RV Fridge or Residential

[Mikayles]

Is that 8 Battle Borns I'm seeing in that pic?

[Puddle Pirate]

Originally Posted by Mikayles

Is that 8 Battle Borns I'm seeing in that pic?

yUP------I want 4 more, but I am going to spend 1200.00 for 1200 watts of solar next.

And thats all my handy work

[Mikayles]

Nice work!

[Puddle Pirate]

Originally Posted by Mikayles

Nice work!

Thks

[Capt. Bill]

Regardless of what you hear- go residential! Better cooling in hotter climates, ice maker & cold water dispenser, less issues. I'll never go back to LP/electric!

Happy Trails

[TravelinCake]

Hi,
We had a 2013 Jayco Melbourne 31D for a number of years. The RV fridge was small and freezer smaller! We upgraded to a Seneca with a residential fridge (side by side) and so far I really like it... no problems (in a year) and holds more items, especially the freezer, and we have a lot of frozen food on the road.

The other item I haven’t seen mentioned.. winterizing! The first year in the Seneca we winterized the fridge, draining all the water from the ice maker & water dispenser. It was a pain! Once we had it done, we agreed we were capable of using a Britta filter bottle in the fridge, and use a ‘retro’ ice tray to make our own ice in the freezer. Problem solved, no more winterizing. Never had to winterize the RV fridge, no water in it.

Safe travels!

[Icy]

We had a 3 way fridge in our Airstream and have travelled all through the US and Canada. We also boon-dock a fair amount so it works well for us. Never had a problem cooling, but it could definitely be a little bigger. If you were going to always have 120V handy, I would probably go with a residential fridge, bigger and cool faster. We just bought a new Jayco Melbourne 24’ and only has a 2 way fridge, we used it twice. So far we are quite happy with it, it is a lot bigger that our other trailer fridge. Also seems to cool better.
Pete

[Mikayles]

The Dometic in the 319 MLOK is a double door. We camped with enough in ours to feed wife, myself, my son and his wife and 2 grandkids for a week. I would need Puddle Pirates battery bank plus a lot of solar to keep a residential fridge going for a couple weeks boondocking in the desert or mountains. In the mountains we can be solar challenged by the sun. If you plan on limited boondocking or none then yeah the residential is nice. Remember there is a LOT of bounce in the rear of your rig and the fridge in the 319 is at the very back of the rig. Enough that on one particularly rough road I bounced my ebike out of the rack. Fortunately the front strap held and only the back tire fell out. I saw it in the rear view camera and stopped. I only say this to show how much bounce is back there. Most rigs the fridge is mounted closer to the centerline or axles than the 319. It's a tough call that only you can decide but for us in the 319 which is what you are asking about, yes I'm glad we got the rv fridge.

[jimmoore13]

You don't mention boondocking.
This comment applies if you intend to boondock rather than use RV parks.

If you boondock, get a 2 way fridge that can run on propane when off the grid. If you don't intend to boondock, a residential or 12 volt compressor fridge is a better choice, and you can make do if you boondock once in a while.

Residential and 12 volt compressor fridges are superior refrigeration devices, BUT they are power hogs, and electricity is their only source of power. If you are running on batteries, they will eat your battery bank alive. If you have ENOUGH battery and ENOUGH recharge capability, great. If not, plan to listen to your generator for hours and hours per day. Shore power fixes that, but not when boondocking.

A two-way fridge, on the other hand, uses heat to make cold. PROPANE is a fabulous source of heat, so you can boondock more or less indefinitely when running a 2-way fridge on propane. Bonus points for the fact that you can run a 2-way fridge on propane while driving down the road. Can you run a 12-volt compressor on the road? Sure. How about a residential? Yes, thru an inverter, but you are inhaling your battery bank as you drive...even with the power from the tow vehicle.

But when you get there...out in the boonies all on your own, 12 volt power is the deciding factor on how long you can stay. Lots and lots of solar? OK. Like the sound of generators? OK. But for me, when I haul my rig a mile down an ATV trail to get to that heavenly spot that others won't go to, I want my 12 volt power to be available to run the furnace, lights, stereo now and then, water pump and so on.

I love my 6 cubic foot RV fridge. Temps might not be as rock steady as temps in a compressor fridge, but things don't spoil. It's not as big as a compressor fridge that will fit the same footprint, but it's big enough. As a boondocker, exclusively, I would not own a compressor fridge, because propane is a far better energy source for any purpose than 12 volt batteries.

If you're going to always use RV parks with shore power, fresh water and, possibly, a sewer connection, get the compressor fridge. And if you do, a 12-volt model is the hot ticket lately. Otherwise get the RV fridge. It offers far more flexibility...and that's why they were invented in the first place.

That's my 2 cents.

