Have any of you RVers had to deal with this issue and if so, what did you do?

First of all, my 8 y/o Dometic fridge seems to have died. It doesn't fall in the recalled units in the sticky at the top of this forum, and after reading lot's of diagnosis online, I've come to the conclusion that my cooling unit corroded and has a leak in it.

Most dealers say to replace the whole fridge, which is anywhere from $675-$1,000 w/o shipping. But I've found several cooling unit rebuilders that say you can replace it yourself (the rest of the fridge is still in great shape) for half that or less. I found one place (rvmobile.com) that has my unit for $369.

Have any of you ever replaced the cooling unit on one of these? It looks straight forward enough, but there is quite a bit of tear down. Just wondering what the experiences where if any? Thanks in advance.

 

I haven't done one myself, but from doing other work on them, it would appear that replacing the cooling unit wouldn't be complicated, but might be a bit of a pain and time consuming.

A buddy of mine did a couple, and he said it was a real hassle.

The other points of concern: Be sure the rebuilt cooling unit has a warranty.

Anyway, the rebuilt cooling unit might be worth the saving, but I'd be prepared for installation to take more time (and maybe patience) than you would expect.

 

try searching on RV.net

IIRC, you can buy newe/refurb cooling units that restore it to like new cooling.

Tony

 

My brother rebuilds cooling units. its to far to ship from Idaho but he might be able to help you out and steer you in the right direction. his number is 208-452-5376

 

Everything I have read says it is best to replace the unit at 8-10 years. What else will break?
The new units are better and can offer more space inside, due to innovation, better insulation.
If you paln on keeping your rig a long time,at least look at advantages of new.

 

You gotta make sure the electronics are all good. Mine was 7 yrs old when it leaked out and I got a rebuilt cooling unit. I used Trailer Refrigeration in Tuscon - he's been rebuilding them since he was a kid. Then the recall came around and Dometic reimbursed me. Trailer figured out the problem with the Dometics long before the recall and changed his rebuilt units back to the 325 watts element plus some other mods to make them work better. I put in a puter fan and wired it to the style/mullion heater switch (and disconnected the heaters) while I had it out. It wasn't a bad job and I'd do it again. Craig

 

Thanks for all the replies everybody. Seems that like me, there is dual thinking on this. I guess it wouldn't bother me to tear the fridge down and save some bucks by putting a rebuilt cooling unit on, but Supr has a good point in that "what else could go wrong?". It is 8 years old. Who knows about the circuit board or the LP burner and all that other stuff that could go wrong. I've been thinking about a selling this trailer for another and maybe the couple hundred I'd spend to be able to say that the fridge is brand new would be an additional selling point. It's not an inexpensive trailer and there aren't that many qualified buyers, so they'll want goodness. I know it can be salvaged and I applaud those that do, but I'm starting to think it's not worth the headache. For my situation at least.

Does anybody recycle these old dead ones?

 

I would think an RV place may want to salvage yours.

At 8 years old, I probably wouldn't repair it either. I wouldn't even consider it unless the burner and other hardware looked great, and I had verified that a replacement brain was available...

 

A question no one has mentioned, do you use the gas function on the refer? I go from park to park and do not ever use the LP function on a refer. Replaced mine with an electric household model that is MUCH less expensive and works well. If you do rough camping this would not be an option though. Think you are better off replacing the whole unit. I full time and once something is more than 5 years old it is time for a replace.

 

Mine went from working great to dead, overnight. The first thing I did was check for a flame and I saw the sodium chromate mess so I knew it was only a leak problem. I've had to buy the electronics for other fridges and if I would have had any doubt about that stuff on this one, I wouldn't have replaced the cooling unit. Craig

 

If you just need a control board get one of the "dinosaur" ? boards. They are built heavier and the boards for water heaters have a temp control on them that stock does not have.

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/r...ntrol%20Boards