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07-26-2016, 10:27 AM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Baytown, Texas
Trailer: 2017 21' Escape - upgraded version
Posts: 2,697
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Dometic RM2454 / DM2663 door hinge
Just a heads up for 2017 Escape owners.
The top hinge on the door of Dometic RM2454 / DM2663 refrigerators are prone to break when heavy items are placed in the door and traveling. The hinge is part of the door and requires the door to be replaced when broken. Very expensive!
Casita owners have learned this the hard way. Casita uses the RM2454 and users have had the hinge break on several trailers. Larry Gamble (Little House Customs) has a stainless steel bracket that will prevent it from breaking or repair one that's broke.
I put this bracket on my Casita fridge door as soon as I got it home from Rice - the cost of a replacement door is really high for what the bracket costs.
Again, just a FYI as this model is new to Escape owners but familiar to Casita owners.
Store | Little House Customs
Fridge Hinge Repair/Damage Prevention Kit
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07-26-2016, 10:51 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Baytown, Texas
Trailer: 2017 21' Escape - upgraded version
Posts: 2,697
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The plate screws onto the top of the hinge. The hinge pivots on a metal pin - the plate has a hole the pin fits into and braces so it won't break. You have to take the door off, screw the plate onto the top of the door, and then reinstall the door. The plate is thin so it shows from the front very little. If you color it black, it hardly shows at all.
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07-26-2016, 10:58 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Area 51, New Mexico
Trailer: pondering.....
Posts: 728
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tdf-texas
Just a heads up for 2017 Escape owners.
The top hinge on the door of Dometic RM2454 / DM2663 refrigerators are prone to break when heavy items are placed in the door and traveling. The hinge is part of the door and requires the door to be replaced when broken. Very expensive!
Casita owners have learned this the hard way. Casita uses the RM2454 and users have had the hinge break on several trailers. Larry Gamble (Little House Customs) has a stainless steel bracket that will prevent it from breaking or repair one that's broke.
I put this bracket on my Casita fridge door as soon as I got it home from Rice - the cost of a replacement door is really high for what the bracket costs.
Again, just a FYI as this model is new to Escape owners but familiar to Casita owners.
Store | Little House Customs
Fridge Hinge Repair/Damage Prevention Kit
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thanks for the heads up...so Dometic can't make a rugged fridge for RV use..even after users experience show it ain't built rugged and a cottage industry offers a fix... and Dometic wants people to believe they can make a rugged awning without support arms...good luck with that!
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07-26-2016, 11:15 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Trailer: 2009 Escape 17B 2020 Toyota Highlander XLE
Posts: 17,136
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The Escape manual tells you not to travel with heavy items on the door. Quite a simple fix is not to break it.
__________________
What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
- Bertolt Brecht
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07-26-2016, 11:29 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: ..., New Mexico
Trailer: 2013 Esc19/'14 Silvrado
Posts: 4,193
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Simple. I only stock the door with butter, cheese, lite beer, my meds, etc.
__________________
Myron
"A billion here, a billion there...add it all up and before you know it you're talking real money." Everett Dirkson
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07-26-2016, 12:56 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Area 51, New Mexico
Trailer: pondering.....
Posts: 728
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gbaglo
The Escape manual tells you not to travel with heavy items on the door. Quite a simple fix is not to break it.
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agree...and designing a door with hinges that don't fail for the intended purpose ain't rocket science either....but apparently is beyond Dometic's engineering capability even after selling and manufacturing it for several years and requires a third party and extra expense to provide an alternative fix for the hinge.....
still think some of the RV industry and some of the vendors of the parts used in the manufacture of them are stuck in the stone age with regard to manufacturing and design.....
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07-26-2016, 01:35 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: North Van., British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19, sold; 2019 Escape 21, Sept. 2019
Posts: 8,743
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MyronL
Simple. I only stock the door with butter, cheese, lite beer, my meds, etc.
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Compared to real Canadian beer aren't all American beers lite?
Ron
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07-26-2016, 01:38 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: ..., New Mexico
Trailer: 2013 Esc19/'14 Silvrado
Posts: 4,193
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Less filling, too.
