Dometic rm1350 - need help!

[jayc]

Good luck with it. I know how frustrating a bad fridge can be. A couple of years ago the circuit board went out on ours but Heartland CS came through for us and it hasn't re-occurred.

 

[KENNY COCHRAN]

Update on my dometic rm1350 unit. Last month or so it has been working again with no outages. I guess it got scared it was about to be replaced and started working again........ The saga continues.

 

[jayc]

Kenny, I'm glad to hear you finally got it working. Crossing my fingers that it keeps on working for you.

 

[KENNY COCHRAN]

I can't figure it out. Up one day, down the next, then it works fine then off/on, must be a female fridge? Good thing is we have not used it for a while, but football starts up soon and it will be tested. Does seem like we are getting more rm1350 on here having trouble. Glad to also see dometic has finally come out with some support of some kind.

 

[wntrgrn1]

Has Dometic come up a fix for the rm1350?

 

[KENNY COCHRAN]

Somewhere on here, they have a part number for something to "fix" whatever is wrong with the rm1350. Whether or not it will fix anything, it is a start. They finally admit they have a problem, and i think that is the first step in the process.

 

[CCCI]

We purchased a brand new BigHorn 3585RL in January 2011 with the fridge in a slide-out.
Cooling unit replaced in April.
We are currently awaiting the delivery and installation of our 3rd replacement complete RM1350 fridge.

 

[KENNY COCHRAN]

Welcome to the cwf club, "campers without fridges." how long is dometic going to take before they figure out replacing a piece of junk with another piece of junk, with another piece of junk, with another piece of junk, ain't going to work?

 

[wdk450]

I still don't consider myself an "expert" on the ammonia adsorbsion refrigerator, but I am wondering if the poor venting slide install is causing the cooling units to fail. I know that uneven levelling can cause a protective chemical in the mix inside the cooling unit can be transformed into a steel-like plug, by running the unit out of level and this compound getting too hot in the boiler or other sections of the cooling unit. Maybe this is happening with poor air venting in hot ambient temperatures, too.
I am on the road, my refig is currently working well, so I don't want to spend the time to call rv refrig specialsists and ask this question. Here are some phone numbers for these specialists for anyone who wants to call them:
RV Mobile (425) 355-1170 Washington State (Business is listed for sale on their webpage)
RV Cool.com 800-515-652
RV Refrigerator Repair 1 888-483-7586
Affordable RV Refrig Repair 888-314-5679
RViceBox.com 888-560-2653

Good Luck!!!

We purchased a brand new BigHorn 3585RL in January 2011 with the fridge in a slide-out.
Cooling unit replaced in April.
We are currently awaiting the delivery and installation of our 3rd replacement complete RM1350 fridge.

 

[1oldcarguy]

Hello folks,,I was reading about your misfortunes,and decided to join and give my two cents worth
I am a independent Mobile RV tech,,this is what I have been doing to correct baffle problems,(this is not strictly a heartland problem)
1. refrigerators in a galley slide out have venting issues,,almost all of them
2.removing the refrigerator and constructing the correct baffles is the first step to correct the problem
3. Adding additional cooling fans seems to correct the problem
the last two RM1350's I have done ,I have added two additional fans mounted at the top of the upper vent,blowing out
I remove the 3 amp fuse for the fans and replace it with a 5 amp,,the extra fans are wired in parallel to the the existing fans
What my customers report is this,,,Normally ,before modifying the baffles ,and fans,,,,when ambient temps get high in the afternoon,the cooling fans will come on and run all day until evening. After baffles and fans,the fans come on and run for no more than 10 minutes at a time,refrigerator temps stay constant,and with 4 fans (the two factory and two additional)the fan noise seems quieter
Hope this helps,,I do have pictures,but as a new user,I am unable to post pictures
Rich M

 

[jimtoo]

Hi Rich,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and Family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge if needed.

Thank you for your help with the fridge problems. It seems to be an ongoing thing and I can see that would not be just a Heartland problem. Stick around,, we can always use professional help.

Thanks again, enjoy the forum.

