outsourcing fridge repair

[magicbean]

Hey y'all - newbie getting to work on my 1968 Overlander. Mostly it's in good shape, amazingly the floor has minor edge rot issues in two spots that I think I can deal with, and I'm making sure everything is sealed up tight on the seams and windows. My question is this: I just pulled the fridge, which does not work...with all the other work I have to do, I don't have time to figure it out, but I'd like to get it repaired. I'm in western North Carolina, how do I go about finding someone who can see if it's repairable? Unless it's real simple to see where the problem is and replace a part or something...

I am totally in over my head with this thing, but it's a fun project...it's never just one thing, am i right? I wanted to get at the rot spot in the kitchen (two hour fix, right?), and I ended up pretty much gutting the kitchen to pull the furnace (it's that suburban with carbon monoxide issues, so I just pulled it out) and the fridge, which of course means I pulled the cabinetry, which of course needs to be rebuilt, since the countertop ply was rotted out and the cabinet walls just splintered in places...lordy, y'all, now it's a monthlong fix! At least I discovered where a critical leak was and fixed it before it became a major issue. Hahaha. What a relationship this is going to be!

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by magicbean

Hey y'all - newbie getting to work on my 1968 Overlander. Mostly it's in good shape, amazingly the floor has minor edge rot issues in two spots that I think I can deal with, and I'm making sure everything is sealed up tight on the seams and windows. My question is this: I just pulled the fridge, which does not work...with all the other work I have to do, I don't have time to figure it out, but I'd like to get it repaired. I'm in western North Carolina, how do I go about finding someone who can see if it's repairable? Unless it's real simple to see where the problem is and replace a part or something...

I am totally in over my head with this thing, but it's a fun project...it's never just one thing, am i right? I wanted to get at the rot spot in the kitchen (two hour fix, right?), and I ended up pretty much gutting the kitchen to pull the furnace (it's that suburban with carbon monoxide issues, so I just pulled it out) and the fridge, which of course means I pulled the cabinetry, which of course needs to be rebuilt, since the countertop ply was rotted out and the cabinet walls just splintered in places...lordy, y'all, now it's a monthlong fix! At least I discovered where a critical leak was and fixed it before it became a major issue. Hahaha. What a relationship this is going to be!

Does the reefer not work on gas or electric, or both?

Andy

[BIGED52]

Originally Posted by magicbean

Hey y'all - newbie getting to work on my 1968 Overlander. Mostly it's in good shape, amazingly the floor has minor edge rot issues in two spots that I think I can deal with, and I'm making sure everything is sealed up tight on the seams and windows. My question is this: I just pulled the fridge, which does not work...with all the other work I have to do, I don't have time to figure it out, but I'd like to get it repaired. I'm in western North Carolina, how do I go about finding someone who can see if it's repairable? Unless it's real simple to see where the problem is and replace a part or something...

I am totally in over my head with this thing, but it's a fun project...it's never just one thing, am i right? I wanted to get at the rot spot in the kitchen (two hour fix, right?), and I ended up pretty much gutting the kitchen to pull the furnace (it's that suburban with carbon monoxide issues, so I just pulled it out) and the fridge, which of course means I pulled the cabinetry, which of course needs to be rebuilt, since the countertop ply was rotted out and the cabinet walls just splintered in places...lordy, y'all, now it's a monthlong fix! At least I discovered where a critical leak was and fixed it before it became a major issue. Hahaha. What a relationship this is going to be!

Have you tried the search function on the tool bar at the top of the page here? Type keywords like refer repair or RV refrigerators etc. You can also check Google or other internet search engines for RV refrigerators or just try RVrefrigeration.com. Also look for local area RV repair shops to see if they have a place they use to repair refers. Ed

[TouringDan]

MB

Congrats on your 68 and welcome to the party. Looks like you have had a proper initiation with your two hour floor repair.

I doubt that you will find anybody local to repair your fridge. If the system is still sealed and you have not lost the contents, ammonia, it is probably fixable.

I just bought a new fridge and could sell you my old one for what I paid for it- it works on electric all the time, but only on gas some times. This is a no go for me as I boondock a lot. Call me if you want to talk about your fridge repair or anything else (434-401-4060).

Dan

[Belegedhel]

There are a few things you can do to troubleshoot and evaluate its condition, that you will need to do whether you are planning to fix it yourself or take it somewhere.

First, figure out what model it is and try to find out how old. Now that you are armed with a model, do a search on the forums and see what others have had for problems/solutions.

If you have pulled the refer out of the trailer, put it on a nice level surface, plug it in and turn it on in electric mode for max cooling. You will have to wait around 24 hours for it to feel very cold inside. The electric part of the cooling mechanism is just a heating element that is installed in part of the piping in the back. If you can feel the piping getting hot after a couple hours, but the fridge is not getting cool in 24, then you have probably lost the gas from the system, and you need to consider seriously if it is even worth fixing (replacing the cooling core will cost about half of the price of a new fridge). If the piping in the back is not getting warm, then either the heating element is shot, or wiring, thermostat, etc., is. At this point, try attaching it to a propane bottle and lighting the fire and running it in propane mode. If it gets cool, then great, it might just be a minor electrical problem, if not, then, again, you've lost your coolant.

If you decide to take it somewhere to get fixed, have a good look at the rubber seal around the door and the condition of the interior. If the seal is shot, and you have cracks in the interior and missing shelves, then you still may be looking at a lot of expense to getting it working well.

Good luck!

[TouringDan]

Belegedhel's response was much better than mine. BTW, rv fridges don't make any noise like home fridges do. It may in fact be working; you just don't know it.

If the fridge is original it may be a Dometic model 52. That was what I had in my 66 Tradewind.

Dan

[magicbean]

Thanks so much all, what a friendly helpful bunch! There are no cracks or leaks, so it's almost certainly repairable, I hope! Will take Belegedhel's advice and start there....I will proba'm going to have to store it for a month or two...in the meanwhile, cabinets!

[lonewolf1977]

Hey Magicbean...I'm just down the road in Winston Salem. My '57 had the original fridge & I still need to check it out & see if it works. (We have gutted our entire trailer as we repair the frame & floor). Anyway, she's a beaut....teal & oh-so-sweet. I'm really hoping that it works, I will try what Belegedhel mentioned. If none of that works, then I'm hoping I can somehow at least attach the old door to a new fridge.