@@Mouserjan0222 True. But it wouldn't take much to put a piece of that wainscoting on the 2x4 boards and a piano hinge on the covering board in front. The same safety latch can be used as on the fridge.
As an Industry Technican, VHB tape is your friend. We use it from mounting LED tape lights upside down / Toe kick lights to Mounting Solar panels on roofs with NO HOLES! Going on 8 years with two 100 watt panels on mounted to the hood of my Truck. That includes getting hit by a Twister in Utah earlier this month. Still holding Strong!
@salty6pence672 I agree the fridge will work the way he has it. But it will last a lot longer and work much better with some venting. I did it to my high end fridge at home it runs much better than before .
40 years old and still runs every day for the last 5 years. I have the same motorhome from breaking bad it is a 1986 fleetwood bounder A class. For an old rig, I have had minimal problems. I totally recommend fleetwood r.v.'s👍
You are so lucky that you didn't kill your new fridge by putting screws into the side of it. There are freon lines behind the side panels of the fridge. I have personally seen new refrigerators and freezers ruined by people drilling into the side walls because they wanted to add a lock.
I was thinking the same. To each his own but I’d have used a ratchet strap over the top and secured to eye hooks on the 2x4, also would have L-bracketed to the floor on the rear at the bottom where the frame is. That would hold it well but also make it super easy to remove in the future.
Why close off the vents? I did a video on my channel and installed a Unique DC fridge and installed 12v cabinet fans to use the chimney for cooling. My compressor ran at about 160f if i remember correctly and with my 12v fan added it took it consistently down to 80f.
That framing around the fridge looks good! You could always paint the supporting 2x4s black so it's not as noticable but you don't really see it until you're right up on the fridge.
I feel your pain Eric with Dometic products. In 3 years, 3 out of 4 Dometic Blizzad AC units have gone bad. Disappointing that Dometic is refusing to honor the 2-year manufacturer's warranty on our most recent failure. Sorry to hear you are having issues with the fridge.
Even Vissani fridges have this said about them; "What is the life expectancy of a Vissani refrigerator? Our appliance repair company told us that five years is about the maximum lifespan for this brand, so I feel like we did OK." I bought a Summit 8.5 cu ft fridge in May 2009, for my house, it's had zero probles at all, and it's now Aug 2024, so it's already 15-1/3 years old. The model has been discontinued, but Summit appliance has been great to me. From my invoice in 2009; Summit: 8.5 cu. ft. Counter-Depth Top-Freezer Refrigerator with Adjustable Wire Shelves, Door Storage, Adjustable Thermostat and Interior Light Model: FF874, $523.99 Total
We have a 2007 Fleetwod Tioga with a Dometic fridge. RV has 97,000 miles on it. When it's parked at home the fridge is on 24/7 and filled with drinks, condiments, etc. We have a dedicated RV outlet for it. On the road it runs on propane. We leave it set to AUTO and that fridge has run NONSTOP except for cleaning for years and years. I have a micro camper I use on solo trips with my Jeep. It has a Dometic fridge and yup, it's been running non stop since I bought it last November.
Just curious why you didn't decide to push the new fridge all the way to one side and make the resulting 7 inch gap into storage shelves? I'm sure you had a reason.
Outstanding design and execution on your refrigerator project. Measure once drink twice was sheer brilliance and we are pushing 80. I’ve been following you for about eight years and this was a really really good video.
I would like to add that I live offgrid with 6, 6 volt batteries in series with a 7,000 watt inverter and burn just 1 gallon per day with my 2,000 watt inverter Honda generator. 6, T-105 Trojan's. It will run for 12 hours charging the batteries and then can sit for the next 12 or longer running my 32 inch TV connected to my laptop. It is tethered to my phone for internet. I consider 1 gallon per day to be very cheap indeed! If I tun on the AC, it will burn that gallon is just 5 hours.