By the way, I have 400 watts of solar and 2 x 6 volt golf cart batteries. The ONLY limiting factor on length of stay is the black tank. I carry jugs to go get more water. Propane is available at most gas stations, convenience stores, supermarkets, and hardware stores. In the wildfire-prone west, grey water is a precious resource for watering the trees. When the proverbial poop hits the fan, I have a blackwater tote tank, but finding a dump can be a real challenge.

[Joshuaz]

Originally Posted by Mikayles

We have a 2020 Eagle 319 MLOK with the RV fridge...a Dometic and we like it. We camped this summer in 100+ deg heat and the fridge stayed under 38 deg temp and no melted ice cream. There is a lot of bounce in the back of the 319 and I felt the rv fridge would work better for us. You have to get yourself familiar with proper closing of the doors....as in be sure the center flap is closed. Ours seems to have been installed correctly and doesn't take long for initial cooldown.

Love our 319 as well, Ours was missing center flap, but dealer fixed quickly. I agree, the propane option is nice, especially when on the road, running on propane while traveling. We have used residential fridges as well, they do kill the battery quick with the inverter, but otherwise, either works fine. While driving, the truck does charge the batteries, so it really becomes more of a personal preference.

I will say the 319 is a double door fridge so didn't think I was missing out vs residental fridge. I didn't find draining water all that hard for winterizing, but it is something you have to remember on the residential fridge. I wouldnt have drank the water, but it was nice to have your own ice machine, I sort of miss that ��!!

[Farmboy98922]

Originally Posted by breckenridge2003

Hi All-

After much research, and your help, we are close to pulling the trigger on an Eagle 319MLOK. Best combo of weight, length and features for us.

The last decision is the religious one about fridge type. We will be camping in the midwest during summers. I've seen a lot of comments pro and con for both types of fridges. We don't really need a giant fridge, so the 12-13CF RV fridge is big enough.....however, we're seeing that they don't necessarily cool as well.

Also on the other side, we're hearing the residential fridges can be more prone to vibration types of breakdowns. That 319RLOK has a rear kitchen, so this fridge will get some vibration.

Yet the residential fridges cool well, are spacious, and maybe good for resale value.

Do any of your experienced types have any good real world advice for us???

Thanks for your help as always!!!! 2021 camp season cannot get here soon enough!

I have the same rv that you are looking at. We have the double door propane/electric fridge. It seams to work fine only one year old. The only problem is the top shelf has a cut out for tall milk bottles or whatever I had to put a block between the top shelf and the middle shelf to keep it from collapsing. Other than that it works good. I have had a couple of residencial fridges they use a lot of battery power when dry camping

[deepsea5]

As others have mentioned, a 12 Volt RV/Marine compressor refrigerator is a nice option. No inverter needed, but will need a healthy supply of 12 Volt power.

[Forelyndogs]

As said by other posts, it really depends upon your camping style. Sometimes, the term boondocking gets misinterpreted. To me boondocking means camping without power, water, and/or sewer. We are very fond of Harvest Host locations in which you are camping at a museum, farm, winery, and even golf course. The premise is that you have no hookups. We also go to dog shows which are often two, three, or four-day events without hookups. We also camp at full hookup campgrounds. We would not give up the freedom to be without hookups for a big residential refrigerator. It just doesn't fit our camping style. For folks who always stop where they have full hookups, the home-style fridge is perfect.

[Don MH]

I'm confused, when I've read the term "residential refrigerators" within the context of RVs, I assumed that they were refrigerators designed for RV's using compressor technology instead of the absorption principles and that they could run the compressor directly on 12V systems. I didn't realize that apparently some folks were literally installing traditional 120V home refrigerators in their RVs.

Are they 12V compressor cooled refrigerators designed for RVs? Are they worth the effort to install?

After having my propane refrigerator burn up my first travel trail back in 1981, I can't say that I'm a big fan of propane refrigerators.

Thanks!

Don H.

[F350guy]

Originally Posted by Don MH

I'm confused, when I've read the term "residential refrigerators" within the context of RVs, I assumed that they were refrigerators designed for RV's using compressor technology instead of the absorption principles and that they could run the compressor directly on 12V systems. I didn't realize that apparently some folks were literally installing traditional 120V home refrigerators in their RVs.

Are they 12V compressor cooled refrigerators designed for RVs? Are they worth the effort to install?

After having my propane refrigerator burn up my first travel trail back in 1981, I can't say that I'm a big fan of propane refrigerators.

Thanks!

Don H.

A residential means just that, a fridge that you could purchase in an appliance store for your stick and brick home. I am not aware of any changes made for use in an rv. The use of residential types in rv's has been going on for a number of years. Our last 3 rv's have had one. The first was in our motorhome in 2010, then ordered an Excel fifth wheel with a Samsung RF18 and now our Pinnacle with a 21cf Whirlpool side by side. No problems with any of them so far. They run off shore power when it is hooked up and an inverter when going down the road.

