From a plumbers perspective I would have disconnected the propane back at the main line so less chances of a leak occurring. Plus eliminating the line that has to flex each time the slide is moved in or out.
i would not have screwed though the walls of the fridge till you find out if the coils were there. also i would have wired to the 12v distributon panel not straight to the battery.
After about 9 months after purchasing our Alliance Valor, and living in it full time about 7 months, our Everchill 12V refrigerator started giving us issues. Of course, every time we brought the RV in, it was working and no tech could find the issue. After three months of having to throw away a full refrigerator's groceries, I gave up and replaced the Never-Chill with a residential GE model. Good luck to your buddy with the Everchill.
Nice project, well done. I personally like having the gas/120vac electric fridge. All eight of our RV’s had them and never a failure or performance issue. We didn’t have solar on any of them so the 12vdc units would not have been as practical for us as the gas option. Our current Winnebago has the double door Norcold with ice-maker and it gets way cold. If we had a large solar install and lithium batteries then a 12vdc unit may make sense for us. But, as always, time and technology marches on…
Nice video of a big job. We have a Dometic gas/electric and have zero problems camping in the Arizona desert for months at a time in the Winter. Makes ice, keeps ice cream so hard it needs to warm before serving up. Was well installed with vent fans in chimney.
Exactly. Same for us. No issues at all. Mostly off grid camping with propane and a Honda 2000i. Simple systems in place. I don’t need more complications.
I think having a 12v fridge is great if you have good solar backup or lots of open space without trees to capitalize on that solar. But where I camp it’s all forest and solar is not 100% efficient and if there’s a storm and the trees take out the power then that’s a bad day. We chose or northern spirit with gas/electric over 12v because of this possibility and ironically it saved our first trip with it!
The chimney build for the old absorption ridge didn’t look well done by the factory, which was probably a big factor in why his fridge wasn’t cooling well.
propane/12 v adsorption fridges work much better if installed properly. the spaces between the fridge and cabinet work must be closed in and the back must be optimized for a proper "chimney" effect. a small fan helps immensly as well especially if the upper vent is through the wall rather than the roof. i boxed in and added plywood to the wall vent area as per the fridge manufacturer instructions and fridge performance improved drastically. our adsorption fridge is 17 years old and the trailer has somewhere around 50,000miles on it, so it's had a tough life. it still keeps the icecream hard and the fresh veggies dont freeze! that 2 way fridge is very badly installed and doesn't even look to be sealed at all from the living area of the trailer.
Looking forward to this. My current TT has the standard gas/elec fridge. It's been ok, but there has been a few times where it has errored out on the gas setting. I'd love to add a couple solar panels and some good batteries to try to get away from propane. Not sure if I'll do it with this rig, but would love to eventually go to all electric. Refilling propane is a pain to me, and I normally camp at campgrounds where there's power, and it's a toy hauler so I've got the Onan 5K generator with a 30 gallon gas tank if I need full power off the grid. I'd love to replace the oven/cooktop with a convection cooktop and electric oven or replace the microwave with a convection microwave and get back some extra kitchen cabinet space.
Great video. I have a 12 volt Canon and I love it. My 150 watt solar and dual batteries keeps it going no problem. I like how for quick day or two stops I don’t have to level the trailer perfectly for the fridge. Plus it’s cold in a few hours and the room you gain. Your friend will love it
I have a 12v Norcold in my Arctic Fox Northfork and love it. 2 100ah lithium batteries and 400w solar. Had 12v Furion in my Jayco 5th wheel before this and same power setup. Absolutely superior to the gas/electric.
Why didn’t you build the bottom platform taller so the top of the fridge came up to the existing top trim? That way the patched trim would have been on the bottom where it’s not as visible or out of place looking.
Thanks JD, I've wondered about this same swap, what all would be involved. Admit I haven't looked at mine to see what would be involved. Other than cost, straight forward job. God bless ya'll and stay safe.
Nice, yeah I am with your friend I hate those gas/electric fridge they never get real cold, I even install four or five computer fans in the back two big fan up top and three on the bottom. It help a little but no were like my 12v fridge that I have in my North Point good job sir, you are a good friend, lol.
Believe that panel is there to direct the air flow not just to cover things up. Left out all the hard stuff in the install but there are plenty of other RU-vid videos. Probably an upgrade I will have to do eventually. Just need to do research on which is more efficient: direct DC fridge or AC fridge through an inverter.
My travel trailer has a 12 volt refrigerator from factory and I love it, it’s been made even better after I installed a 200 watt solar package onto the trailer and boondocking for us has been super easy and simple.
@@brianwaddell6044 yes, I bought it after the camping season though and have yet to install it on the trailer, but I did get a lithium battery as well.
That's the same Everchill I have in my Salem bunkhouse. Its been going strong since 2020 with zero issues. Keeps great even temperatures, I was used to my old 2 way fridge in my toy hauler and when I first got it, I put the fridge on I believe 4 out of 5 and it froze my eggs solid. Readjusted and its been perfect. Excellent choice. Quality has absolutely improved from the old "neverchill"
I live in Arizona and while my 2 way DM2652 was good, in the southwest, it just took too long to get cold and had to be full to work well. I replaced it with the DMC4081 12V fridge and it has been great. I don't go boondocking right now, but I plan to upgrade to a Lithium battery for the future.
Our new unit came with the Norcold 12v and we love it. The unit also came with 330w solar system to support it. Not worrying about propane being off for tunnels or running out is a huge plus.
We have a 2024 keystone 1800BH. Not impressed with the Everchill 12v. Not cold enough. It's been on for three days and added COLD items 1 day ago. Not cold. Freezer has 5 freeze pops in it and they melted. Running in shore power.
