Residential option or electric/propane fridge

[Nmunger]

Given your camping tendencies I would say the residential fridge is a good choice for you. We have had both and love the space afforded in the residential model. Combine that with the fact that we do not burn propane while traveling and thus avoid the potential dangers of propane it’s a win IMHO.

[Mosnowman]

I’ve had both now, and have my first Residential in my 2018 Montana. To answer a couple of your questions.

I had a dud Samsung that came with my new Montana. The freezer worked but the refrigerator didn’t. Keystone eventually agreed to replace it with another Samsung refrigerator. Needless to say I wasn’t happy dealing with this, with a brand new Fiver. Here’s the good news. Believe it or not those massive things will fit through the door! I wouldn’t have believed it, but when you take off the door and the hinges it fits going through sideways! I was very worried thinking they would have to go through the slide window or worse.

Fast forward.....

Love my Residential Refrigerator! Colder than any I had before, and yes ice cream actually stays frozen! My two cents...get the Residential

[Mikelff]

Originally Posted by Chad1383

Hello everyone, getting ready to order a new Montana HC and curious what others think about getting the standard to me anyways electric/propane fridge or opting for the residential.

I saw josh the RV nerds you tube videos on this topic and he says to stay away from the resi fridges but curious what others think. I live in the mid west weather wise. My last trailer was the standard electric/propane fridge and worked fine but found it did take some time to get it to temp and sometimes in the hot summer was hard to keep a consistent temp.

I have also heard the resi fridges are hard to replace due to size. We are ordering a 384/385BR and curious if they are big enough to remove if needed without taking out a slide or back window.

Thanks a lot,

Chad.

There are now DC compressor driven cooling units available. They use the refrigerator box of the propane/electric units but use a compressor like a residential fridge. This is the best of both worlds IMO. I believe Dometic makes one and not sure about Norcold. They cool and recover temps much like a residential fridge but don’t suck as much energy as a residential fridge, thus reducing your energy needs while boon docking. I had issues with my Dometic cooling here in the deep south when temps got over 95 degrees. Had several techs try to fix it under warranty to no avail. I finally got fed up and replaced the cooling unit in my Dometic fridge with a 12V compressor unit from JC Refrigeration . What a difference! I was able to cool my frige from 98 degrees to 37 in the fridge and 0 in the freezer in a matter of 2 1/2 hours. It maintained these temps with no issues in 100 degree heat on the 3rd of 5 temp settings. No issues with the grand kids plus adults going in and out of the refrigerator. Recovered temps in a matter of a few short minutes. No more issues having to travel with the propane to cool the fridge since it’s running on 12 V DC power, which while traveling comes from your truck. I highly recommend this option. If you already have an inverter, they make an AC electric version, if not, the 12V does not require an inverter and is the way to go IMO . These units have stronger tubing and internal parts that handle the vibrations and bouncing around far better than a standard residential fridge. Do some research on these units and you will be glad you did.

[DebNJim B]

Originally Posted by Mikelff

There are now DC compressor driven cooling units available. They use the refrigerator box of the propane/electric units but use a compressor like a residential fridge. This is the best of both worlds IMO. I believe Dometic makes one and not sure about Norcold. They cool and recover temps much like a residential fridge but don’t suck as much energy as a residential fridge, thus reducing your energy needs while boon docking. I had issues with my Dometic cooling here in the deep south when temps got over 95 degrees. Had several techs try to fix it under warranty to no avail. I finally got fed up and replaced the cooling unit in my Dometic fridge with a 12V compressor unit from JC Refrigeration . What a difference! I was able to cool my frige from 98 degrees to 37 in the fridge and 0 in the freezer in a matter of 2 1/2 hours. It maintained these temps with no issues in 100 degree heat on the 3rd of 5 temp settings. No issues with the grand kids plus adults going in and out of the refrigerator. Recovered temps in a matter of a few short minutes. No more issues having to travel with the propane to cool the fridge since it’s running on 12 V DC power, which while traveling comes from your truck. I highly recommend this option. If you already have an inverter, they make an AC electric version, if not, the 12V does not require an inverter and is the way to go IMO . These units have stronger tubing and internal parts that handle the vibrations and bouncing around far better than a standard residential fridge. Do some research on these units and you will be glad you did.

This looks like a great option. What was the cost of the conversion and where can you get it? and what is the cost of a new unit?
Was just talking to our SIL last night and he was complaining about their elec/propane fridge's performance.

[jcurryii]

After our gas/electric caught fire we went with Samsung and never looked back. Will never own a gas/electric again. Our Samsung is going on 5 years with zero problems. Love having the ice maker and frozen ice cream.

[R.S.O'Donnell]

A great video on this very subject:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yte1V3CkDrw

[jeririgged223]

I went with the electric / propane because I wanted to insure that I had a cold fridge in case I had to overnight in a rest area, etc.

My dealer said that the #1 issue that they end up working on for warranty issues is the residential fridge option and for that reason they no longer order them from the factory.

[Mikelff]

Originally Posted by jeririgged223

I went with the electric / propane because I wanted to insure that I had a cold fridge in case I had to overnight in a rest area, etc.

My dealer said that the #1 issue that they end up working on for warranty issues is the residential fridge option and for that reason they no longer order them from the factory.

My dealer is the same way, they won’t work on residential fridge and are telling their customers in advance. They are telling customers to go with the Dometic 12v compressor unit. I went with the 12v compressor cooling unit from JC Refrigeration. My freezer gets to -10 below until I get in 100 degree heat, then -5 to -1 so my ice cream still stays rock hard. Other thing about residential fridge is they vent all their heat into the RV, so in hot weather your AC has to fight that as well. My neighbor that we travel with occasionally had an issue with his residential fridge and he had a heck of a time finding someone to work on it. He’s still having electrical issues of some kind. Glad I went the way I did.

