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Old 05-03-2021, 04:12 PM   #1
WDH
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Rear Kitchen issue

We recently purchased a LK model with the kitchen in the rear
The fridge is on the back wall
The last two outings we obviously hit some bumps which can’t be avoided regardless of travel
The refrigerator apparently did some hopping and the grate on the back pulled the electrical plug loose
Has anyone else had this issue and if so how did you resolve
 
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Old 05-03-2021, 05:04 PM   #2
mlh
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With the kitchen in the rear you get a lot of whiplash. I’ve unloaded all my cabinets, broke every dish. The only way I know to help is slow down or do what I did get did get another camper.
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Old 05-03-2021, 05:12 PM   #3
rohrmann
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That is always an issue with rear kitchen models. Before our Montana, we had a small rear kitchen SOB fifth wheel, and never had the fridge come loose, but regularly had kitchen drawers, pots and pans, and other assorted debris on the floor and the entrance was right there at the kitchen. That was the number one thing we avoided when shopping for our current rig.
Don't know if maybe the IS suspension would help smooth things out, but there aren't many things, other than not hitting bumps, that will help. Hopefully others that have the same setup can offer advise.
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Old 05-03-2021, 07:42 PM   #4
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Mine is 41.5 feet, yours is 40.5 feet. When they get that long, the rear over hang is so great, even the slightest bump causes the rear to bounce and bounce hard. A tire hitting a 1 inch deep hole will cause the center of the trailer to slightly move. But the end may move 6 inches, and forcefully too.

I have a rear bedroom with the closet across the entire rear. On our maiden voyage, the entire closet inside collapsed, shelf on the floor, cloths on the floor, and 4 tiny holes in the walls where screws use to be holding a hundred pounds of cloths and bedding with g-forces probably twice that of normal gravity, up and down. Lesson learned. Long story short, I ended up rebuilding the entire closet ... from the floor up ... literally, and all the support is now from the floor, not the walls.

I did the same thing when we installed the washer-dryer too. I rebuilt the shelves they sit on from the floor up. I learned my lesson from the collapsed closet.

In your case, with the refrigerator in the very rear, it is going to get an extreme amount of bounce and g-forces up-and-down at every bounce. The length of the rear is just too far from the axles. The law of the lever will prevail. All you can do is think creatively how to secure the refrigerator in place, to keep it from moving, and perhaps do some creative re-wiring so things don't come unplugged.

Unfortunately, this is a problem with all of these 40 (plus) foot campers. The rear takes a horrible beating. You'll just need to rebuild and strength any moving items. Avoiding bumps in the road is impossible. Rebuilding your camper to strengthen everything is a must.
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Old 05-04-2021, 08:11 AM   #5
WeBeFulltime
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We full-timed in a 2012 3585SA which is a rear kitchen for 6 1/2 years and never had a problem not even a chipped dish. Loved our RK! It was only 37' though.
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Old 06-14-2021, 06:53 PM   #6
WDH
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Thanks for the input
I managed to tape a cardboard piece over the plug and that has prevented further problems with unplugging
I am still looking at options to better secure the fridge
Concerned about premature failure from the shock
Unfortunately not much to attach to without concern of damage to cabinets
Thought about getting something to position between top of fridge and bottom of cabinet to prevent upward movement
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Old 06-15-2021, 12:52 PM   #7
jcurtis934
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When i converted from rv fridge to residential, one of the things i did to make sure i never had any fridge hopping was to put two household flip down door stops that you see in lowes, etc on the roof of the fridge enclosure. They have a feature that keeps them up until you flip them down. These stops flip down and sit against a board that i siliconed to the top of the fridge. My fridge has never budged during travels. I use a stick to flip them up when i want to pull my fridge out for cleaning behind it.
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