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RV Refrigerator Failures — Removing an RV Fridge Without Removing the Windshield

RV Refrigerator Failures — Removing an RV Fridge Without Removing the Windshield

We’ve had our second RV, our 2005 Newmar Mountain Aire, for 15 years, and consider ourselves lucky that it’s held up so well (with a lot of RVgeeks TLC, of course ????). But there’s been one particular part that has plagued us with troubles over the years: the refrigerator! Or more accurately, refrigerators.

We started out with a pretty standard propane-electric RV refrigerator, which had the pretty typical issues (temperature fluctuations, freezer not cold enough, no automatic defrost, etc), multiple repairs, and recalls (at least two that we can remember in the 6+ years we had it, mostly due to fire hazard issues)! So when it finally died on us, we weren’t too eager to just replace it with another identical unit. Instead we opted to upgrade to a residential refrigerator… for more storage room, more consistent (and colder) temperatures, no need to defrost it, and no more fire hazard!!

But large appliances like refrigerators are often installed into RVs BEFORE the walls are put on… so they’re often too big to get back out of the RV through the front door! If you’re lucky, you may have a window that’s large enough to pass the fridge through once it’s removed (we didn’t), but if not… you can remove the windshield (on a motorized RV, anyway), like we did when we changed from the RV fridge to our first residential model.

Or… you can get a bit more creative!  ???? LOL! Watch the video to see how we got our behemoth of a residential refrigerator out of our RV!

If you’re interested, the refrigerator we have now is the Samsung 18 cu. ft. Counter Depth French Door in stainless steel (model #RF18HFENBSR)… a common unit installed by RV manufacturers as a factory option… AND it can fit in/out of a door on a 2005 Newmar Mountain Aire! LOL!

Thanks to Tyler at Tough Top Awnings for the help!
https://www.toughtopawnings.com

Be sure to check out more of Tom & Cait Morton’s great content over on their website (https://www.mortonsonthemove.com) and on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/mortonsonthemove).


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jkoenig24jkoenig24John Koenig

Wednesday 9th of September 2020

I have to wonder WHY you didn't remove the old fridge FIRST? Doing so would have given you MUCH more working room. Last year, I had an OEM 22 cubic foot fridge replaced (by an RV up fitter in Elkhart, IN). I have a 2015 Dynamax DX3-37RB Super-C. A side window was removed. That allowed the workmen to use a hydraulic platform lift which I'm sure made the job easier. Speaking with friends and relatives who have had to replace major appliances in their homes, the build quality of many of today's appliances are NO WHERE NEAR the quality of appliances made even a decade ago. Samsung now has a residential style fridge (compressor, NOT absorbtion) intended for use in an RV but it is smaller than the space offered by many residential refrigerators commonly used in modern RVs. Not only are the appliances getting larger but, so are many RV owners. The first RV builder that uses a door LARGE ENOUGH to allow owners to add / remove furniture and appliances EASILY will win a large share of the market. We're only talking about an extra 2"~4" here.

TheRVgeeks

Wednesday 9th of September 2020

Hi John. Good question... we considered taking the old fridge out first to make room for the new. But we didn't do that because we weren't 100% sure the new fridge would fit through the door. If it didn't, it meant we were going to have to bite the bullet and remove the windshield... at which point, it would be a lot easier to just take the old fridge out that way, instead of sawing it in half (although, admittedly, it was QUITE gratifying doing it that way, LOL!). And we know what you mean about appliances not being made the way they used to be... we keep catching ourselves sounding like our parents! ????

jkoenig24jkoenig24John Koenig

Wednesday 9th of September 2020

I have to wonder WHY you didn't remove the old fridge FIRST? Doing so would have given you MUCH more working room. Last year, I had an OEM 22 cubic foot fridge replaced (by an RV up fitter in Elkhart, IN). I have a 2015 Dynamax DX3-37RB Super-C. A side window was removed. That allowed the workmen to use a hydraulic platform lift which I'm sure made the job easier. Speaking with friends and relatives who have had to replace major appliances in their homes, the build quality of many of today's appliances are NO WHERE NEAR the quality of appliances made even a decade ago. Samsung now has a residential style fridge (compressor, NOT absorbtion) intended for use in an RV but it is smaller than the space offered by many residential refrigerators commonly used in modern RVs. Not only are the appliances getting larger but, so are many RV owners. The first RV builder that uses a door LARGE ENOUGH to allow owners to add / remove furniture and appliances EASILY will win a large share of the market. We're only talking about an extra 2"~4" here.

TheRVgeeks

Wednesday 9th of September 2020

Hi John. Good question... we considered taking the old fridge out first to make room for the new. But we didn't do that because we weren't 100% sure the new fridge would fit through the door. If it didn't, it meant we were going to have to bite the bullet and remove the windshield... at which point, it would be a lot easier to just take the old fridge out that way, instead of sawing it in half (although, admittedly, it was QUITE gratifying doing it that way, LOL!). And we know what you mean about appliances not being made the way they used to be... we keep catching ourselves sounding like our parents! ????

jkoenig24jkoenig24John Koenig

Wednesday 9th of September 2020

I have to wonder WHY you didn't remove the old fridge FIRST? Doing so would have given you MUCH more working room. Last year, I had an OEM 22 cubic foot fridge replaced (by an RV up fitter in Elkhart, IN). I have a 2015 Dynamax DX3-37RB Super-C. A side window was removed. That allowed the workmen to use a hydraulic platform lift which I'm sure made the job easier. Speaking with friends and relatives who have had to replace major appliances in their homes, the build quality of many of today's appliances are NO WHERE NEAR the quality of appliances made even a decade ago. Samsung now has a residential style fridge (compressor, NOT absorbtion) intended for use in an RV but it is smaller than the space offered by many residential refrigerators commonly used in modern RVs. Not only are the appliances getting larger but, so are many RV owners. The first RV builder that uses a door LARGE ENOUGH to allow owners to add / remove furniture and appliances EASILY will win a large share of the market. We're only talking about an extra 2"~4" here.

TheRVgeeks

Wednesday 9th of September 2020

Hi John. Good question... we considered taking the old fridge out first to make room for the new. But we didn't do that because we weren't 100% sure the new fridge would fit through the door. If it didn't, it meant we were going to have to bite the bullet and remove the windshield... at which point, it would be a lot easier to just take the old fridge out that way, instead of sawing it in half (although, admittedly, it was QUITE gratifying doing it that way, LOL!). And we know what you mean about appliances not being made the way they used to be... we keep catching ourselves sounding like our parents! ????

TheRVgeeks

Wednesday 9th of September 2020

Thanks Tom & Peg. You stay safe out there, too.

TomAndPeg

Tuesday 8th of September 2020

Peter & John:

Suffering the trials and tribulations of RV refrigeration is something we all share at one time or another. If we hadn't been tipped by your email promotion, we'd never have guessed how you could have gotten the old fridge out short of removing a big piece of glass from somewhere. But you certainly came up with a very inventive and most entertaining solution. Thanks again for putting another piece of ingenuity out there.

Hope to run into you two again down the road. Until then, stay safe.

TomAndPeg

TheRVgeeks

Wednesday 9th of September 2020

Thanks Tom & Peg. You stay safe out there, too.

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