Using the ice-chest reminds me of how much I really like having the convenience of a refrigerator (instead of getting new bags of ice every few days).

After some consideration, I decided to order a dual-voltage compressor operated refrigerator.  It uses 120-volt AC when available, then uses 12-volt (or 24-volt) DC as a backup source (with an automatic switch-over from AC to DC).

Since I do most of my traveling during the day-light hours, I will be able to leave the refrigerator running (with the solar panels supplying the necessary current), even during my frequent fuel stops. 
When using the propane mode of the old refrigerator the following dance was required:
  stop before entering the service station, turn off the refrigerator;
  drive on into the station and fill up;
  drive out of the station,  re-light the refrigerator pilot-light.

This new unit is supposed to operate when the trailer is parked on slopes up to 30 degrees off level (well beyond the slant at which I care to sit or sleep).

The carton has been removed, there are the doors.  They are without the decorative inserts, which I plan to make from Formica matching the old trailer's counter-top, table, and prior refrigerator inserts.

It appears that I adjusted the camera angle to suit the refrigerator, rather than the trailer which is really level fore to aft.

The defrost drain is in its coiled shipping position.

The back of the 120-volt controller box is visible on the top of the unit.

Later: Checking the power leads to the compressor when it is running shows it is using a 16-volt 45-Hz alternating current supply (measured using an multi-function Fluke meter).

Unfortunately, you can not remove the top front grill without pulling the refrigerator out of its space in the cabinets.  See the black-bolt-head, silver-washer and black bracket in the lower right of the picture.  There is another bolt-down on the far side of the 12/24-volt box at the end of that triangular plastic support.

This refrigerator is built expecting to cool itself using air drawn (mostly by convection) in underneath the front of the unit, up the back, and then out over the top of the box. 

The bottom silver louvered refrigerator access door,
   the middle riveted-in golden ventilation panel,  and
   the roof-top refrigerator vent.

I will retain these, and modify the installation to use back venting.
This simple vent-stack ventilation worked well with the older refrigerator, even though it was producing much more heat in the process. 

Here it will sit until I can get the necessary remodeling done.

I have yet to replace an appliance in the trailer where there was not some adjustments for different sizes required.

In this view, the refrigerator cabinet space (on the right) is no longer covered in black.  It is time to do some hands-on comparative measurements to determine how to fit the smaller refrigerator into the old space.

This also made access to the fuse block (behind the reflective semi-clear plastic cover) easier.

Before the "big hail storm" (story elsewhere), the white fan ran from a miniature solar-panel on top of the refrigerator roof vent.  It has become time to discard it.

The two three inch (3") 12-volt computer fans normally are positioned in a panel on the refrigerator access door.  There is more than one use for chop-sticks.

The gray cord loops back up to the trailer's control panel.
The white/ivory refrigerator cord is "capped off" - it was not practical to reach the plug before removing the old refrigerator.

The soda can is for size reference.

Notice the left-hand side wall is merely the outside of the cabinet surface panel (by the entrance door).  This seems to be a common problem in RVs where the refrigerator compartment is vented to the outside and no insulation is provided to the adjoining spaces.

I had stuffed/shuffled/slid/coerced the pink fiberglass insulation into the space between the old refrigerator and this interior wall to moderate the heat gain/loss.  That was done without removing the refrigerator - - mostly through the lower outside refrigerator access door, a little by removing the floor of the cabinet above.

The "sagging" insulation, is stuffed up into the vertical vent behind the back wall of the upper cabinet.

Keep your eyes on the bundle of wires, we will explore it further.

While you were looking elsewhere, I decided to use the finished top of the opening as the "build-to" point.  This means the old base needs to be raised several inches.

So, take one last good look at the old refrigerator's platform...

The copper tube in the right rear corner (coming up through the sheet metal plate) is the old propane supply.  That has been capped off below the trailer, this stub of pipe remains for a later project.
    I have obtained parts for re-plumbing the propane into the expanded empty space, including a quick-disconnect fitting.  That would allow using one of those free-standing not-directly-vented propane heaters when needed.

So here we have four fuses (and a spare);  some examination will lead to deciding where to share power.

The blue wires are the positive side of the 12-volt trailer system.
They are connected here to a "shunt" that is used to measure the overall current usage in the trailer (original equipment).  The green wires are the sensor leads to the control panel meter. 

The fat brown wires are ribbon-cables that go to the holding tanks - tank fluid-level sensor leads.

The smaller  white and brown  plus  red and green  bundles are special to this vintage trailer.  They actually run all over the trailer.   The "in folks" of the late-60s and early-70s probably already know the purpose of these wires.

... and a red (because the refrigerator uses that color code) positive lead has been tapped into the system ...

The one-by-sixes are from the old support box.

The two-by-twelve boards have been placed directly under where the skid base of the refrigerator will rest.  They have been notched at the rear because the support only needs to go so far back - that will give better access from the outside access door.

