My fridge door keeps falling off

[jpons]

I need a bit of help here.

This past winter we took a trip down to FL from our home in ME. On the way back through the horrible MA roads we hit a big hole that flew the fridge door off. I have been able to put the fridge door back on, but I am not sure I placed it back on correctly since it now seems to come off it's hinges pretty easily even over not so bumpy roads.

Attached are two pictures of how the doors are hinged now, can someone compare them to theirs and possibly send me a picture of their fridge hinges for me to compare?

Thanks a bunch.

-J

[dznf0g]

It appears to me that the case halves of the hinges are spaced too far apart, allowing the top hinge pin to pop out.

I would disassemble and either:
1) Shim the case half of the top hinge down
2)Shim the door half of the top hinge upward
3) place shims over the lower hinge pin, moving the door upward.

Disassembly and attachment methodology would dictate to me which option to employ.

[AWCHIEF]

I just checked the install/owners manual. Interestingly it basically skips,the door hinge and says call them for information on how to adjust or swap sides.

[polarlyse]

We keep our refrigerator door closed with a bungie cord when traveling. On our former Airstream the door would open occasionally on a rough road. This, newer, one is more secure but we use the bungie anyway. We did have a similar thing happening with our shower door though. It's a solid tempered glass door with aluminum trim held on only by two pin hinges. Frequently it would pop off and luckily had never broken. I would try different approaches to repair and finally combined some bushings at the lower pin and did adjust the upper pin downward on a recent outing. I don't know if the refrig. door has any vertical adjustments built in but if so this might remedy your issue and if not look for some thin fiber / rubber washers and with them installed the movement might be held to where they won't pop off. Do also think about a bungie to hold it closed and that may help also.

[tinbender]

Yours looks just like the one in my 23, RM2551. It appears that the top and bottom metal part of your hinges, the part with the hole that the bolt goes through, are both bent. Take the door off and see if you can carefully bend them back to horizontal. The big gap on the top alone points to a continuing problem, i.e., too much space to hold the door on securely.

[Ray Eklund]

Tinbender is correct. I wanted to take our door off at one time and it looked like too much work even to try. I wanted to replace the stainless steel front which drops down to be replaced. Without the door off, it cannot be done.

Your top door hinge is obviously bent upwards. If you are hauling cans of soda and other heavy items on your front door when traveling, I would suggest you put them somewhere else in your refrigerator. You can also easily break the plastic hooks that hold the shelves onto the door.

I think you will have the door problem fixed in no time at all. A large flathead screwdriver with a long handle will provide the leverage. If you are not mechanically inclined, ask someone who is to help. You do not want to break the plastic cover above the door by mistake. I have a neighbor who is an engineer who is mechanically challenged and he calls me regularly to cobble things back together.

[lucca53]

Hi by the look of your picture why don't you just at more washers at bottom it will rise the door up end of your problem my friend.

[lucca53]

Also on mine I had to repair broken hinge lots of fun as they say you need a new frig.

[FortRocky]

I agree with Ray but I have a refrig door issue of my own. I now own Ray's 2006 Safari and the metal door panel keeps sliding down. Is it just double stick taped in place or are there supposed to be clips to hold it in place.
Sorry to piggyback on someone else's post but I'm very new to this.
My first TT of any kind and we jumped right to the front of the pack with our beautiful Airstream. We absolutely love it.
Ray, you took excellent care of it
Thanks.

[TCwheels]

Originally Posted by FortRocky

I agree with Ray but I have a refrig door issue of my own. I now own Ray's 2006 Safari and the metal door panel keeps sliding down. Is it just double stick taped in place or are there supposed to be clips to hold it in place.

Sorry to piggyback on someone else's post but I'm very new to this.

My first TT of any kind and we jumped right to the front of the pack with our beautiful Airstream. We absolutely love it.

Ray, you took excellent care of it

Thanks.

I'll continue the piggyback...we had this same issue with the metal (glued to thin plywood) panel sliding down. It came off completely when we lost our wheel (!) and it was repaired at Jackson Center. Our door has plastic tabs along the bottom plastic frame that support the panel. These were broken. The whole door had to be replaced to get a new plastic frame for the panel!


