To buy or not to buy

[Airborne6]

Referencing the 2015 23D International: I (Dave) am the cook in the family and am curious if the fridge/freezer is cold enough to keep items frozen(freezer) and beverages cold on a hot summer day. Am toying with the idea of purchasing a ARB portable fri/freezer for extended outings. D&L

[paiceman]

Ours has always kept items frozen and drinks cold enough. There are adjustment settings to turn the unit colder or warmer. When traveling you need to keep the battery disconnect switch on for the unit to function. We made that mistake with our first AS.

[Msmoto]

Wow, I get to respond in another fashion.... Having had a 2007 25D Int Ocean Breeze...I never had a refrigeration problem, even in San Antonio at 90º+ temps.

But to add a thought about the 23D.... vs. the 23 FB....the bed in my 25D was very difficult to make up, and was smaller than on the 25 FB. The bathroom was small. as well, IMO.....thus my trade for a 27FB within a year.

[FollySteve]

We have 2015 23d and refrig is great. We turn it on the night before and always pre-cool the contents before stocking. Always been perfect. Holds more than we expected too. Just for ice, we carry a small cooler.

[moosetags]

We had a 2012 FC 23FB for about a year before trading back to a 2015 FC 25FB. Last summer, we took a 66 day trip out west in the 23FB. We found that the refrigerator/freezer was able to keep up very well. We had ice cream in it all the time, and it remained solid the whole trip. We also found the the refrigerator portion cooled very well. We use a wireless monitor to keep track of both refrigerator and freezer temperatures.

The 23 has the 5 cubic foot single door refrigerator. Our only complaint was that the freezer was small and the refrigerator does not have a light. We had down sized from a 2005 Safari 25FB. We missed the 7 cubic foot, two door unit.

Whether or not you will need an auxiliary unit mostly depends on the amount of space that you will need.

Brian

[Airborne6]

Thank you all for the input. Sounds like the fridge/freezer is a sound unit. I hear ya Tommy on the 23D bed however my copilot (wife) loves the dining area up front with all those windows and she is the bed maker in charge. Our AS is on order and granted we have not "used" it yet but we have been looking and mulling for months. Who knows we may have to up grade in a year or two for a 25 RB or the 25 FB. Live and learn as my Grand Dad used to say.

[KJRitchie]

If you really thing you will upgrade in a few years then get a 25 now. It will be cheaper in the long run. The 25 sounds like what you really want now.

Kelvin

[Msmoto]

I love to spend other folk's money....LOL


Ms Tommie Lauer
Greensboro, NC
2015 Serenity 30 RB / 2008 Dodge Cummins 4 X 4
WBCCI #4165 AIR #31871

[Airborne6]

Kelvin
We really do love the 25 but we would need a different TV for sure. We were originally looking at the 16 - 22 footers but decided on the 23D. I guess in a way we have up graded. D&L

[bonginator]

We have a 23fb and also second the suggestion to go for the 25 if it's not too late. We love our 23 but the extra wraparound windows no matter which way you are parked, the second large bed area, and the space would be great.

[dkottum]

We had a 20' with single door fridge and now 25' with double door fridge, the latter is more spacious and less likely to build up frost, as you don't open the freezer with the fridge door.

I agree with your preference for front dinette/living area.

As for towing, when we traded our 20' for a 25' the towing difference was barely if at all noticeable, it's more about wind resistance than weight going down the highway and you'll shift down for hills with either.

[mefly2]

Also note the difference in size of the refrigerator between the shorter AS and the 25 in some models ... as well as the one refrig door vs two ... a door for each of the freezer and refrig.

We often make ice cubes in our 25 freezer.

[BAB]

I am on my second Airstream, last trailer was a '12 28' Intl Signature. Double door Dometic. Never had a problem with keeping stuff as cold as it needed to be in either compartment. Just took delivery of a '15 Classic. They have a 9 cu ft double door. I was so confident that it would get cold enough to make ice that I pulled it out and installed an ice maker in it. Not especially an easy task (getting water to the solenoid valve was "interesting"). Ice makers have a thermo switch in them to "tell" a heater in the mold to turn on so the ice will dump, then refill with water. The Dometic meets that temperature requirement for making ice. So, it definitely will keep your food frozen solid! BTW, the more you put in it, the better it works. And, like others have said, turn it on a day early....adsorption refrigerators do take longer to get cold. If you put already frozen food in your freezer, you'll be fine!