Hello, I have 2018 Vilano 365RL. I couldn’t locate anything in the search for this question. Has anyone had experience replacing the residential fridge and if so, how did you go about removing the galley slide floor trim piece to slide the fridge out? There is no clearance between the top of the fridge and overhead cabinet to allow me to lift the fridge over the trim lip. Thanks for your help!
Welcome to the group!
My unit is a 21 model but I am guessing that trim piece on the slide is held in a similar manner. I have had to remove that trim piece on three occasions troubleshooting other issues and is held in by a torx or square head and goes into the face securing it into the metal frame of the slide. They may have covered / stained the screw holes as ours initially were. I can get pictures of mine for comparison if you would like.
Thank you for your reply Ryan. The only torx screws were the two wood screws that prevent the fridge from sliding forward. I ran my hand on the top, backside and underneath the trim, feeling for any other screw and there weren’t any. Tiffin thought there were hidden pockets screws maybe. They said if not you have to pry it off and brad nail it back. Very poor design on Vanleigh’s part. You shouldn’t have to tear apart the galley to pull the fridge they installed.
They may have approached it differently on the older models or maybe mine are different due being paint rather than stain. I cant get the best pic right now as my rig is in service but went through my phone to see if I had a pic to demonstrate mine and this is the best pic I can find. You can see all the way to the right side of the pic the screw going into the trim to hold it into the aluminum framing. Those screws were not originally visible and filled with wood putty and painted.
Keep us updated on the replacement of the fridge! Big appliance to move around in a compact area.
Hey Ryan, they must have realized after 2018 that they didn’t think that through properly and started screwing that trim in. I looked over it thoroughly last night and it appears to be nailed in. There were no screw heads visible or covered up. It’s a solid piece of wood trim. There is a 45° joint in the trim from the right of the stove to the other side of the fridge. I’m sure that’s only because the tree wasn’t long enough🤣 for a single trim piece. This is my first RV and within a week I had the fridge and all 3 ACs go down. It sat unused for a year hooked to power. If it wasn’t for bad luck I wouldn’t have any luck. I appreciate the effort in trying to help me though.
Side note - never do business with family. Although it’s unforeseen circumstances it leaves a bad taste.
Hi mine has this wooden panel then behind a piece of wood holding the fridge in place from the right to left.
Hi there for the power stuff I have a built in surge suppressor and if Stuart sees this post he has a great setup @Stuart
Keep posting your issues as each time they come out of storage there is something new
Btw have you checked the inverter for your fridge also are you getting power to The fridge
Hey there Tourusa, yes I’m getting power. Freezer is freezing and making ice but the fridge is registering 58-60 degrees. I replaced the evap fan motor with no luck. It just could be a bad relay switch on the main board. I decided to just buy a new one so I could have piece of mind and not chase rabbits.
Happy it’s turned on and working somewhat, not sure on how to get a new one in this was always my concern if ours went bad, let me know how you get on. Btw just brought ours out of storage and there is always something, part of the enjoyment for sure
Tourusa, Tiffin said it either has hidden pocket screws(it doesn’t) or you just have to pry bar the trim off and try to reattach it.
I have a 2019 370 GB and the trim below the refrig is screwed in with square drive screws - see pics of trim with visible screw heads.
With our refrig, when it stopped cooling, I took off the interior back panel and the coils for the refrig were frozen after about a year of use (Samsung refrig I think but residential french door/bottom freezer). Turns out the manufacturer has a known defect in the drain heater and it eventually freezes up the drain. They sell the part to fix the issue but will not include that in the manufacturing process. Installing the fix is not too bad (just a longer drain heat sink). May want to search for issues on your particular model and see what turns up on the internet.
Will the refrig fit through the RV door once you have it removed amd will it’s replacement also fit through the door? A lot of these in other manufacturer units have to go out through a large window or pull the slide off the unit which is a lot of additional work.
Steamboat, there are no screws on the face of the trim. There were no dowel biscuits pressed in that would have covered the screw holes. I believe the entry door is either 30” or 36” wide. The side of the fridge coming out is 28” with doors, no handles(RF18HFENBSR/AA). So it should fit through the door easily. The coils were fine, just very little frost on the right side.
The replacement(RF18A5101SR) is 28” on the side so there should be no issue.
Update: I checked the trim once more for hidden screws. I found that they actually shot brad nails into the flooring. I found all the wood putty covering the brads.
That has to be the dumbest idea. “Hey let’s make it difficult for the owner and nail this trim in so they have to pry it off to remove their refrigerator”
Yes that is a bit silly. As I am sure you will - I would be putting that back on with screws so it is easier next time. I have had mine off enough that if were held by brad nails I would be needing a new piece of trim.
Let us know how the fridge swap goes. Sounds like you have the room. Tiffin was going to swap out my fridge on my last service due to my doors being dented on delivery. I wasn’t looking forward to any collateral damage as my fridge area is a bit tight. It took some convincing but I got them to just swap out the doors.
Ryan, yes! I will definitely be replacing with self taps. Then I’ll come back with dowel rod biscuits and use a stain marker.
Fridge delivers tomorrow so I will update with before and after pics. 
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Ok guys, it’s all installed. It went out and in like a champ! Just need to tap screw the trim back and it’s all complete! Thank you to everyone for your willingness to help a new RV’er out. Great community to be part of!
Hey Congrats! Glad it worked out well. Love those cabinet colors.
Thank you! I love that all the wood is actual solid wood throughout.