Unbelievable

[sourdough]

You need to get that thing in....what's happening isn't right for a new trailer. I hope you can enjoy your trip but I couldn't/wouldn't deal with a 60 degree fridge temp - motels aren't that expensive and living out of coolers with a new RV is......not right.

[PbMax1972]

I have the exact same fridge. Bought our trailer new in July of 2016. August, September and October of '16, April and May of '17 it worked fantastic. June and heat rolled around and it started doing almost exactly the same as yours. Got an appointment to have it looked at and dropped it off at dealer's first part of July. After 8 weeks of dealer doing troubleshooting and going back and forth with manufacturer they finally replaced the cooling unit. Worked fine August, September and October and we but it to bed for the winter. Come April this year and we get it ready. The fridge is working fine through April and May, temp holding between 34 and 36 degrees. Comes around the last of May , first part of June and notice fins are icing up and temps starting to go up and stay higher. It might get to 36 at a low but will swing back up to 40's then back down. The last two days its been between 36 and 39. We are at home because we decided to do a complete defrost on it and after drying it out start over. Have had a heck of a time keeping it in proper range. Freezer works fine all the time. I haven't checked it yet today. One other thing I read from this model's manual is that it is suppose to have an automatic defrost cycle. 60 hours after it is turned on it is suppose to do a defrost, then again every 48 hours. Turning the unit off for a few minutes is suppose to start the defrost cycle timing over.


It's been a bitch not being able to be able to be out in it.

[Dorrie]

Originally Posted by PbMax1972

I have the exact same fridge. Bought our trailer new in July of 2016. August, September and October of '16, April and May of '17 it worked fantastic. June and heat rolled around and it started doing almost exactly the same as yours. Got an appointment to have it looked at and dropped it off at dealer's first part of July. After 8 weeks of dealer doing troubleshooting and going back and forth with manufacturer they finally replaced the cooling unit. Worked fine August, September and October and we but it to bed for the winter. Come April this year and we get it ready. The fridge is working fine through April and May, temp holding between 34 and 36 degrees. Comes around the last of May , first part of June and notice fins are icing up and temps starting to go up and stay higher. It might get to 36 at a low but will swing back up to 40's then back down. The last two days its been between 36 and 39. We are at home because we decided to do a complete defrost on it and after drying it out start over. Have had a heck of a time keeping it in proper range. Freezer works fine all the time. I haven't checked it yet today. One other thing I read from this model's manual is that it is suppose to have an automatic defrost cycle. 60 hours after it is turned on it is suppose to do a defrost, then again every 48 hours. Turning the unit off for a few minutes is suppose to start the defrost cycle timing over.


It's been a bitch not being able to be able to be out in it.

Sounds just like ours! Montana HC 2016 though. Worked fine through the winter all the way till we hit the high 80s into 100 temps now. We are on 30 ampsand no shade, everyone tells us that is the problem. Plus only can run one a/c and that struggles mid day.

What we did is buy a fridge fan and put a Tupperware full of ice on the shelf above the fan. It helps but I am not happy. I defrosted the freezer twice thinking that was/is the problem.

Frustrating

[JRTJH]

This is just a suggestion as a possible work around until the dealership can get things working properly (if they can)....

If the refrigerators are operating properly in winter/spring and not able to cool properly in summer, it doesn't sound like a problem with the cooling system but a problem with venting the heat from the rear of the refrigerator. I'm guessing that all of these refrigerators are contained in a slide? Possibly, if you remove the top vent access cover you could see any buildup of insulation or some other material that is partially blocking the vent openings? Putting a 10" "block fan" in the bottom, blowing up toward the upper vent might help push the hot air away from the refrigerator fins and help cool the interior?

Maybe even leaving the upper vent cover off the side of the RV (temporarily) to help increase the airflow?

Again, these are not ways to solve the problem, that's up to the dealer and Dometic, but possibly ways to work around the problem until they solve it.....

[Dorrie]

Our fridge is not in a slide. Hubby did open the back part making sure no insects made any type of nest inside. Also checked vent on top of roof, all clear.
We are hoping it is because we are on 30 amps. Well get it checked out when we leave.

[JRTJH]

Dorrie,

If you think it is because you're on a 30 amp power source, just switch the refrigerator to LPG. That way there's no power being taken from the AC (shore power) system. If it still doesn't cool on LPG, then it's not a power source issue, but either venting or cooling unit/control board problem.

[Andymil]

I don’t know how accurate this is but I read that these refrigerators cool better on gas than electric.

[labman]

mine works great on gas but I have a hard time getting it cool on electric. 2017 vintage....

[jonnyaiks]

I am experiencing the same problem right now with a 2017 HC with the double door Dometic that worked fine last year but we were never out in this kind of heat (we were normally Aug-Oct campers). Now we have no afternoon shade on the vent and in a heatwave, fridge in a slide, neither gas nor electric can get the temp below 60 in the day, but freezer keeping below freezing (barely). The unit could be very slightly off level, but not so's you'd notice standing in it. My last option is to check that vent. The heat is supposed to break tomorrow so I guess we'll see what's what then. Looking for a good video on checking the slide vents. [emoji846]

[Frank G]

We are over in Shipshewana, IN, again. There is a RV Repair shop over this way that repairs RV Refrigerators, Dometic and Norcold.

National RV Refrigeration
5335 N State Road 5
260.768.7059

I know this is a warrentee issue but some times you have to suck it up so you can enjoy the rest of your life.

You could give them a call and explore their knowledge and see if they can help. I think Dometic is just down the road if you want to make a deposit in there front yard.