MOD Just bought a Dometic CF 80 cooler

[Neal]

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.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

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

 

[Neal]

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.

Dometic CFX 75DZW - Electric Cooler

Dometic CFX 75DZW - The CFX is an award winning powered cooler that combines durable, deep-freeze capabilities with ultra-low power consumption to bring fresh food and cold drinks anywhere.

www.dometic.com

 

[Neal]

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.

 

[NWIP]

Are you going to added the tray?

 

[Neal]

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.

 

[Neal]

The keystone slideout tray arrived yesterday. I can't believe that thing weighs 72 lbs. Well, today's project is to install it. Woohoo

 

[Neal]

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.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

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

 

[Neal]

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

 

[Neal]

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

I got it from Amazon. Yes, this is by Dometic and for the Dometic CF-80 which is what Newmar uses.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079VN6N9V/?tag=rvf01-20

Here is the link to the Dometic site:

Dometic CF Protective Cover 18

Dometic CF Protective Cover 18 - Insulated cover for CF18

shop.dometic.com

Keep in mind the temps in the basement which is why I got one. Can get very hot in there in the summer making the cooler work very hard.

 

[Neal]

For anyone that may go down this road in the future I'm attaching the PDF of the trays from Keystone that supplies the trays to Newmar. Here is also the quote I got. Again this item from Newmar parts was quoted at $1200.

Here is your quote for the HFT3726-RL.

HFT3726-RL - $534.00
Shipping (85122) - 118.63
Total - $652.63

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Wouldn't it be nice if we could find a way to put the Oasis unit on a slide-out tray? Imagine how easy it could be to change a failed circulating pump.

Hmmmmmmm.

TJ

 

[Tip&Tina]

Thanks for this! This is awesome!! As we look at the new Ventana all the ones at the dealer come "prepped" for the Dometic right from Newmar now. Some that we've looked at from a different dealer have the whole set up in-meaning the Dometic freezer and tray-for $3200.00 as an option!!

I told the husband that if we go with a new Ventana we can do all the work to install it our selves. I am super handy with an electric drill and he can hold it!

Seriously, this is really great to show what you did!

 

[deaton]

We had this option in our 2017 DS and optioned it in for the 2020 DS 4081 on order. I thought about just getting the prep option and doing all the work myself, knowing I could save a bunch. But one reaches an age where time us more precious than money.

Newmar has increased the capacity of the freezer on the 2020’s, so that should be nice.

On the one we had, any relationship between the temp we dialed in and the actual temperature the unit delivered was purely coincidental. To get to 34 degrees, you had to set it at 27 and then if the weather got cold, you had to watch it or it would freeze.

I’d be interested if others have had similar issues.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

You have one-upped Neal and his 2027 VentEssex with your "2030 DS 4081 on order."

I'm taking a wild guess that this might be a 2020 DS.

BTW, I concur with your assessment that

one reaches an age where time us more precious than money.

TJ

 

[deaton]

Yep, it comes with all the King Aire options......STANDARD. Don’t ask the price.


I like this extended edit period.
I can fix my screw-ups.
What 2030 are you referring to?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

I like this extended edit period.
I can fix my screw-ups. What 2030 are you referring to?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

The extended edit function is, indeed, a nice feature as you have said. Looks like Neal's 2027 VentEssex is, once again, safe from being one-upped.

TJ

 

[NWIP]

We have used ours in both the beer chilling mode @ 33*F with nothing frozen and in the freezer mode. In the freezer mode I have had it set to lowest temp 5*F since we caught our halibut in Alaska. I did find that the shelf on the right side did not keep things frozen and was devastated when I found the halibut cheeks thawed.

 

[Neal]

In the freezer mode I have had it set to lowest temp 5*F since we caught our halibut in Alaska

I was wondering what temp to set in Freezer mode, I was thinking 30-32 would suffice. In frig mode I'm using 36-37 (can't remember) which is what I think my home frig uses.

I also wanted to add a note for those adding a slideout tray as I did. You have to put supports under it so it doesn't hit the basement door gasket. I think 3/4" ply is sufficient, can't remember, but you have to elevate it. FYI