How to get help from Heartland/Dometic on a RM 1350 lemon...

[RyanR]

Hi y'all.

After staying up until 2:00 AM reading all the horror stories of the RM 1350, I wanted to start a thread that specifically addresses remedies.

I have a 2009 Landmark Augusta, and since new, whenever I am in temperatures in excess of 90 degrees, my 1350 suffers....we've changed out the cooling unit, interior cooling fan, bypassed the fan thermostat, lined the cabinet with r-matte, etc. And still, although it does fine in temperatures below 90, it is still a lemon above 90.

BTW, did I mention I live in Texas, and am a fulltimer of sorts, working 25-29 days/ month out of my coach, which makes it almost impossible to take into shop? I am currently working in SE New Mexico, with temps in excess of 100 degrees and no shade (even the air blowing across cooling fins is hot)and for the last two weeks my 1350 has been reduced to a pantry, staying at 60 degrees and ruining all of my food...worst part, no milk for 2 weeks. Peculiar thing is...the freezer and icemaker continued to work.

This is my first post on these forums, as I was introduced to them by Doug (of recent axle tragedy en route to the Heartland rally fame), and after reading lots of stuff for over 6 hours yesterday, I decided to join. Sorry my first post is a "whining about the 1350" post, but after paying for a Landmark, one should expect a refrigerator that would work even as I drive through Dante's Inferno.

Does anyone have a remedy to fix this problem? Who do I talk to at either Dometic/Heartland? Do either acknowledge the lemon they have sold me, or at least provide assistance to make things right? My 3rd year of warranty runs out in July, and although I have had problems all along, I'm sure I can't expect too much. I've already purchased a mini fridge just to have cold drinks, but it really is cramping my space.

BTW, how does sdagro get 3 news fridges? I need to learn that secret, as this ongoing problem may have been resolved long ago.

My humblest thanks in advance for any help I might recieve.

FROM THE ROAD
Ryan

 

[jimtoo]

Hi RyanR,

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

Sorry to hear your having problems with your fridge. I know some of the cooling problems have been cured by replacing, or adding another cooling fan behind the fridge to circulate the air across the fins on the back of the fridge.

This is contact information for Dometic, 800-544-4881. Also information for Heartland Customer Service, 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030.

Hope you can get your problem resolved soon.

Jim M

 

[mikeandconnie]

I agree with Ryan, lets get some good information here how to deal with or repair the 1350 issue in hot weather.

 

[JohnDar]

I'll be the fly in the ointment and ask if you've ever had your refrigerator PM'd during it's 3 years of use. FWIW, and it may not be much, the back of the owners manual says to maintain the warranty, it has to have documented preventative maintenance/inspection on an annual basis.

But, rather than rely on what worked and what didn't, call Dometic and get them involved. Especially if you still have some warranty time. You might be able to use a mobile technician, rather than hauling it in to a dealership.

 

[wesley1963]

Hi y'all.

After staying up until 2:00 AM reading all the horror stories of the RM 1350, I wanted to start a thread that specifically addresses remedies.

I have a 2009 Landmark Augusta, and since new, whenever I am in temperatures in excess of 90 degrees, my 1350 suffers....we've changed out the cooling unit, interior cooling fan, bypassed the fan thermostat, lined the cabinet with r-matte, etc. And still, although it does fine in temperatures below 90, it is still a lemon above 90.

BTW, did I mention I live in Texas, and am a fulltimer of sorts, working 25-29 days/ month out of my coach, which makes it almost impossible to take into shop? I am currently working in SE New Mexico, with temps in excess of 100 degrees and no shade (even the air blowing across cooling fins is hot)and for the last two weeks my 1350 has been reduced to a pantry, staying at 60 degrees and ruining all of my food...worst part, no milk for 2 weeks. Peculiar thing is...the freezer and icemaker continued to work.

This is my first post on these forums, as I was introduced to them by Doug (of recent axle tragedy en route to the Heartland rally fame), and after reading lots of stuff for over 6 hours yesterday, I decided to join. Sorry my first post is a "whining about the 1350" post, but after paying for a Landmark, one should expect a refrigerator that would work even as I drive through Dante's Inferno.

Does anyone have a remedy to fix this problem? Who do I talk to at either Dometic/Heartland? Do either acknowledge the lemon they have sold me, or at least provide assistance to make things right? My 3rd year of warranty runs out in July, and although I have had problems all along, I'm sure I can't expect too much. I've already purchased a mini fridge just to have cold drinks, but it really is cramping my space.

BTW, how does sdagro get 3 news fridges? I need to learn that secret, as this ongoing problem may have been resolved long ago.

My humblest thanks in advance for any help I might recieve.

FROM THE ROAD
Ryan

We had a very similar problem with our 1350. We used it continuously for 2 years with no problems, and then the temperature started rising. Within 1 week it went from 34 degrees to 54 degrees, and stayed at 54 (didn't fluctuate at all). I called Dometic and talked to a tech there. She directed me to a certified repair shop which happened to be a mobile repair close to us.
Dometic required that a baffle be installed to direct the air flow over the cooling fins of the fridge in order for the warranty to be honored. It was a sheet of stainless steel, bent and secured to direct the airflow. