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Old 12-18-2018, 10:19 PM   #121
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Pat: I don’t really know. I think they both have their issues. Only mentioned Norcold as an alternative to Dometic. I’ve worked on one in my neighbors motorhome, but no personal experience beyond that. Maybe others that have owned them can comment. I know it doesn’t work for many, but there have also been some real advancements in 12V compressor refrigerators.
Just asked Dave because always have had a Dometic (but the older ones for whatever reason worked better ) I have been looking at 12 v compressor refrigerators maybe someday as a replacement . Will see . Just thought since you mentioned it Norcold , was better . Pat
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Old 12-19-2018, 05:47 AM   #122
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Lance Trailers have their own issues, I had 2 of them, both new. My 1880 had roof bubbles and leaks and my 1575 had slide issues. Nice windows but that is about it.
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Old 12-19-2018, 09:00 AM   #123
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I did witness a $300,000 motor home burn to the ground at the Hinckley Mn Casino Campgrounds
The cause was attributed to a Norcold Refrigerator / Propane
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Old 12-19-2018, 09:55 AM   #124
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Figure we might stop in and have the Amish cooling unit put on in a few years on the fridge. So far our Dometic fridge has been pretty solid over 3 years and no real complaints, but if it starts getting weak, I understand the Amish unit is a great fix for quite a bit less than a fridge replacement.

The furnace to date has had no issues.

Water heater solid as well.

Wonder if ETI has tracked failure rates on the components like they did on some other items...
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Old 12-19-2018, 10:11 AM   #125
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But when you’re selling a trailer in the $25,000 - $30,000 USD price range, you can’t expect to get the quality components you would require in a trailer selling for well over twice that amount like an Oliver or Airstream.

Buy a Ford and you get Ford quality parts. Dometic caters to the ‘Ford’ part of the trailer market. Others serve the Mercedes market.
�� Drove my Explorer for 10 years, in that time replaced the battery, spark plugs (once),and tires. The intake manifold gasket was replaced under a recall 4 years after I bought vehicle and also an electrical relay which didn’t fail but replaced under a recall. Sold it to a friend who put another 60k on it with very little trouble. Had my Ranger for 8 years, new battery and tires and a water pump. So far my my 2016 F 150 Ecoboost is performing flawlessly towing my 5.0TA. (Knock on wood) A friend recently got an Audi (pretty fancy 1) bought used but with warranty, cost him $400 to fix his rear view mirror which stated leaking on his leg. Guess it’s digital display oozed it’s innards out. Then the front transmission seal failed, cost him well over a grand in labor. Warranty didn’t cover gasket, seals etc. He no longer owns the “Fun to drive, not to own Audi”. Another friend has had his Mercedes in the shop going on 6 weeks after a fender bender I would have estimated 2-3 grand. $16000 when they get the parts�� He’s driving new F150 rental while he’s waiting which he thinks is really cool.
Not defending the furnace, it may very well be a looser, but the Fords I’ve owned where winners. So where the Chevys, and GMCs, and a Honda.
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Old 12-19-2018, 11:16 AM   #126
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Just thought since you mentioned it Norcold , was better . Pat
Pat: For all the other appliances I was implying that there may be better alternatives. For the fridge that is a toss up. For that one I merely mentioned Norcold only because it wasn't Dometic and the point I was trying to make is that, despite their monopolizing, you can build a trailer without anything from Dometic if you really want to. Personally, after getting the propane pressure dialed in and insulating the cavity (among a few other things in my Refrigerator Test thread) to improve hot weather performance we have been happy with our older Dometic RM2510.
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Old 12-19-2018, 11:49 AM   #127
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Pat: For all the other appliances I was implying that there may be better alternatives. For the fridge that is a toss up. For that one I merely mentioned Norcold only because it wasn't Dometic and the point I was trying to make is that, despite their monopolizing, you can build a trailer without anything from Dometic if you really want to. Personally, after getting the propane pressure dialed in and insulating the cavity (among a few other things in my Refrigerator Test thread) to improve hot weather performance we have been happy with our older Dometic RM2510.
Dave so far after all the improvements I made to refrigerator 8551 Dometic ,working much better .insulating the refrigerator cavity was the most important . Moving thermistor, adding fans she is working a lot better, even in high 100+ outside temps . Have had issues with their door plastic , it is cheap . My comparison is with 2 much older Dometics that worked a little better and didn't fall apart Old Dometics from 70's and 90's
Anyway always looking for a better refrigerator . Don't trust the one we have and don't see it will last as the older Dometics did .
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Old 12-19-2018, 12:03 PM   #128
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Lance Trailers have their own issues, I had 2 of them, both new. My 1880 had roof bubbles and leaks and my 1575 had slide issues. Nice windows but that is about it.
Jim sorry you got a lemon trailers . Not a fan ever of slides . Lance is manufactured here in California close by . A top manufacturer of campers and now doing trailers again . Was looking to buy their camper in the 60's . But because of price went with a less expensive camper .
I don't think at what price point you buy you will have no issues . It is just the way it is. Maybe a few less problems if you can manufacture in house a lot of what you need . Otherwise you are relying on others products and their reliability . Pat
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Old 12-19-2018, 08:57 PM   #129
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I know that our experience with a very old Terry trailer with very old furnace and refrigerator led us to the belief those appliances lasted a very long time. That just doesn't seem true any longer and even if we are willing to spend a lot of money - I am not sure there are options out there. If so, some really good trailer people don't know what they are. I would expect someone will see a really good opportunity to manufacture high quality and we'll get better options. Not fun to have an appliance go out on a trip.
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Old 12-19-2018, 09:49 PM   #130
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The Dometic fridge in my 2017 Escape works fine. It's a little bigger version of the Dometic fridge that my 2013 Casita came with and it worked fine. Installed correctly and without goofy things like a "Texas fan", they rarely have problems.

