| Author |
Message |
Jay (162.40.69.164)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 12:17 am: | |
Would a homestyle or RV type fridge work better in a coach? I seen both kinds used. Some nights would be w/hookups, and some, dry camping. I've replaced an RV type, and they're not cheap. Thanks for the input. |
OAE Palmer (208.164.96.239)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 3:30 pm: | |
I'll jump in and drop my 2centz worth
(expecting to be corrected if I err)
In 1963 in the Studebaker 48pass schoolie my Dad screwed together, we used an ICEBOX
& if we had a problem we didn't have to go far for blame or a solution to the problem.
Of course back then it was only "those rich people" in GREYHOUNDS for cryinoutloud who could AFFORD 'fridgerators..!
For us now, it has come to this question...
is it smarter to put a ton of cash
into a good RV refer
OR
put that same amount of money
into a regular electric refer
and the inverter and batteries needed to keep it alive...?
We have decieded to go with the later
mainly because we always have the genset for "backup".
A "bestbuy" apt refer is inexpensive and available everywhere
and unless you off-road or hill-climb your coach, will last quite a while.
(and you never have to vent it either).
The single contributing factor in our decision was that
we wanted cold food all the time
not cool food most of the time
and garbage when there was a problem.
Most of our trips to the icebox were for a cold drink,
which we now keep in a cooler close by
and thus the refer stays colder and need not run as often.
Either way
you will have to re-adapt to a different "refer lifestyle" from stick home standards,
but its easy. |
bob m (152.163.188.227)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 4:47 pm: | |
I have a house type side by side refrigerator freezer in my 4104. i have a five gallon tank of non- toxic anti freeze in the freezer the bus a/c unit has a switch to either run the coolant through this tank while going down the road or through the bus a/c system. usually the roof airs are sufficient to cool the bus so i run the coolant through the freezer. freezes at 10 below zero and when frozen will keep the ref/freezer cool for 48 to 60 hours. i have a small 12volt fan to circulate the air between freezer and fridge |
Mike Eades (Mike4905) (206.148.166.120)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 8:23 pm: | |
I have a house ref with an ice maker. I have no problems with and plenty of ice. We are full timers and We were tired of the small rv type. Now when we see a sale on meats etc. We can stock the freezer. Mike |
Jim Stacy (32.101.44.149)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 8:39 pm: | |
Mostly you need to decide two things:
Do you have the room for a large frig?
Do you want to boondock for a few days without the noisemaker?
We compromised, bought a 10 cu ft rv fridge. I really like ice cubes when we boon dock. I really hate the sound of a gen set, (mine or someone else's). FWIW
Jim Stacy |
David & Lorna Schinske (Davidschinske) (64.24.236.175)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 09, 2003 - 9:53 am: | |
Check out the Solar companies. We're going with a Sunfrost RF19 (8 cf ref/8 cf frezzer) that will run on 12vDC. We use a lot of frozen food and this will be a long-term living unit. It will not be set up in campgrounds within easy reach of power hook-ups, sewer hook-ups, bath houses and laundromats. It will be set up on residential home construction sites. If you've ever spent any time on a construction site then you will understand why, although we will have a power pole to connect to, we will need to be mostly self-contained. How will you use you bus? Will you mostly boondock or park in campgrounds with all the amenities? This is the main consideration in choosing most anything that you will put in your bus.
Lorna |
CoryDaneRTSIIIL (4.17.253.92)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 09, 2003 - 1:24 pm: | |
Refrigerators are a big question and will boil down to how you will use your bus.
I have a Norcold 3 way in my soon to be retired RV and it has been absolutely great. have had little problem running it on propane only (uses a little battery juice for control).
It also depends on how strong your battery bank is too if you boon and use the inverter to run the frige. Traveling isnt that big a choice since you can run the inverter, but most friges stay cold if you dont open them too much.
Actually, you have the answer, you just have to decide if you are gonna boon a lot or just be a camp ground camper hooked to land power allthe time. though I would love to have an ice maker, I really like my Norcold and will be putting it in the bus soon. |
john marbury (Jmarbury) (65.100.118.176)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 11, 2003 - 6:02 pm: | |
Has anyone heard of or had any experience with a "Planet DC"
refrigerator? They claim to be much more efficient and more
effective than SunFrost. I don't recall it being mentioned on this
board before.
John |
Craig S (65.202.123.254)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 13, 2003 - 1:55 pm: | |
Hi,
I looked them up and the lowest cost one is $1200 plus shipping. Will it last longer on battery power, Yes. Will I buy one, No. I can't justify the cost difference from a $300 low amp house unit. If I knew my lifestyle was mostly off grid and perhaps had solar panels, charge controllers and a large battery bank, I might add it to my already expensive choice for power. It's something to work toward though. I'd like to get away from using fossil fuels but, the bus already burns diesel and fossil fuels are cheap in comparison.
Craig S |
Jay (162.40.69.12)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 13, 2003 - 10:11 pm: | |
Thanks all for the fridge input. |