__________________
Myron
"A billion here, a billion there...add it all up and before you know it you're talking real money." Everett Dirkson
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07-26-2016, 03:11 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Southern Alberta, Alberta
Trailer: 2015 Escape 5.0TA
Posts: 1,734
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That's why I never put my porter or stout in the door compartments its to heavy and I'd cry if one broke [emoji6]
Cheers
Doug
__________________
Cheers
Doug
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08-08-2016, 06:54 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Victoria, British Columbia
Trailer: 2023 21C
Posts: 104
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RM 8551 broken upper hinge
Is there an equivalent bracket for a RM 8551 fridge, the top hinge pivot broke on our last trip? Any suggestions on how to fix it?
Thanks
David
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08-08-2016, 07:09 PM
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#11
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Site Team
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Portland, Oregon
Trailer: 2014 Escape 5.0 TA
Posts: 11,023
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I can't see the broken portion clearly. Is there a way to remove the hinge? IF you have all the pieces, JB Weld will fix it. That stuff is so strong, some other portion will break before the repair breaks again.
__________________
Donna D.
Ten Forward
2014 Escape 5.0TA
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08-08-2016, 07:31 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Victoria, British Columbia
Trailer: 2023 21C
Posts: 104
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Thanks Donna, here is a better picture, I was thinking about filling the void with some type of epoxy and then drilling out the hole for the pin and then attaching a plate to the top for good measure.
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08-08-2016, 07:38 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Victoria, British Columbia
Trailer: 2023 21C
Posts: 104
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For clarity here are a couple of pictures of the upper hinge pin.
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08-08-2016, 08:14 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Baytown, Texas
Trailer: 2017 21' Escape - upgraded version
Posts: 2,697
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If it was my fridge, I would remove the rest of that broken hole, cut a piece of steel plate to fit in the square in the top, epoxy the plate in the square hole, and then drill a new hole for the pin in the plate.
Then dare that to break!
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08-08-2016, 11:11 PM
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#15
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: St. Thomas not BVI., Ontario
Trailer: 2014 Escape 5.0TA / 2016 Ram Eco Diesel 4X4
Posts: 8,035
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dunnet
Thanks Donna, here is a better picture, I was thinking about filling the void with some type of epoxy and then drilling out the hole for the pin and then attaching a plate to the top for good measure.
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Hi: dunnet... Looks like a job for Tech Steel drillable epoxy putty. http://www.nlsproducts.ca Available at Home Hardware and most automotive stores. I used it to re position the door hinges on my Boler Trailer. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie
__________________
Quote Bugs Bunny..."Don't take life too seriously, none of us get out of it ALIVE"!!!
'16 Ram Eco D. 4X4 Laramie Longhorn CC & '14 Escape 5.0TA
St.Thomas (Not the Virgin Islands) Ontario
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12-04-2016, 01:08 AM
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#16
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Austin, Texas
Trailer: 2017 5.0 TA
Posts: 146
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Has anyone used the "Fridge Hinge Repair/Damage Prevention Kit" on a DM2663 refrigerator as mentioned in post #1 of this discussion?
I recently contacted Larry Gamble (Little House Customs) and he said he wasn't familiar with that model of refrigerator.
Sarah at ETI told me the 2017 5.0 TA will have a DM2663 frig, so I was going to order one of these kits if I can determine that it will fit that frig.
__________________
Thomas G.
2017 5.0 TA
2017 F-150, 5.0L, SuperCrew, 6.5' bed, 4x2, 6-speed, 1:3.55 rear axle; B&W Turnover Ball; Andersen Ultimate Aluminum Gooseneck; Fold-a-cover w/caddy
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12-04-2016, 01:26 AM
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#17
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Trailer: 2009 Escape 17B 2020 Toyota Highlander XLE
Posts: 17,136
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If you follow instructions to not place heavy items on the door shelves while traveling and if you use bungee cords or methods that others have used to keep the door secure while traveling rough roads, you should be OK with the OEM hinges. Thousands are.
__________________
What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
- Bertolt Brecht
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12-04-2016, 08:13 AM
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#18
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: ..., New Mexico
Trailer: 2013 Esc19/'14 Silvrado
Posts: 4,193
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When my Dometic is working I usually forget and load the door with quarts. For protection I liked using the bungees because they are quick and easy. Then began to worry about the bungie metal rubbing and scuffing the fridge front so I switched to this strap. Slightly less convenient but probably more secure.
__________________
Myron
"A billion here, a billion there...add it all up and before you know it you're talking real money." Everett Dirkson
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12-04-2016, 09:58 AM
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#19
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
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I used to have a belt similar to that while in the the military.
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
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12-04-2016, 10:01 AM
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#20
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
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and it's big brother ....
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
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