Sorry you had trouble with your electric/gas Dometic fridge. I have a Forest River Wolf Pup, on my second one too, a 2020. One reason I upgraded to a newer model was I now have a 10 cu. Ft. all electric Furrion Artic fridge. When plugged in to 30amp power it runs and freezes just fine. When boondocking I switch the temp dial to off grid and it maintains temps with no problem from power from my two marine deep cell batteries which are kept constant with (as long as there is sun) with a small 50 watt solar panel in the roof. Have been pleased with operation so far. When I am not on the road and plugged in at home at base camp, I often use it as a secondary fridge. Hope your new deal works well for you. I do t use lithium batteries due to often staying in winter climate thus no worries when it goes below 40 other than winterizing my plumbing. Hey to the Diane and rubs to the kitties!
I put a new cooling unit in my 68 Clark Cortez (A C/propane dometic) in 2002. 30k miles later, plugged in for the last 3 years. Still chillin like a villain
Fridge looks good to me. Those propane fridges really are meant for "seasonal" use. I've had one go out and no way am I going to replace it with another similar. I do have some worry on whether the compressor on the new fridge will like vibrations from the road.
My trailer came with a 12 volt 6 cu ft. No 110 or propane. I love it It's a furrion cheap but has worked for 3 years. I love it. Only pulls 120 watts and thermometer in the freezer stays around zero with fridge set at aboulasts. Well see how long it lastx.
Me too. Repairs but also things like how to quickly dump tanks, using the water bandit to get water from a faucet with no threads, slide mechanism repair, etc.
My Dometic dual is 21 years old and constantly runs on shore power. They weren't designed to operate intermittently. Think about a light bulb that usually fails when it is turned off or on. They also weren't designed to operate solely on propane. The flame degrades the metal and allows the Ammonia to leak out.
Any unfamiliar project I am trying to accomplish, I always search for RU-vid videos. We make the RU-vid how to videos if a project comes up that we can't find a specific video for what we need. We are by no means professionals, but we always have a good time making them. And the project seems to work out in the end...even if we have to modify to fit our needs. You tackled this one, and made it work. Awesome!
Eric, I know how you feel about rv appliance breakdowns. I'm on my 3rd Dometic hot water heater. when it starts leaking, my life gets turned completely upside down. Spend the weekend replacing it😒
They are garbage, I agree. But somehow my 2003 RV fridge is still working and I have been living in it fulltime since 2017. Every day I expect it to stop working but it keeps going. Mine is a Norcold made in Ohio. Maybe that's the difference. You made that new fridge look pretty good in there.
Looks great Eric! I am still wondering what happened to your dishwasher in the last RV? Our is still running with a few tweaks in how we operate it. Basically cheap Chinese junk is just that, but when my wife broke her arm last winter the dishwasher saved my bacon because she needed 24/7 care for 4 months. Our 12-volt Furrion 10 cu ft fridge is the cats meow, maybe Opie approved, but I do not have an inverter as we are on shore power 85% of the time because we run 13 USFS campgrounds & are working out of our RV from town. I would rather be in the USFS maybe next year. Cheers, David & Sheila
Looks good Eric, I’m not a carpenter neither. But would have chosen a closer color to match your interior. Hopefully it lasts, and the next road trip will see how it works.
This is one of your best recent videos, Eric. It's good to see you doing a project on your RV, like you used to do. Looks pretty good, although I would prefer to see the lines running up and down on the top panel, but that's just me. Well done, my friend. BTW, I almost cheered when you dumped the old one out the door!
So essentially letting a fridge settle before plugging it in is BS? You're moving all the time and even hitting bumpy roads. Never seemed to effect your other house fridge in last RV?
I know you always say: "Yeah, don't do what I do....", but I am a bit shocked that you're putting a fridge in a completely closed cabinet. Fridges don't magically cool by using electricity. They cool by loosing heat. That heat has got to go somewhere. I'm at 11 minutes and 40 seconds now, let's see how this works out.... Will it work, I guess it will, but only so-so.
I replaced my Dometic with the same vissani fridge 5 years ago…easy to replace…3years into replacement the timer for the defrost quit working..timer got from amazon and directions on youtube..all is good now…I don’t move my 5th wheel so a.c. Power not an issue…good luck
