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04-07-2020, 05:19 PM
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#1
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: Marysville WA
Posts: 138
M.O.C. #26029
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Which fridge ???
Need help on deciding which refer to get will not be full timing till next year we have the gen and a solar panel not sure which way to go from what I read and heard I would need a lot of batteries and more panels for the residential refrigerator we boondock for 3 to 5 days and hardly plug in any help from the member would be greatly appreciated
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04-07-2020, 06:07 PM
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#2
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Montana Master
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: West Richland
Posts: 1,253
M.O.C. #17164
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I had the option for which fridge I wanted and picked the RV style as I boon-dock and letting it run on gas is way easier. Now remember the freezer probably won’t get quite as cold and if you usually will have a power source it probably won’t matter which one you get. To run the fridge on an inverter for three or four days will take a lot of batteries and either a lot of solar or a generator charging the batteries. Look up the required amps needed to run a residential fridge and then you can figure out how solar and how many batteries will be necessary.
Happy roads to you.
Tom Marty
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04-07-2020, 06:35 PM
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#3
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Montana Master
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Salem
Posts: 7,592
M.O.C. #2283
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Full time, residential.
Boondock, propane.
You will haft to decide which is best for you.
I think I would go with a residential and run a generator a few hours a day.
Lynwood
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04-07-2020, 07:59 PM
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#4
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Dayton
Posts: 66
M.O.C. #20338
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Residential. No brainer for me. Will never go back to RV type. No boondocking though.
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04-07-2020, 08:08 PM
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#5
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Site Team
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Oro Valley
Posts: 3,976
M.O.C. #20477
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If you are going to boondock, I would go with an RV refer. A residential refer can also work, don't open it much and add a little more battery and solar power.
__________________
Zack and Donna plus Millie and Ranger
2018 3160RL
"Life is too short to stay indoors, enjoy the ride!"
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04-07-2020, 09:42 PM
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#6
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Montana Master
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Grand Rapids
Posts: 1,896
M.O.C. #9561
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get the RV refrig, not the all electric.
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04-07-2020, 10:23 PM
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#7
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Montana Master
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Box Elder
Posts: 4,734
M.O.C. #12947
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And if you get the RV fridge, protect it from the very beginning with an ARP device.
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Bob & Becky
2012 3402RL
2012 Chevy 2500HD D/A CC 4WD
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04-08-2020, 12:17 AM
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#8
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Montana Master
Join Date: May 2017
Location: South East NC
Posts: 1,768
M.O.C. #19865
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Had the same decision last year. While contemplating my wife chose residential and said it was my problem to keep it running. We rarely are unhooked for more than 2 1/2 days. Deep cycle group 31 (2) work fine with a little help from the genny. In fairness, I'm happy with her decision as RV fridges always too longer to cool, freezers never really froze consistently, hot days had an effect on the operating, and I believe most towable RV fires are started there.
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John & Patty
2022 3855 BR
2019 Lariat F350 4X4 Dually
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04-08-2020, 06:37 AM
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#9
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: Marysville WA
Posts: 138
M.O.C. #26029
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rohrmann
And if you get the RV fridge, protect it from the very beginning with an ARP device.
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What’s a ARP ???
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04-08-2020, 09:09 AM
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#10
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Site Team
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Oro Valley
Posts: 3,976
M.O.C. #20477
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__________________
Zack and Donna plus Millie and Ranger
2018 3160RL
"Life is too short to stay indoors, enjoy the ride!"
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04-08-2020, 09:15 AM
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#11
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Montana Master
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Puyallup
Posts: 512
M.O.C. #12948
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At the time we got our rig, it had the RV refer. Our dealer had so many issues with residential refers ,that they only would put them in on special order. So far ,so good with what we have.
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2018 3820FK Legacy Package
2013 3750fl
2019 Chevrolet 3500HD High Country Dually
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04-08-2020, 01:34 PM
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#12
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Montana Master
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Full Timer In Naples, Florida
Posts: 1,049
M.O.C. #15731
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If you are going to be in the heat like in Florida in the summer then get the residential. We had the norcold 1210 for 4 years and it had all the fans, gagets and even a new cooing unit. We spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars and when the summer came the fridge did not perform. Milk went bad in a few days and the freezer didnt keep anything fully frozen. out went the norcold for a Frigidaire and its the best thing we ever done along with the dometic 320 and sailun tires.
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2017, 3500 Ram Big Horn, 4x4, Crew Cab, DRW, Aisin Transmission, 4:10. Curt Q20, 2014 Mountaineer 331 RLT, Sailun's on the rv and truck.
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04-08-2020, 03:01 PM
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#13
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Nov 2019
Location: Roseville
Posts: 266
M.O.C. #25257
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I have had both and would take the residential, hands down.
