Refridgerators?

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Wildlands1
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2019 6:54 am

Refridgerators?

Post by Wildlands1 »

What are the dimensions of the opening in older Born Free's for the Fridge? What ft3 did they usually come stock with? When I buy a Born Free I'll want a big "ref". At least a 8ft3, maybe a 9ft3. What's the best brand? I know most RV's come with a Dometic, but they also have frequent problems, correct? On Amazon I see many other brands, Smad, Superior, Norcold, etc.. They sure are pricey, at about $1500us for a biggun. Geez. (I wonder why they don't make a 3-way? Didn't they use to? 110V-12V-LP.
bornnorm
Posts: 161
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2018 7:43 pm

Re: Refridgerators?

Post by bornnorm »

Our opening is about 21 x 48.

we recently purchased our Born Free 21, moving from a 2 cubic foot fridge to the huge volume we have. We used that 2 cubic foot Fridge for about 8 years averaging over 250 days a year on the road. We learned to live without ice and buying more frequently. It worked just fine. Like all 'confines' we quickly learned to live with it and really didn't feel limited.

Now we have a huge volume and I'm sure stuff get's lost in there. We now have 3 varieties of jelly instead of one...

As to 12 volt operation, It's unnecessary. Recognize if your fridge draws 5 amps 120 VAC, it would need to draw 50 amps at 12 volts DC. For us the Propane is equivalent to running on AC. We rarely run on propane, only when Boondocking or driving more than 150 miles in a day. We keep a 'remoted' thermometer in our freezer, when the temp climbs to 10F while driving we turn the propane on.

We have had 3 Dometic fridges, this one looks original, making it 26 years old. AS far as I can tell Dometic works fine. The only thing we do to make it more effective is to add a 12 volt fan(s) to the cooling chimney which helps in extremely hot weather.

We have many friends who have moved away from the Dometic class of refrigerators to the 12 volt compressor variety. They are more efficient than the Ammonia variety. Our friends with this class typically have a couple of solar panels to support them. When our's fail we will probably switch to this variety. The compressor fridges are also expensive.
Norm Milliard
'93 Born Free 21' RB
'06 Scion xB
Escapee, Full timer
Wildlands1
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2019 6:54 am

Re: Refridgerators?

Post by Wildlands1 »

How many ft3 or Liters is the stock refridges on a 2004 26' BF?
User avatar
Roger H
Posts: 653
Joined: Sat May 26, 2007 7:48 pm

Re: Refridgerators?

Post by Roger H »

Wildlands1 wrote:What are the dimensions of the opening in older Born Free's for the Fridge? What ft3 did they usually come stock with? When I buy a Born Free I'll want a big "ref". At least a 8ft3, maybe a 9ft3. What's the best brand? I know most RV's come with a Dometic, but they also have frequent problems, correct? On Amazon I see many other brands, Smad, Superior, Norcold, etc.. They sure are pricey, at about $1500us for a biggun. Geez. (I wonder why they don't make a 3-way? Didn't they use to? 110V-12V-LP.
The fridge Born Free used depends on the model of Born Free. I have the larger two-door fridge in my 32 RQ. I believe that most Born Free coaches have a larger two-door refrigerator as well. My 23RK also had a two-door fridge. I'd expect the 22' BFTs to have smaller units. Other coaches may have been custom ordered with a smaller refrigerator depending on the owner's requirements.

All of the refrigerators in earlier model Born Free coaches will be of the ammonia-absorption type. The last couple of production years may have had a unit with a 12v compressor if the unit has an inverter, solar and larger battery pack setup. There isn't a 'best brand' per se. Norcold and Dometic will generally be what you find as an OEM refrigerator. Dometic had a recall on some units some years ago. As my newest RV is an '06, I really don't know much about the units they've produced in the interim years. I've had both Dometic and Norcold over the years, and both have performed admirably. I've only replaced one Dometic refrigerator in an old Burro trailer I bought used years ago.
'06 Born Free 32 RQ Kodiak Chassis
(Former: '01 Born Free 23 RK)
Dinghy: '16 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a Blue Ox Aladdin tow bar.
Traveling with Sir Winston and Lady Rae (Cavalier King Charles Spaniels)
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