WBCCI #7246 Michigan Unit,Texas Hill Country Unit (associate member), AIR #91367

[spclkaz]

A year or two ago I failed to adhere to my "movin' on out" checklist and did not check to see that both the freezer and fridge doors were securely latched... at the first rest stop about a 100 miles down the road I made my first tire, wheel and interior checks... sure enough, the fridge door had swung open and the upper plate on the door had snapped off where the hinge pin was... I was able to work out a work around for the rest of the trip that held the door on... and later my bio-med engineer son in law fashioned a fix with some sort of super glue super putty... but lesson learned...

Add checking the fridge (and shower door) latches to your departure checklist. I like the idea of bungee cords too... or putting a cooler in front of the fridge door... whatever works for you... but don't over look these items...

[JCWDCW]

We lost the fridge door on the Dometic in our Award years ago...I think your first assessment is likely the correct one. I had to add a shim to the top hinge (a washer) to limit the travel on the other so it wouldn't jump off the bottom. Never happened again.

LOL on the comment about the Engineer....I are one!

JCW

[clarklaflare]

The plastic hinges appear to have broken. It's most obvious in looking at your top picture which shows about a 1/4" gap between the hinge ear and the upper door surround. The bottom ear appears only slightly misaligned but probably broken none the less.

This has been an issue with most Dometic refrigerators to such an extent that repair kits were developed. Assuming yours is the same vintage as the trailer (2008) a warranty claim is probably out of the question but you might get some assistance from them in getting the door repaired.

[Seemore2006]

Please show picture on your bungee cord technique - thank you.

[Ray Eklund]

Originally Posted by FortRocky

I agree with Ray but I have a refrig door issue of my own. I now own Ray's 2006 Safari and the metal door panel keeps sliding down. Is it just double stick taped in place or are there supposed to be clips to hold it in place.
Sorry to piggyback on someone else's post but I'm very new to this.
My first TT of any kind and we jumped right to the front of the pack with our beautiful Airstream. We absolutely love it.
Ray, you took excellent care of it
Thanks.

*******

Small world for Airstreams.

When Windish in Denver did some work on the 2006 23 footer, they scratched the refrigerator door stainless metal. Replaced it. It would slide down after traveling. I took a strip of wood you would use to wedge a door or window frame at the bottom of the door, between the outside frame and door bottom plastic. That was how I took care of it. I tried to figure out how to get the door off, but it is riveted as well as bolted. If I have the original door metal, I will PM you. I do not recall if I kept it or tossed it away. The 25 footer had the larger refrigerator and that was something my wife wanted. I wanted the 15 inch tire option rated D's. Otherwise I would still own that 23 footer.

The problem with the door on this Thread is the top bracket is bent upwards. It needs to be bent down. Otherwise this door will keep coming off the hinges.

Go to any RV retail/service shop and get yourself a couple of hinges off a junker in the trash bin. You will need to drill the rivets to get them off for spares.

If you are reluctant to bend that hinge where it should be, let someone who can. You have nothing to lose. Either it works or needs to be replaced. I would say you have a better chance it would work to bend it downward. Without seeing why it became bent is a problem, but you need to decide what your options are.

[dznf0g]

I keep studying the pic of the top hinge. I don't think it is bent...I think it is a weird camera angle. Some other notes:

The hinge is not plastic...the hinge cover is.

I wouldn't try to just bend it. As I recall it is pretty thick and tough metal. My fear would be damaging the fridge case screw holes. Bending might work, but I would do it off the fridge and in a vise.

I would much prefer the shimming method.

Of course, parts in hand tell the real story.

[polarlyse]

Hi Seemore. I don't have my trailer here at home. I keep it parked at my son's house and will try to remember to get a photo for you. However, let me explain. We have a common closet hook screwed to the wall adjacent to the reefer door handles on the side panel. It's handy for hanging things on for general purposes too. We use an elastic tube ( like they use when blood is taken in the Drs. office) and wrap it through the door handles and around the hook. Works great and never failed. ALSO, for an added benefit I have a piece of dense foam that I wedge in the doors and using the same elastic tube and the same hook I keep the doors wedged open during storage to allow ventilation to prevent mold and odors. Works for me.

Let me know if you would still like a photo and I'll work on that over the weekend.

[ljmelea]

We have issues with our refrigerator door hinge where do you buy repair kits?Our's is 1991 excella 25 ft.Springs on awning are shot also.Other wise this baby is almost ready to come home.thanks larry