Reflection 150 Series 298BH 16CF Refrigerator Mounting

[AP Cassity]

Hi all,

we bought, last year, a 2023 298BH....we bought it brand new, but the dealer can't seem to figure out how the refrigerator is supposed to mount.
So what I'm looking for are pictures, nut only if you have this exact model, as the 28BH used a different fridge and most other 2023 150 series fridges do not mount in the slide.

I refuse to believe that the only thing that holds this large 16 cuft. fridge in place are the 2 cheesy clips mounted on the front of the trim...it moves too much and scratches the sides up and has now broken the clips.

So please open the doors of your refrigerator and take pictures of the top, I'm willing to bet that there is a bar, or brace of some kind across the top, inside the cabinet hole that the fridge sits in., mine seems to be missing this piece, but I can't make my dealer understand.


Thanks,

Cassity
2023 Reflection 150 Series 298BH
2021 F-250, 7.3l, 3.55

 

[TiogaCB]

I believe this is the same setup as the 260 RD (16 cf fridge in the slide) and like you I initially refused to believe that those two clips were the only mechanism holding the fridge (you probably also have a small 1x1 at the based that helps prevent it sliding forward). However, after our initial trips and having the refrigerator rock and tip, it was obvious that this inadequate design was the extent of the "mounting". I initially took three steps as we could not get in the dealer immediately. I went from 1 screw to three screws on the brackets as on one side the one screw stripped out on the second trip. I cut a board to fit snug against the ceiling above the fridge to help prevent it tipping forward. Finally, we installed a bungie in front of the doors so in the event of movement, larger items did not push the doors open (which happened also on our second trip). When we did go in for our 90 day service, the dealer installed a much more substantial bracing above the refrigerator to the ceiling in the slide on both sides which was more robust than my single board. While I was there I went and looked at a new unit to see if that more substantial bracing was just missing on my unit, but it to only had the two small brackets. Hope this helps.

 

[AP Cassity]

Thank you so much for your reply...I took mine to the dealer and they did the 3 screw thing you described after replacing my fridge, and this was the result...


This happed on I-35 between Kansas City and Oklahoma City...so I placed 3 screws, 13" apart from the top of the trim down the side...it has held to San Antonio and back to KC, but it's going back to the shop for some more warranty work next week...before the warranty runs out in June.

 

[AP Cassity]

All in all, it's just a horrible design, you can't expect a 300 lb anything to sit still in a moving trailer...if it has even 1/8" of play, it will break loose and tear everything up.

Not to mention, those clips on the front look awful...what ever happed to trimming out around all of the edges and sealing everything up to look nice.

 

[TiogaCB]

Agreed. In general, we have been very pleased with the 260RD but the refrigerator has been our biggest issue. Between the complete inadequate mounting and then the low battery mode causing the compressor to stop running (we just threw away a bunch of food that got warm as I had not noticed the refrigerator had gone in to low battery mode), it has been our biggest issue. It was kind of ironic for us as the larger refrigerator was almost the thing that made us move to a 295RL as we are not full timers and did not want to sacrifice the storage space to the larger fridge. In the end, the layout, especially the extra counter space around the stove of the 260RD won out but I certainly would like to have that smaller, framed in refrigerator in the 295RL.

 

[AP Cassity]

Agreed! but I was clued in to never use the low battery mode, I set our fridge to 36/00, the compressor will run for short amounts of time, and the insulation does an excellent job to keep it from cycling very often. A GD SRT told me to never use the battery saving mode.

 

[AP Cassity]

Well, the saga continues. It still isn't right. I don't know how to impress on the stealerships, that I don't care how stable it is while the slide is out, I only care if it is solid while in travel mode. ugh!!

 

[AP Cassity]

I'm really not feeling the love from Grand Design...the help line number really only wants me to deal with the dealerships, and the dealership only wants to show me new units...I'm not making this up, the service manager at the dealership, said, "Well, since you are having these problems, you should really upgrade to this unit here." he mentioned it twice! and no, he wasn't joking.

I hate to tell him that if they can't take care of me with this one, I'm certainly not going deeper in debt with another one....I'm afraid since covid, Grand Design has changed, and service is no longer a top priority...at least that is the impression I'm getting.