What size refrigerator do you have in your bus?

[Cary and Don]

We also have a household fridge and plan on a larger one in the new bus.  Another thought when all electric, is the defrost feature.  I have heard other people say they had a switch installed so the defrost and the gasket heater could be turned off when running on the inverter.  This would help save the batteries.  When on shore power or the generator, just turn the switch back on.

Don and Cary
GMC4107
Neoplan AN340

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Don & Cary,

It's not as easy to put a switch on the newer refrig's because most have a electronic curcuit board that controls the defrost cycle. [no more timer motors]

You now need a diagram to trace down the heater wire that is in a bundle... But it can be done! Just don't know what the control

board would do with no amp draw on the heaters...

Nick-

[TomC]

I have a 2 door 6.3 cu ft Norcold compressor type reefer that only pulls 5.5amps at 12v when running.  Also have the Norcold 100lb chest reefer/freezer under the back seat of the dinette that works well for additional reefer storage.  Would do the same again.  Good Luck, TomC

[Nusa]

Does anyone build top-opening cold-plate boxes into countertops anymore? I've seen several on boats that seemed to be quite practical for those who don't need huge refrigerators.

[muddog16]

Someone mentioned anchoring the refrigerator, anyone have pictures showing how or explain how you anchored yours?

[cody]

We went with a 14 cu ft house type refrigerator, the main reason is that with the doors off, we could still get it into the bus without bringing it in thru the windshield, we could have gotten a counter depth one that would have gotten in thru the door but the cost at that time was too much for us, we built it in, anchored it with angle brackets and use a temp sensing blower to exhaust any heat build up from the cabinet.

[Dallas]

If any of my comments came across wrong, I humbly apologize and ask the forgiveness of the board in general and Paladin in particular.
There was no detriment meant by these comments. What seems like a good idea and coherent observation when typing and thinking doesn't always come out in the same tone of voice when being read later.

By all means, KEEP ASKING QUESTIONS!

Dallas

[FloridaCliff]

Dave,

I am using a 10 cu ft apartment size refrigerator.

It has the freezer over the cooler section.

I wanted this size for a few reasons;

I wanted all the frig I needed, but not any more. I chose the size, based on about 5 years of using our Class C and what worked for us. This unit has about double the space of our previous one.

It easily runs of of my inverter and house bank. I didn't want a propane fridge, My experience is they don't do the job, especially when you travel with 4 and 2 are kids.

Since it is not as tall as a standard house unit, I built a 1' tall drawer underneath and it raised the whole unit up to standard height.  Less bending to get all the stuff on the bottom.

If you need 4 cases of every beverage cold at all times, this unit wont work for you.

Oh yeah, Not thought of all the time, they go in easy during construction, but when everything is in and finished, removal or maintenance can be an issue, when we are a little more worried about scratching stuff.

Just some thoughts

Cliff

[DavidInWilmNC]

I have a temporary 4.3 cu. ft. counter-high fridge now.  It's way too small.  It works great for cool drinks while under construction and has run fine  on a 1,000 watt MSW inverter for three trips so far.  My 'real' fridge will be something around 12 cu. ft. that runs on 120 volts (no propane).  I now have a nice 3600 watt sine wave inverter that will run it even better.  I also want one that can be brought in the bus through a window - I still have my original windows in front - or the door.  It took way too long to stop all the leaks around the windshields to remove one to get a fridge in.  Plus, I want to be able to replace it without removing a windshield if I'm on a trip. 

We spend a lot of time outside, so I also wanted something convenient for drinks.  I got a 2.7 cu. ft. fridge from a local surplus sale and mounted it right behind the driver's seat.  It has the coils in the back, unlike most of the newer ones, and will be enclosed to make an end table.  It's nice to have something that much closer to the door when we're outside and need another beverage (though I still have to stumble up the steps to get one!)  I'm sure it's not as efficient on power as having one slightly larger fridge.  I'm going to add some foam insulation to the sides and back before I enclose it.  If I load it full of drinks and cool them 'til it cycles off, it'll stay cool for hours.  This could help out when on inverter and batteries and trying to maximize battery life, as I don't keep things that can spoil in this fridge. 

David

[BusMom]

We have a 6.3 CU FT Norcold.  It has worked really well for us the couple of times that we have taken the bus out while we were working on it.  It has easily handled food for the four of us.  We like to go to the beach so we usually have a cooler with us anyways for all of our beverages.
Amy

[belfert]

I used about a 10 cubic foot apartment size refrigerator.  Part of the reason was size, but the main reason is the manual defrost and the 1.2 amp draw.  I never stay in RV parks/campgrounds and don't even have a shore power connection right now.  My frig runs off the inverter or generator.

I had a lot of problems with the RV refrigerator in my travel trailer and wanted to get away from absorbtion refrigerators.  A 24 volt compressor refrigerator would be ideal, but the cost is way too much compared to the $250 or so I paid for my 120 volt refrigerator.  The problems with my RV refrigerator turned out to be a bad termistor, but I wrecked a lot of food before that was determined to be the issue.  Even a properly working RV refrigerator has issues with long cool down periods and inability to maintain temps if folks are in and out a lot.

It might be nice to have a little bit more space, but we managed to pack food for seven for a week in the refigerator I have with drinks in a cooler.

[Kenny]

You may want to think about 2 small refrigerators. One in the coach and the other in one of the bays. Keep what you need in the coach while traveling. Get to your destination you can acess the bay refrigerator. Saves space in the coach. Gives you an outdoor refrigerator without going in and out of the coach when spending time outdoors.

Kenny

[Devin & Amy]

TomC,
What did you have to pay for that Norcold chest freezer, with four kids I need to be able to buy meat in large quantities to save.

FloridaCliff wrote "Oh yeah, Not thought of all the time, they go in easy during construction, but when everything is in and finished, removal or maintenance can be an issue, when we are a little more worried about scratching stuff."

This is a very important factor if you ever have to replace the fridge or just relocate it later. I got a deal on a villa leather dinette and when I put it in I knew that it wouldn't allow the fridge to slide out enough, but I said "screw it I'll deal with it when and if the time comes". needless to say...

Also, on anchoring the fridge, I made little plates that slide on top of the leveling bolts under the front of the fridge and extend out to be bolted through the floor. I also replaced the standard pad footed leveler with a grade 5 bolt with a large head.
At the top I made a piece of the cabinet faceframe removable to be fit tight to the fridge. This keeps it from tipping any.

HTH
Devin

[rcbishop]

13.6 ,as i recall, Magic Chef  from HD.  Been in service several years. No problems, upper and lower freezer/fridge,only 2 of us but it holds a bunch....including a nightly dose of Ice Cream 

FWIW
RCB
'64 Crown Supercoach (HWC)

[akroyaleagle]

We threw out the RV type when I got tired of no ice cream.
We installed a Whirlpool counter depth household side by side through the door of the Eagle. It might not have fit if our step wasn't circular, it was close.
I would never have a rv type again.
I've attempted to post some photos but not sure if they made it.