Stan47
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Re: New Dometic Recall Initiated March 11, 2008
JRK--I hope Tim will jump in here with something definitive, but my suspicion is that when the metal shield was installed, it created an electrical short in the sensor/control board. Have you approached the repair shop that installed the shield? You may have better luck getting them to fix what they messed up. Meanwhile, I woud try removing the shield to see whether the fridge still works. If they did something that destroyed the control board, somebody owes you a new control board.599Views0likes0CommentsRe: New Dometic Recall Initiated March 11, 2008
TYSPapa - Don't hold your breath waiting for Dometic to reimburse you peripheral costs, or to extend the warranty. I am still waiting for a reply from them re my inquiry about travel costs. In the meantime, I have more present worries. Had a spring bar come loose and get turned around. It took a mile to get stopped, as we were on a bridge. I ground off about half the trunnion on the bar, and need to get something brazed on to it before we can contine. Luckily, we landed right at a great park right on the shore of the Missouri River.596Views0likes0CommentsRe: New Dometic Recall Initiated March 11, 2008
Absolutely right. When Sunline went out of business everyone who owned some other brand said it was because their product was too expensive. Never mind whether it was better built. We've had our Sunline TT for 4-1/2 years now, and there have been no problems attributable to the way it was designed and assembled. Components? Different story. Damage by a clumsy driver? Likewise. Although as I'd mentioned here, I am disappointed that the paint on the frame and A-frame has not been so durable. But that seems to be universal. I would be willing to pay the extra cost of an under-frame that had been properly prepped, primered and coated with a durable epoxy enamel. No one offers that choice.596Views0likes0CommentsRe: New Dometic Recall Initiated March 11, 2008
I have no direct experience with Airstream's products, but you never seem to hear complaints about them. Do you suppose they use different components altogether? With furniture, as far as I know Flexsteel is the only OEM. There are a few choices of manufacturers of furnaces, air conditioners, ranges, a/c converters, plumbing fixtures, even slide-room mechanisms. But relatively fewer in the realm of water heaters, water pumps, etcetera. And in refrigerators it's Dometic, Norcold, or an ice chest. Every TT I have owned has had grossly inadequate paint on its frame, as though that doesn't matter. All the water pumps have been monstrosities that make too much noise. I notice that you can buy upgraded pumps that are quieter--why not just install them in the first place? Windows and doors? Don't get me started. And my real pet peeve is that every manufacturer will sell you their biggest, glitziest travel trailer equipped with nothing more than a hand-cranked tongue jack. The electric ones are very reliable, and not all that expensive.596Views0likes0CommentsRe: New Dometic Recall Initiated March 11, 2008
Phantom59 wrote: ....one of the main problems in the fact that the person building or installing this equipment doesn't have to service it. ... But in the RV industry the cheapest product and the quickest and easiest way is the way of choice and to heck with the poor slob that has to live with it or service it. This is true to an extent in the automobile industry. Time was, you could repair things on a car or truck. Now, about all you can do is replace expensive "modules." The main brake lights went out on my Suburban, and I quickly traced the problem to the turn signal switch, since the center high-mounted light still worked. (The turn sig switch is the only place that could possibly happen.) There's nothing to be done except replace the "multi-function switch," a $400 part. And for anyone but a mechanic with the factory training, pulling a steering wheel that has an air bag would be suicidal. Add to the parts cost two hours' labor, which at the local dealers amounts to $300. And the 'burb is one of the better vehicles out there! If I had the time, space and energy to devote to another RV, it would be a bus conversion. At least you'd be starting with a sturdy platform, where the drive train was not being stretched to its limits. And you'd have the choice of equipping it with stuff that actually worked, and stayed in working order. I look at the sofa/gaucho in my TT, or the swivel rocker, and they are just cheesey. The rocker pokes you in the ass when you sit in it, because the springs aren't designed right, and about the second trip out, it started making a threatening boing whenever you sat down. Four years later, I'm expecting it to disintegrate without warning, and the replacement will cost more than a decent quality piece of home furniture. :M :M :M :M :M597Views0likes0CommentsRe: New Dometic Recall Initiated March 11, 2008
A couple of comments that I can't resist making: 1. Replacing the cooling unit is always a good option, provided everything else is OK. My sister had some trouble with a door seal, on a fridge for which the replacement part was unavailable. The only choice was replacing the whole reefer. On the other hand, we'd had a cooling unit failure on a Starcraft that we'd bought used, and it was possible to replace just the guts. 2. Norcold is having its own problems. 3. As far as the Katrina business is concerned, I think the formaldehye contamination business is over-stated. We've all used RVs with paneling that had formaldehyde, and except for people with a particular sensitivity, there haven't been problems. Before EPA goes mucking around setting limits, someone ought to be conducting an epidemiological survey or RVers, to see whether we have a greater incidence of cancers or endocrine problems. As far as I can see, nobody has proven satisfactorily that there's actually a problem. But where the bidding on the FEMA trailers is concerned, if there'd been a formaldehyde requirement, all bidders would have been required to meet it, thus nobody would have been out of the running. FEMA has made numerous mistakes in the temporary housing business, but that's not one of them. 4. BTW, don't park homes and other manufactured housing use the same materials? Nobody talks about formaldehyde levels there. 5. Finally, the RV industry is rife with claims that such-and-such a component, or brand of RV is "made by the Amish." This is not only silly, but plays to a weird kind of religious prejudice. Suppose someone advertised that their stuff was built by Mormons, or Lubavitcher Jews? People would have a fit. The moment I read of someone making this "Amish" claim, I start to shop elsewhere.458Views0likes0CommentsRe: New Dometic Recall Initiated March 11, 2008
