Convert Solitude 375 RES to residential fridge

[Txfivver]

I would like to convert my trailer over to the Samsung residential fridge, wish it was ordered that way. While the Dometic works ok it does seem to struggle some in the Texas heat. I went to my dealer and we measured everything and it looks like a fairly easy conversion. I am not going to worry about adding an inverter as I have the Onan generator for traveling and I will never dry camp. My dealer emailed GD and asked if they have any type on conversion kit. Their response was no and they don't recommend any modifications. I get that is the safe answer but if I order the same fridge that's factory installed and have my very competent dealer do the install should I be ok? Any input from Emily or GD would be appreciated. Thank you.

[vonzoog]

Won’t you need the inverter will traveling? I guess you could run the generator full time.

I have e French door Samsung in our house. When it was delivered the delivery guys had to take it almost completely apart in order to get it through a 36 inch door. Fitting inside is one thing, but are you sure you can get it in there?

[bertschb]

...Their response was no and they don't recommend any modifications. I get that is the safe answer but if I order the same fridge that's factory installed and have my very competent dealer do the install should I be ok?...

I don't recall ever hearing a manufacturer recommend modifying their product. I asked Grand Design if it was OK to mount a satellite dish on the roof of our first 5th wheel and they didn't recommend it. That didn't surprise me but I was hoping to get their recommendation of a location that might be better than others to avoid wiring and/or cooling ducts, etc. I ended up mounting the dish anyway. Since a lot of people mount satellite dishes and solar panels, it would be nice if Grand Design had some general recommendations as to best practices. Owners already understand that drilling holes in the roof introduces the possibility of leaks.

As for the residential fridge, a lot of people are making that switch from RV refrigerators. The only obstacles I'm aware of are getting the fridge into the RV and then trimming out the installation so it looks nice. We love our residential fridge and wouldn't go back to an RV fridge. We don't boondock but even if we did, I'd rather buy a generator and/or solar panels and more batteries than deal with the limitations of the RV fridge. There are quite a few threads on other RV forums where folks have switched from RV to residential refrigerators. They all appeared to be pretty straightforward and I've never read about anybody regretting the swap. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

[Txfivver]

Won’t you need the inverter will traveling? I guess you could run the generator full time.

I have e French door Samsung in our house. When it was delivered the delivery guys had to take it almost completely apart in order to get it through a 36 inch door. Fitting inside is one thing, but are you sure you can get it in there?

That was a worry of mine as well, getting it through the door. Apparently you take the doors off and it will go right in. That's the same as if it already had one and had to be replaced. My dealer was more concerned about getting it past the kitchen island and the little front hutch by the door. Oh well, where there's a will there's a way! I plan on pulling the trigger on this by the fall when their shop load slows down and am excited to have it done. Voonzog I do plan to just run the generator when traveling if need be. If it's lightly stocked at any given time I can just use coolers during travel as well. I bought the generator just so I could cover any situation I needed to.

[TucsonJim]

If you can't get it through a door, take measurements to see if you can get it through a window. Windows are easy to remove and reinstall. I know on some brands, that is the only way you can replace a refrigerator.

[Txfivver]

If you can't get it through a door, take measurements to see if you can get it through a window. Windows are easy to remove and reinstall. I know on some brands, that is the only way you can replace a refrigerator.

Thanks Jim, it's funny you should mention that. My service advisor actually suggested that when we were measuring. He said we can take the dinette window out and bring in that way. My first thought was can they reinstall window and not have any leaks?? I guess however they do it is fine as long as it works and looks nice with no damage to the trailer or side effects. Me and my big projects lol

[CloseToRetirement]

Continuing along Tuscon Jim's comment...during a random conversation with my dealer's service manager, he stated they take out the dinette window on the Solitude 369RL to replace the fridge.

Lyle

[GDRV-Emily]

I would like to convert my trailer over to the Samsung residential fridge, wish it was ordered that way. While the Dometic works ok it does seem to struggle some in the Texas heat. I went to my dealer and we measured everything and it looks like a fairly easy conversion. I am not going to worry about adding an inverter as I have the Onan generator for traveling and I will never dry camp. My dealer emailed GD and asked if they have any type on conversion kit. Their response was no and they don't recommend any modifications. I get that is the safe answer but if I order the same fridge that's factory installed and have my very competent dealer do the install should I be ok? Any input from Emily or GD would be appreciated. Thank you.

Good morning Txfivver I am getting with our team to get you the most accurate info on this. As soon as I can, I will reply!

[GDRV-Emily]

I would like to convert my trailer over to the Samsung residential fridge, wish it was ordered that way. While the Dometic works ok it does seem to struggle some in the Texas heat. I went to my dealer and we measured everything and it looks like a fairly easy conversion. I am not going to worry about adding an inverter as I have the Onan generator for traveling and I will never dry camp. My dealer emailed GD and asked if they have any type on conversion kit. Their response was no and they don't recommend any modifications. I get that is the safe answer but if I order the same fridge that's factory installed and have my very competent dealer do the install should I be ok? Any input from Emily or GD would be appreciated. Thank you.

I have the answer on this. There are a few things that must be done in order to make this happen. You MUST have an inverter. If you do not, the refer will not work while dry camping, or while traveling down the road. So this is a MUST. The depth of the area needs to be measured as the res refer is different in size. The top vent on the slide will need blocked off, and so will part of the bottom vent. All of the cabinets will need measured to ensure that it will fit correctly.

If you do not install the inverter, it could pose a lot of problems, even if you have the generator!

Hope this helps answer some questions for you

[Txfivver]

I have the answer on this. There are a few things that must be done in order to make this happen. You MUST have an inverter. If you do not, the refer will not work while dry camping, or while traveling down the road. So this is a MUST. The depth of the area needs to be measured as the res refer is different in size. The top vent on the slide will need blocked off, and so will part of the bottom vent. All of the cabinets will need measured to ensure that it will fit correctly.

If you do not install the inverter, it could pose a lot of problems, even if you have the generator!

Hope this helps answer some questions for you

Emily thank you very much for getting back with me on this. I will continue to measure and research it before leaping into it but I do have an excellent dealer to do the install. I wasn't planning to do the inverter but sounds like I need to so will do that too. Thank you again and have a great 4th of July break!!

Jeff

[TENN22]

So I am wondering as to why they would insist on the inverter? The inverter takes 12v DC and transforms it into 120v AC. The Generator produces 120V AC, so it sounds like an inverter is not needed. HOWEVER, I am guessing the inverter should be there to run the Fridge (from 12v battery bank) in that momentary time frame when shore power is removed and the Generator has to startup and switch over. Maybe the thinking is that during the switch over from shore power to generator produces a voltage spike or drop that residential fridges don't handle?
Inquiring minds want to know?

[howson]

So I am wondering as to why they would insist on the inverter? The inverter takes 12v DC and transforms it into 120v AC. The Generator produces 120V AC, so it sounds like an inverter is not needed. HOWEVER, I am guessing the inverter should be there to run the Fridge (from 12v battery bank) in that momentary time frame when shore power is removed and the Generator has to startup and switch over. Maybe the thinking is that during the switch over from shore power to generator produces a voltage spike or drop that residential fridges don't handle?
Inquiring minds want to know?

Can a generator run in a 5vr while it is being towed? (I don't know--ignorant on 5vrs for the most part.) Would you WANT to run a generator whenever you're not connected to shore power? (I'm sure the answer is not definitive--"depends" is the best response.)

Jeff ( Txfivver )--very likely your dually can provide what an inverter needs while towing. I haven't done it yet, but it's something I plan on doing to preserve my battery power while towing. I haven't done a lot of research (yet) but I know Victron sells the Buck-Boost (most expensive but 'safest' IMO), Battle Born sells a LiFePO4 Battery Isolation Manager (not my favorite) and integrators like AMSolar sell other setups. I have no doubt there are more options.

BL--a modest battery setup with power from the truck and you won't need to run the generator. You *do* need to make sure you can power the refrigerator in every circumstance to ensure your food's safety. (For example, power goes out at the campground and you're out and about for a few hours before discovering the issue. Does the generator auto-start? If not, the RV is scorching inside without a/c. An RV refrigerator will default to propane--not an option with a residential refrigerator so is your food safe? Not something to mess around with!)

If you've read my tome posted elsewhere you know I'm a Victron fan, but once you fall down that rabbit hole your wallet will start weeping. The Victron equipment and Battle Born batteries are...expensive.

[Txfivver]

So I am wondering as to why they would insist on the inverter? The inverter takes 12v DC and transforms it into 120v AC. The Generator produces 120V AC, so it sounds like an inverter is not needed. HOWEVER, I am guessing the inverter should be there to run the Fridge (from 12v battery bank) in that momentary time frame when shore power is removed and the Generator has to startup and switch over. Maybe the thinking is that during the switch over from shore power to generator produces a voltage spike or drop that residential fridges don't handle?
Inquiring minds want to know?

That's what I was wondering as well. Mine had the transfer switch installed along with the generator. My rig is plugged into 110 in storage and when I start the generator you hear the big click as the transfer switch transfers over from shore power to generator power, minimal delay if any that I can tell.
Howard yes you can run the Onan while towing, I did it all the time when I had a class C years ago. You had to in order to run the roof ac, dash ac could never keep up! My rig had 2 Deka deep cycle batteries installed at delivery so I'm probably ok there for now. If GD thinks I should install the inverter then I'm ok with that, just thought the generator was the easy way out. I will post results and impressions once it's done, I am determined to have the residential fridge.

[TENN22]

I specifically bought mine with the generator to run while towing. I keep my fridge running, and on the last trip had the AC's running while traveling. Cummins/Onan says this is fine as long as you keep the front cover on your generator and be careful of heavy rains that may splash water into the intake (these things are bottom breathers). 2300 miles so far and no issues.

I still want to know why they told Emily an inverter was a must.

[Txfivver]

I still want to know why they told Emily an inverter was a must.

I am curious as well. Maybe Emily will chime in again with more info.