Opinions on slide awnings and res fridge

[C2tuck]

So I’ve found a GD 5er that I almost have the deal done on. Then another dealer I was talking to came back with a deal that’s a couple grand less. Only difference i can find is his doesn’t have the residential fridge or awning slides like the other one.

So are they worth the price difference?

Thanks!

[Craig36]

I assume when you say slide awnings, you mean awnings on your slide window. I have never had them and never felt the need to have them. That being said, if you spend most of your time in very hot places, they might help keep the inside temp down.

I personally do not like the idea of a refrigerator that only runs on AC, but others will disagree.

Not a cut and dry decision, but here is my rule of thumb. Get everything you want when you buy it, because you will likely never add those items later.

[C2tuck]

No I mean the awnings that are over each slide to help keep debris and supposedly the sun from beaming down directly on the top of the slides.

[grindstone01]

The refrigerator should not be deal breaker. I removed and sold our 8 cu/ft Norcold refrig for $500 and replaced it with a 10.1 cu/ft residential refrig that only cost $400 new.
As far as slide awnings, it is my opinion that they are just another feature to maintain and take care of. I recently replaced our slide roof and plywood (4'X7') and it was a $100 DIY job. These are not big $$ items to replace on a camper and shouldn't be deal breakers. If you need to pay for labor, just figure a couple of hundred $$ more for a local handyman.

[Gigattime]

If you are talking slide toppers, then I would recommend them. Depending on the number/size of the slides, the slide toppers can easily cost $500-1000 per slide installed. So maybe just do an estimate by multiplying that by the number of slides on the unit you are considering. Having them installed at time of purchase would be my recommendation if you want them on your rig. You will get a better deal and come spring the work will already be finished and ready for camping season.

As far as the residential fridge, many who have them, love them. There are many pros that are shared here on the forum for them as well. Our 2016 came with the Norcold 18 cu ft. and it has been a good fit for us. I like having the ability to run the refrigerator on propane, but that is just an opinion.

[TonyMac]

If by "slide awning" you mean the awning that comes out over the slide when you put the slide out, I'd regret not having them. WELL worth the grand. Bring your slides in after a rainstorm and you bring in the puddles on top of the slide, unless you have a slide awning. I still get up there and sweep the leaves off it there's trees around, because I'm kinda stoopid that way, but if you cannot get on the roof, get slide awnings.


My 2006 still has its original rv fridge, it works great, has an ice maker, and I would not have a residential fridge. It's called residential for a reason -- it is not designed for an RV. Most are not secured to the RV with anything other than gravity and the power cord; actually, I've never heard of a residential fridge that is secured to the coach, I may be wrong, pictures would be nice. In an accident, that 800 pound grocery belching monster (no lock on door either) wandering around the coach is making a bad thing worse, for a thousand extra dollars. And for no good $1,000 reason, imho.

[Jeff6146]

rez fridge is a must for me. these Dometic fridges are super small. like 6 square feet of space and you can’t even use it all cause you have to leave room for airflow. i’m changing mine ASAP. and honestly i’m thinking of also taking the stove out and put in an electric flat top and shelves where the oven is. i’ll have the builder down here in SA (the guy that does all the custom work for Kenny Cheney and dixie chics) when they come to town.

[C2tuck]

Yes I’m talking about slide toppers that come out with the slide. And there are 5 slides on it.

I’d rather the residential fridge as I never ran my others off propane, the inverter on these will still run the fridge off of your truck power while towing, or so I’m told. And I don’t plan on moving it very much anyways. More of a work camp than anything.

[C2tuck]

Not sure why I’d doubled the pics but you get the idea...that’s the exact one I’m looking to buy.

[dadej]

I always have had slide toppers until I thought I did not need them on our last rig. BIG MISTAKE! Five slide toppers and res refrigerator for two grand is a nobrainer. I an changing out to a res refer as the new propane refers are no better than the older ones.

[Yosemite77]

I’m in the same place in the buying process so I’ll chime in on what I’ve learned on the pros/cons of the refrigerator types.
Residential refrigerators are usually bigger, don’t have to be kept quite as level, are cheaper to replace, no fire hazard issues, can have an ice maker (something more to winterize) and cool much quicker. Their Achilles heel shows up when you are away from a 120v power source. It’s possible to boondock with them, but you will need a large battery bank along with a solar setup/ generator to keep the batteries charged. On the road don’t count on your tow vehicle to keep the refrigerator cold unless you run a dedicated line to it. I’m sure others could explain this better, but I believe what happens is than once the tow vehicle battery is fully charged, not enough power is provided for the residential refrigerator. Having said that, it doesn’t seem to be a big problem as long as you cool it off beforehand and keep it full.
Propane/electric refrigerators are great for boondocking and can be run while on the road. If you do this the propane should be turned off while refueling. There have been some isolated issues with fires. Some people will not run them on the road due to the possibility of propane leakage (fire hazard) in an accident. They must be kept relatively level (within 3°) to function properly. In addition they take longer to cool down and don’t function well in hot weather. They have trouble at elevation as well.
So it really comes down to what type of camping you do. If either boondocking or power driving for extended times, a propane/electric unit would make more sense. If you are plugged in most of the time, residential is the way to go.

[drfife]

We've had traditional absorption RV and 120V residential refrigerators. I would not have another absorption fridge. Our current residential refrigerator is alnost 6 years old. No complaints. The only folks bashing residential refrigerators are those who've never owned one.

Unless you boondock regularly and extensively, get a residential fridge.

I've had RV's with and without slide toppers. They are just one more thing to maintain and replace. I could live with or without them.

[C2tuck]

Thanks for the info guys! Think I’m gonna go with his one and get the deal going tomorrow. I like camping but again, this one is going to be a work home that stays put most of the time.

[Waiter21]

SLIDE TOPPER - Slide toppers are nice for two reasons.

1) they keep crap off the top of the slide when retracting.

2) They help with cooling, The topper shades the top of the slide.

Adding slide toppers is fairly easy and straight forward. If you're a DIYer, Toppers cost a couple hundred dollars, depending on length.

The only issues we've found with toppers is when its windy out, sometimes ours flops around a little and makes noise.

Also, when it rains, the topper tends to get a water bubble in the middle, so we need to use caution when retracting the slide, otherwise that water can end up inside the coach. To prevent this from happening, before retracting the slide, we use the levelers to tilt the MH a little so water will drain off toward the outside.


FRIG - IMHO - Depending how you plan on using the 5er, an absorption frig vs a residential may be beneficial.

We've found that in our use, with the exception of traveling, we rarely boondock or park at places that don't have shore power hookups. (we do have a genny)

We are having some issues with our absorption (20 years old) so have decided to replace it with a 10cu ft Residential and a small inverter. Frig runs about $350, inverter runs about $100, but can be used for other 110 violt stuff when traveling or parked without shore power.