Question on Residential Fridges and Frequent Travelers

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Gizmo

Gizmo

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Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Posts
1,819
Location
Bellingham,WA
We are full-timers beginning a search for our next rig.  Many of the rigs we have seen in our search on RV Trader, dealer websites and private sellers come equipped with a residential refrigerator.  From a daily operational perspective I fully get and appreciate the benefits of a residential refrigerator, but I have a couple concerns.  It is my understanding residential refrigerators are not designed or manufactured to bounce down the road and as such can lead to premature failures.  To repair, generally requires a licensed refrigerator/appliance technician, so I imagine most if any RV dealer service would not be able to make repairs.  So I am wondering if residential refrigerators are better suited for folks who do not travel with their rigs, or if so infrequently such as snowbirds who may only travel twice a year. My question then becomes, for those who have residential refrigerators, are full-timers and travel frequently what say you on your experience with them over time.  We do travel frequently staying in one place as little as one night and since Lin An is still travel nursing, up to 3-months.  Thanks.
 
We are full time.  We had our Norcold switched out for a Samsung about a year ago.  So far we have taken four trips, total about 6000 miles, with no problem.  We did find we needed to put a spring loaded rod on the top shelf when traveling to keep things from falling off the shelf.  We use a door lock from recubed solutions to keep the door closed while traveling.  We have no regrets about the change.
 
We installed our residential fridge ~8 years ago and still think that it was the single best improvement we've made to our MH.  IMHO the majority of posts along the lines of "how will you get it repaired?" are written by folks who don't have a residential fridge and seem to be intent on persuading others not to get them.  I recognize that if you like to boondock a lot they may not be suitable for your lifestyle, but other than that we think ours is wonderful--more storage space, ice cream that stays frozen, no fire risk!  What more can you ask for? 

Quite honest;y, if mine needed major repair after 8 years I would simply replace it, rather than repair.  A residential fridge is so much less expensive than an RV one that you can afford to replace it and still come out ahead plus there's no guarantee that an RV fridge would last any longer.

Joel (AKA docj)
 
While the concerns you mentioned are technically correct, in practice they are of little significance. The same concerns would apply to the "residential" tvs, satellite receivers and such that you will also have.  The manufacturers of those units may use the RV as an excuse to void a warranty, and may also make excuses about the fridge being "built-in", which they also typically disallow.  It's mostly a question of avoiding potential liability for conditions or events that were not part of their design parameters.


Yes, you would need an appliance repair tech if you have an actual residential fridge malfunction. They are mobile techs and many will work in an RV, or at worst demand that you pull the fridge out of the wall to give them adequate access. Some others here have had fridge reapirs done in their rig, so hopefully they will chime in on this subject.


The primary concerns with a residential fridge installation is some sort of door latches for travel and retainer bars or containers for the shelf contents (the bars are also needed in an RV fridge).  I've not heard of a single case of shelf, bracket, or compressor damage due to traveling down the highway.
 
We've got a 2004 Monaco that came from the factory with a  Whirlpool residental refrigerator. We have 124,000 miles on the coach and the residential refrigerator works great-15 years and going strong. We won't consider replacing it until it breaks. We do put a velcro strap around the handles when traveling.


 
In the Beaver I used to have, there was a Jenn-Air residential fridge which did great until the compressor went bad (approaching 10 years old by then). I called the same folks who have worked on household appliances for us, and they changed out the compressor without removing it, or even pulling it out, right in the coach. They got in through the outside hatch behind the fridge which allowed access to the lower rear. It worked out just fine.

I have a Whirlpool in my current coach, and it's done just fine for the 2? years I've had it. I don't think the bumping around hurts them much, and we've hit roads (even interstate in places) so bad that we actually had to slow way down, with no adverse effects on any appliances, including fridge, microwave, washer and dryer (all this in both coaches).

So I think any concerns about whether they are road worthy are misplaced ̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶̶  ̶̶̶̶ they do fine.
 
Gizmo said:
We are full-timers beginning a search for our next rig . . . for those who have residential refrigerators, are full-timers and travel frequently what say you on your experience with them over time.
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We had our Whirlpool installed in 2013 (https://rvseniormoments.com/projects/residential-refrigerator-upgrade/). Since then, no problems. However, I think if the fridge started "acting up", it would probably need to be replaced. I base this in our recent experience with a new Samsung fridge.

A little over a year ago, we had a new Samsung installed in our AZ park model. It started going bad almost immediately. (That's right, Samsungs aren't bulletproof.) Long story short, it had to be replaced as fixing it would actually have cost more. Luckily it was under warranty.

Regardless, I'd never go back to a Dometic (or Norcold).
 
