint of the trailer does not change. If you install a larger reefer then something else has to go. You will give up living space, storage space or counter space.

[padave65]

To be honest....I would not want a frig that I cannot keep cold while in tow or while dry camping....wish my frig in the outdoor kitchen was gas/electric. a compressor based frig weighs more anyway....

[grayfox]

Originally Posted by mtnguy

RV Guy, it is great that you are asking for opinions, and please keep up the good work. But to put a residential fridge in a camper just does not seem like a good idea. At the most, you could do it as an option on special orders if that what a buyer wants.

We saw a 5th wheel at the FROG Rally that had a residential fridge, and the questions arose from the group that I was with. How in the world do you dry camp with that, or an overnite stay at Walmart, without having to run a generator. Or, how do you keep things cold on the road ?? Yeah, it should keep things cold for x number of hours if you keep the doors closed, but what if you want to get lunch, or a drink or 2 down the road. Personally, I want my beer ice cold when I mark that off of my setup checklist (1st step when arriving at at campground ).

What happens if you want to go off of the grid for a couple of days, or an extended power outage when you need to use the camper sitting in the driveway ??

This ranks right along with a couple of posts the last couple of days that certain campers need to be plugged in all of the time......geez......we are getting too far away from camping with some rigs.

Personally, I would never buy a unit without an RV fridge.

X-2

[TeresaInCAL]

Our fridge is an OK size, not sure what the actual #s are, but it's decent, and the freezer has 2 shelves, and it DOES keep ice cream frozen!

For OUR family (2 teenaged boys, both taller than me), drink 1 gallon of milk PER DAY. There probably isn't going to be any fridge that will handle a week's worth of milk (5-7 gallons). Just sayin, so for our needs, a bigger frigde just wouldnt be practical. Hence we'll probably always have the Costco size (coffin size), 1/2 full of milk. But I digress...
Anyway I was thinking what if you just put in a secondary fridge, independent of the other one, and when you need the extra space, you have it. As the trip progresses, and you don't need the extra fridge, you can turn it off.
Just my humble opinion.

[RV Guy]

This is a great thread and we thank you for the feedback.


I will share some random thoughts based on a couple of earlier comments:

• An 18' over/under house type refer requires basically the same width to install as a 6' RV fridge so nothing else has to be given up. They are taller and slightly deeper, but not wider than the entire cabinet of the 6' models.
• Depending on the model of refer we would install, the cost would be about the same as an RV type.
• Yes, we do have a couple of models that we've toyed with the 12' SBS RV refrigerators and these are fantastic. BUT, they are super expensive and do eliminate storage (typically a pantry) because of their extra width.

It seems pretty clear their is only marginal interest. We've learned alot by reading the comments. Keep on posting, we will keep on reading. Thanks!

PTM

[HAARubicon]

We looked at the 319qbs that is offered with the larger 4 door fridge but the loss of the pantry was a deal killer. The larger frige in our 2012 318 bhs touring addition is adequate and the pantry is great. Whatever is considered do not lose the pantry, dry good storage is as important as cold storage, it is the main reason why we choose your product over your competitors with similar floor plans, they did not have a pantry.

Keeping a cold fridge while traveling is also a top priority for us because we stop often to prepare lunch while traveling and nice cold soda is always good. With kids, keeping the milk cold is also important.

[kozzy]

I will say that I would love a bigger fridge. Maybe just a bigger RV type as we do make a trip to Florida once a year and would need to keep things cool. We have the 318 BHS and very often need to cool down the outdoor fridge, load it, and close it because we don't have room inside. We have 2 kids...if we had a double door RV fridge inside the unit I think that would be plenty big enough. We typically camp 2-4 hours from home and always have power..

I might add since we are talking about fridges, I do wish my fridge in the outdoor kitchen was also an RV type so I could run that while traveling or dry camping as well..

There were a few times this summer we did dry camp and had to use coolers because I didn't have the use of my second fridge..

The 318 BHS is built for families and def needs a family size fridge. I didn't get the touring edition so I didn't get the extra fridge space, but from what I have seen the 2 fridges are pretty close in size. We sure do have storage areas that are empty in the unit so I think some of the storage space could be sacrificed for a bigger fridge. Just my opinion.

Hey, can I trade my fridge in for a bigger one? Please? Hahaha

[great white]

From the first post:

Problem 1. You didn't do what the wife told you to (IE: put it in the fridge).

Problem 2. You disagreed with her

Problem 3. you tried to justify your point

How long have you been married?

If the wife gives you something to do, you find a way to get it done!

Never come back to her and say you couldn't do it because of "X" reason! In her mind, there is no reasonable excuse and it's your fault simply because you're a man!