[JamesD]

The problem with residential fridges isn't that they can't handle bumps and being moved around. It's the reliability of the units in general.
According to Consumer Reports, 40% of all residential fridges have a problem in the first 5 years. For the most reliable brands (with top freezer) it's only 25%, but that still stinks. 60% of the least reliable models with french doors have a problem in the first 5 years. Problems being all problems, not just failing to work.

My RV is a 2005 and it's Amana residential fridge with top freezer is still working perfect. The RV has been at least across the country and half way back. Amana was rated as one of the better brands.

(FWIW, I don't own a Montana, I just joined the group because I'm considering getting one)

[Wicked1]

Originally Posted by Chad1383

Thanks, I should have specified we are not full time and we do not boondock. We stay primarily at RV parks with full hook ups.

Like I said my last fridge was electric/propane but I didn’t have the option on that trailer, as I do on this one.

Josh video if memory serves me correctly he didn’t like them cause they are hard to replace and because he said the travel vibrations kill them. This fridge is located almost directly over the axles so best spot for it in the RV I think.

We do the same thing, Part time and we are always hooked up. I had the last three with Dometic and Norcold, they both start to ice up and we didn’t drive with propane hooked up too dangerous.

We now have a 2018 Montana 3121RL with residential 18cu foot Samsung and would never go back to an RV Fridge.

Price out the new Norcold or Dometc 12 cu foot RV refer/freezers they are close to $5K my Samsung can be replaced for under $1,000.

Best of all Residential came with Built in Icemaker and keeps temps the same no matter where we are. It seems most Mfg’s are moving towards Residential Fridges now.

[Montana Man]

Originally Posted by Mikelff

There are now DC compressor driven cooling units available. They use the refrigerator box of the propane/electric units but use a compressor like a residential fridge. This is the best of both worlds IMO. I believe Dometic makes one and not sure about Norcold. They cool and recover temps much like a residential fridge but don’t suck as much energy as a residential fridge, thus reducing your energy needs while boon docking. I had issues with my Dometic cooling here in the deep south when temps got over 95 degrees. Had several techs try to fix it under warranty to no avail. I finally got fed up and replaced the cooling unit in my Dometic fridge with a 12V compressor unit from JC Refrigeration . What a difference! I was able to cool my frige from 98 degrees to 37 in the fridge and 0 in the freezer in a matter of 2 1/2 hours. It maintained these temps with no issues in 100 degree heat on the 3rd of 5 temp settings. No issues with the grand kids plus adults going in and out of the refrigerator. Recovered temps in a matter of a few short minutes. No more issues having to travel with the propane to cool the fridge since it’s running on 12 V DC power, which while traveling comes from your truck. I highly recommend this option. If you already have an inverter, they make an AC electric version, if not, the 12V does not require an inverter and is the way to go IMO . These units have stronger tubing and internal parts that handle the vibrations and bouncing around far better than a standard residential fridge. Do some research on these units and you will be glad you did.

Thanks for posting this! I didn't know about this conversion. My Norcold thinks it's one giant freezer if I set it too low. However, like any component it can break and knowing how to fix it before it happens is a good thing. Replacing it is ridiculously expensive and the residential is too restrictive in capabilities for us.

[Sharmanclan]

Originally Posted by Chad1383

Hello everyone, getting ready to order a new Montana HC and curious what others think about getting the standard to me anyways electric/propane fridge or opting for the residential.

I saw josh the RV nerds you tube videos on this topic and he says to stay away from the resi fridges but curious what others think. I live in the mid west weather wise. My last trailer was the standard electric/propane fridge and worked fine but found it did take some time to get it to temp and sometimes in the hot summer was hard to keep a consistent temp.

I have also heard the resi fridges are hard to replace due to size. We are ordering a 384/385BR and curious if they are big enough to remove if needed without taking out a slide or back window.

Thanks a lot,

Chad.

We have never had a residential fridge as we dry camp quite a lot. The bad weather in Texas may change a few peoples opinions of a residential fridge. With their power out for multiple days, you either need a generator (or excellent solar (and some sun!)) to keep the refrigerator going, otherwise you loose everything. At least with a regular RV one, you have propane as back up.

[Linahtoe]

Hi Everyone,

My Dometic fridge gelled up with this recent cold snap of -20. I'm tossing around the idea of replacing it with a residential fridge. I have a 2019 Montana HC 372RD. I've been in it for a year and the Dometic fridge has worked well enough, it is not great in the summer (keeping food cold). I am wondering what model and cubic feet is the Samsung fridge that everyone has? I see there is a 16.4 cu ft Haier that looks nice, but the bad reviews are all the same problem, so I'm looking for other options to compare.

Thanks,
Lynn

[DebNJim B]

Originally Posted by Linahtoe

Hi Everyone,

My Dometic fridge gelled up with this recent cold snap of -20. I'm tossing around the idea of replacing it with a residential fridge. I have a 2019 Montana HC 372RD. I've been in it for a year and the Dometic fridge has worked well enough, it is not great in the summer (keeping food cold). I am wondering what model and cubic feet is the Samsung fridge that everyone has? I see there is a 16.4 cu ft Haier that looks nice, but the bad reviews are all the same problem, so I'm looking for other options to compare.

Thanks,
Lynn

This is the one that's in our 3731FL.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Samsung-17-...eel/1000005992

They also offer GE and Cafe (made by GE) in very similar configuration and size.

We are in our 4th year without any issues and very pleased with performance. Also, we never boondock other than an occasional overnight.