The floor of the upper cabinet has been replaced.

The front edge of the plywood was painted flat-black to match the new refrigerator bottom grill (thus disappearing "into the dark").
  If I were not going to use back-venting, I would have also used flat-black paint on the top few inches of the cabinet interior side walls and the forward section of the 'ceiling' of the compartment.  I would have painted further back on the base too.

The supply to the trailer's control panel now drops down to the end of the extension cord.

For some reason, Norcold has not understood the potential retro-fit issues:  they  use a straight-into-the-wall plug that requires more free space.

That  "R"  on the end of the model number is going to be a problem.

The top of the panel goes under the bottom edge of the refrigerator base grill.  Two magnetic latches hold it in place;  the door handles also serve as the bolts that secure the second half of the magnetic latches.

And, as can be seen, no empty space in an RV remains void for long.  Parts for the remainder of this project (plus a couple items from intervening projects) have already found a home.

Underneath the vertical backing are a pair of angle-brackets that reach into the square-tube refrigerator skids.  This is to provide 'extra' control,  the old refrigerator had lag-bolts holding down the back side.

You have probably noticed there are no screws installed yet.
This is part of the  "R"  issue mentioned above.  Norcold had not responded to a couple serious questions at the time of these pictures (this 'hung' the install process for four weeks - still waiting for a reply).

There is now a split in the controlled 12-volt line to the fans.  This will be used for a smaller fan to focus air flow over a particularly-hot hot-spot in the Norcold electronics. 

Without the fans, the space on top of the refrigerator, where the electronics reside, is about four to five degrees Fahrenheit above the ambient temperature.

With the two fans operating, the temperature is one to two degrees higher.

In theory, the fans might be more effective if they were mounted in the roof top vent itself.  Maybe some day I will explore this, however it will be difficult to measure their negative impact on convective-only flow (when they are not running).

The foam and pink insulation batting are intentionally blocking the air flow underneath the refrigerator.  This is part of the adaptation of the unit to use the pre-existing backside exterior venting. 

Behind the front grills, top and bottom, are similar foam blocks - painted flat black to "hide" them in the dark behind the grills.

In the foreground is the red and white 12-volt DC power lead to the refrigerator.

In the back is the smaller fan to boost air circulation over the two boxes of electronics on top of the refrigerator.

In hind-sight, I realize it is possible to get enough bend/flex out of the laminate so that I only need displace the door edging.  OK!  The second door will be easier.

Here you see the alternative location for the door latch mechanism if the door was hung to swing on the opposite side.

I used a laminate style bit in the Dremel tool,  and a cone-like adapter to stabilize plus guide the tool down the length of metal flat-bar stock that served as a straight edge. 

I definitely have lost refrigerator space.

I did gain significant freezer space, both because of the physical box is larger, and because I no longer expect to be keeping a gallon-plus flat-bottom mixing bowl of ice in the freezer (which I used to keep the refrigerator section cool while traveling down the road).

Four refrigerator door shelves, 6 cans wide; comparable bottom deeper shelf to new refrigerator.  Freezer door shelf in new, none in old.

Five refrigerator shelves;  four are 6 by 4 cans, one is 6 by 3 cans.  One full shelf is not tall enough for upright soda cans, the others are.
So, 48 soda cans on the bottom two shelves
- leaving two and a half shelves for other stuff.

One of the shelves had a "flip-up" panel that allowed two half-gallon jugs to fit up against the wall when needed,  otherwise there was no loss of the available space.

The two "salad" drawers with their own covers had flavor (and spoilage) isolation advantages. Their net space was just slightly less than the new single tray.

The freezer space is essentially twice as large, although the vertical space division could be perhaps more even.
The three cans are all that can fit from front to back, the door-shelf intrudes that far into the bottom of the freezer.

The small plastic tray in the second wire shelf is the 'fit one jug here' space.  Unfortunately this wastes the space behind it and to the left of it;  further the area on the shelf below it will not fit a vertical soda can.

So, 48 soda cans on the top-shelf plus half-middle shelf plus half-bottom shelf
- leaving one and a funny fraction shelves for other stuff.

The single "salad" drawer does not have the same level of closure as the older drawers.  It is slight larger in total capacity.

I adjusted the shape slightly of the metal canned-drink cooling tray from the old refrigerator to fit into the door shelf of this one.

Three refrigerator door shelves, 6 cans wide; comparable bottom deeper shelf to old refrigerator.  Freezer door shelf in new, none in old.

The old refrigerator wire shelves would pull out for access to stuff in the back, the new refrigerator shelves are secured to the back wall with a cable-clamp and screw.

This new refrigerator seems more sensitive internal air flow issues.  Perhaps that is because the bottom of the freezer compartment is the primary cooling plate for the refrigerator section.
The old refrigerator had an independent cooling section in the refrigerator with fins (that was why there was a fractional top shelf).