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Lindawood's avatar
Lindawood
Explorer
Sep 20, 2014

Refrigerator in 2014 Palomino tent trailer is hotwired

We purchased a new 2014 Palomino 8B Pop-up at a dealer in El Cajon, CA this month. It's our first tent trailer. We've been spending the last couple of weeks getting to know the unit and doing some "fine-tuning"- replacing rusted bolts, screws, sanitizing water tank, sealing seams, etc.

The trailer's battery was consistently dead and after some sleuthing we discovered that the cause was the fridge. The only way the refrigerator (Koolatron KCR-40) can be turned off is by unscrewing the wood cabinet frame installed around it, pulling out the fridge and unplugging it. This is not a convenient option!

We will need to bring the trailer back to the dealer to have some sort of an "on-off" switch for the fridge installed.

Any ideas about the logic behind Palomino's decision to use this particular model fridge?

Thanks-
Linda
Folding Trailers

26 Replies

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  • Old-Biscuit's avatar
    Old-Biscuit
    Explorer III
    Sep 20, 2014
    Did you buy sight unseen?

    Did you do a 'delivery inspection'?

    Did Palomino hide the features of that model?

    It is a basic entry level pop-up.........no fancy bells & whistles included.
    Maybe you should have gotten one with the optional Dometic Fridge
  • Lindawood's avatar
    Lindawood
    Explorer
    Sep 20, 2014
    sh410, yes - we saw that also! Not intended for built-in purposes. The dealer claims that Palomino received an "audit" that states the enclosed installation of the Koolatron KCR-40 in the 8B was safe and acceptable.

    We are still concerned about safety issues.
  • sh410's avatar
    sh410
    Explorer
    Sep 20, 2014
    The installation instructions state on the first line:

    "This appliance is designed to be free standing only and should not be recessed or built-in."

    I wonder what Palomino was thinking.
  • Lindawood's avatar
    Lindawood
    Explorer
    Sep 20, 2014
    Dakota98, you are probably correct in your observation.

    Cutting corners, installing an appliance that is just plain the wrong kind for a pop-up only to increase profits by how much? $100? Short-term gain for them, for sure.

    However Palomino is the loser in the long-term. When and if the time comes for us to trade up, Palomino has lost us as a potential customer. Word of mouth, reputation is everything.
  • Dakota98's avatar
    Dakota98
    Explorer
    Sep 20, 2014
    "Any ideas about the logic behind Palomino's decision to use this particular model fridge?"

    There is none, with exception that the manufacturer is keeping cost down in an entry level RV & many folks that purchase a Pop-Up as their first RV are not aware in the beginning of the many variables concerning camping, etc.

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