I think a more recent development is fridges which have a 12V compressor but so far all I have seen are models in the smaller sizes.

[WV Camper]

I have the same question as the OP in general. We have ordered a 321RSTS but it hasn’t started production yet so we can still make a change. We did order it with The residential refrigerator but I am just concerned about not having the dual mode capability. We do not do any serious Boondocking but we do travel across country every year and when we’re traveling we will normally just sleep in a rest area or a truckstop. So my question is how long will a residential refrigerator go before it runs a battery down? I know there are all kinds of variables in that question what kind of battery how many batteries etc. but if we have just the standard RV battery that will come with the camper how long will that run the refrigerator?

We did order it with the generator prep and it is my intention to have a generator put in it.

Thanks

[Lake Huron]

My Northpoint had an issue the first time we used it. The residential fridge worked on shore power when we did our PDI, but we didnt check it to see when we weren't connected to shore power. We didnt realize it until our first trip out when we got to the campground and I noticed the fridge wasnt on. Our has the generator prep as well and I figured out there was a wiring connection mistake from the factory. The red wire supplying power to the fridge inverter wasnt connected to the fridge batteries. The red wire that was connected was for the gen prep and going nowhere since we didnt have the gen installed anyway, so it was going nowhere. We have a main battery just for the trailer system and two 6v's connected in series just for the fridge. The 2 battery systems are completely seperate from each other. When going down the road the main battery is connected and being charged from the truck power. The fridge batteries are not. The only time they get charged is when connected to shore power. The fridge inverter has a built in charging system. With having a pair of 6v batteries for powering the fridge, I've had them running for a solid 8 hours before and my battery percentage only got down to like 94%. I would imagine I could run for quite sometime with these before I had to connect to shore power.
It would be nice to have the fridge batteries connected to the truck charging system, but we dont do any boondocking or long road trips. Besides, I kinda dont know how I could connect it to the truck system yet keep them seperate.

[Mopar_Earl]

Originally Posted by Lake Huron

My Northpoint had an issue the first time we used it. The residential fridge worked on shore power when we did our PDI, but we didnt check it to see when we weren't connected to shore power. We didnt realize it until our first trip out when we got to the campground and I noticed the fridge wasnt on. Our has the generator prep as well and I figured out there was a wiring connection mistake from the factory. The red wire supplying power to the fridge inverter wasnt connected to the fridge batteries. The red wire that was connected was for the gen prep and going nowhere since we didnt have the gen installed anyway, so it was going nowhere. We have a main battery just for the trailer system and two 6v's connected in series just for the fridge. The 2 battery systems are completely seperate from each other. When going down the road the main battery is connected and being charged from the truck power. The fridge batteries are not. The only time they get charged is when connected to shore power. The fridge inverter has a built in charging system. With having a pair of 6v batteries for powering the fridge, I've had them running for a solid 8 hours before and my battery percentage only got down to like 94%. I would imagine I could run for quite sometime with these before I had to connect to shore power.
It would be nice to have the fridge batteries connected to the truck charging system, but we dont do any boondocking or long road trips. Besides, I kinda dont know how I could connect it to the truck system yet keep them seperate.

Battery isolator would allow both banks to be charged by the truck and keep them independent.


Earl

[TxLoser]

Originally Posted by WV Camper

I have the same question as the OP in general. We have ordered a 321RSTS but it hasn’t started production yet so we can still make a change. We did order it with The residential refrigerator but I am just concerned about not having the dual mode capability. We do not do any serious Boondocking but we do travel across country every year and when we’re traveling we will normally just sleep in a rest area or a truckstop. So my question is how long will a residential refrigerator go before it runs a battery down? I know there are all kinds of variables in that question what kind of battery how many batteries etc. but if we have just the standard RV battery that will come with the camper how long will that run the refrigerator?

We did order it with the generator prep and it is my intention to have a generator put in it.

Thanks

I think you’d be fine overnight in a rest stop. It should come with 2 12V batts. If just stopping to sleep, you won’t be leveling which saves juice, and since you’ll be sleeping you won’t be opening the fridge a bunch. For peace of mind, I did upgrade to two 6 volts batts, but I imagine if they install two quality 12v batts at the dealer you’d be ok.

[F350guy]

We had 2 6V batteries on our last fifth wheel with a Samsung fridge and never had an issue. We did have to go about 24 hours without power on one occasion and still had over 12 volts but that was with very little use of anything else other than a few lights. We had 2 6V batteries installed on our Pinnacle with the Whirlpool 21cf fridge but have not had a reason to test them. We have done a couple of all day drives but the charge line from the truck kept the batteries up.