Norcold Fridge Door Reinforcement Brackets Installed
With all the past discussions over Norcold fridge doors breaking, I thought I would be proactive and buy two complete reinforcement sets and install them on my fridge and freezer doors. I bought them on Ebay HERE, the seller accepting my offer of $49 for both sets with free shipping.
I understand the most vulnerable is the heavy fridge door and it needs only the bottom bracket. But I installed both top & bottom brackets on both doors since they all fit fine. Who knows, maybe the upper reinforcement will do some good on a bumpy trip to Alaska some day.
The large thick washer that came with the kit fit very sloppy with the inside diameter way too large for for proper self-centering. It also protruded far beyond the rest of the hinge, not a nice look at all. I decided to replace it with two smaller and thinner stainless steel washers, placing one at each hinge to assure there is no binding in what I believe was the intent by Norcold. When I first installed the original washer at the bottom, the top hinge with reinforcement did bind some. I will keep an eye on them to make sure the smaller outside diameter washers do the job well. If not, I will replace them with larger but still thinner washers.
The project was fast and easy, took all of about 20 minutes for both doors. Now I'll rest easy, not worrying about them any longer. The reinforcements look nice and I understand the benefit to having them. I wonder why Norcold is not installing the reinforcements on all fridges sold today. Maybe newer models have them or something equivalent that is better integrated. You new rig owners would know for sure. Our rig and fridge is 8 years old now.
For those who wonder what the reinforcements are, here is what they look like, big pictures to see better detail.
Note how huge the original washers are.
Here you can see both top and bottom reinforcements and the thinner & smaller diameter stainless steel washers.
I understand the most vulnerable is the heavy fridge door and it needs only the bottom bracket. But I installed both top & bottom brackets on both doors since they all fit fine. Who knows, maybe the upper reinforcement will do some good on a bumpy trip to Alaska some day.
The large thick washer that came with the kit fit very sloppy with the inside diameter way too large for for proper self-centering. It also protruded far beyond the rest of the hinge, not a nice look at all. I decided to replace it with two smaller and thinner stainless steel washers, placing one at each hinge to assure there is no binding in what I believe was the intent by Norcold. When I first installed the original washer at the bottom, the top hinge with reinforcement did bind some. I will keep an eye on them to make sure the smaller outside diameter washers do the job well. If not, I will replace them with larger but still thinner washers.
The project was fast and easy, took all of about 20 minutes for both doors. Now I'll rest easy, not worrying about them any longer. The reinforcements look nice and I understand the benefit to having them. I wonder why Norcold is not installing the reinforcements on all fridges sold today. Maybe newer models have them or something equivalent that is better integrated. You new rig owners would know for sure. Our rig and fridge is 8 years old now.
For those who wonder what the reinforcements are, here is what they look like, big pictures to see better detail.
Note how huge the original washers are.
Here you can see both top and bottom reinforcements and the thinner & smaller diameter stainless steel washers.