Jim M

 

[wolfrat1]

Good early morning. It's 1:00am and I'm up swearing at my Dometic rm13500mimx. When i bought my bighorn last week, the orginal refrig didn't work during the dealer prep. My dealer (God bless him), went to Heartland and got me another refrig and had it installed before delivery. The trailer was delivered to me. cranked up the fridge and found it not to work. Freezer gets kind of cool and bottom not cold at all. Service tech said Dometic is having problems with its refrigerators. Two within one week? I would say that's a problem. Hey Heartland ?? With enough of these posts and forums are floating around. How about picking a different refrigerator so we can enjoy our rv's? A service tech came out and said it may be the seals in the door. Some how I really doubt that will be the problem. My previous rv was a trail cruiser. Dometic had a recall for the fridge in that one as well. My dealer actually went back to the factory to get a different refridge. That's above and beyond what he had to do. To have these crap out is totally uncalled for.

 

[KENNY COCHRAN]

I feel your pain. Welcome to the club. There are several solutions, a new dometic is not the solution, nor is a norcold. Add 2 6"computer fans and run them 24 hours a day, get the baffles added until you get them right. Turn your unit off, then back on at 6pm to get it set to cycle on/off at the right time of day. If you get a power failure, reset the fridge at 6pm again and forever. Add insulation on top of the fridge if none is there. Good luck.

 

[CCCI]

Now going to Elkhart, IN in early October to potentially have our 5th RM1350 installed with Heartland and Dometic auditing the install !!
Wish us luck (or something).

We purchased a brand new BigHorn 3585RL in January 2011 with the fridge in a slide-out.
Cooling unit replaced in April.
We are currently awaiting the delivery and installation of our 3rd replacement complete RM1350 fridge.

 

[TomMar]

The fridge in our 2009 BH 3600RE (last rig) was pretty poor too and when I started to add new fans for the baffels I found the original fans were wired to a thermostat on the baffels and they NEVER came on. I rewired them to a switch inside the cabinet next to the fridge and the DW would switch them onwhen we turned the fridge on. There was peace in the house and life was good. The fans in our Key Largo seem to be on a thermostat that has a lower temp requirement and they work well. Just my 2cents

 

[wolfrat1]

Well my brand new Bighorn 3610re that I bought in August of this year is back at my dealer in September of this year because a third Dometic refrig(rm1350mimx) is being installed. This effectively killed my rv plans for the the year. It just seems there is nothing we rv owner can do to get any satisfaction from Dometic. I don't know what other companies make rv refrigerators, but think Heartland should seriously look into replacing Dometic. With the number of the complaints on this site and quite sure other makes of RV's are having the same problems if they are using Dometic. This is past being rediculous. Three units in two months. CCCI is having their fifth one installed. I'm burnt out.

 

[sgtbigb]

Wow, I wish I could add something positive for the RM 1350. But this our forth outing in our Landmark and our frig refuses to work on automatic , we have to keep it on propane to keep temp under 45 degress. Anther problem has pop up, the auto slide lock quit working. I glad that I am not a full timer with this unit because it would be gone.

 

[jbeletti]

...Heartland should seriously look into replacing Dometic...

I believe this is being seriously looked into on the larger refers.

Jim

 

[mikeandconnie]

Hi Jim, this is the hold up on Connie and I ordering a new Landmark. Two years traveling with our 2009 Landmark and the RM 1350 is the only problems we had. The mother board and cooling unit was replaced under warrenty, so we are happy here, However, our frig works great on the California Coast, But down south it gets hot durning the day. Dometic told me last week this was a Heartland Problem not theres. On a positive note, the ice maker works wonderful and we are happy with it. So we are waiting to here the outcome. Mike

 

[jbeletti]

Mike and Connie,

I'm not in a position to announce anything. I'd like you to call Heartland next week. Call 574-262-5992 and ask for Landmark sales. Everyone is out this week for the Dealer Open House in Elkhart.

Happy to hear yours is holding pretty well now. I'd be curious, if you know, specifically what Dometic feels Heartland is doing wrong. We only install them and we do have Dometic periodically audit that process and have them be part of the design process of the location and method of the installations, including vent and baffle locations.

Jim