I have one each in my 2 campers I’m not so sure that 12 volt is so dam superior to a propane fridge unless you have at minimum 200 watts of solar. But 2 days of cloudy weather and well all bets are off. 🤷🏻♂️
If you have a halfway decent solar and lithium power system, you might as well go with a 120 volt residential fridge. I'm already running my 3000 W inverter all the time, so a couple more amps won't make much difference. And they're much cheaper.
No wonder his gas/electric fridge didn't work right with the framing they installed behind it. They need to breath. That top vent was basically useless with that panel installed behind the fridge. They work pretty good if set up correctly.
If you have 200-400aH of lithium I’d go 12v all the way. I love having a fridge that is cold in 40 mins. Never an issue. Run it all the time driving it parked. Just make sure you’re using 10 gauge wiring or better. That’s where the majority of problems happen is trying to reuse the DC wiring from an AC/propane fridge. A 10 cu ft fridge can fit in a 6-8cu foot gas electric fridge spot. And no venting needed ever.
I replaced the Norcold 4 door refrigerator in my 2017 Bighorn 3575EL with a new Samsung 18 CF. I was a lot of work and modifications. I could not ever get the Samsung to work properly and they would not send out a service tech so they refunded the purchase. I then purchased a 22 CF Frigidaire, redesigned the space again and got it done! It was a pain to do the job twice but the Frigidaire is a much better unit than the Samsung with much more space. I lucked out and found the Frigidaire on sale for $900 off which put it less than the Samsung. I was able to sell the Norcold for $1500 more then a paid for the Frigidaire! I also designed a system to use 2 water cooler 3 gallon jugs for the water source for the ice maker. Its been working great for three years.
If I were you, I 100% would have gone 10ga. Mark my words, In hot temps, the current requirements go up and at times you may get an undercurrent condition when your compressor starts. When you get a trouble code, THATS why.
I'm not sure this is a good idea. It's great from the perspective of running on solar. But 12V compressor fridges, especially the chest style ones, have a typical lifespan of 5 years or so. The 3-way propane fridges can last multiple decades. I can see your point of propane fridges not working in hot climates. I spend most of my time in Wyoming, Colorado and surrounding states, and a propane fridge works great. If I was in Texas like you are I can see the point of a hotter climate fridge.
I'm thinking about a magic chef 10.1 for my torque t322 to replace the dometic i have a generator so I'm not worried about power what are your thoughts thanks
You need to go back and remove all that insulation from the sides of that space. The sides of that fridge are used as the heat exchanger. That insulation is going to make the sides roast and not give off heat.
Seems like a lot of wasted space behind the fridge. I wonder if it is worth replacing the lower outside vent with a hatch so that area would be accessible.
I had the dealer swap my 2 way to a 12 Volt. Found out a year later that the voltage requirements for a 12V are different. What I mean, is when boondocking our 12V compressor will not turn over when voltage drops below 12.8V or something close. Problem is the voltage drop from my 2 100A lithium batteries to the 12V fridge is almost a full volt. So when my batteries drop to 13.7V, the actual voltage at my fridge compressor is only 12.7 and compressor will not start. Fan runs, light is on, no compressor. So everything in my fridge / freezer starts to thaw. Takes about 3 days of normal boondock (400W solar with generator use twice a day) use before we notice things not staying frozen. Thought I was crazy for months until RV tech confirmed voltage drop. Perhaps it is a single use case and I am special (lucky me) but it is something to watch out for.
I can testify to that. Wife bought her first camper, a little jewel from witchita and first time out furnace wouldn't go. Turns out all it was is thermostat. I have worked in wood and brick didn't realize how furnaces worked in campers. So we had to tie wires together every 3 hours to stay warm. Now I watch every rv tech I can.
Unlimited funds to make it work? Besides the refrigerator itself, what required unlimited funds to do this project? I'm assuming you're 12-year-old that doesn't have a job yet?
We removed our 2 way fridge and installed a residential. Before we installed the new ones, we insulated the walls and ceiling. It is in a slide out too. Works great down here in the Rio Grande Valley.
It's nice seeing a video about fixing or updating an RV instead of frame flex badgering I know RU-vid is about hits but come on enough is enough. Great job.
The gas absorption doesn’t work well in the Rockies either. I’m in western Idaho and we replaced our refer with a residential refrigerator. We went from a 12 cuft gas electric to a 16 cuft residential.
@@chrisbuxton2778, we were at Stanley Idaho at 6500 ft elevation in early Oct. hi temp never went above 68 deg F. It was the never cold norcold 1210. Notorious for not working well at all.
@@BigTruckBigRV That is true, but to get sway you have to adjust the bars for distribution, though not a requirement for HD truck, but a must IF you want sway control. If does make a difference, been there, done that, and was I surprised it needed it.
Being that the fridge is built into the slide out, i would be concerned about adding extra weight from the upgraded fridge. Also, i would still recommend a weight distribution hitch on an HD truck, just for thr sake of sway control. The truck not squating, doesn't change the fact you're pulling a wind sail down the road.
Na. Never used it, pulled trailers for 30+ years with an f350 pulling different trailers every day. Using a drop hitch works perfectly. Drive in wind everyday
Those panels aren't there to cover up the back of the fridge. They create a sort of cooling or draft channel for air to flow up the backside of an absorption fridge. Without them it will not cool properly.
@@BigTruckBigRV Yes! But you'd be surprised how many people dont even think about it. Ive seen far, far too many torn floors because someone thought "Nahhh itll be fire" xD