Dometic A/C's are Junk?

[Jswill]

My '98 with original Dometic still going strong. Don't think I'd trade it for a new one.

[Milo1952]

Both of mine on my 2017 30' International still going strong as of last season.

[Ray Eklund]

Our 2006 had a Dometic AC. Worked great in our 23 footer. The Sam's Town RC Park had some electrical surge and a number of trailers had the starting capacitors 'smoked'. A shop up the street from the Casino had a number of trailer owners needing trouble shooting.

I smelled ours and they wanted $100 just to look. I will just make the best of it... and left.

An Airforum Expert of Solar and Electrical Airstream components, LEWSTER (aka Lewis Farber)... He sent me the two capacitors and I paid him AFTER I received them. Swell guy. These two capacitors took care of it and the unit ran for another 7 years and I sold the 23 foot Safari, AC still running.

Now the NEW Airstreams you can 'upgrade' to Soft Start Capacitors for more money to replace... those that need 50Amp, or less if you feel lucky, that will start with 15 Amp service.

Now... what? I can pay MORE to get what I should have already installed????

I cannot say it was fun slipping around on the roof to replace the capacitors on the 2006, but you sure could SMELL them. Easy to replace, as they are easy to fine and it is difficult to get what goes where... wrong. Hey... I did it. You may be more evolved and should be able.

The TWO current Dometic A/C were operating fine at the Dealership in Las Vegas. Have not needed them since then... but from smelling around the garage... I am still good. If you wonder if the capacitors are good or not. Do as I did... sniff around the AC. No confusion of the stink.

[hhendrix]

I have a 2015 Flying Cloud with dual air. Both have been replaced under extended warranty.

[AluminumTube]

For those of you experiencing failures - do you monitor your voltage? It is my understanding that low voltage is one of the main killers of a/c units. I won't run mine if the voltage drops below 110v. That is a problem in some parks. I carry a Hughes Autoformer to use in those situations.

[Squairstream]

I Have had both of our units for over ten years with nno problrms. Seems as if the biggest problems occur when units are used with low voltage.

[prairieschooner]

Following. I interested in an A/C unit for our '58 18' Traveler.

Like anything else there are good ones & bad ones and thinking installation has allot to do with it as well as the work load of the unit.
I also have an '82 38' Newell Bus and one of the A/C units needs replacing. Since I was already in the Arizona desert I began calling for prices and installation (near 70 so may have installation done). More than one shop told me of potential issues with the Dometic units. This has me looking at say Coleman or another manufacturer for both of my "Campers".

[gypsydad]

4th AS; 2006 25' Safari; 2008 25' , 2012 25' FC, and now our 2017 28' FC...never had any issues with AC's on any of them...knock on wood.

[UnklJoe]

I want to ask the original poster: Did you know that Dometic is a publicly traded company, with their shares listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange (that's in Sweden--in Northern Europe)? That means a Swedish company is making and selling RV air conditioners in countries other than its home country, which is NOT the United States of America.

People don't generally write to forums like this to praise or extoll the virtues of some piece of equipment (a Dometic A/C unit, for example) installed by the original equipment manufacturer (Airstream in this case). They usually write to complain (bitch, whinge, moan). So, when you look up something like Dometic A/C, if you find more complaints than praise, you shouldn't be surprised.

And, low voltage is, indeed, one of the big killers of RV A/C units (of any manufacturer). A Hughes Autoformer (though not inexpensive) is one way to protect against that. It's not a total electrical problem preventer--but it is one way to protect against low voltage which is common in a lot of campgrounds. A LOT of campgrounds.

I'm very happy to join the cadre of people who have had no problems with their Dometic A/C units. I do use a Hughes Autoformer and have had it twice warn me of low voltage, probably preventing damage or even premature failure. It has also warned me of incorrectly wired pedestals at campgrounds (a problem that is also far too common). Well worth that extra investment. And while a failed Dometic A/C may be covered under warranty, it doesn't return the lost time and aggravation spent getting the unit replaced. (Which is also worth something in my book--and in my Airstream, where lost time is not appreciated.)

When a company builds thousands or even tens of thousands of a product every year they become commodities. It says something when the cost of those items--including shipping and installation--is low enough not to warrant an improvement in quality assurance or quality control. Dometic isn't the only company cashing in on the foreign labor and cost differential, and if people wouldn't buy them they couldn't sell them.

[bibbs]

My opinion is that sometimes they get it right, and those are the ones that are still working. My old 75’ argosy’s non Dometic, AC could chill so cold you could store �� in there.
DW thought it was too loud, I installed a Dometic, just as loud, and took hours to cool down, then quit cooling at all, big mistake! There are too many complaints with the Dometic AC
I will never ever buy one again!

[emelaich01]

We seem to get more and more insulated to the reality that Dometic's offerings to the RV market is sub-par. Or have they turned a corner with the appointment of a new president/CEO in Jan, '18?
The complaints about their sorry state of customer service used to be commonplace yet there seems to have been an improvement. My own dealings with their CS dept--a Fantastic Fan that wasn't--was outstanding, though I was primed to have a fight on my hands.
Granted, they seem resolved to make the same products year after year but could there be some incremental improvements in the works? Or a least some trickle-down enhancements from their commercial lines? (Was the failed icemaker on board the Andrea Gail in "The Perfect Storm" made by Dometic? Hope not...).
Being headquartered in Sweden may give them some buffering from the world's present state; but things could go either way as they're taxed to preserve shareholder value.
Suggest whenever a problem occurs with one of their products, the owners/users at least fire off an email to them and when they get something right, deliver some compliments as well.
Stay safe!

