In preparation for our next trip west to Albuquerque for the Hot Air Balloon Fest, I decided to take the plunge & replace our Norcold 1200LRIM with a Samsung RF18. I decided to do the work myself & have no regrets with that decision. I bought the refer on sale from Lowes over the Labor Day Holiday & was able to take advantage of my military service discount & free delivery.
I removed the Norcold from its location & left it in the RV. It took about an hour to remove & another 3-4 hours to put in a new floor for the Samsung. We had 2 storage drawers under the Norcold which my wife said I could eliminate so the new refer’s top shelf could still be reached by her. We have the Aqua Hot register under the refer floor & not a furnace, so no clearance issues.
I removed the doors from the Norcold, & removed both front seats & propped open the entry door for the Lowe’s delivery team. They had not made such an installation before but when I showed them the clearance measurements & after they removed the Samsung doors it was an easy fit. The Norcold is slightly wider in depth than the Samsung as I had not removed the cooling unit. Easy out & easy in without an issue. We have an optional stationary kitchen island & while the Norcold had room to maneuver past it we had to remove the front kick plate from the Samsung in order to get it past the island.
I took an additional 4 hours or so to anchor the refer, trim out around the refer, replace the seats, test the ice maker, & 2 trips to Lowes for odds & ends, etc.
I tested it out on our Invertor (MSW) via our battery power & our 6 solar panels & all worked well. I intend to initially run it off of the old Ice Maker (GFIC) outlet, but have a second non-GFI outlet available to use if necessary? We typically leave our Inverter on 24/7 & we do a lot of dry camping. I made an upside down U shape wooden fixture as an easy 3 door locking device.
I plan to scrap the bulk of the unit but not sure what parts to salvage in which outers may need? I would appreciate input from others as I hate to toss things in which others may not be able to find as replacement parts. I also have a brand new APR (
https://www.arprv.com/ ) which I purchased, but never installed, if someone is interested in it?
Looking forward to cold beer & soft drinks, hard ice cream, better reliability & increased capacity.
I took good notes & lots of photos for anyone interested!
Bart from VA
03 Beaver Monterey
GMC 2500HD 4x4 in tow