Residental vs rv style refrigerator

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barneydds

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I'm looking to order a momentum toy hauler and am trying to decide between the two refrigerator set ups.  I initially went with rv style in order to avoid the 120v constant power issues, but i figured I should at least do some research on the residential style.  anyone out there have strong opinions since I know you all dry camp?

 
Its a no brainer for me, I have the res frig, tons of storage, runs great on solar only, gets cold fast and stays cold. Hated having to deal with the old propane frig and keeping the rig level to make it work right all the time. I have 3 years on my current setup btw, still no complaints 

 
I would say it depends on how many solar panels you plan on using.
On my pusher I am running 1100 watts and 6 Trojans 105’s  and I can run about 5 or 6 days in the winter and not use the genset (the only thing I start the it for is microwave and Airco of course)

In summer with full Sun I am fully charged by 1 pm

My fridge is full size residential and that includes running tv’s ,ice maker,lights the only propane I use is for the water heater and the stove.

anything less I would get the propane Rv fridge set up.

 
great info.  the momentum will come with 300w of solar and a 2k inverter.  I'm used to running the generator for several hours a day for various things.  would this be enough to avoid all of the potential headaches associated with the res fridge?

 
barneydds said:
great info.  the momentum will come with 300w of solar and a 2k inverter.  I'm used to running the generator for several hours a day for various things.  would this be enough to avoid all of the potential headaches associated with the res fridge?
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what headaches are with the res fridge?

 
barneydds said:
great info.  the momentum will come with 300w of solar and a 2k inverter.  I'm used to running the generator for several hours a day for various things.  would this be enough to avoid all of the potential headaches associated with the res fridge?
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yes if you run your geny a few hours just add enough batts. 

I will never go back to a RV style Refrig again.  I love my Res. 

 
I use a little honda 2200, I just run it at night if cold for the heater and keep the battery charged, costs than a gallon of fuel for 6-8 hours of run time. The Onan 5500 guzzles something like a gallon or more an hour depending on use, I only kick it on for AC. 

 
I have a diesel pusher.  Last summer, my Norcold RV fridge died.  I had always wondered about going resi fridge, but now my hand got forced.  Of course it went out at the worst time, and we needed a fridge.  The RV replacements are stupid ridiculous priced (I had a 12 cu ft 4 door model), like $4500.  I knew about the Samsung RF18 fitment and found one within a couple hour drive, so off I went to get it.  We got it installed, and it works great!  it is 18 cu ft, vs my old 12 cu ft.  Everything about it is better!!  Contents stay cold even when 120* outside, which was always a problem before.  I've had 5 bags of ice in the freezer with food in there too!

All this while in the back of my head, I was worried about dry camping at Glamis.  We only made a couple trips last season because of vacating Commiefornia, but I was pleasantly shocked at how well it works!  I do not have solar at all (I figured I would add if needed).  I leave my 2000 watt inverter on 24 hrs a day in the dunes and I have 4 6V Trojan batteries, nothing exotic or outrageous.  I run the gen for 1-2 hours in the AM while cooking and eating breakfast, and the same in the evening at dinner time so total of 2-4 hours a day.  We watch TV, plug our phones in, everything we want with 120v power (not excessive though).  I have 2 heaters in the coach, and use them during the night long as needed (don't set real hot, maybe 68-70).  My battery voltage is typically not below 12.2 in the AM when I wake up.  Mornings are the worst because of watching TV at night (40" TV, surround sound, everything running), and everything charging all night and the heaters running.  I will not ever go back to RV fridges again!!

 
I have the Norcold a.k.a the Nevercold 4 door 12 cf fridge. It makes ice but won't keep ice cream hard. I had a 2 door 6 cf Norcold in my previous rig that worked great. The complaints I hear are typical from people with the bigger 12 cf fridge. Also why you see so many people taking them out and installing residential units. If I was looking just to have a small 2 door unit I would prefer the RV style. 

One item that noticeably helps is the battery powered fan that looks like a cube, you place inside. 

 
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I have a residential fridge in my Vortex toyhauler with 4 6v Trojans and 600 watts of solar.  I love it and have never had a issue.   My woman uses a chit ton of power all day....tv, stereo, fans, big ceiling fan, blender, coffee maker, etc....  we usually run the gen for a hour after dark to top the batteries before bed.  Get the Res and don’t look back

 
Momma wants a residential fridge in the next rig!

Planning on getting that, and having some solar to offset the usage. 

 
It's good that most prefer the 110 residential over 110/propane. Because the propane refers are going away soon. All Propane is going away on RV's. With the supply chain shortages they are actually using 12V refers a lot now in place of RV 110/propane refers. 

 
HEADINJURY said:
It's good that most prefer the 110 residential over 110/propane. Because the propane refers are going away soon. All Propane is going away on RV's. With the supply chain shortages they are actually using 12V refers a lot now in place of RV 110/propane refers. 
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I know this is your area of expertise and this is just my observation but the move towards eliminating propane started before the world lost its mind in 2020.

On the high end diesel motorhomes several already have eliminated propane. They use residential fridges, aqua hot water heaters, electric stoves and generators and inverters to run it all. They even have larger 150 gallon diesel tanks. It's all very nice and seems to work well in a pusher.  Propane in a trailer/5th wheel or gas Motorhome seems easier and more efficient, but then I don't know what the replacements are.

So I guess my question is why the move away from propane? 

What is the plan for heating the rig without using propane? 

Are there gasoline aqua hot units?

 
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