What size refrigerator do you have in your bus?

[TomCat]

18cf two door, stainless Frigidaire. Mounted in the center of the coach, facing forward.

http://www.zoto.com/site/#USR.jsbird69::PAG.detail::ec210378664cdf4a7d2edfd2768ea300

Jay
87 SaftLiner

[TrevorH]

So most of you are buying home 'fridges and runing them off either a generator or an inverter or shore if plugged in?

[Paladin]

I could have worded my question better, given more info but I didn't want to be wordy.
The bottom line is simple, it seems like a 25 cu ft reefer is physically rather large and may stick out in the isle but I've seen large ones installed before. I just didn't know if 25 cu ft is real enormous in a bus. I just have the opportunity for one cheap but it's very hard to visualize in the bus as it sits now so I thought I'd ask the board. I thought it was a valid question myself but I'll rethink my ideas of validity now.

As for wanting affirmation from others. No, I come here for knowledge not affirmation. Likely I'll never meet most folks here so why would I care right? I'm just trying to learn as much as I can and avoid wasting time and money by learning from those who have been there already, it's a well of knowledge.
It also seems to me that by one person asking a question it can form a basis of understanding for others who don't want to ask or haven't thought of it yet.
I could make all sorts of silly know it all or sarcastic statements like I've seen certain others here do (I don't mean Dallas at all!) but I'd rather ask and learn.....unless it's verboten.
Like I said, I'll think longer before I ask in the future and try to avoid the appearance of asking a lot of questions looking for affirmation instead of knowledge.

[Tenor]

Many people do, but I want to be able to run off of propane while dry camping.  This requires 2 holes being cut in the bus for ventilation.  Household units don't need it.  Tell us more about what your plans are for how you plan to use your bus.

[WEC4104]

As other folks are indicating, the necessary reefer space depends on how many people are traveling/eating, and how long between grocery stops.  Even traveling with a family of five, we get by pretty well with only a 6 cu footer. That covers us for about 5 days nicely, and if we wanted to put some better thought into our meal planning we could easily stretch that. Even when we are home, it seems like my wife is running to the grocery store every other day.  

For trips longer than a week, I generally pack an ice chest, too.  I'll start the trip with some frozen meats (roasts, steaks) and perhaps a frozen tray of homemade lasagna. Some of these denser foods take a long time to thaw. I seal stuff in ziplock bags and pack them in ice and put the chest in one of the bays. Two or three days later, the food is still refrigerator temperature (or colder).  When the food in the chest gets used up or transferred to the refrigerator, the ice chest gets cleaned out, fresh ice, and lots of my favorite beverages

Having only a 35 footer, I don't want to give up the interior space for anything too much larger.  Sometimes I think a 10 cu.ft would suit our needs a little better, but I definitely wouldn't go above 12 cu ft in my 4104.

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Guy's,

23 CF Frigidaire Energy Star Side-by-side Counter Depth  24" deep, 36" wide

Nick

[PP]

Paladin, We have an AC/DC/Propane 12cu with top freezer. I would love nothing more than 25cu inside. Instead, we have an AC/DC chesttype freezer on a joey bed in the 3rd bay. We're fulltimers and stock up at times (deer season, fish, uncles beef, etc) It seems the main question you're dealing with is whether you can live with an AC only fridge, and not so much the size. If you can fit it in, you'll use it, guaranteed. I sure hope no one ever tells me I ask too many questions LOL
Good luck (BTW-How good a deal is it?)

[Tenor]

Trevor,
Another thing to consider it the curve of the ceiling.  If you get that deal on the bus you had posted about, your walls are almost flat.  In a bus like mine, I have a fair amount of curve that pushes the fridge away from the wall, especially when needing to have room to vent out the roof. 

Don't worry about long posts!  I can't imagine how many people don't give enough info to help us give good info!  Besides, it's really fun to share in someone else's dream!

[Devin & Amy]

I think your question is a good one. Hey Nick how far out into the room does that big fridge protrude? What does it leave someone with a 96 wide. that six inches could be the difference.
We are a fulltiming family of six and could sure use more fridge space. We use a gallon of milk a day!
I also think you have to be willing to have an electrical system that will support that size fridge. again "how are you going to use the coach?"
Devin

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

I think your question is a good one. Hey Nick how far out into the room does that big fridge protrude? What does it leave someone with a 96 wide. that six inches could be the difference.
We are a fulltiming family of six and could sure use more fridge space. We use a gallon of milk a day!
I also think you have to be willing to have an electrical system that will support that size fridge. again "how are you going to use the coach?"
Devin

Hi Devin,

It's Counter Depth.. 24" deep. no deeper then your cabnits
Also, It's energy Star.  4.3 amps in refrigeration and 6.7 in defrost 1 to 2 times a day

Nick-

[Sean]

We have a 7.5 cubic foot Novakool.  It has always been more than enough for us -- we can go two weeks on our water tankage, and the fridge holds at least that much food.  We selected the Novakool because it runs on 24 volts and is super-efficient, drawing about 2-3 amps when running, with duty cycle varying by how often we open it.

The other nice thing about a small fridge is that we don't have to worry about items slamming around while we drive.  Louise wrote a nice article about how we use our fridge here:
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com/2007/08/small-space-saturday-making-most-of.html

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[Stormcloud]

We have a smallish Magic Chef 'stainless look' 2 door frig (not frost-free) from Home Depot. The frig is 18" square and about 50" high,with the freezer compartment about 1/3 of that. The book says 4 cu. ft. ,but I think it must be more like 7.5 cu ft total. I can't remember the amp draw on it, but it is low (~2.5 amps on 120vac). It is always connected to the modified sine-wave inverter, and the 3 deep cycle battery bank handles it just fine, and for several days without recharging.  Its plenty large enough for the two of us, and the price ($288) was right!

Keep asking questions. I'm learning lots here too, and can relate to many of your queries.

Regards.

Mark

[H3Jim]

I chose a 24 volt sunfrost refrigerator, 16 cu ft.  Its big and not shaped like other refrigerators.  I used it to create a modified side aisle floor plan that I really like a lot.  You can't see straight back from the front to teh back of hte bus, creates a lot of privacy, yet is easy to walk around.  It also has floor to ceiling cabinets in the aisle, and they hold a lot of stuff.  My electdrical panel is also in the aisle.  Its very economical, I just leave it run 24/7 and the solar powers it all, never dropping by more than 15% of battery capacity overnight, but usually less than 10%

This first pic shows before the refrig was fastened down, but it gives you a good look at its size and how the floor is laid out.  Its also before the cherry wood was stained and finished.

You walk to the left of the regfrigerator, and after the large cabinet that's behind the dinette (bus seats).  Thats the microwave haniging on the right, there is now a kitchen counter in that area.

[H3Jim]

This next pic is from the rear looking forward.  The man in the white shorts is standing in the aisleway. Yes the toilet is permanently mounted in that position.

Thats my better side in the foreground, standing where the bathroom sink is now located.

Both these pics give you a good idea of how the refrigerator affects teh floorplan.  I think you can use any size, as long as you plan for it ahead of time.  space is really at a premium, so I would counsel to get what fits your design, not just use what you can get - as a little more effort could turn up a cheap one that's the perfect size.

[JohnEd]

Paladin,

It was mentioned that you need a vent, two actually, behind even a AC powered refer.  You may not do that but if you don't you will have to dump that heat load with air conditioning in the summer.  In the winter it will help you stay warm and maybe that is a building feature you might want to consider.  Not a lot of energy there but still.

What Jack said.

HTH,

John