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MOD Just bought a Dometic CF 80 cooler

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Neal

Staff member
RVF Administrator
Joined
Jul 27, 2019
Messages
11,480
Location
Midlothian, VA
RV Year
2017
RV Make
Newmar
RV Model
Ventana 4037
RV Length
40' 10"
Chassis
Freightliner XCR
Engine
Cummins 400 HP
TOW/TOAD
2017 Chevy Colorado
Fulltimer
No
I admittedly got jealous of @ARD cooler in her front basement compartment of her DSDP 4369 and as my freezer is packed to the brim on my long trip I decided to look into getting one myself. With some reorganization and adding shelves in my 4037 I realized I could make this happen and with Alaska in my future and hoping to fill it with Salmon etc. I looked into getting one. I contacted Newmar Parts first and they quoted approximately $2400 for the Dometic CF 80 and $1200 for the slide out tray system. I researched and found the cooler on Amazon for much less at approximately $1089 and per @TJ&LadyDi leading me to Keystone as the maker of the slide out they quoted me around $650 (including over $100 of that in shipping). So huge savings.

I got the cooler and have been amazed with it, very pleased with the purchase and right now just using it for wine, beer, and sodas. Now I'm going to start building out shelves, one to go above it and also some above the chassis rail storage in other areas of the basement. There is a lot of lost storage space by unused areas above the bottom of the chassis rails. I bought 1/2 inch MDF I'm going to use and I have the basement carpet I got from Newmar last Winter as I've always wanted to put in the shelves. Share your shelving mods and how you went about it as I'm going to be doing this as soon as my slide out arrives from Keystone. I also bought the insulated cover for it to help save some energy and insulate in very hot basements during the summer.

Dometic also has dual zone coolers so you can have frig and freezer in one but the reviews were concerning so I went with what Newmar chose to be safe. It seems people have been very pleased with this.

dometic-cf80.png cf80-cover.png
 
Neal, the Dometic that came in our MADP can be used as either a cooler or freezer. I don't remember the model # at the moment and it is too dark to go out and look right now. Are you saying that Dometic has a model that has two zones within the same unit; i.e freezer on one side and cooler on the other? If yes, it seems like the two compartments would be pretty small.

TJ
 
TJ,

I got the one Newmar uses which is the CF-80 which as you say gives you the either or option. Dometic has many other coolers and the new CFX has two compartments so you can have one compartment as a freezer and the other frig or use both the same, etc. Reviews didn't look good on Amazon with frequent failures so I didn't go with it but stayed with what you got from Newmar, the CF 80.

 
It’s interesting to hear how many opted for the cooler much less this size cooler in a 40 ft coach. It seems though the 40 ft coaches have a larger front right basement than the 43’s. I’m actually surprised how much space I still have. We’ll see what happens when the slider goes in and shelf above. Preliminary token pic:

P.S. The cooler handles will come off when it goes on to the slide out tray. Just four allen screws per handle (2 ea side). Also I'm surprised Newmar doesn't reverse the lids on these which you can do and I did so that the plug is aft as that's where the electrical comes from. They seem to run a 120V all the way around the compartment to the front doorside edge. The outlet I added on the between basement bay 1 & 2 roof area seems to be working well for this setup. I will likely aft align the cooler.

9cc0fffc8c5b21a045551c3a22763e92.jpg
 
Are you going to added the tray?
 
Are you going to added the tray?

Yes, it just shipped, got it from Keystone the people that make the other ones in our coaches. They've been a little difficult to work with as you get a quote on an address and then mail them a check for payment. Things happened a little faster than expected so I tried to get it shipped here in Tucson instead of waiting a month to get it at Palm Creek when I'm there for two weeks end of November. Anyhoo, they are shipping to Palm Creek now and I'll drive an hour up there to get it and then start doing my project with installing this, adding shelves, etc.
 
The keystone slideout tray arrived yesterday. I can't believe that thing weighs 72 lbs. Well, today's project is to install it. Woohoo
 
The slide tray is in. Had to reverse the lid back to the original orientation as the slide out is designed for the cooler with the offset on the right/forward side. So much for trying to outsmart Newmar :( Had to run another outlet to the forward side of the bay which I anticipated so I had the hardware on hand.

Tomorrow comes the shelving project and storage reorg.

I have the insulation jacket on the cooler to help conserve energy. It makes for a tighter fit but it’s in.

78
 
Last edited:
Looks good, Neal. That space along the left side looks tailor-made for a ladder.

Where did you get the insulated cover? Is it made specifically to fit that model cooler?

TJ
 
I have a link to the insulated cover in the OP.

No need for a ladder. One included courtesy of Newmar bolted to the back :)
 

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