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Old 03-28-2016, 05:58 AM   #1
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Big fridge vs smaller fridge? What to choose? What to choose?

I know that this is a very reserved group that isn't very opinionated, but I'd like to hear your thoughts ... I'm about to order a 19 - and I know I have some time - but I will eventually have to choose between the big fridge with a counter top microwave or the smaller fridge with a microwave built in above.

Yep - I understand that "it depends" is the correct answer. We are a couple of baby boomers about to retire and see North America six to eight weeks at a time. We enjoy our even cocktails and don't microwave much at home. We won't cook much inside the 19 opting for a two burner stove mounted sideways.
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Old 03-28-2016, 06:01 AM   #2
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The fact that you don't microwave much at home would seem to be an indicator. We appreciate the larger fridge in our 17.
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Old 03-28-2016, 06:44 AM   #3
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instinct says bigger fridge - experience says past performance is not always an indicator of things to come
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Old 03-28-2016, 07:03 AM   #4
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Both of the new refrigerators are rated for hot weather vs the older model. I had the huge double door model in my 21' and I plan on getting the smaller 5' model in the 19. I never really needed all that room in the big unit.
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Old 03-28-2016, 07:42 AM   #5
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One thing about having a bigger refrigerator than you need, is you can pack the food loosely. Refrigerators cool more efficiently when there's airspace around the food. Freezers on the other hand need to be stuffed, even if it's just bottles of water.
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Old 03-28-2016, 08:09 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard in Georgia View Post
...I will eventually have to choose between the big fridge with a counter top microwave or the smaller fridge with a microwave built in above...
There is no countertop room in the 19' for a countertop microwave. If you really want a microwave, your choices would be to go with the small fridge and the microwave in the "standard" built in location above the fridge, or alternatively, go with the bigger fridge and have Escape build in the microwave in place of some other cabinet, possibly in the cabinets under the stove top or by making the wardrobe smaller. We have the larger fridge without a microwave and don't seem to miss it at all.
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Old 03-28-2016, 08:12 AM   #7
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As you microwave very little at home, I would forgo the built-in and get the larger fridge.

That said, the largest fridge was a 5 cf when we got our 2009 19, and we found it for the most part to be plenty big. We do tend to keep a small cooler with cold drinks (read beer) in it. Maybe we won't with the 5.0 if we get the 6 cf option.
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Old 03-28-2016, 09:03 AM   #8
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We chose the large fridge because we like our fresh veggies, and you can only pack so much lettuce in a small fridge and still have room for other things. We didn't care for the idea of the microwave on top of the fridge anyway, because that puts it high enough to be uncomfortably close to face-high for my wife. We've seldom wished for a microwave and wouldn't want to give up the cabinet space for one.
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Old 03-28-2016, 09:41 AM   #9
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a little clarification - "counter top microwave" - meaning buy a small microwave and let it sit on the stove when camping, pack it away when rolling (just like my coffee maker and crock pot) I'm thinking the 5 will be fine, as my beverages will be in an iced down cooler
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Old 03-28-2016, 09:43 AM   #10
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In our Casita we had a fridge much smaller than the 6.7 cf that we got with the Escape 21. I wasn't excited about having such a big one in the 21, because we'd never been able to fill the one in the Casita. (Not sure, but I think it was 4.3 cf.) However, in addition to the size difference, the fridges also (seem to) cool differently - the new fridge doesn't freeze the produce (it has a produce drawer across the bottom that actually works!), and so far we're not having trouble keeping the bigger fridge filled. (We always used a separate, soft-side cooler as produce bag in the Casita - which was a pain.) I did purchase a long, slender acrylic box for smaller items, that I keep across the front of the milk shelf (makes it easy to move those things out of the way when getting to the milk or the gallon of drinking water we keep next to it).

If I were in your place, I'd probably still get the smaller fridge, but we do use a microwave (when camping with hookup) and I would love it if ours were above the fridge instead of where it is in the 21.
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Old 03-28-2016, 10:17 AM   #11
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We ordered our 19 thinking towards full/PT in a few years. We've always found the less you have to resupply when you are out for extended trips make it more enjoyable for us. We ordered the big fridge and had the micro built in under the stove. Love it. We micro, BBQ, and stove top at home and we replicated the build on the trailer to match our home lifestyle.
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Old 03-28-2016, 10:25 AM   #12
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The thing about having a microwave is you cannot use it if not hooked up to shore electric. We have one and it's rarely used. The other thing is, permanently installed or not it takes away valuable storage space. Once we forgot to remove the glass plate inside and while on the road it flew out and smashed. Still have not found a replacement. We have the 4.3 fridge. Space wise, find it adequate.
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Old 03-28-2016, 10:39 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard in Georgia View Post
I know that this is a very reserved group that isn't very opinionated, but I'd like to hear your thoughts ... I'm about to order a 19 - and I know I have some time - but I will eventually have to choose between the big fridge with a counter top microwave or the smaller fridge with a microwave built in above.

