Norcold Cooling Problem Solved (2 issues) - Dutchmen Owners
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×

Go Back   Dutchmen Owners > Dutchmen Brand RVs > General RV Related Discussions
Click Here to Login
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 02-18-2020, 12:55 AM   #1
Senior Member
 
dsol's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Calabasas
Posts: 782
California
Norcold Cooling Problem Solved (2 issues)

So on my last trip to the desert to boondock and ride with my Voltage I once again had terrible luck with fridge. This was so bad I knew I could no longer solve it. In the last I would always plug in my trailer the night before I left and then load cold food into the fridge in the morning before leaving. My dual thermometer would show low single digits in the freezer and just barely above freezing in the fridge.

After returning from riding during the day the freezer was 45 or so and fridge was close to 60. We moved milk any any perishable stuff into the freezer and used an ice chest we had for drinks.

I figured that with overnight temps in the high 40’s we would be fine in the morning but we saw no improvement. I tried electric with the generator running and propane and no help.

As I was debating bringing my trailer into a dealer for what I figured would be a long and costly repair I found a mobile tech on the Norcold website. The tech came out and said there is one big issue he regularly sees in slide out fridges. The cabinet the fridge goes in has way too much open space above the fridge. He says the specs call for like a 1/8 inch clearance and mine had close to a foot. Evidently, hot air gets trapped above the fridge and heats up everything. The fans in the back are helpless to move all that hot air out the top vent. The tech installed a fire proof foam to fill up this gap.

Secondly, I would often hear a buzzing noise coming from the fan. It was not making any noise when the tech got their of course and I told him about it. He more or less dismissed it but then it started. Long story, short he fished out a piece of insulating foil tape that was sucked into one of the fans from the bottom. I was not able to see anything from the top. The tape was long and likely wound up in the fan and not letting it work.

Just boondocked for 4 nights this weekend and other than an initial heat up when we overloaded the fridge with more groceries in the afternoon it was able to cool down and stay cold the entire time. I actually had to lower the temp setting to 6 for the first time because my fridge was below freezing.

Long post—I know but wanted to share with all of you Voltage TH guys and any of you with slide outs about another quality control issue with Dutchmen. I feel bad for blaming Norcold all this time for lousy cooling when both issues were squarely installation related by Dutchmen.

If any of you experience issues like this check the clearance for sure and also listen for strange noises!
__________________

__________________
2018 Voltage 3305
dsol is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2020, 03:53 PM   #2
New Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: Clinton
Posts: 1
North Carolina
Great find. Thanks.
__________________

bnsreynolds is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2020, 02:50 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Beaver Dam
Posts: 883
Wisconsin
Unhappy

I agree! Read the installation manual and don't buy Dutchmen, Keystone, or Voltage.
__________________
Paul Bristol
Dutchman Kodiak Cub KD176RD 2018
Nissan Pathfinder 2015
persistent is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2020, 07:24 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
dsol's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Calabasas
Posts: 782
California
Quote:
Originally Posted by persistent View Post
I agree! Read the installation manual and don't buy Dutchmen, Keystone, or Voltage.


Well I think it’s a little too late on what not to buy because we are all here and own them but at least we can try to figure out where to look and how to fix things that were either designed poorly or just don’t work.

I really thought Norcold built a bad fridge but in hindsight my problems were entirely based on how the until was installed by Dutchmen.
__________________
2018 Voltage 3305
dsol is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Dutchmen RV or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT. The time now is 04:09 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2020 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.
×