Refridge change

[jnt-kc]

Hey everyone...Jim the rookie here. Just starting out in this RV domain. Have a Dometic refridge that is broken in an old fleetwood. Considering a house fridge ...pros and cons?  What would be the point of an inverter and how would that look?

[craig7h]

You have a lot of decisions to make. I had the decision to make on my 07 frig a couple years back. I am always plugged in, never boondock or dry camp. I started looking at residential frigs. I was only able to find one that to me fit the best. Knowing I am not a carpenter at all and that it would take major woodwork to make the new frig look like it belonged I stopped going that route. 

So next was to check into exact replacement. In checking that out found the only way to bring new unit in was by removing windshield and that was not going to happen in my lifetime. That left the third way replace the cooling unit.

I found JC Refrigeration, they specialize in replacing cooling units. I ended up going with a 120v only cooling unit. It was shipped to my home which made for a great DIY project. By going this route I not only did not have to do woodwork, find or make room for larger battery bank list goes on.  My DW and I took a couple days to do the project, which could have been done in an half a day. 

I would recommend at least giving JC Refrigeration a look see. Not only do they have a great line of products their customer service is beyond belief, its that good. Check them out   Home - JC Refrigeration (jc-refrigeration.com)

Good Luck

[Almot]

As noted, you need to find one that fits in the cabinet.  Inverter - unless you mean an inverter fridge - you need to run your 110V fridge with no hookups without having to run a generator.  I strongly recommend upgrading your battery to lithium if you are going to stay offgrid for long.   With today's prices you can  get Li big enough to go for a few days without recharging.  Daily consumption of 10 cu.ft refer could be 60-70 AH in addition to your other loads this is a lot when offgrid. IMO solar becomes essential on longer trips.  It is easy to just start a generator and run it for hours if you can tolerate noise and fumes and the neighbors don't mind.  

[nickthehunter]

There are basically two issues; 1) finding one to fit in the existing hole without major modifications, 2) it will only work when the trailer is plugged into 120V.

Now an inverter will help alleviate the second problem to a limited extent, based on how long the battery will last, which is based upon many factors. Then you start down the rabbit hole of more batteries, more sophisticated batteries, heavier wiring, solar panels, etc., etc., etc. 

When it is all said and done, it all boils down to how much do you want to spend and what is it all really worth to you.

The long and short of it, if you can find one that fits and it’s only going to be unplugged for a few hours, no problem. The hotter it is the less time you have.