Fridge in 1994 Mallard

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campergirl

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 16, 2011
Posts
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Location
North-Central BC
Hi everyone,

I'm in the process of figuring out if I want to renovate my 1994 Mallard or sell it and get something newer. This is certainly not a DIY, I know nothing about cutting a straight line let alone ripping apart a trailer  :-\

So, I asked my RV service guy for some quotes yesterday for the things I'd like to update, and while I was at it, I thought I'd ask him about my fridge. It seems that if the trailer is not perfectly, exactly, absolutely level, the fridge doesn't cool properly. I asked him if there was any way to get a fridge that had more tolerance, and he replied that it really shouldn't be behaving that way, that 1990's fridges were designed with a 3 degree tolerance for level side to side, and 6 degrees front to back.

Ok, first, by 3 degrees, what exactly does that mean? Does that mean 3 numbers on my level? That's quite a spread -- the amount of slope on my driveway. Or something else? A new fridge is way beyond what I wanted to spend.  :-\ He said he'd have to look at it to know if it could be fixed, of course. While it would be feasible to use it as is, it does cause me a lot of stress wondering during each trip if it's going to get cold enough to keep the food. And that might determine whether I fix or sell.

Thanks for any advice!

Kathy
 
If you don't do a lot of boondocking, you can slip a small house type in place of the 3 degree /6 degree "tolerance"
 
Kathy, I can't tell you whether or not the 3 degree statement is fact or not, but 3 degrees would  mean slope. If you set a protractor on a level surface, then looked at the amount of slope between the 0 point and the 3 degree point on the radius, that would be a 3 degree slope. The crowns in most roads (from center line to edge of road) are usually around 2 degrees.
 
Waterdog, thanks, that's what I needed to know. I suspect I have a fridge issue, then. It should tolerate more than it does, especially on the 6 degree front to back side. That is significant variation; mine doesn't tolerate any.

Ernie, we only camp with services maybe once a year, twice at most as a special treat. Usually we camp at the forest service rec sites, or a nearby unserviced campground. So, sadly, nothing that relies on electricity will work. Good thought, though.

Thanks, guys!

It doesn't make the decision any easier. It'll be well into March before I can get it in for service with all of this snow, so hard to tell if it needs to be replaced or just fixed. But thankfully my other modifications will be waaaay less expensive than I'd anticipated.
 
3 degrees is actually fairly steep. It amounts to something like 6" over a 10 foot length or 1.5 ft over 30 ft, which would be extremely uncomfortable if your RV were parked with one end that much higher than the other.  If your fridge won't tolerate a tilt that is reasonably comfortable for you to live in, then something is seriously wrong with it. Unfortunately, if its the cooling unit rather than a mechanical or propane problem of some sort, it is not repairable,
 
Thanks, Gary. Sigh. Well, I think I'd better start digging it out of the snow and get it in. At least then I'll have a better sense of what I need to do before prices start going up on trailers for sale.  As I said earlier, it is usable, and does a darn fine job when it's perfectly level, it's just getting it to that point that isn't always easy. I do aim for level anyway, simply because it IS more comfortable to be in when it's flat.

Still, it's not cheap to buy a whole new fridge, and at some point, probably sooner rather than later, it will come to that if it is the cooling unit as you suspect.

Hmmmm.
 
Gary RV Roamer said:
3 degrees is actually fairly steep. It amounts to something like 6" over a 10 foot length or 1.5 ft over 30 ft, which would be extremely uncomfortable if your RV were parked with one end that much higher than the other. 
Click to expand...

Exactly right, in the 8' width of a motorhome, 3 degrees would put one side approximately 4 1/2" higher than the other side.
 
I talked with my RV repair guy yesterday, and he mentioned that this kind of complaint is not very common. He said of course he can't tell for sure until he sees it, but it could be an issue with propane flow. He suggested testing it when it's on full power to see if it works then, and if it does, then it's possible that it's not a problem with the fridge itself at all.

I wonder if that might also explain my furnace issue? (Just wondering out loud.) As well, I did notice the last few times we were out last season that it seemed to take longer and longer to get the stove lit when I would first set up camp.

We have had snow non-stop for over 2 weeks now, but I will dig out my trailer in the next week or so and see what I can see.
 
If you suspect propane flow problems, replace the regulator. They are not l expensive and they do wear out and/or get clogged with oils suspended in the propane flowing through them.
 
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