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Jim and Carole
Roseville, MN
2018 RAM 3500 DRW, Diesel, Long Box, Air Lift Bags - 2020 Montana HC 381TH, Sailun S637
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04-08-2020, 04:00 PM
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#14
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Montana Master
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Carson City
Posts: 2,017
M.O.C. #21963
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When we built our 3160 we chose the RV fridge. It came down to limiting or not limiting your options while camping. Seemed like a no brainer to me.
I don't know how efficiently residential refers run in an RV but ours did need modifications to operate during hot temperatures. Namely, increasing the airflow in the space behind the fridge. Once we got that fixed (and the door seal issue) it runs fine on gas or electric.
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2016 3160, Legacy, Sailuns, Splendide 2100 xc vented, 1 1/2" axle lift blocks, disk brakes. 2014 Ram 3500 SRW SWB 4X4 6.7 Aisin Mega Cab, EBC slotted disks and brakes, Titan fuel tank.
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04-08-2020, 05:30 PM
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#15
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Boise
Posts: 288
M.O.C. #13564
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We full time and have a residential fridge. We love this compared to a RV fridge for this application. We have 900 watt solar and 4 6 volt batteries, this will last for 4 days while boondocking. I carry a small Honda generator and will charge the batteries to aid in pulling in the slides prior to leaving the camp site.
Residential is much better for hot weather and poses less of a fire risk in general. Replacement cost is also significantly lower. Overall I would not go back to RV style fridge unless I had to.
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04-08-2020, 05:43 PM
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#16
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Quartzsite, Arizona
Posts: 97
M.O.C. #24985
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Have you thought adding the super solar option that has about 1000 watts of solar, a larger inverter and 300 amp hours worth of lithium ion batteries.
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Kevin in Quartzsite, Arizona....It's an experience!
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04-08-2020, 06:55 PM
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#17
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: West Jordan
Posts: 85
M.O.C. #22840
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Billyj571
Need help on deciding which refer to get will not be full timing till next year we have the gen and a solar panel not sure which way to go from what I read and heard I would need a lot of batteries and more panels for the residential refrigerator we boondock for 3 to 5 days and hardly plug in any help from the member would be greatly appreciated
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Had the same issue. I had a motorhome with RV fridge and on hot days it SUCKED. When we bought the 5er we went with a Residential fridge so we didn’t have that issue. At first I had 2 Lithium 12V 100AMP batteries for a total of 200AH plus a generator no solar. We could go about 12 hours running the fridge, heater (snowy weekend the first time out) and lights. I would get up in the morning and start the generator to get batteries 100% and then about 9PM run again for few minutes.
Now I just installed 2 more Lithium 12V batteries for a total of 400AH and 1200W solar on roof so hoping that should take care of everything and only need generator for emergency.
You just need to remember with wet cell batteries you can only use 50% of the AH it offers and I would ditch the ones the dealer installer unless they gave good batteries which my money is on they didn’t.
__________________
Glade and Laura
2019 3791RD Montana
2018 GMC 3500 6.6 diesel short bed
Not full timers yet but soon
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04-08-2020, 08:04 PM
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#18
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Montana Master
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Carson City
Posts: 2,017
M.O.C. #21963
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How much does it cost to purchase batteries, inverters, and solar panels plus labor to keep a refrigerator running?
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2016 3160, Legacy, Sailuns, Splendide 2100 xc vented, 1 1/2" axle lift blocks, disk brakes. 2014 Ram 3500 SRW SWB 4X4 6.7 Aisin Mega Cab, EBC slotted disks and brakes, Titan fuel tank.
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04-08-2020, 08:59 PM
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#19
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: Hawkins - Tx
Posts: 142
M.O.C. #25774
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I’m with you Montana Man. 16 years of having RV refrigerators on three different rigs. No problems and we camp in Texas in the summertime.
__________________
Gunther, Sheri and Calvin
2020 Montana 3812 MS with a Reese Goosebox
2006 Dodge 3500 Dually, LB, 6 Sp, 5.9 Cummins with Flashpaq Super Chip Tuner
South Bend Flywheel and Clutch, Loadlifter 5000 Rear Air Bag Kit
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04-09-2020, 07:31 AM
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#20
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Oklahoma City
Posts: 177
M.O.C. #23433
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We boondock at the air show at Oshkosh for a week every year. We never considered the residential fridge because we boondock. Our last TT had the RV fridge as well. No problems. We would not want to be limited by the residential or have to add batteries, inverters, etc. Something else to consider...if you are at a campground and the power goes out an RV fridge will automatically switch to propane and you won't lose any food. Your residential will only last as long as your batteries. We are happy with the RV fridge. We can make ice and it keeps everything we need frozen.
__________________
Troy and Tracy Chaddon
2019 Montana High Country 330RL
2005 Ford F-350 "Bulletproofed"
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