NEVER BUY a Dometic Elite refrigerator!!

[Robert Wesner]

A quick heads-up GORVers....

we finally broke down this summer and splurged on a REALLY NICE BIG FRIDGE for our tired little Winnie.

(We're full-timers so we needed the biggest fridge we could find)

as luck would have it, while traveling through Salem Oregon area we found someone who had a BIG double-door (side by side) Dometic Elite he was selling for about 1/5th of retail (these are about $2500 on average)

through a lot of grief we got it installed (it was SO big it wouldn't FIT THROUGH THE DOOR)

now, 6 months later, we're pulling through LA and one of the doors FALLS OFF!!!   The hinge just SNAPPED!!

Further examination proved that it was a TERRIBLE weak point.

A quick web search reveals that DOMETIC DOES NOT WARRANTY OR OFFER ANY FIX FOR THIS!!!

Dometic's solution - YOU HAVE TO BUY ALL NEW DOORS!!!  I found this APPALLING....

I did find on this blog (http://www.rv-partsplus.com/dometic-refrigerator-door-hinge-repair-...) that someone offers an after-market fix.... I'm applying MASSIVE and liberal amounts of plastic epoxy and see it that works......................

just and FYI for y'alls...................

~Robert the Hair

[Robert Wesner]

true, but being the brilliant McGuyver that I am, it wasn't too bad......

[Lakota Wolf]

That sounds like more grief then charlie brown could handle. I feel for your frustration. I ripped my Dometic out due to another ***problem ***with them.

[Robert Wesner]

2 months later, the door fell off again!  WHAT A PIECE OF CRAP!!

DOMETIC offers ZERO help or warranty and now tells me they don't even OFFER replacement doors any more!!!

Here's a pic of the latest repair attempt using steel plumbing strap, anchored with shallow sheet metal screws pre-drilled into the plasic hinge then coated with plastic epoxy.  The strap extends into the door so we're hoping it will give better strength.

The other upgrade we did was buying a 2' section of  3/4" wood molding which we wedge under the doors so all the weight of the doors then sits on the wood instead of the hinges while we're driving.

[Robert Wesner]

heavy application of Gorilla Glue to fill the gaps and then Loctite epoxy for plastic seems to be holding.

when we're mobile, we shim the door with a piece of old wood molding so that the weight of the door is supported by the molding and NOT by the hinge.

.....a 78 winnebago ain't got much for suspension.....

[Amanda Day]

appreciate the info, thanks..hope the door holds!