NorCold Fridge - How Sensitive to Being Unlevel?

My personal opinion/experience: As long as you feel comfortable sleeping in your camper, you should be fine.

The manual for your refrigerator will give more information. I googled and randomly came up with this quote from the manual for their NX6/8 models:
"The refrigerator is made to operate within 3° off level side-to-side and 6° off level front-to-back (as looking at the front of the refrigerator). Operating it at more than these limits can cause damage to the cooling system and create a risk of personal injury or property damage. Make sure the vehicle is level before you operate the refrigerator".

We use the built in level in our smartphone for leveling, btw.

Additional info: The cooler unit in the back with the sloped piping needs to be fairly level looking from the refrigerator door to keep the gravity flow running. In the other direction, it is more tolerant (looking from the refrigerator side). The way most fridges are installed that means the vehicle needs to be fairly level front to back, more so than side to side.

If parked for a short while, for shopping etc., it doesn't really matter. Over night, I am less tolerant than my frigde. So is the shower drain.

Years ago I asked about leveling my camper on this forum, and the advice that I was given that I always pass on is to level your STOVE top. So when you cook eggs and stuff it is not going to one side of the pan.

If your stove is level, everything else should be fine, including level beds (I hate sleeping unlevel).

If your frig has level problems when your stove is level, then your camper has some serious frame / build problems!

I put two of those inexpensive stick on levels on the front corner of the camper when we bought it, I can see them while unhooking and using the tongue jack. I don't think I had a smart phone back then!

Go to, ARPRV.com and your concerns will be addressed.

Running an RV fridge off level is signing a slow death warrant on that refer unit and changing the unit can be a pain and costly..Do not rum your RV refrigerator off level when stationary..

One of the horrors of buying used is the RV fridge and did they know what there doing or did they run the fridge off level giving it a slow death,but it still works..

Here is just one of many links to a Norcold refer with issues after not being level when it was in use..

Norcold issues off level

Last time my fridge stop working becouse of tilt was when fridge had piezo-electric igniter and could run without 12V supplied. Guess what years that was?
Anyway, my experience is that fridge will WORK even with big tilt when thermostat calls for max output.
Once it cycles off on cold night, it will not start working again till you level it and even then you might have to shut it off for few hr fot the ammonia to drain down. So if you park for the night at tilt, set thermostat to lowest temperature.
I never experienced when operating fridge at tilt will shorten its life. Sold my conversion with fridge being about 25 years old and still working perfectly.

most all cooling units are built the same.

3 degrees front to back
6 degrees side to side is a number I have heard, though 6 sounds way to far off level for me. I keep it under 3.

Look at the "coil" pipes on the back of the fridge. This is where the issue lies.

There are chemicals that need to circulate through the pipes. When you drive the chemicals get sloshed around so no worry, but parked another matter.

The liquid needs to be able to flow back down this slightly sloped coil without getting stuck. if you parked on a slope and the coil now slopes up in one direction then it cannot flow. When the liquid gets stuck in the coils then the other chemical will burn or harden in the big chamber (where the flame is) and turn to a concrete-like substance. It does this slowly, Many fridges probably have some "coking" already in the chamber. Get enough and it will not cool anymore.

New cooling units are at least $600 and you still have to install.

For some model fridges there are electric conversions. Before you roll eyes, this is not like the cheap dorm style fridges you see on a used camper someone is trying to sell quick. These use a Danfoss compressor that runs off DC power (or AC) and only sip electricity. They can run off you car battery all day and still leave enough power to crank the motor. These compressors can run at 30 degrees off level. Combine with solar and a couple of batteries and you never have to refuel propane.

I found my last cooling unit for less than $500 and had to install it which was a real pain compared to other RV repairs..Keep your RV fridge level and never worry,it's that simple..

While the Danfross is a good compressor,I think the Engel version is much better and wish they made RV refer units..I have an Engel fridge/freezer and it is so good on power it is almost unbelievable for it's lack of battery drain..

Engel Compressor
One of the keys to the success of Engel portable fridges is their exceptional compressor, which guarantees excellent performance and great durability. The swing arm fridge compressor is unique in its category and is considered to be the most reliable in the world.

The internationally patented swing compressor was developed more than 55 years ago and its secret lies partly in its simplicity. The Sawafuji Swing motor is a reciprocating compressor which has only one moving part that self-lubricates, so no maintenance is needed and the risk of failure is minimal.

Additionally, these fridge compressors do not need much energy to work, since the piston moves slowly at first and then it increases the distance it moves until it reaches a full stroke. These portable fridge freezers work even at 60 degrees angles and on bumpy roads without losing efficiency, so they are ideal for any outdoor activities.

Thanks to the swing arm compressor and to the continued efforts to improve and innovate, Engel currently offers a wide range of portable fridges that stand out for their lightness, their efficiency and their low energy consumption. In combination with the excellent insulation and the hermetic closing, these portable freezers and fridges guarantee an optimal performance. You will be able to take them anywhere knowing that your portable fridge and freezer is heavy duty and absolutely reliable.

Thanks for the great replies. We had a Dometic fridge fail on a large Forrest River Class C we owned. It was covered under the extended warranty, no questions asked, but would have cost $4000 otherwise. Apparently installation was quite involved with that motorhome, and required removal of the large rear window, so the fridge could be exchanged through the window. It didn't fit through the door. The street in front of our house had a slight slope to it (guessing about ~3 degrees), and I wondered if using the fridge while the motorhome was parked in front of our house contributed to the fridge failing after 3 years of use.

Anyway, we now have the Wolf Creek 840. It is brand new, and has never had the fridge used. Last night I spent some extra time with leveling blocks placed under the tires, and used a level to make sure my truck/camper were level before starting the fridge. It looks like I will need to buy the stick on level gauges to put on the camper, and continue to do that.

Thanks again.

Taken directly from a Norcold manual: " The refrigerator is made to operate within 3° off level side-to-side and 6° off level front-to-back (as looking at the front of the refrigerator). Operating it at more than these limits can cause damage to the cooling system and create a risk of personal injury or property damage. Make sure the vehicle is level before you operate the refrigerator. "

NOTE: That specification is degrees, Not inches.

Interestingly, Using Trigonometry's Tangent function I calculated the front to back height difference that would meet the 3 degree refrigerator side to side maximum tilt off level for my 24' motorhome and it resulted that one end can be 15" higher than the other end and still allow refrigerator safe operation.