Bighorn Buyer's Opinions Wanted: Refrigerator Poll (Residential-style or RV-style)

[jbeletti]

Heartland would like to poll those in the market for a new Bighorn. We'd like to know what your preference is with regard to the Refrigerator.

Currently, we offer two types:

1. A 12 cubic foot Norcold RV unit (can run off Propane or AC power)
2. A 22 cubic foot Frigidaire (or similar) Residential unit (runs off AC power only - Inverter while traveling)

We are considering moving away from the Residential unit in Bighorn and standardizing on the new "18" cubic foot Norcold RV unit (can run off Propane or AC power).

We're curious as to any opposition to us moving away from offering the Residential unit. Please vote in the poll to let us know what you think.

Note that no decision has been made. We want to hear from you first.

Poll will be open for two weeks, ending on January 26th.

Anyone can vote.

Your vote is not public.

Thanks,

Jim

 

[danemayer]

Seems to me that the option to order a 22 cu ft residential frig is a major plus. Obviously if you boon dock, you wouldn't want this, but there have to be a lot of BH owners who never boon dock.

 

[tcbrady]

Hi Dan,
Could you please elaborate? Just trying to learn more because a larger 18 cubic foot RV refer (built for the rigors of the road) seems like the way to go. No extra batteries, no inverter, no generator needed.... It could also be easier from the warranty side dealing with a component that is produced specifically for RV application.

Interested to learn more if the residential is really the way to go. One other note, the Landmark is going to stay with the residential refer standard with no option.

thanks, Coley

 

[branson4020]

I'll bet there are more full-timers in Bighorns than Landmarks.

 

[travelin2]

I vote for the Norcold however I don't see a need for 18 cu ft for just two people. Our current 12 is more than adequate for extended trips of six plus weeks. We have been window shopping thinking of a different BH and some dealers are ordering the residential and not the Norcold because they/HL think that's the direction to go. BUT we boondock/dry camp and continue to want that ability plus as noted don't need the capacity of the residential fridge. A residential fridge would, for us, be a deal killer for sure.


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[MTPockets]

I'll bet there are more full-timers in Bighorns than Landmarks.

I would agree with that bet. We full time and travel a lot and meet quite a few full timers in Big Horns and Big Country. Much more often than Landmark. BTW, RV style would be our choice.

 

[MBK]

Heartland would like to poll those in the market for a new Bighorn. We'd like to know what your preference is with regard to the Refrigerator.

Currently, we offer two types:

1. A 12 cubic foot Norcold RV unit (can run off Propane or AC power)
2. A 22 cubic foot Frigidaire (or similar) Residential unit (runs off AC power only - Inverter while traveling)

We are considering moving away from the Residential unit in Bighorn and standardizing on the new "18" cubic foot Norcold RV unit (can run off Propane or AC power).

We're curious as to any opposition to us moving away from offering the Residential unit. Please vote in the poll to let us know what you think.

Note that no decision has been made. We want to hear from you first.

Poll will be open for two weeks, ending on January 26th.

Anyone can vote.

Your vote is not public.

Thanks,

Jim

I think the 22 cu ft is a good idea. Montana offers it and it is nice.
Bill and Marlene

 

[jassson007]

My vote is the residential and would have had one had we known that 6 weeks later it would be offered in our BC. We do dry camp but we are in areas where we run our gens anyway due to heat. Stays hot in SWLA from March till October. Lol


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[TravelTiger]

If I buy a new rig, it will be because we want to spend even more time in it... so voted for Residential, an mainly because of perceived reliability. In 20+ years of marriage, we've only had one fridge problem within a sticks-and-bricks. But we hear about MANY (less than 3 year-old) RV fridge problems. Any they are often unexplained -- no "one thing" causes them to "break".

But if Residential was not an option, and I HAD to have a BigHorn, I guess I'd live with a larger RV style.

 

[danemayer]

Hi Dan,
Could you please elaborate? Just trying to learn more because a larger 18 cubic foot RV refer (built for the rigors of the road) seems like the way to go. No extra batteries, no inverter, no generator needed.... It could also be easier from the warranty side dealing with a component that is produced specifically for RV application.

Interested to learn more if the residential is really the way to go. One other note, the Landmark is going to stay with the residential refer standard with no option.

thanks, Coley

Hi Coley,

Compared to residential refrigerators, gas absorption RV refrigerators are smaller, slower to cool, often harder to keep cool, less reliable, and way more expensive.

Service? Has anyone ever heard of a $2500 service bill to fix a residential refrigerator? Not uncommon on RV units.

If you camp without shore power, you need a gas absorption RV frig that runs on propane.

If you always have shore power, why put up with all the shortcomings of an RV refrigerator?

I think it was a good decision to get rid of the ice maker and water dispenser. Winterizing the frig is a pain and I suspect most people don't understand that it needs to be done when temps drop below 32, even if you're using the unit.

I can also understand that servicing a residential unit that can't easily be pulled away from the wall is going to be a problem. I've seen some units where placement is a problem. I would suggest you have engineering think about how to make the refrigerator accessible for the service tech, like it would be at home. Maybe this would limit the floor plans that would have a residential option.

Anyway, those are my thoughts.

 

[tracks]

Dan, I agree with you if the residential refrigerator was available when we bought our Bighorn in 2013 we certainly would have gotten one.

 

[Pizzaguy]

Hi Coley,

Compared to residential refrigerators, gas absorption RV refrigerators are smaller, slower to cool, often harder to keep cool, less reliable, and way more expensive.