[guskmg]

Two Dometic 13,500 since 2005 with MicroAir SoftStarts, no problems. When they were almost new the front one had a noisy squirrel cage fan. I pried it to the center of its shaft and it has been running noise free ever since. However, I have lots of the same comments about quality from several techs. I think several years ago they started manufacturing in China and that did it. If you have a trouble free Dometic, add MicroAir's SoftStart and keep going. Those devices turn the line current into smooth steady conditioned flow similar to an inverter generator.
guskmg

[dznf0g]

Original 13.5k heat pump with micro air on my 2007

[JCWDCW]

I agree that the new ACs in general are not as good as the older models. I have a 1996 Excella with the penguin AC
In Doswell last year many newer ACs were failing in 105 degree temps. I was very fearful my old unit wasn't up to the challenge, but it made it through 8 days of continuous run.
Refrigerant leakage is usually something that happens early on in the life of an AC. If it doesn't develop a leak under warranty I think it will probably continue to give good service. However that cost of a replacement is hard on the pocketbook, and I would likely take outinsurance on a new AC to cover an additional 2 or 3 years beyond the original warranty
JCW

[new2trailer]

10ish years ago, Dometic's Mexico super plant burned. The fire not only burnt the production line but also burnt unshipped inventory and their spare parts.

It would be odd for a worldwide company to not have some production in China but don't have any knowledge about today's manufacturing, for the disenchanted.

I have a pre-fire Mexican unit dating from 2007 that works well. So perhaps the Mexican units are good.

It is always sad to have problems with toys. Toys should work perfectly just like in our childhood.

Mike

[Camr]

It seems like if they last a year, they will probably be fairly reliable. On our new Mobile Suite, one Dometic heat pump lasted only 2 weeks. Both the units on our 30 Classic have been fine for 4 years.

[Louie Dee]

Your not alone friend! I have owned 13 A/S both MHs & TTs over the past 35 years. Been Prez of a State A/S Club and Prtez of local clubs while attending numerous Rallys. I have seen it all. The older Dometic's in the 70's & 80's were stout lasting surprisingly many years. However, my experience with Dometic's in the mid 90's forward gave me fits. To answer your question on "why A/S continues to use inferior products", I believe A/S is all about $$$ not customers satisfaction first. Your concerns goes far beyond the A/C issues many of us have been faced with leaving the family sweltering in AZ or other hot summer spots. They did finally see their error and start offering the option of a 2nd A/C due to both undersizing causing inferior A/C output. Bottomline, After owning a quality RV; a 17 year old Foretravel, I learned what both QUALITY & CUSTOMER FIRST MEANS". A/S unfortunately is still riding on past myths of quality, but not today.
At the fortunes A/S charges, reaching over $150,000 for a non motorized TT, you would think much higher quality rather than "cruising on past A/S quality " would be what stands out when owning an A/S. In my case, it ended with learning what owning a RV could be - more fun than maintenance alone.
If it were not for The A/S International RV Organization, a great club, I would venture A/S would loose 40% of it's sales. Just saying!!!!!!!!

[mikesSE]

My ‘07 Safari’s Penquin 600 lasted nine years,then it over-amped in a small campground(low voltage).I replaced it with a new Penquin 2,then one month later,replaced it again,with another Penquin 2. The trust in Dometics is GONE.I bought extended warranties,but that is adding costs to the product that we consumers don’t need to bear.If It had a way to remove condensate drainage,I would buy a Coleman.Actually I and thinking of a remote unit to get it off of the roof,where it’s noise doesn’t drone so bad.Space problems with a 23ft.comes up.

[bobmiller1]

To answer your question (Why does Airstream continue to use these JUNK Dometic units on such expensive trailers ?).......Simple answer.....Lowest Bidder. In all honesty, most AC/Heat Pump failures can be traced back to poor installation procedures at the Airstream assembly line, whether they mis handle the unit during installation, hook it up improperly, or drill a hole through it in the wrong place. Airstream has been known not to follow proper installation procedures from the manufactures installation manuals, example would be the baffle necessary to make the refrigerator/freezer work properly. Regards, Bob

[Silver.Sanctuary]

Originally Posted by geo

I also had my Dometic heat pump on my 2019 International replaced after less than a year. At least their refrigerator has been reliable so far.

My brother, who has a Ph.D. in laser optics was sent by Boeing a few years ago to all the training for refrigeration/air conditioning etc because he was constantly running into delays in cooling the lasers properly.

He recently told me that older units were built to last, but that four or five years ago the industry made a purposeful move to make these things so they did not last as long and therefore needed replacement sooner, in order to sell more units. My mother has a refrigerator in her basement that she got in 1946 and it still works! It is not as efficient as modern units but is a lot more reliable...

I have a 2004 Dometic and it still runs great. I wouldn't want a new one. The move of manufacturing to China probably helped the cause if in fact they were interested in shorter usable lifetimes.