I am buying an old (1985) Coachmen Class C. It is in very good condition and everything works except the refrigerator. The owner said that the dealer told her that it needed a cooling unit. She said the part was about $400 and labor would be about the same.
Is this repair something I can do myself? I am OK mechanically, I do my own brake jobs and maintenance on my cars.
Am I better off replacing the fridge? Again, would this be something I can do myself?
Thanks in advance.
- Hal
1987 Shasta 190-MB Fiver (now)
2 PUPs, 3 TT's, 1 HTT, and 2 class Cs in the past
DW, 5 Boys (3 in college, 1 in the US Army, 1 in the US Navy)
Dory, Deuce (Cocker Spaniels) & Bruiser (Boxer)
I replaced the Cooling unit in my old trailer (Dometic RM4311). It is not hard to do and clear instructions make a big difference.
One thing that might be a problem is the refer may be to wide to take out of the RV (Wider than the door opening) door opening w/o removing the door frame etc.. What I did was put several partial sheets of 1/4" plywood on top of the bed, then a drop cloth or 2 and lay the refer face down on the bed to do all of the work inside the trailer (It was summer time and running the A/C was a good deal to stay cool).
Cost of cooling unit about 1/3 of cost of new unit. My labor was free. After all said and done, the unit cooled better than the day we bought the trailer (Used). worked fine for the 4 years we kept it after the repair.
Check all of the coponents of the refer (burner, electronics, door & seal, inside plastic walls, racks etc.) to make sure that the basic structure is sound and not needing more work and money. If the box is sound except a bad cooling unit, then it is well worth the effort to fix.
Other option is buying a complete USED refer from a salvage yard such as RV salvage yard
If you don't plan to boondock then consider replacing the RV fridge with a domestic, home, type unit. Lots of advantages, like quicker cooldown, can actual leave the door open for more than a second, freezes better, etc. Disadvantage ... won't run on 12 volts or gas.
You will find that there are several mobile home type units that will fit almost exactly in place of the existing unit .. GE makes a good one
Ed
Andrea
Teddy (black Shih Tzu)
Nickie (Apple head Chihuahua)
2005 31' R-Vision Trail-Lite Class C
2005 Ford Escape
Thanks to all for your replies, I have some things to think about. I'm picking up the RV on Saturday weather permitting, so I'll look at it closely soon thereafter.
I am considering replacing the unit with a residential type model, but I like the ability to run it on propane. I always ran the fridge in my previous RVs while underway so I need to consider that carefully.
I was unwilling to commit to 120VAC operation only. We had a Dometic RM763 in the '84 Holiday noted below. That's a six-cubic foot box. We had enough trouble with it that I decided to go new. Was able to install an eight-cubic foot RM2852 Americana Series with only minor changes in the cabinetry. A new 8 isn't that much more than a new 6 so we got an upgrade as well as much better performance. I measured door and interior cabinet clearances. The old box came out easily, but doors and hinges had to come off the new one.
You CAN get a cooling unit. Check eBay. Several rebuilders use eB as their storefront, and some of them were reasonable in price.
I don't think I'd pay labor for a cooling unit installation. Either get a cooling unit and provide your own labor, or buy a new unit and install it yourself. Unit plus labor is just too close to new.
I wasn't willing to give up LP operation even though we don't generally boondock.
God Bless, jd
2003 Jayco Escapade 31A on 2002 Ford E450 V10 4R100
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