Heck brother, that's like pulling over and asking for directions! We're men! You just don't do it!

Of course, I'm seriously just kidding here......

All joking aside, the RV fridge is fine.

A regular unit might be an option for some, but I would make it just that: an option.

First time someone gets to the campground to find they are "accidentally" overbooked (yeah right.....) and you have to boondock it in the overflow area they'll be wishing they had an RV fridge instead of a 110 only unit.

The options of a bigger RV fridge are good suggestions. Making it a selectable option for a factory order is a good idea.

We simply accept the restrictions of a smaller fridge and pack accordingly. That we will have to make a few grocery runs in the course of a long trip is a given.....it's all just part of the RV experience for us.

[RV Guy]

Funny stuff.

[fschambe]

I would much rather see a Dometic RM 1350 double door 2way power installed before a 110 only. The 1350 has an icemaker option with through the door dispensing. What's more to ask for?

[LKicklight]

Gibson Fiberglass HouseBoats had this same question...our 44' Gibson Standard has a regular frig. with ice maker....on the water we run the generator most of the weekend to keep it going....at the dock we have power to plug into....most folks would only need to run a generator for the haul from home to there campsite, plug it there and then to get back home....Added expense of generator might be the determining factor...wish ours in the 270 RET was a little larger...the one we have in our Sunnybrook TT is just the right size..
LKicklight

[fschambe]

While you have an engine running couldn't you run the fridge off an inverter?

Originally Posted by LKicklight

Gibson Fiberglass HouseBoats had this same question...our 44' Gibson Standard has a regular frig. with ice maker....on the water we run the generator most of the weekend to keep it going....at the dock we have power to plug into....most folks would only need to run a generator for the haul from home to there campsite, plug it there and then to get back home....Added expense of generator might be the determining factor...wish ours in the 270 RET was a little larger...the one we have in our Sunnybrook TT is justI the right size..
LKicklight

[LKicklight]

Gibsons do not have inverters...................gen. set or battery's/

Originally Posted by fschambe

While you have an engine running couldn't you run the fridge off an inverter?

[fschambe]

They must have some form of a 12v system, what operates the bilge pump? Don't the twin V8's have alternators? A quick glance at the Swenson Sheets shows that they are all equipped with 3 batteries as standard equipment.

Originally Posted by LKicklight

Gibsons do not have inverters...................gen. set or battery's/

[LKicklight]

Yes, the three batteries are similar to what the RV's have, in that they are deep cycle batteries....When the gen. set is not running, at night we'll say, the bilge pumps, and anchor light runs off these three batteries. The DC system has a fail/safe system that will not allow the batteries to drain below what is necessary to fire the engines....Running the gen. set until just before bed time while at anchor, will usually keep everything in the frig. happy unitl you can fire it back up in the morning...still no inverters as with the RV's.....
Have heard of some boaters using 6 volt batteries in series to prolong there battery life, RV'ers have done the same thing..

[fschambe]

So wouldn't it make more sense to add an inverter to run the fridge during the day instead of the generator running making noise and wasting gas? This assumes you don't have other loads running like the AC in which case the generator is your best option.

[mike6065]

After 18 years of marriage, I eventually learned to say "yes honey, with a smile". Good luck to all. Now the question. What is the purpose of having some systems require 12v when hooked up to shore power? Last week the converter went out while we were camping. Needless to say a warm refrigerator full of food can get quite ripe. I would like to see all systems run off of shore power when hooked & transfer over to 12v when in need.

[fschambe]

Your fridge was running on 110 and since the 12v went out the control board no longer functioned? It is logical, but an achiles heel to be setup like that. I guess it's too late now, but you could have connected to your truck and ran it for a half hour to charge up the batteries.

Originally Posted by mike6065

After 18 years of marriage, I eventually learned to say "yes honey, with a smile". Good luck to all. Now the question. What is the purpose of having some systems require 12v when hooked up to shore power? Last week the converter went out while we were camping. Needless to say a warm refrigerator full of food can get quite ripe. I would like to see all systems run off of shore power when hooked & transfer over to 12v when in need.

[Dandy]

As PaDave mentioned earlier I think having a gas fridge in the outdoor kitchen would be an improvement.

With that said I thought of something else and maybe it was mentioned in the 6-pages I scanned on this topic. Obviously this topic has caught some attention.

I would seriously entertain having the gas fridge in the outdoor kitchen and a full household inside.

If I think about the items I have in the fridge that do not "need" constant refrigeration I could shuffle a few things around to the gas fridge for travel and boondocking (like my wife would boondock). Also from experience, if you pack a freezer full of frozen items and then shut it down it would take days to thaw, thats enough time for me to get plugged back in.