I have a 2015 - 38FL with the Norcold 1210 Fridge. Am thinking about swapping it out for a residential fridge.

If someone out there has the same year and model as mine I'd appreciate you posting a picture of the residential fridge along with any model # information you can find.

Thanks in advance.

Ken, we are thinking about doing the same thing in our 38FL
Will be following your project and learning 🙂

Can't say for the FL but in my RL the RF18 Samsung is almost a perfect fit. Took out the bottom drawer and moved a few wires. Best mod we ever did and very low power draw.

Well so far not having great success organizing this.

Started by contacting Tony L. over the winter with the idea I would pull my rig to his dealership after the rally and they could do the swap. After a couple of quick emails he said he'd look into it when they returned to Canada after the winter from Florida. Leaving it for a while I attempted to contact him via email a month or so later but no success with multiple emails not being returned.

Decided to contact his dealership directly and spoke to Tracy who said she would look into getting it done and revert. A week or so later, having heard nothing back, I attempted to reach her by phone but had to leave a message. Many days later having heard nothing back I moved to plan "B".

Next was a call into Tiara RV in Elkhart, again thinking we could get it done either before or after the rally. Initial contact required a message to the service scheduler who was out for the day. The next day I did get a call from a very nice lady, explained what I wanted done and she said she would check with the service manager to see if it could done and if so how much and how long.

About 2 hours later I received an email saying the service manager refused to do it because they couldn't take on the "liability". When I queried "what liability" she responded

If for some reason it would not be compatible with the wiring, short your unit, ect those would not be covered by warranty.

Laughing to myself I let her know we have been out of warranty for many years she said basically "sorry out of my hands the service manager won't do it" and referred me to Hobson RV in Elkhart that "specializes" in RV Fridges.

Now that becoming my plan "C" I call them only to receive voicemail and a voice mailbox that is full so I can't leave a message. Looking them up on the web I find their "Contact Us" page and send a message via the web letting them know their voice mailbox is full and requesting a call back. Not hopeful at this point they will respond.

Just for grins before I respond to you all I tried again, and same story, voice mailbox full.

My plan "D" now is to wait until the rally and talk with people there to see if they can recommend someone in the area to make this happen. If not I will probably end up like Vaughn and just do the job myself.

The biggest complications are what residual value does a used Norcold 1210 have and how to properly seal the propane feed after the Norcold is removed.

Stay tuned for the next installment of "How to rid yourself of your NeverCold RV Fridge".

Ken
We had the same Samsung fridge as Vaughan installed at our selling dealer's service department. It took them two days to finish the job including the carpentry and propane piping safe off. The service manager said they had to "slightly move the island" to give enough clearance when the kitchen slide is closed, but I'm not sure that's true. The bottom freezer handle comes close to touching the island when closed but not quite. Memory serves, they charged $5oo to do the whole job, and they kept the Nevercold............I didn't want the hassle anyway. B Young RV in Milwaukie, OR did the work June 2016.

Sounds like nobody wants your money Ken . . . I guess business is that good all around.??????

Sounds like nobody wants your money Ken . . . I guess business is that good all around.??????

I agree Joe. If I was a little bit younger, I believe I'd start my own RV repair business. With basic customer care, I think I would do quite well. Seems everyone wants to sell RV's, however, no one wants to work/repair on them.

Bob

Hey Ken, Contact Duncans RV repair in Elkhart,IN They do all kinds of work on RVs Mods and insurance repairs. We had both of our blowout repairs don there. they have a campground on property with 50 amp and water and dump behind the shop. Let me know if you need the phone number.

I’ll do that in the AM. Thanks

When I do my conversion, I am not going to mess with having a dealer do the conversion, hauling it there, waiting for them to do it and making sure its done right.
I will do it myself (already helped friends with SOB do the same conversion), just making sure I am not missing something before I start the project.
Will probably wait till fall and cooler weather to do the change out.

Well some success. Duncans will do the swap for me starting the Monday after the rally :).

Thanks K&D for the pointer.

Ken
Now you'll be able to enjoy real non soupy ice cream like normal people.

Indeed!

Do you think I'll miss the Norcold Puzzle challenge trying to fit everything in every time we come back from the grocery?

Indeed!

Do you think I'll miss the Norcold Puzzle challenge trying to fit everything in every time we come back from the grocery?

Ken...what's the approximate cost for making the conversion?

Bob

Bob,

The fridge I selected is the 16cf Haier purchased on Amazon through the ROG Amazon link and had it shipped to Duncan. It cost $1,260.

I've heard from other people the installation and needed trim work should be between $500-$1,000. I'm hoping they will complete the job for around $750, so total price should come in around $2,000.

The one other hidden cost is the lost residual value of the Norcold. Those fridges aren't cheap but I don't have a way of selling it. I'm going to ask around at the rally if anyone wants it and if so they can come to Elkhart and pick it up on Tuesday or Wednesday after the rally.

Hope this helps.