Service? Has anyone ever heard of a $2500 service bill to fix a residential refrigerator? Not uncommon on RV units.

If you camp without shore power, you need a gas absorption RV frig that runs on propane.

If you always have shore power, why put up with all the shortcomings of an RV refrigerator?

I totally agree. We have never had a RV fridge that will keep as cold on propane while travelling as shore power. I view the residential option as a necessity on the next fiver. Heartland, I hope you will not make us look elsewhere by eliminating this option.

 

[travelin2]

I view the residential option as a necessity on the next fiver. Heartland, I hope you will not make us look elsewhere by eliminating this option.

Heartland will lose customer base either way if options are limited regardless of the outcome of this poll or if other options are eliminated.


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[tcbrady]

Thanks for the feedback Dan - much appreciated. The new 18 cu ft Norcold RV refrigerator is not way more expensive than our current residential option - they would be approx the same cost when you consider battery and inverter (not to mention generator if you order that as well). The problem we are trying to solve with this poll question is that it is difficult for our production/operation teams to offer 2 types of refers due to the width of each refer - it will create different cabinets, etc. One refrigerator option would be ideal but we are open to using 2 if the poll results are mixed.

Yes, I have definitely heard of $2500 refrigerator service bill but does anyone have a recent story of that high of a bill on a newer model unit? RV refrigerators have come a long way over the last 5 years and it's showing up based on the number of warranty claims we receive at Heartland. Yes, we did get rid of ice makers and water to reduce warranty claims, frustration, and winterizarion issues on the RV refrigerator. Overall, that change have been well received.

Thanks to all for the feedback - keep it coming!

Hi Coley,

Compared to residential refrigerators, gas absorption RV refrigerators are smaller, slower to cool, often harder to keep cool, less reliable, and way more expensive.

Service? Has anyone ever heard of a $2500 service bill to fix a residential refrigerator? Not uncommon on RV units.

If you camp without shore power, you need a gas absorption RV frig that runs on propane.

If you always have shore power, why put up with all the shortcomings of an RV refrigerator?

I think it was a good decision to get rid of the ice maker and water dispenser. Winterizing the frig is a pain and I suspect most people don't understand that it needs to be done when temps drop below 32, even if you're using the unit.

I can also understand that servicing a residential unit that can't easily be pulled away from the wall is going to be a problem. I've seen some units where placement is a problem. I would suggest you have engineering think about how to make the refrigerator accessible for the service tech, like it would be at home. Maybe this would limit the floor plans that would have a residential option.

Anyway, those are my thoughts.

 

[VKTalley]

I voted for the residential as my DH and I are full timers but I would be open to seeing how the larger RV-style refrigerator is laid out compared to the residential. It's a little frustrating trying to make things fit in our four-door RV refrigerator, like milk, juice, pizza boxes, etc. Though we are full time, I don't have a full refrigerator as I try to keep it pared down as to reduce food waste.

 

[Bohemian]

What are the dimensions of the two different alternatives. I suspect the RV refrigerator is much wider.

 

[cookie]

There was an add in the February Trailer Life Magazine for the Norcold PolarMax 2118. Along with the Thetford URL.
Only problem is that the site has not been updated to provide information on that new product.
I personally would get the residential refrigerator the next time around or if my Dometic 1350 fails on this rig.
Love the large size.

Peace
Dave

 

[BouseBill]

Being fulltimers in our Big Horn, we love the Residential Fridge. Our Big Country with the gas fridge was a PITA to keep cool even in warm weather. Love the water and Ice maker, too bad you had to drop that option. I would think the designers could have come up with a better route/water line type(?) for the water line to solve the freeze/leak problem. We are in the shop now for a recurring leak. Hopefully it's nothing serious.

 

[pegmikef]

I picked RV style because we periodically boon dock. Also, since we are never very far from Walmart or other grocery stores, we opted, and would again, for the smaller single door (as opposed to the bigger side by sides) model as it is more than enough space for just the two of us and easily holds a week's worth of perishables. I have an ice maker in the basement so we don't really need much freezer space for ice. . . . but then, we are anytimers, not fulltimers so our requirements are different.

 

[jmgratz]

Thanks for the feedback Dan - much appreciated. The new 18 cu ft Norcold RV refrigerator is not way more expensive than our current residential option - they would be approx the same cost when you consider battery and inverter (not to mention generator if you order that as well). The problem we are trying to solve with this poll question is that it is difficult for our production/operation teams to offer 2 types of refers due to the width of each refer - it will create different cabinets, etc. One refrigerator option would be ideal but we are open to using 2 if the poll results are mixed.

Yes, I have definitely heard of $2500 refrigerator service bill but does anyone have a recent story of that high of a bill on a newer model unit? RV refrigerators have come a long way over the last 5 years and it's showing up based on the number of warranty claims we receive at Heartland. Yes, we did get rid of ice makers and water to reduce warranty claims, frustration, and winterizarion issues on the RV refrigerator. Overall, that change have been well received.

Thanks to all for the feedback - keep it coming!

As far as ice makers and water in the door is considered IMHO it is a waste of money to have them for several reasons.
1. The quality of water varies widely when traveling park to park with some good and some not so good. Would not want to drink water out of the refrig. door nozzel.
2. Quality of water affects the taste of the ice.
3. Water lines to the refrigerator are hard to winterize and/or keep from freezing in cold weather.
4. Water lines become brittle and break over time causing loss of water and possible water damage
5. Broken water lines are hard to replace. Even having to sometimes move the refrigerator to get to them.

I think a stand alone small ice maker in the basement as an option is the answer.