How do you keep your home style refrigerator from moving ?

[scanzel]

What process are you using to hold your home style refrigerator in place to prevent it from rolling out ? Mine is in between two short walls so some of it protrudes out. Looking for ideas or pictures.

[Jon]

That's a serious issue because heavy items flying around a coach are very dangerous.

On all my coaches the refrigerators had some means of securing them to something not likely to fail in the event of an accident. They typically had small sections of angle secured to the floor and which were in some fashion were also secured to the refrigerator. The bolts used to secure the door hinges were usually the attach points. In every case the angles were notched and drilled so as to not interfere with the door, but did secure the refrigerator. At the top a wide strip of velcro was adhered to the top and an angle with the mating velcro was secured to the top of the refrigerator enclosure. Each installation needs to be designed based on where you can get a secure fastening.

But in no case should you drill into the refrigerator. It is common to have either electric heaters or refrigeration lines run behind the doors on the cabinet to eliminate condensation so drilling into the refrigerator case needs to be a last resort option and then only in an area where it is known there is not electric or refrigeration lines.

[Bill B /bus]

Design was a box that the refeer couldn't tip out of at the top and secured with steel clips on the bottom to prevent rolling. Then secure the doors so that neither the refrig part or the freezer can swing open.

Remember to size your refrigerator so that it will fit and maneuver within the bus. In our case I remove a window at the kitchen table, and table, to bring the unit into the bus out its back. Once inside turn it upright. 

[chessie4905]

   You could remove paint from specific areas on  topsides and epoxy attachment plates with female thread attachment points. Make sure attaching bolts cant dent or push hole into side.

[Sam 4106]

Our refrigerator is in a cabinet with a drawer below. Four bolts go through the 3/4" shelf the refrigerator sets on, two into the threaded holes at the front, bottom that the leveling legs were in. Two through the rear into brackets that i drilled, threaded and riveted to the bottom of the refrigerator. The previous owner had put a 2" piece of styrofoam between the top of the cabinet and the refrigerator. That held the refrigerator in place, but squeaked with every bump. I removed the styrofoam and installed the bolts.
Or refrigerator has the coils on the back so there has to be a space at the top for venting the heat from the coils.

Good luck, Sam

[Lin]

It would seem that this is a problem with RV fridges as well.  Although they are more likely to have some predrilled method to secure them.  Having the fridge "built in" would seem to offer good stability.  If not, I would look to bolt it through the structure at the bottom and fabricate a bracket to secure it from the top, or close to it, as well. There are pre made systems one can buy to secure large objects in the home in case of earthquakes.  Maybe something like that could be adapted too.

[TheHollands!]

I have a home style fridge, my cabinet around it is fairly snug, maybe 1/2 inch each side. I used aluminum L channel for securing it. I have one at the feet and then one up each side at the front. They are not attached to the fridge, just sit in between the door and the casing. hasn't moved. Craig

[Lee Bradley]

Good timing.


These are step protectors from the bus.

The bottom two show the slip-on fender thread and the rub sheet of SS where the bolt comes through from inside the cabinet.

These are 3/16" pop rivets and 5/16" course thread bolts.

[somewhereinusa]

I mounted mine between the floor and roof with no place to go. The top has cleats glued and screwed to both the top of the fridge and the ceiling. Since the bottom of these things are pretty flimsy and with wheels. I took the wheels off and then reinforced the bottom plate and shimmed so that it is sitting on the edge where the side comes down. Then I screwed up through the bottom into my new reinforced plates. It can't tip either way. I'm assuming that in an accident it will come adrift, simply because the whole refrigerator structure is pretty flimsy.

[FloridaCliff]

Hey Somewhere,

I believe I have the same refrigerator and the plan for securing the door underway, super simple, unless you already figured it out.

Let me know!

Cliff

[FloridaCliff]

I used l brackets secured to the back of the unit on the bottom.  To get to these later I cut out a vent sized hole.

This also aided with drawing air across the coil.  On the top I used a 2X4 secured snugly to with the same brackets and hidden behind a full width vent cover.  Again, this is the heat exit for the coils.  Works great!

Cliff

[somewhereinusa]

Hey Somewhere,

I believe I have the same refrigerator and the plan for securing the door underway, super simple, unless you already figured it out.

Let me know!

Cliff

Hey Cliff,
I'm still working on that one, would love to see your idea.

Dick

[robertglines1]

Door latch----Old fashion screen door latch.  the hook and eye works/ high and out of the way. After you clean dill pickle juice off floor once or chase coke cans down isle you find away!...    Also this time along with anchors and cabinet tight-to allow for air flow top and bottom-- I put foam in a can in a few voids along sides to make it really tight.  Thinking was if? I really ever had to take it out I could take a saw blade or long screw driver and dig it out.  Just spots---not solid.  Bob

[lorna]

We've did this twice using two different methods. First time we used loose pin hinges. One side was popriveted to the side of the refrigerator. We hit refrigerant line and had to buy another refrigerator. We were very carefull drilling the replacement refrigerator and the freezer. The other side of the hinge was screwed to the cabinet frame just like the RV unit we replaced with the under counter units. That was in our old Class C.

For the Blue Bird, we put long threaded eyebolts thru the floor, total of four, for the 12cf freezer. The eyebolts had nut/washer under the floor. We hooked a chain from one eyebolt over the freezer to the eyebolt on the opposite side. "L" shaped metal protects the corners of the metal cabinet. The chain has "S" hooks on each eyebolt. The eyebolts stand tall inside with the chain hooked to it. We tighen the eyebolts down from under the bus floor with a rachet. A long metal rod slides into the eye to prevent the bolt from spinning as it's tightened. The chain will stretch slightly over time, so we needed to be able to tighten it. We can/also/loosen the chain to remove the unit when needed. There are two chains on the freezer, about four inches from the back and four inches from the front. The freezer has a lock built into the door. We use that to lock the door for traveling. The key has a string tied to it and tied to a rack on the door so it doesn't get lost. The string is just long enough to allow the door to be locked.

We use two 4.4cf under counter refrigerators stacked on top of each other. They are each secured the same way as the freezer.

The countertop style microwave is secured similarly but the eyebolts go thru the shelf it sits on.

I wrapped a doubled over piece of cushioned nonslip shelf liner to prevent the chain from slipping and to prevent scratching.

This seems to work very well for us. Our freezer and refrigerators have walls made from hollow core flush luaun doors on each side of them. There wasn't much to attach to in the door-walls. Almost all of our partion walls were made from the luaun doors. They were great in terms of cost ($1 or less oer inch finished wall) and saving time  but the only thing to screw to is in the frames. Not a big deal since we have nothing that screws to the partition walls.

The top load washing machine and lp gas dryer will be attached to the floor as well. Same as my 30" gas range. I trust the floor to stay in place better than anything else in case of a wreck.

[FloridaCliff]

Here is a few pictures of the catch.

It is just a Tee bracket that was bent, and the end rounded, works perfect.

Use the existing door hinge bolts( for reversing door).

Cliff