Norcold, Just got the bad news

We had our 11 year-old, Swedish-made Dometic replaced. The repair shop said that the price would be within $300 between replacing the cooling unit and installing a new fridge. It was only last season when we had it done and the whole job was $1800.We considered that a new CU with 11-year old everything else wasn't a very bight idea. With more effective insulation, the inside volume of the new one is about 15% (guess) more that the old one and it fits in the same cabinetry. The new one has adjustable temperature settings, whereas the old one didn't.

They were able to take the fridges in an out through the house door without having to remove any furniture.

Since we'll probably be selling the rig at the end of this season due to cost considerations on a limited budget, we didn't think a residential unit was a particularly good idea.

Hope it works out for you, but there is no way I would put one back in my coach.
JR

SPRING STREET wrote:
OP here, The verdict is in! Have decided to take the RV to National RV Refrigeration in Shipshewana In. For the Amish cooling unit. Had checked out putting a residential unit in but did not work in my case. Want to thank all for the comments and ideas from those of you that have had the same experience ! My appointment is this coming Tuesday and I will report back when the work is done thanks to all !!

Update !!! Upon talking with Leon at National RV Refrigeration I decided to go with a rebuilt Norcold, I know there will be some naysayers on this decision but they are rebuilt differently than the original. and have a 3 yr. warranty just like the Amish unit. Also I had a Temp. sensor installed that will shut the system down if it reaches a certain temp., and will come back on by itself without having to reset the
board. Walked out for under a $1,000 and unit is working great! I highly recommend this company ! Oh and it took a little over 2 hours hours for the switch out !

OP here, The verdict is in! Have decided to take the RV to National RV Refrigeration in Shipshewana In. For the Amish cooling unit. Had checked out putting a residential unit in but did not work in my case. Want to thank all for the comments and ideas from those of you that have had the same experience ! My appointment is this coming Tuesday and I will report back when the work is done thanks to all !!

OhhWell wrote:
Yeah, 6 hours is a bit much but some places have a standard quote for a service like that. They just tell you it is a 6 hour labor rate job. I often wonder if it somehow did go over 6 hours if they would keep the price the same but the realist in me would have to assume that they want to have it both ways.

Good point. Got a quote from a Chevy dealership to do some work on a Blazer I used to have. Was told they charged it as a four hour job since the service guide they went by said it called for dropping the dash and this and that. Their tech, though, knew some other way to do it in two hours, but they still charged it out as four hours of shop rate.

Nice that they were up front about it, but I didn't have the work done there.

Hopefully they don't make people stand around the waiting room for the two extra hours.

Anyway, sorry to hi-jack the thread like that. Hope the OP stops back and lets us know what he decided to do about his fridge.

GMandJM wrote:

OhhWell wrote:

conmoto wrote:
On my drivers side window you use a drill and remove the screws and press the window out. It is not that big of a deal! We had our refer installed through that window without removing any seats and using a forklift and a couple bodies it went right in and that IS the truth. I saw it happen.

So you paid for someone else to do it? At that point, what relevance is anything to do with the install besides how much it costs. I don't have a forklift in my garage and I doubt many others do either. Thanks for adding miss-information to the thread.

Not to say that 10 minutes is not an understatement - just noted that 6 hours seems a bit much. Saw a refer swapped out through a window last week. It didnt take nearly that long, start to finish. It took two techs and no seats had to be removed.

Yeah, 6 hours is a bit much but some places have a standard quote for a service like that. They just tell you it is a 6 hour labor rate job. I often wonder if it somehow did go over 6 hours if they would keep the price the same but the realist in me would have to assume that they want to have it both ways.

OhhWell wrote:

conmoto wrote:
On my drivers side window you use a drill and remove the screws and press the window out. It is not that big of a deal! We had our refer installed through that window without removing any seats and using a forklift and a couple bodies it went right in and that IS the truth. I saw it happen.

So you paid for someone else to do it? At that point, what relevance is anything to do with the install besides how much it costs. I don't have a forklift in my garage and I doubt many others do either. Thanks for adding miss-information to the thread.

Not to say that 10 minutes is not an understatement - just noted that 6 hours seems a bit much. Saw a refer swapped out through a window last week. It didnt take nearly that long, start to finish. It took two techs and no seats had to be removed.

OhhWell wrote:

conmoto wrote:
On my drivers side window you use a drill and remove the screws and press the window out. It is not that big of a deal! We had our refer installed through that window without removing any seats and using a forklift and a couple bodies it went right in and that IS the truth. I saw it happen.

So you paid for someone else to do it? At that point, what relevance is anything to do with the install besides how much it costs. I don't have a forklift in my garage and I doubt many others do either. Thanks for adding miss-information to the thread.

It is ALWAYS easier when someone else does it and you watch. Kind of like those DIY shows on cable. They completely remodel a room or kitchen in a few days and they have NO experience, but it all gets done in 30 minutes or an hour:B I did NOT say it could not be done, but what he posted is extremely rare and I would NEVER attempt what he did without pulling the drivers chair. Better safe than sorry before damaging a chair. You remove the window screws, yes, that is easy, but THEN you must remove the existing sealant/gaskets, clean it and install new gaskets or putty tape and reinstall and then seal the window. Does NOT take 10 minutes. But in 10 minutes you can do it WRONG. Doug

Who on the west coast does this?

conmoto wrote:
On my drivers side window you use a drill and remove the screws and press the window out. It is not that big of a deal! We had our refer installed through that window without removing any seats and using a forklift and a couple bodies it went right in and that IS the truth. I saw it happen.

So you paid for someone else to do it? At that point, what relevance is anything to do with the install besides how much it costs. I don't have a forklift in my garage and I doubt many others do either. Thanks for adding miss-information to the thread.