Getting ready to go on the road at the end of July, so I started my pre-flight checks. Right off the bat I found the refer had died! Well actually I was kinda glad. I live in an RV Port Homes 55+ community in central Florida. One home burned to the ground and one was severely damaged due to RV Refer's that caught on fire. I decided when mine quit I was going to a household unit. We don't dry camp, so I don't need the gas version... I found a 10.11 cf stainless at Lowes that worked out great! I only had to lower the floor of the refer cabinet about 5 inches. And while at it did some reinforcements. It is now cold and making ice in a bit over an hour! Plus I have almost double the room. My wife is VERY happy!!! Here is the model I used: Shop Haier 10.11-cu ft Top-Freezer Refrigerator (Stainless Steel) at Lowes.com
I dry camp only when necessary. Even when I have a full hookup site, I like the gas to keep my fridge cold on the road.
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2021 Transcend Xplor 247BH
Husky WDH with Sway Control
2021 Chevy Silverado 2500HD LT 6.6L V8 Duramax
Forever in my memory. Forever in my heart.
Laurie J. Wood 3/22/67 - 8/23/19
A residential stays cold on the road because it is running off the inverter w/your TV's alternator keeping the batteries charged...
My 5 year-old Dometic 8.0 was failing so after thorough testing I knew I would either have to swap-out the cooling unit for $475 or replace it with a residential. I chose to replace it with a new Whirlpool 10.7 found at a Sears Outlet for $300. I installed a $100 2000W inverter & $80 2nd 12V battery & couldn't be happier.
From off to 38 only takes an hour. The kids can open & close it all-day long & it maintains 38. I like that I can turn the propane tanks off while traveling while the TV's alternator keeps the batteries charged. The Whirlpool fits in the same space but is 2.7 CF larger inside - roomy enough for 2 week trips.
The inverter came with battery cables so I installed it in the pass-through storage & ran 110 Romex back to a 2nd outlet I installed in the fridge compartment. For now I just pop the access panel & manually switch it from one outlet box to the other when swapping from inverter to shore power. IMO simple is best as it is easy to trouble-shoot if problems arise...
We boondocked for 3 days recently & the batteries lasted all night. I ran the generator for a few hours to top them off before quiet hours. Had I known how much better this fridge performs I would have installed it when we bought the TT. I notice now that new TT's have residential fridges as an "upgrade" feature although the fridge/inverter combo costs less than propane...
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2011 RAM 2500 ST Crew Cab 5.7 Hemi
2011 Primetime 3150BHD Touring Edition
Days camped in 2018-25 2017-31; 2016-36; 2015-37; 2014-31
Installing an inverter is my plan as well. Once we get back from our current trip I will likely do the same setup. My coach being the Lexie GTS already has the dual battery setup, so it will be pretty simple.
RS
I received my new 2500w inverter today and just finished installing it. Because my kitchen sink is directly above my exterior battery compartment, I decided to place the inverter under the sink. The other cool part is if you measure carefully, the feeder cables you must run to the batteries will come out in the top of the battery compartment! Couldn't be better! I know 2500w may be overkill, but I read some articles that said smaller inverters run hard with some appliances and can use more power than a large one. We will see. I leave in the a.m. for Stone Mountain.
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