Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 06, 2025 ...

Residential fridge in stall issues and questions

October 10, 2024, 02:46:26 pm

There have been many many discussions about residential fridge installs and such and I have contributed to several of them
I too just recently had a LG fridge installed by a motorhome shop here in Alberta Canada. It cost a pretty penny for the labour  ( I purchased the fridge elsewhere) and was done at a shop here in northern Alberta that"kinda has a monopoly on the area" because of locations and such.
When I picked up my coach, everything looked "wow" as the fridge itself was spectacular in the place of the previous dometic fridge. I did not really think too much about it as I drove away. A few days later I took pictures of the fridge which I posted in the forum bragging about it....
The coach never moved after that until a month ago when we did a couple week trip to British Columbia. When we got back, again not paying attention, the coach was put in its place and everything was fine.
I booked the coach back into the same shop ( Alberta Coach Inc) for some other work to get ready for winter and noticed when doing a walk thru that the fridge was slanted backwards...moved.  When I phoned the shop they strictly advised me that the warranty had expired (60days) and it would cost me to have it adjusted. Going back to the pictures I took and posted shortly after the purchase and install, looking closer the fridge was indeed slanted backwards when the original fridge was installed.
Explaining this to the company got zero response and compassion so I  just left it at that and am searching out another shop.
Don't get me wrong, love the fridge but the install was shoddy at best. Fridges should be installed so they CAN NOT move after installation
I have included pics of the fridge ( note the side view with the difference at the top and bottom AND pics of how they secured the bottom. Is it common practice to drill and install screws through the adjustable feet on the bottom to secure a fridge in a coach??? Hmm. Not sure
Anyway....buyer be ware...learned another lesson
Peter

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Re: Residential fridge in stall issues and questions

Reply #1 – October 10, 2024, 03:16:38 pm

I would agree that this installation is not proper. Mounting of a residential fridge in an RV needs to be an engineered solution from mounting and support to ventilation and power requirements. No way is that floor support going to handle a fully loaded fridge bouncing down the road. Are there any brackets to prevent tipping or rolling out? Were the outside vents sealed off? What about inside venting requirements? Most residential refrigerators require some side clearance for air to go in for the condenser which then blows out the bottom. Here in the States, recourse can be found through the local DMV or for smaller claims like this small claims court.

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Re: Residential fridge in stall issues and questions

Reply #2 – October 10, 2024, 03:49:47 pm

As far I was told and have seen the top of the fridge has been jammed to the roof structure by 2 by 4 or similar. Agreed there should. Be attachments to the back etc which I am pretty sure are not installed

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Re: Residential fridge in stall issues and questions

Reply #3 – October 10, 2024, 03:51:24 pm

Also there is air space at the back and on the bottom. The sides  of the fridge are pretty tight against the sides of the structure

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Re: Residential fridge in stall issues and questions

Reply #4 – October 10, 2024, 05:28:12 pm

Some fridges dissipate their excess heat out the bottom and back and some do it using the sides.  You need to check and see what your owners manual says you need for clearance.  My magic chef uses the sides of the fridge to dissipate the heat.  I put a small fan in the bottom back to move fresh air into the fridge compartment and out the top and sides.

Rich

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Re: Residential fridge in stall issues and questions

Reply #5 – October 10, 2024, 05:59:43 pm

I would start with downloading and reading the factory instructions for installing your specific fridge in a home. It will list the minimum amount of space on top, bottom and sides for proper airflow. Beware that your coils may be at the bottom, back or enclosed in the side wall of your fridge. It will also specify the temperature range of the environment in which it is installed. Then measure how much airspace you have as installed and look to see if the top and bottom vents for your original fridge have been modified at the roof and rear vents. Absorption fridges all require exterior airflow, a chimney of sorts. Some residential fridges are not even recommended for your unconditioned garage, so temperature can be an issue.

Once you have this information gathered, buy some beer and invite a couple friends who build street cars or have remodeled a house or two to sit down and brainstorm how to secure your fridge and provide for adequate ventilation. An engineer who mows his own yard and any welder would also have some ideas. You may end up pulling it out to reinstall properly, but at least it's already in the coach which is a big part of the work and if you get the other guys involved they might help you.

I installed my own because many rv shops are not willing to sit down and read the instructions or waste much thought on how to secure it. Each fridge model and each coach is unique. I spent 10 to 20 hours studying my install, probably more. Part of the problem is you don't fully know what is the space around the fridge until you remove the old one, or how it's supported. Even with proper planning it's still design as you go.

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