And then there's the 10 year old Whirlpool Gold fridge in my house that has never traveled a mile except in the delivery truck.  It has had a major repair under warranty and two smaller repairs by me since the warranty expired.  :mad:  They just don't make 'em like they used to...
 
Thank you all for the helpful replies and sharing your experiences and expertise with me, they have been helpful.  To be honest, I was hoping for such responses as we would like the many advantages of a residential refrigerator, so it is helpful to know they are a viable option.
 
docj said:
IMHO the majority of posts along the lines of "how will you get it repaired?" are written by folks who don't have a residential fridge and seem to be intent on persuading others not to get them.
Click to expand...

EXACTLY!!!

I have a 23 cu. ft. Samsung 4-Door and love it. Two years and about 20k miles.  I am a 'usually boondocking' full-timer.  I run the refrigerator (and entire coach) from solar, battery, and PSW inverter.  Works wonderfully.
 
Our 10.1 cu ft Haier residential fridge has about 20,000 miles on it so far plus what ever the delivery miles were from the factory. The only work that's been done it was a recent factory recall to replace a relay and capacitor on the compressor. The GE appliance service tech was quite happy that he could do the work standing up at the outside access hatch instead of pulling it out and laying on the floor.
 
We installed a 19cube Kenmore Elite when our rig was about 1 year old. Original Norcold quit with the first 6 months, the replacement cooling unit never cooled well. The frig is now 9 years old and has been driven over 95,000 miles. We had one minor issue and just called Sears service, they had no issues with service a frig in an RV.


Now our Whirlpool washer had a control board replaced by an appliance service tech when it was about 2 years old. He had to pull the washer out and service it in the hall. Actually he pulled it out twice, once to diagnose the problem and 2nd time to install the new part. When it start acting up again 3 years ago I called the same service outlet and they said they no longer work in RVs. I had to find an RV tech and eventually had to replace the washer because the needed part was obsolete.


As more and more RV have residential appliances I sure getting service will become easier.


 
I would say the most important thing is to have a separate fridge and freezer. If you are willing to run to the store every couple of days, then you could get a way with the smaller RV size unit. If you are going to be traveling in areas where this is not an option, you may need to consider something different.
 
This is our 4th RV, and our 1st with a res fridge, but we much prefer it to the LP fridges that were in our other RVs. Our MH is almost eight years old, and we've been bouncing it down some of the worst roads in the country for years with nary a problem. (California freeways) Knock on wood, but so far, ours has been very reliable.

The only downside of having a res fridge that I can see, is that they require a lot more electricity than do LP fridges, and you must have an inverter to power them when you're boondocking. It's a non issue for people who don't boondock, but for those of us who do, you soon realize that you're going to have to get comfortable listening to your generator droning away for hours each day, or invest in enough solar to overcome the power issue.

Kev
 
Kevin Means said:
This is our 4th RV, and our 1st with a res fridge, but we much prefer it to the LP fridges that were in our other RVs. Our MH is almost eight years old, and we've been bouncing it down some of the worst roads in the country for years with nary a problem. (California freeways) Knock on wood, but so far, ours has been very reliable.

The only downside of having a res fridge that I can see, is that they require a lot more electricity than do LP fridges, and you must have an inverter to power them when you're boondocking. It's a non issue for people who don't boondock, but for those of us who do, you soon realize that you're going to have to get comfortable listening to your generator droning away for hours each day, or invest in enough solar to overcome the power issue.

Kev
Click to expand...

Point well taken Kevin and as frequent boondockers will require a bit more planning for our solar set-up to accommodate the power demand of a residential fridge.  Good to read your positive experience as well. Thanks.
 
We bought our Quantum WS31 knowing it had a resi-fridge. But, being in a class C motorhome that only had one 12 volt battery we were in for a big surprise. It didn't get us through one night. Long story short... 4- 6 volt batteries don't fit under the steps very easily! I don't know what kind of rig you are thinking of buying, but I would go class A for ease of battery access alone! 
 
And I've seen a couple of class A's that barely had room for the two batteries the dealer installed when they were new.
 
Regarding the type of rv that the residential fridge is in.  We have a rear kitchen Cougar fifth wheel(32'), and the fridge is in the very back of the camper.  We have trouble with the door shelves breaking in our Dometic fridge from the bouncing of items on those shelves, but the fridge is pretty robust in regards to the main components.

I know that a lot of you have had no trouble with your residential fridge in your camper, and I have considered putting one in ours, but I have reservations based on how much movement there is in the very back of our rig.  I don't know how much bouncing a compressor and related tubing can handle.

It would be helpful if those of you that have a rear kitchen TT or fiver that has a residential fridge in the very back....could please tell us how your fridge has done on the road.

Thanks, 
Tom
 
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