Above Photo: I’m Always On the Outside, Looking In

Visiting Jackson, Mississippi, I noticed things were not as cold in the refrigerator or freezer. I did some Internet research and learned about high temp switches installed on Norcold refrigerators. Apparently some Norcold models had a bad habit of bursting into flames, and this recall box shuts the refrigerator off when the boiler gets too hot.

According to many web articles, the switch has been known to trip when there is no overheating. There is a hack for that, which could save the expense of a service call.

I removed the outside panel and located the box. The red light was glowing, indicating it had indeed shut the ‘fridge off. There is no button or exterior toggle to reset it, but it can be internally reset by dragging a magnet across the surface of the box. The trick is to use a strong enough magnet. Grabbing that souvenir from Mount Rushmore probably ain’t gonna cut it.

I use magnets to keep the bedroom television from moving around in transit, “locking” it to a metal plate on the wall. When I put one of them on the box and moved it around for a minute or so, I physically felt the switch and heard a click. The red light was off again. I was so proud of myself. I stayed close by, just in case the box had operated properly. I didn’t want the rig to burn down.

Six hours later, foodstuffs were even warmer. The hack did not work. I called Rob at Magnolia Trailer Pro and began the painful process of throwing away four garbage bags of food, saving some items in two soft-sided picnic style coolers I use for shopping. (When I started out I had a large, hard-sided cooler, but I got rid of it when I realized I had a huge refrigerator and freezer, duh, and the cooler took up way too much space.)

Rob pointed out the tell-tale signs of a cooling unit failure: yellow stains along the bottom of the compartment, indicating leaking ammonia.

A brand new RV refrigerator, which runs on either electricity or propane, was about $4,000, and then there is the issue of getting it in the rig; installs require removal of a slide out, or the windshield. A cooling unit ordered directly from Norcold was $1,400.

Wincing at the thought of spending either amount, I looked around on the Internet for rebuilt cooling units. I spent hours online, looking at sites and reading reviews and Better Business Bureau complaints. Personally, I would avoid the guy in Arkansas. He keeps changing his company name to shake off the negativity, but it’s still the same guy. The guy in Memphis sells reputable, Amish-rebuilt units for $525, but his website was off-putting to me; he discourages telephone calls and wants to communicate by email only, but it was over 24 hours before he returned my email. Meanwhile, what little food I had left was thawing in the shower.

Many people replace their RV refrigerators with a residential model, which is certainly less expensive. That doesn’t work for me, as I like to boondock for days or weeks at a time and not rely on electricity. After speaking to a friend who is an expert in refrigeration, I opted for the new cooling unit from Norcold. It was backordered for two weeks. Growing weary of getting ice at the gas station every day, I bought a little dorm-sized cube refrigerator for 85 bucks at Target. It was just enough for Diet Coke, white wine, pet food, and a little ice for cocktails.

There was no need to sit around Jackson for two weeks, so that’s when I decided to go to Natchez. I’m really glad I did, and that would not have transpired if it wasn’t for the refrigerator.

Rob’s fee for the service call and installation of the cooling unit was $450. Thinking that the part would fit in the small compartment outside the rig, I was a bit taken aback by that quote, but desperate as well. I drove back to Jackson on the day the part arrived and could not believe my eyes. The cooling unit is the entire back of the refrigerator!

It took Rob and a helper to wrangle the refrigerator out of its cubby, putting it on the floor and replacing the guts on the rear. No wonder it cost $450!

(You can see the little dorm ‘fridge on the floor in this shot.)

Over $1,800 later, I’m back in business. The refrigerator is running even colder than it did before.

Nellie is 10 years old this year (nine, if anyone asks at an RV park office). That means the refrigerator is 10 years old, too. Since this happened I now know two other RV owners whose ‘fridge cooling units failed at the 10-year mark. Keep that in mind if you’re in the market for a used RV, or if you are budgeting for repairs on the one you already own.