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Old 06-12-2012, 11:50 AM   #1
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5 cuft Dometic Fridge 2 way refer

Being a seasoned travel trailer traveler, I like to keep my food cold on the road and frequently tow with the refer in propane mode. I've owned 5 campers with propane refrigerators and found that the ones with both vents on the side are prone to having the flame blow out while towing. My last camper had to be modified to prevent this. How many Escapee's have had any problems
with the Dometic 5' refrigerator failing to operate or staying in operation while on propane and being towed? Thanks for your response.
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Old 06-12-2012, 12:35 PM   #2
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Re: 5 cuft Dometic Fridge 2 way refer

We've had no problem.
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Old 06-12-2012, 01:06 PM   #3
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Re: 5 cuft Dometic Fridge 2 way refer

We tow our 19 with the fridge on propane most of the time, and have never had a problem.
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Old 06-12-2012, 01:22 PM   #4
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Re: 5 cuft Dometic Fridge 2 way refer

Ditto for us - no problems thus far.
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Old 06-12-2012, 01:35 PM   #5
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Re: 5 cuft Dometic Fridge 2 way refer

We drive with the propane on and have done so for over 40 000km in all kinds of weather conditions including very strong cross-winds and have never had a problem.

Cheers,

Paul S.
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Old 06-12-2012, 01:59 PM   #6
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Re: 5 cuft Dometic Fridge 2 way refer

Same here no problems other than the ferry folk wanting it off during the transit. In a similar vein has any one used the fridge for an extended length of time in the electric mode? Would it make a good beverage fridge when not traveling around the country? Is there any time limit for it being on?

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Old 06-12-2012, 03:48 PM   #7
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Re: 5 cuft Dometic Fridge 2 way refer

Well I hate to be the "naysayer" but I have had the problem of the flame blowing out while driving since I've had the trailer. Of course it could be because my 5 cu ft is the "refer from hell" - so far both the heater & the cooling unit have been replaced (under warranty) and 3 weeks into this trip it no longer runs on electric. It also can't get the temperature under 40°F when the outside temperature is over 90°F. According to the the last Dometic repair, the flame is correctly adjusted...
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Old 06-12-2012, 06:42 PM   #8
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Re: 5 cuft Dometic Fridge 2 way refer

No problem with the flame staying lit while traveling but I do believe the seals around the freezer do not seal the unit tight enough thus causing a lot of condensation to drip.

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Old 06-12-2012, 07:44 PM   #9
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Re: 5 cuft Dometic Fridge 2 way refer

No problem staying lit, but coming back from Vancouver last summer I could not get it to stay below 50 when traveling. Worked fine when stopped.

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Old 06-12-2012, 07:57 PM   #10
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Re: 5 cuft Dometic Fridge 2 way refer

Is there any indicator on the refer that it is operating properly, like a light or signal, similar to the water heater that comes on when there is a problem?
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Old 06-12-2012, 08:11 PM   #11
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Re: 5 cuft Dometic Fridge 2 way refer

Mine isn't on when traveling.

Bought a half liter of Haagan Dazs cherry chocolate ice cream in Osoyoos and 6 hours later in Vancouver, it was still frozen. But, it wasn't as good as Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia.

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Old 06-12-2012, 08:24 PM   #12
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Re: 5 cuft Dometic Fridge 2 way refer

Ours isn't on while traveling either. Neat trick, that frozen Haagen Daz.

We have had ice packs that lasted a day and a half. And we don't keep paying for the ice packs.

Cherry chocolate, very fancy... I'll take plain chocolate, thank you.
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Old 06-12-2012, 08:54 PM   #13
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Re: 5 cuft Dometic Fridge 2 way refer

Actually, try the Haagen Dazs Mayan Chocolate, if you like chocolate.

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Old 06-12-2012, 10:07 PM   #14
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Re: 5 cuft Dometic Fridge 2 way refer

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vermilye
Well I hate to be the "naysayer" but I have had the problem of the flame blowing out while driving since I've had the trailer. Of course it could be because my 5 cu ft is the "refer from hell" - so far both the heater & the cooling unit have been replaced (under warranty) and 3 weeks into this trip it no longer runs on electric. It also can't get the temperature under 40°F when the outside temperature is over 90°F. According to the the last Dometic repair, the flame is correctly adjusted...
We had the same problem with the flame going out when we had our Airstream.. eventually we got the Fridge to be considered "condemned" and they replaced the whole fridge. It never happened again on the new fridge..

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Old 06-12-2012, 10:49 PM   #15
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Re: 5 cuft Dometic Fridge 2 way refer

Mine works very well. We do use a temp sender in the fridge and carry the receiver in the tow vehicle. We have friends who do the same with their Casita.
Chuck
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Old 06-13-2012, 09:04 AM   #16
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Re: 5 cuft Dometic Fridge 2 way refer

Will I be able to depend on the freezer to keep my dog's raw food frozen?

If the refrigerator/freezer does need repair, where do you take it (I live near Little Rock, AR)?

Thanks,

Mike
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Old 06-13-2012, 09:44 AM   #17
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Re: 5 cuft Dometic Fridge 2 way refer

Find a Dometic repair shop in your area if you have any problems.
Chuck
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Old 06-13-2012, 10:05 AM   #18
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Re: 5 cuft Dometic Fridge 2 way refer

Our dog is raw fed Mike, and we have never had issue on long trips keeping meat frozen. Though for trips up to 4 days, we just keep it in the fridge. If anything with this type of fridge design, the freezer is very cold indeed.
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Old 06-13-2012, 10:17 AM   #19
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Re: 5 cuft Dometic Fridge 2 way refer

Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeV99
Will I be able to depend on the freezer to keep my dog's raw food frozen?

If the refrigerator/freezer does need repair, where do you take it (I live near Little Rock, AR)?
Basically any place that does RV repair (or sells RV) will handle it as most Fridges in RV are either Dometic or NorCold..so they are authorized dealers/repair shops..
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Old 06-14-2012, 08:07 AM   #20
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Re: 5 cuft Dometic Fridge 2 way refer

We just got back from a trip to the Badlands and Wind Cave National Park. The WC campground is sunny/warm and we found that when the sun hit the refridge side of the trailer that it has trouble staying at the 37 deg F we try to keep it at. I did some web searching and found that this is a very common problem with 3 steps to help. The first step to try is one of the battery powered fans designed to circulate the air inside the fridge - I bought this one: http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...f-switch/38134. Since we most often camp in cooler weather I am hoping this all we will need. I think lots of other Escapees use these and the internal fan is apparently a good idea for any RV fridge as they supposedly keep temps much more even inside.

For camping in really hot weather the next step is 12v fan put in the top vent of the fridge to create more air flow through the system. The final step if both those don't work is another 12v fan in the lower fridge (exterior) compartment to further aide in air flow. If we need more cooling than the internal fan, I think I will try one of these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...A2XNAOBSW0CZDL in the upper vent and power it with my small solar trickle charger.

Eric
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