Appliances and Furniture

Furniture (page is under construction)

Mattresses and Beds (click for link)

Chairs and Sofa (click for link)

Other Furniture

• I like the coffee tables that hinge up into a desk. Or maybe a desk that pulls out by the television or elsewhere as an option. We have no need for a dedicated desk. Would have to research and make sure they are durable and have a non-scratch surface if they pull out vs. having a mat on the coffee table.. Here is a link to a bunch of ideas for desks. Scroll down and check out the Geeks on Tour custom desk.
• RV Salvage: Listed by state. Good place to buy furniture? I’ve also read in Elkhart Indiana there are outlet stores selling excess RV furniture.

Appliances

Refrigerator:

• Post worth reading about energy efficiency.
• Gone with the Waynes produced this video. It will help you make a decision as to if you should go with a residential model.
• One good thing when buying  a unit pre-installed with a residential fridge is the inverter is already installed.
• We both agreed the 18 cubic foot Norcold Polar Max was what we wanted. The unit we saw had double doors and was stainless steel. Having electric and propane still makes since to us so that will be our choice. This fridge was introduced in 2014.
• Here is a link with dozens of views about residential vs Norcold two way.
• Once I finish researching electrical/battery/generator/solar items my opinion could be changed to a residential fridge. Also, right now, we do not plan to boondock for extended periods.  Suppose that could change after we travel awhile also. I’d like to find a usable residential fridge setup so we don’t have to change out the gas/electric system like so many others have gone with.
• I can see our final fridge selection will Involve multiple decisions related to the entire electrical system of the RV.
• I want to review the Dometic NDR1292 cooling unit which I found on the RV Dreams Blog.
• Found this comment on a forum regarding residential fridge for boondocking with the need to run the generator a couple of hours each day:
  •  “I found that turning it off overnight saved a lot of power, but also that the temp rose too much for my liking.  I solved that by putting the refer on a 24 hour timer that shuts it off around bedtime but turns it on again for a half hour during the middle of the night.  It still reduced the power consumption significantly but kept the temperatures where I felt comfortable with them.”
  • Some are using this to monitor the fridge temp.
• A refer not in the slide will have a roof vent instead of a wall vent. Roof vents tend to move the hot air out easier than the wall vents. Wonder if this is true? Other comments are if it is wall vented there will be a 12 volt fan to move the air and if it goes out the fridge will not cool.
• I had looked into Whirlpool, who also build the Maytag and their upper end KitchenAid brand. I was shocked to discover Whirlpool are now builder grade level appliances, best suited for apartments or moderate priced spec homes.  Here in 2016 I notice a lot of fifth wheels in the $60 to $80,000 MSRP price point use Whirlpool for residential style refrigerators. Trailers about $10,000 more expensive is where I’m seeing better brand names are used such as LG and Samsung.
• Here is a good forum thread containing how one guy handles a residential fridge with four batteries.
• Here is an awesome article on residential vs RV fridges.
• Many replace the Norcold cooling unit with an Amish built version that’s heavier duty, safer and cools much better. You can have this done in Indiana.
• Here is a good forum post on how a gas/electric fridge should be installed. Apparently one of the issues is when there are gaps that don’t allow for good air flow over the absorber tubes. Basically you want 1″ clearance on the back and flush on the sides to create a chimney effect. Here is a picture:
• 

Washer/Dryer:

We started out with the assumption having a washer/dryer was a given and that a stackable unit was going to work better because the one piece units are not that efficient. I also wondered if it would be better to vent the dryer directly outside the rig. I also found out the dryers don’t work as fast as home units because they are 110 rather than 220 volt.  Then Karen and I met some friends traveling in a 40′ rig. I left the decision up to Karen. After she found out the stackable units don’t handle large loads she decided against starting out with a washer/dryer then changed her mind after some friends wrote about their combo units working well for smaller loads. We also took into account weight costs money in terms of what you keep in a rig.  The extra storage space will be nice. We lived as young adults without a washer/dryer and will have access to machines given our form of travel. Of course, we will have a rig that has pre-installed hookups just in case we change our minds after we go fulltime. Make sure the door swings the correct direction or is reversible. Personally I’d like to do three weeks of laundry all at once rather than small loads all the time.

Need to study stackable vs combination unit, brands and vented vs not. Here is a forum post.  Another consideration is what will having a washer do to your available hot water capacity. Would we need more than a 10 gallon tank?

A blog I follow reports the Splendide Company was easy to work with, unlike Dometic.

Televisions:

Our sticks and bricks home has Vizio televisions. Here in 2015 I really think they are the best for the money. I read a recent blog suggesting to install LED televisions rather than LCD for the power savings if we plan to use a solar system. I’ll have to research this.

Wondering if it makes since to have one of TVs being 12 volt for times when off the grid? Or does having an inverter handle this without quickly running down batteries? Not sure I want to always be hooked up to electrical site or run generator/big solar to watch TV. Not even sure yet if this is an issue at all (8/26/15).

Stove/Oven:

• A lot of the new high-end fifth wheels have an induction cook top. Factory rep. says, and I tend to agree, these are for those that are hooked to electric all the time. But then again one could just use an outside grill when boondocking. Pairing an induction stove top with a convection microwave for baking, would eliminate any concerns of a moving propane line in a slide and add storage by ditching the tiny RV oven.
• It would be nice to have the stove exhaust fan vented to the outside of the camper. We don’t have that in our current home.
• In late 2017, early 2018, I started seeing the new Furrion stoves. These are self igniting so you don’t have to get on the floor to light it. It sticks up over the counter height so you loose using the stove, with a cover, as a counter top. I also don’t know if the burners are set far apart or not.