Yep - I understand that "it depends" is the correct answer. We are a couple of baby boomers about to retire and see North America six to eight weeks at a time. We enjoy our even cocktails and don't microwave much at home. We won't cook much inside the 19 opting for a two burner stove mounted sideways.
We only have the 4.3 and find it is plenty big . We have the microwave above frig , perfect because would hate to bend down for microwave lower in cabinet . One thought if you get microwave and find you don't really use it . They put a 110 plug in cabinet which would maybe come in handy and you always can remove microwave and now you have cabinet back . Get spare door from Escape maybe . Concerning the frig use we always carry a ice chest for drinks and just in case . We always felt the larger frig looks huge in small trailers as Escapes . They just look our of place .just our thoughts . Pat
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Old 03-28-2016, 10:55 AM   #14
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We have a 4.3 cu ft refrigerator and a microwave in our 17 ft Casita
When traveling the refrigerator is usually full plus we also carry a cooler . The microwave is seldom used and is more of an expensive storage cabinet. When we were considering buying an Escape trailer
the ability to have a bigger refrigerator was a huge selling point.
My wife would have bought the trailer just for the bigger refrigerator. I hate going to the store and avoid shopping as much as possible so the bigger frig was a big plus for me.
We use a cooler with ice for our beverages , constantly going in an out of the refrigerator during hot weather makes it hard to maintain
proper temperature levels.

I would opt for the bigger refrigerator over the microwave
Plus you can always easily add a microwave at a later date
Adding the bigger refrigerator at a later date is a totally different story.
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Old 03-28-2016, 11:13 AM   #15
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I would opt for the bigger refrigerator over the microwave.
Plus you can always easily add a microwave at a later date
Adding the bigger refrigerator at a later date is a totally different story.
This was our criteria for a lot of the things we ordered for The Trailer. Did we want to do it ourselves at a later date? Probably not. Was it easier/less expensive to get it done at the build? Most likely.

Even though we use a microwave at home for mostly heating stuff up, I figured I could do without it in The Trailer as I'd much rather have the cabinet storage space. And if need be, I can purchase a small one for less than ETI charges and shove it in a cabinet.
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Old 03-28-2016, 11:27 AM   #16
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Let 's see microwave or not . Cost to install extra 120 in cabinet 50 + more . Cabinet is there microwave or not ? Do it later ? Pat
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Old 03-28-2016, 11:44 AM   #17
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The thing about having a microwave is you cannot use it if not hooked up to shore electric.
I have to disagree with you on that one Myron. I'd say our trailer microwave use is about 50/50. My wife used to be afraid of killing the battery but after I convinced her that the worse case would be one run down battery with another one still fresh she started using it more. She's never come close to even running down one battery.

We use our microwave at home on a daily basis.

I think the suggestion that, if you're not sure sure if you'd use it, get the space and the outlet for it. Small micro's are dirt cheap, you can always add it later. Unless you're now thinking that a big fridge is the way to go.

As for carrying one stored somewhere and getting it out to use, I think that would pretty much guarantee that it wouldn't get used much.

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Old 03-28-2016, 11:56 AM   #18
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Putting the micro under the stove didn't really cost us much of a hit on storage. We lost two drawers, but I found three and five drawer storage drawers that fit perfectly under the sink and provide way more organized storage than the two drawers would have. Overall, there is so much storage space in the 19 that we haven't even begun to utilize yet. I'm not anticipating storage to ever be a problem. If it is then probably means we're carrying too much stuff.
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Old 03-28-2016, 12:10 PM   #19
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We have the oven and big fridge. If we had a cooktop we would have went with a big fridge and microwave under the cooktop. We are often are gone several weeks at a time and don't like to have to grocery shop too often. In the summer we also like to fill up the fridge with produce from farmer's markets on the way home.
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Old 03-28-2016, 12:30 PM   #20
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We don't have a 19 thought I'd toss out Another option... We got a MW, we also got a door and hardware for the MW's opening should we decide we would rather have the storage space then the MW.

FWIW, we like the bigger fridge. Like Greg, the less trips to town for groceries the better.

But then there may not be a heck of a lot of difference between a 5.0 and a 6.0 cf fridge.
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