Here's the email I just sent to Dometic's "contact us" address. I will pass along any reply that I happen to receive. Having received the recall notice on my model RM2852 refrigerator, I took it to an authorized dealer and had the remedial work performed. This leaves me with several questions: 1. Does Dometic plan to reimburse affected customers the costs involved with this recall work? In my case, I am out more than $32 in fuel and tolls for the trip to the dealer, plus the better part of two days' work. 2. The recall notice states that "a fatigue crack may develop in the boiler tube..." I interpret that to mean that the refrigerator may fail prematurely. Does Dometic plan to extend warranty coverage, or at least offer partial reimbursement for refrigerators that fail prematurely? My experience with two previous trailers is that a refrigerator lasts well in excess of ten years. 3. What is the probability that, should I decide to replace this refrigerator prior to its failure, the replacement Dometic model will have a similar reliability problem? Specifically, what has the company done to change the design so fatigue cracks are less likely to occur? 4. A MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for anyhdrous ammonia (presumably used as the refrigerant) states that exposure causes potential health risks, as well as potential chemical reactivity problems. (See http://www.airgasspecialtyproducts.com/UserDyn/laroche/4001msds-r-07-18-2008.pdf). The recall notice should, at the very least, provide this information. Nowhere does the notice mention that in the event of a refrigerant leak, it may not be safe to occupy the RV in which it is installed.457Views0likes0CommentsRe: New Dometic Recall Initiated March 11, 2008
squaredancer wrote: I live in SoCal, Orange County and use a mobile repair service. Beats going to the dealer who is 15 miles and a lot of stop and go traffic away. It took him about 20 minutes to install and it cost me $ 50.0. To me it's well worth it. The drive to and from the repair shop cost me at least $32 in fuel and tolls, and wasted the better part of two days. Fifty bucks for service on-the-spot would have been a bargain.457Views0likes0CommentsRe: New Dometic Recall Initiated March 11, 2008
Sage, you can find coolant sniffers at places that sell HVAC instruments, such as W.W. Grainger. Whether it's financially practical to own one is another question, and I don't think it would be useful unless you established a fairly rigid schedule of inspection. As to the non-inclusion of your reefer, my experience has been that recalls or defects are associated with some change either in design or production/fabrication. For example, the risky units could have resulted from some poorly thought-out change in the assembly instructions that workers use on the production floor. In which case, the company's engineering department would know when the faulty instructions were put into effect, and when the error was discovered and corrected. I spent more than ten years in quality-assurance and reliability engineering, and it's been my experience that sometimes the most innocuous omission from an instruction sheet mushrooms into a big problem. We had one run of stuff where a particular electric connector seemed especially prone to shorting-out. After a lot of destructive testing, we learned that the assemblers were leaving one of the internal wires too long. More specifically, they were stripping off more insulation than they should have been. We learned that their assembly instructions said to "strip at least 0.5 inch of insulation," but did not specify a maximum. So in the interest of working a little faster, the assemblers were just eyeballing it, sometimes leaving the exposed wire twice as long as it should have been. We corrected the instructions and created a comparative gauge for use on the assembly bench. This stuff is not really rocket science, but it does involve using SOME of your brain cells. That's why so many of us are wondering whether Dometic will leave us twisting in the wind if these units fail, just because they've covered their butt on the liability for fire. As for class action, as I understand the process an individual (known as the "lead plaintiff") files a lawsuit, and asks the court to certify it as a class action. Someone has to be willing to spend the time and up-front money to do that. Such an action is beyond my financial means, but I'd urge anyone to try it. There must be some RV-owning lawyer out there who could file, and cover some of his own costs. Life would be far simpler if there were an advocacy group for RV owners, but as I've said, Good Sam is not an advocacy group, having financial ties to Camping World and countless other places. Perhaps the Escapees are the right organization.457Views0likes0CommentsRe: New Dometic Recall Initiated March 11, 2008
Robert, if it were limited to Dometic--or even Dometic and one or two other parts suppliers--I wouldn't be so outraged. I'm of the opinion that there is so much collusion among RV manufacturers, component suppliers, and the RV publishing industry that there is little hope of change. Consider the fact that just about every RV publication except Gypsy Journal is controlled by the same financial interests, which also happen to control Good Sam and Camping World. As much as I am loathe to sick the government on anyone, I think the entire industry bears investigating under the anti-trust laws.508Views0likes0Comments
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