04 Itasca QD anyone replace Frig with Residential?

[rgvtexan]

04 Itasca QD anyone replace Frig with Residential?

[imnprsd]

Absolutely a good idea.

I did it 5 years ago that I upgraded to a residential refrigerator and now I would not own an RV without one....providing:

* You have room for 400+ AH of house batteries. (4-GC2-6V-Golf Cart or 3-12V-Deep Cycle).

Is your current NeverCold in the passenger slide? ...Please send a picture of your current setup.

MORE TIPS

* I would recommend 400W of solar power and you can put the solar controller under your Washer/Dryer... behind your basement AC intake grill.

* And I have been very happy with my Dimensions Quasi-sine Inverter powering my 16.5 cu-ft Frigidare. So don't worry about upgrading your inverter as that would be a waste of money in my opinion.

* You will be able to power your refrigerator using your existing power source to your NeverCold ice maker. So the install will be easier than you think.

* Definitely remove the passenger chair (4 bolts you can unscrew from underneath your RV) so you can get your old frig out and your new frig in... without the doors installed.

* And after you install you refrigerator you can use 4" base board wood to trim-out the gaps on the sides and top. Then stain it accordingly. Do you have light or dark stain?

Note: I did have to reinforce the floor; and trim the upper frame of my refrigerator cabinet for the refrigerator hardware to fit. So you will find the width will have extra room, but your height will be slightly small.

* To secure the residential refrigerator to the floor, you should pre-drill 2 holes in the new frig metal feet. Then bolt it to the floor.

* Don't forget to tape off the vent holes to the outside, because your new residential frig will vent from the front.

I ordered my Frig from Lowe's or HD for $700 plus $100 for the ice maker. I also bought the Stainless Steel version and I really think SS works best vs. black paint. Good luck with your upgrade and keep us posted!

[rgvtexan]

Thanks for the reply.

I have 4 GC batteries, have for years.
Do not have a passenger side side on the QD model. the Norcold 1200 sits above the sub woofer and vacuum dustpan and hose port.
The MH has Cherry stain.
What model of Frigidaire did you use?
It is the Height that I am concerned with.

[imnprsd]

If your frig is Not on a slide like mine is... and if you do not have a heater or any wiring or vacuum ports your frig now... you might look at the option of putting your residential frig right on the floor?

You would have to relocate your speaker above the frig based on the picture you showed. ...And I'm not sure if darker stain is easier to match or not, but I think you can find out what other people have used.

Anyway, I used the GE Refrigerator Model #GTS16GSHCRSS model (15.5 cu-ft) which is plenty big. However, I do like the looks of the Samsung, but I have read a number of posts where people have had trouble with it. And I'm not a fan of Fisher-Pykel anything. Don't forget to add an ice maker.

If you go with any 2-door frig you also need to make a door lock to keep your doors closed when you drive. (See picture.) ...Then drill a hole and epoxy a female thread receiver (with teeth) in between the doors.

Note: I recommend you put a 1/2" sheet of plywood over your tiles when you yank the old frig out, because if your help drops it by mistake... and "oops" isn't going to make you feel better if the weight cracks a tile.

Also, I think your NorCold will weigh more than your new frig. I can't remember. And it will be a very, very tight fit getting going though the front door, but you can do it... with the passenger chair removed.

[imnprsd]

I forgot to add... You need to measure the height of the refrigerator off the floor to the highest part of the hinge on the top of the box. So don't let this import point escape your attention or you really will have a height issue.

==> I think I had to trim 3/8" x 4" off my top frame horizonal piece of wood to allow for the frig to slide back into the cubby hole. And then I covered it with a 3" upside down base board.

==> Then you trim the sides with this same 3" base board trim and it will like like it came from the factory when you are done.

==> Your frig will be more efficient if you leave some air gaps around the side walls, but I still took some "swimming noodles" and shoved them in the back side wall area. ...In your case this may only be possible on the left side since you probably don't have any right-wall structural integretity with that pocket door being right there.

==> You really don't need to worry about wind, because you can remove your 2 outside air vents and tape them off (from the inside) to block the wind... and for cooling you new frig vents from the front.

==> To anchor the frig you need to tip the new frig over and then drill a couple hole in the frame-feet. (2 at least, but 4 is better.) Then shove the frig in the hole... ALL THE WAY BACK AGAINST THE WALL... and use a maker to draw circles in the floor... Then pre-drill the floor so when you poke the frig back in the cubby you can realign the holes and insert your 2-3" bolts with large flat washers and aircraft nuts.

==> Keep in mind, by residential frig sits on a riser platform so I had access to the bottom-rear of my platform to anchor the frig to the floor. So lowering your floor maybe the only way you can go with your height concerns.

==> If you can't lower the frig all the way to the floor, maybe you can lower your platform 1-2" or modify it by going to a smaller speaker and turning your vacuum port face plate sideways? That speaker does not have to be a 6x9 to work. A 3x5 will do nicely too.

==> It may be easier to make a new base floor vs. modifying the one you have, but with a table saw you can probably remove your existing front board and then figure a way to trim it down or just replace it with a new piece of wood.

