This is a rough draft and incomplete. Please forgive any incoherent thoughts, wrong information, disorganization, or rambling. I'll update this soon.

1st off, this is going to be a fairly expensive retrofit. This modification is not as easy as just pulling an old fridge out and throwing a dorm fridge inside the old compartment. Replacing the refrigerator is the main goal of this service, but adding a large drawer to make use of wasted space was another goal. This kit has had much time, money, and effort invested in it. Expect a high quality installation with all of the details well thought out.

As the RM2454 (The refrigerator used in almost all 17’ Casita’s up to 2022) and all other equivalents have stopped being produced, I set off to come up with a complete, well thought out retrofit that is practical and as economical as possible. Much thought, multiple prototypes, measuring, cutting, and design time went into this retrofit.

The majority of the structure is aluminum. It’s light, thin, has a reasonable cost, and doesn’t need to be coated. I know it’s not everyone’s taste for the front trim piece, but it works well.

This retrofit goes beyond just changing the refrigerator. As a Casita owner myself, I know space and places to organize is extremely limited. The refrigerator installed in this retrofit while being smaller in size, actually has a larger interior volume. The reason for this is explained in subsequent paragraphs. So now we have a little more space that’s usable in the refrigerator compartment. This space was adequate for a drawer, but I went a step further to get more space. If you look at your current refrigerator, you’ll notice it sits up off the floor a few inches. Your refrigerator sits up on a fiberglass subfloor. I remove this subfloor and underlying structure that exposes the floor of your Casita in the refrigerator compartment. I also cut the fiberglass on the front of this compartment so this extra space can be accessed. The result is having the space to add a 6” tall drawer, that is ~ 20” wide and deep. The drawer features dove-tailed construction and proper, roller bearing drawer slides with soft close. This is a serious drawer!

In addition to paying attention to the interior, I also gave the outside attention. As the new refrigerator is not required to be vented outside, I had custom blank panels cut to fill the vents. My experience in replacing over 40 refrigerators in Casita’s has taught me this is the single largest area where dirt enters a Casita. Mud daubers are the biggest culprit, but dusty roads are also a contributor. In addition to the blank panels, I also seal off the bottom of the bottom vent, and the drain hole if applicable to your year.

As the new refrigerator doesn’t require propane, I cap off the supply port underneath the Casita. Note that this can also be converted into quick connect port.

The What and Why

The refrigerator used in the 17' Casita for decades no longer has a direct replacement. The Dometic RM2454, it's variants, and any applicable Norcold has stopped being produced. There is no refrigerator that I'm aware that fits this space properly. Enter the Casita Works Solution!

Having replaced many refrigerators, I know the space and process well. Based on this experience, my solution will use a marine, compressor style refrigerator for two main reasons. I believe this is the future of RV refrigerators and we'll see less and less ammonia absorption as the years go on. Battery and solar technology are making boondocking extremely doable.

The second major reason for switching to a compressor based refrigerator is the nature of how ammonia absorption cycle works. Cliff notes if you want to skip this section: the space needs correct convection for ammonia absorption to work safely and efficiently. Retrofitting a different size ammonia absorption fridge into the original space changes too much.

In general, all refrigeration works by moving heat from one place to another using phase changes of a refrigerant.

More Coming…