Do you know what kind of fridge is in your RV? Is it an absorption fridge or a residential fridge?
Cheri Sicard recently posted a YouTube video about which type of fridge is best for an RV. Did you watch it? If so, do you agree with what they say? Do you like the type of fridge your RV currently has or do you wish it were different? Feel free to answer these questions in the comment section below the poll. Thank you!
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We just replaced our traditional RV fridge that died with a residential a few months ago in our 2008. So far so good, but time will tell if we miss the flexibility of being able to be off grid for longer lengths of time.
Like Kasey, we too just replaced our absorption refrigerator with a residential one in our 2012 Arctic Fox. I love the additional space we have in the new one, but will be questioning how long we’ll be able to survive off grid using our solar panels and inverter. Time will tell…
There is no “traditional RV fridge that works only on 12 volt DC electricity.” The traditional RV fridge had an OPTION to work on 12VDC, and was terrible at it, sucking power like crazy. The NEW 12VDC “compressor type” reefers are quite efficient, and probably a better choice than either a conventional RV absorption fridge or a residential model, especially if you plan any time off-grid.
We removed our double door dometic and installed a Samsung 18 cu ft fridge and have no regrets! Larger space, cools as it should and we can still go off grid with zero issues!
We had a propane/AC/DC fridge until a propane fire! Converted to a DC fridge and could not be happier! Ice cream cold! No longer a “no-cold Norco unit!”
One of the things I required of myself, when I was looking at buying a RV, a residential fridge. No propane fridge for me.
I’ve had 2 cooling units replaced at National RV Refrigeration in Shipshewana. No worries boondocking for a night or two. Had a Fridge Defend installed. I leave the propane on while traveling. Full time for 19 1/2 years now, 2nd motorhome.
12 years full timing and nearly a half million miles traveled, never an issue with propane.
We are on our second all-electric RV. As “all-electric” implies, both refrigerators have been residential ones.
You have a electric RV, wow. How far can you travel before stopping to recharge? Do you have problems finding a RV park with a charger?
We have a 10 cu ft, 12 volt compressor fridge/freezer in our truck camper
You didn’t say if you liked it or not. And if it does a decent job of keeping things cool.
We have a residential refrigerator in our RV. I very much dislike it! It does not work well when traveling or Boondocking. I would go with a gas unit in a heartbeat if I could justify the change. I think the manufacturer puts them in because of cost. They promote the residential but putting up safety concerns that I feel are justified by anecdotal evidence. By and large the safety concerns are not justified.
You hit the nail on the head. COST. what ever is cheapest goes in. Never mind that I’m traveling without 120 volts for 5/8 hours a day. Think about your home refrigerator. It will run 80% of the time. With an rv you will have to supply batteries and a charger and inverter. OR a little propane.
We have a 10 square foot 12V fridge. We love it. We have never experienced a problem. Ice cream is never soft. We enjoy boondocking, and our lifepo4 battery reserve has never been threatened (400 AH).
residential fridge….wouldn’t have it any other way.
Will never have a residential-type fridge in our RV!
I have had both and will pick the residential every time. On new RVs they are powered through the inverter so they stay cool when not hooked-up to power. Many claim that manufacturers install them because they are cheaper. On the surface that may appear true but they also need to install more batteries and either an inverter or a larger capacity one. The number 1 reason most install them is because of customer demand. You get a larger cu in refrigerator in the same space with residential. If you’re losing temperature on the road, you either have a power issue or your seals/door is not aligned properly.
I’ve had both fridge styles over the years and my main problem with a residential fridge is that the shelves are made out of hard plastic rather than the steel wire shelves from a propane fridge. The inside of the fridge gets destroyed when you have heavier items in your fridge and you take bumps and holes all day long…
I can see your point but that isn’t an issue on our DP. Friends of ours installed shock absorbers on their 5th wheel and it did help with stuff “bouncing around” but didn’t eliminate it. We never had a shelf break on our travel trailer, but I did add tension bars to hold stuff in place after we had a refrigerator door open and stuff fly out.
We have a Traditional Refrigerator. It has worked great since we bought it new in 2005. We are on the road about six months each year. Ours is a dometic.
Our Sandpiper came with an LG residential unit. Within the RV is a 1000 watt inverter that keeps it running while away from full hookups. We like it, especially the icemaker. Our battery bank (a pair of 6 volt GC15’s) will run it for the overnights when generator use is not allowed.
We have a small 12 volt refrig in our geopro trailer. Most of the time it works OK but it sucks more power when not on shore power then we like. We have 200 ah of Lithium and it was near drained after 3 days in a shaded camping spot with little sun for our 400 watts of solar. We were careful with power but it still got drained. In a sunny spot we generally can keep up the load just fine. Refrig is also very cold in freezer and not so cold in main compartment.
I don’t see any need for a residential fridge in an RV. Now there are terrific 12 volt models that have the capacity but are ruggedized and designed for the RV environment. Plus, if you do go off-grid, you don’t need an inverter. I think the residential fridge is a relic of the past – but nobody told the RV industry yet.
We have a traditional rv fridge in our Winnebago View. It’s quite large and runs on propane or 120 A/C. Seems to use very little propane and we run it when driving. Everything stays very cold. Seems like a no brainer unless you’re always on shore power.
We have a residential refrigerator in our coach and it works great. It gives us plenty of space and we’ve never had a problem with it whether we’re parked or going down the road. We even plug in our rv when we’re at home and use it as a second refrigerator. We would never consider anything other than a residential fridge.
We have both a traditional RV propane & AC/DC plus a mid size residential fridge. Gotta have room for the beer.
Actually, I have a marine refrigerator that uses a Danfoss/ Secop compressor that sips 12 volt electricity at 2.2 amps per hour when it’s running. This compressor is designed to work up to 30 degrees off level. Now, no one would ever park thirty degrees off level with their rig, but, it demonstrates how much you could if you were parking in a mountainus area.
We have a 2011 CampLite with a AC dorm sized refrigerator that we can run off a 1000 W inverter when on the road. It has never given us a problem. If it does fail, it could be easily replaced. It is the original setup from the factory.
I have a RV fridge changed to a 12V compressor style
I really like my rv fridge. Cut some plastic sheets to fit inside freezer walls so removing ice is a simple task
Propane, 12v, and 120 is great. Long day away from hook up is no worry Fridge stays cold. Great concept and product. Service once per year, runs great since 2006!
We got very tired of adding extra fans, etc., to keep our previous absorption refrigerators somewhat cool. Our current Montana has an 18 cu’ residential fridge with an ice maker. Set it and forget it and ice cream is nice and solid, too. No hookups, no problem — solar and a generator. Loving it!
My 45 year old motorhome has the original three way Dometic fridge. Freezer temp is always around zero. The only issue I’ve had in the eight years I’ve owned it is the igniter broke. Being handy, I fixed up a BBQ push button igniter to do that job.
We have a 11 cu. ft. Whirlpool. Reefer sticker says 6.5 amps max. ( I assume it’s starting amps.)
Running, it only draws 1 amp. Equal to a 100 watt bulb (ac). 11 amps dc.
And refrigerators don’t run constantly.