==> Matching the stain is important if you want it to look like it came from the factory so don't fudge on this step. You might need to stain a few test strips first.

==> If you can anchor all 4 feet of the refrigerator to the floor that will give you the most peace of mind, but if there is any way to anchor the top of your refrigerator you might consider it. This will will take an extra long ladder to reach in though your top large sidewall vent in order to reach the top of your refrigerator; so don't try to anything fancy on a short ladder. You could fall an really hurt your self... and defeat the whole purpose of DIY if you end up breaking your arm or leg!

==> As for your roof vent you can leave it or plug it or better still cap it off on top of the roof using a round or square piece of aluminum with Dicor lap sealant all over.

==> You can easily re-use your old water line for you ice maker, but you may find it to be brittle from age. So just place it and use a shut off valve so you can cut your water off if you need to in the future. ...And if store your RV in freezing climate you really do want to come up with a strategy so you can drain the line to keep it from freezing. Moreover, I don't like the idea of using RV anti-freeze in the ice maker! ...But I do use it for picnic outings. ...And I use bagged ice for mixing drinks because it's so much better than using local water!!!

==> I also added an On-Off-LED wall switch to the existing side wall power pug, but I also did not want to give up my 2 wall sockets. So I accomplished this with that "wonder saw" to enlarge the receptacle hole to a double-gang-receptacle.

...You will need to trim the back off a plastic insert because it's too deep for your very thin side wall, but that's okay. Just trim the width to fit and tape the back off.

...And with an easy on-off-switch inside the coach, I can now my refrigerator when I don't want the compressor to run. ...Just know the LED will be on with the frig is off!

==> I also recommend you get a RV Weather monitor with a small 2.5" x 2.5" display to monitor your frig temperature. ...Then put the transmitter in the Refrigerator and mount the display near your EMS wall or some other place you can easily refer to it. (38F-42F is what you will want to see and trust me... you will look at often.)

==> Every residential frig installation sounds daunting until you do one. Then it's not hard, but you will need 3 or 4 young-strong-people to hall the old frig out, but they need to be responsible, because a young teenager may give up mid-stream and drop the frig on your dash or rip your driver's seat!!!

...Not to scare you, but you have to plan in advance for everything, and I hope these tips help!

I also know you will really love your New Frig, but I don't think anyone will pay you a dime for that NeverCold. However, you can try to sell it. You may also find people want your NeverCold doors, because apperently these fail and new ones are expensive. The Doors are worth more than the box if your door still have a good seal on the bottom? ...Maybe you can get $200 for them, but logistically it's a PITA to ship.

Who knows? Maybe you will find someone who will really thank you if you just gave it to them and they hall it away. It's a decision you need to make when HD or Lowe's deliver your refrigerator if you want them to haul away your old refrigerator for free.

Note: When HD or Lowes delivers your frig, the movers will likely not question the RV installation if tip them $20 each for the extra effort. My guys didn't expect a tip, but I know they appreciated it, and I appreciated their help. ...Just get them to setup your doors for installation and install the ice maker before they leave. Then once the new frig is inside you can poke it into the hole and mess with the custom installation later.

Note; I placed a case of water and a piece of wood on top to manage poking the refrigerator in the hole myself. So really one person is best working alone to do the custom fitting part, but having a second person "handy" is better. My point: This is really a one-person job after the heavy lifting part.

Good luck! ...Your wife will love you for doing this! ...And you don't have to tell her you love your new frig too!

If you paid someone to do this it would be a full day of work, but don't be surprised if it takes 1.5 days. ...I would look for a cabinet maker as your best resource; or someone skilled at installing pre-fab cabinets too!

[be happy]

I know you talked about residential frig replacement. I would like to offer a different side for you to think about.

My 07 Meridian set up looks close to what you have with stuff below the frig and the stove to the left. I debated back and forth for many months on what to do for replacement when the time came. Well the time came and I decided to go with JC Refrigeration replacement cooling unit.
https://jc-refrigeration.com/product...0-1210-series/

If was a great DIY project for DW and I. Nothing hard about it with great results. I picked the HVAC 120V only because we do not boondock and I always run the gen. when on the road so I always have 120 on the coach.

Once I installed the cooling unit I am able to leave the temp setting on 4 with a frig temp of 34-35 snd freezer somewhere arouind 10 I know the ice cream stays frozen.

Again just a different slant on replacing your unit with out having to do all the extra finishing work.

[rgvtexan]

So far I am just compleplating the idea, the Norcold work fine.
The DW would like a SS counter depth, when the time comes.
I have yet to pull the speaker to see what else might be under there.

The wood work is not a problem, as I have a shop and all the tools.

It may be a Spring project. We normally would have been in ABQ this week for the Balloon Fiesta, and then to TX for the winter. It will be getting a little chilly here in eastern WA pretty soon and there is no heat in the shop, the S&B is 150 miles south.

We have been working in the shop this summer, put in a kitchen, built stairs to the loft, and, put 2 sets of FHU in for RVs. I can now get the MH inside. It has never spent a winter in WA, but we think we will leave it here even if we decide to go to TX, later.

Thanks for all the ideas.