What kind of problems have I had? Mud daubers for one. It took me a while to clean the mud out of the propane burners but now I have screens on everything. Not really a Dometic bad engineering example but they could have made it a little more resistant to bugs.

I have re-enforcement plates on the hinges that seem to want to crack if you put too much stuff in the door. http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f9...inge-8297.html Dometic could have built them a little better but 5 minutes and a screwdriver makes them bulletproof.

As far as keeping the ice cold, I have no complaints. I made the mistake of traveling in southern Arizona in the summer and the fridge did well in over 113 deg weather - better than I did.

On the Atwood furnace, I haven't had any problems with it so far - time will tell. But the suggestion to replace it with a Suburban is asinine. I had one in the Casita and was tickled to see that Escape didn't come with one. The Suburban furnace was LOUD and cycled between too cold and way too hot when running. The fact that it was WAY oversized for the trailer was probably the reason - Suburban doesn't make one small enough for our trailers.

To cut this short - I like the choices Escape made for appliances. They work and if / when they wear out, they aren't expensive to replace.
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Old 12-19-2018, 10:43 PM   #131
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Why do people assume you pack your refrigerator door with stuff and then it breaks ? Would not be smart because stuff in your door will not be cold . Come to think of it the compressor refrigerator at home , things you want cold not in the door . So not much on the door shelf . Pat
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Old 12-19-2018, 10:59 PM   #132
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Why do people assume you pack your refrigerator door with stuff and then it breaks ? Would not be smart because stuff in your door will not be cold . Come to think of it the compressor refrigerator at home , things you want cold not in the door . So not much on the door shelf . Pat
You are so right! But I'm not the one that puts jars and bottles in the door - it's easier to make the door heavier duty than it is to convince her to stop doing it. "Why are they the right size for jars if your not suppose to use them?"
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Old 12-19-2018, 11:31 PM   #133
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And, how about "the door is not going to close itself"? You have to press it closed.
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Old 12-20-2018, 12:05 AM   #134
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Buy a Ford and you get Ford quality parts. Dometic caters to the ‘Ford’ part of the trailer market. Others serve the Mercedes market.
I know it's just anecdotal, but I've owned one Mercedes and more than one Ford. The Fords were reliable and cheap to repair. The Mercedes was less so, and the repair costs were astronomical. Maybe consider another analogy.
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Old 12-20-2018, 01:05 AM   #135
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And, how about "the door is not going to close itself"? You have to press it closed.
Glenn our refrigerator door lock has been on since pickup in Nov 2013. Not hard and makes sense to press lock off . This model is not very sturdy in many ways . Pat
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Old 12-20-2018, 01:09 AM   #136
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You are so right! But I'm not the one that puts jars and bottles in the door - it's easier to make the door heavier duty than it is to convince her to stop doing it. "Why are they the right size for jars if your not suppose to use them?"
No weight in our door . No bottles or jars . The door on this model is just cheap . Have added screws to hold it ,besides all the other reworks . A lot of money for this Dometic . I don't even think they make it anymore , series 8 . Pat
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Old 12-20-2018, 02:19 AM   #137
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Glenn our refrigerator door lock has been on since pickup in Nov 2013. Not hard and makes sense to press lock off . This model is not very sturdy in many ways . Pat

I don't have a lock. What I have to remind my wife is that the fridge in the trailer is not like the fridge at home.
Gravity won't close the door. You have to press on the door to get it to close securely. You can lose a lot of cold through a 1/16 inch gap around three sides of the door.
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Old 12-20-2018, 05:44 AM   #138
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Common sense at home and on the road....!
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Old 12-20-2018, 11:13 AM   #139
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I don't have a lock. What I have to remind my wife is that the fridge in the trailer is not like the fridge at home.
Gravity won't close the door. You have to press on the door to get it to close securely. You can lose a lot of cold through a 1/16 inch gap around three sides of the door.
At least our model can have lock on to hold door closed , one good thing about this refrigerator.now it the door wouldn't fall apart . Pat
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Old 12-22-2018, 05:08 PM   #140
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another reason to install an electric wall heater, in case of propane failure you will have heat as long as there are hookups, which you should have in winter camping.
Or a mini-split heat pump
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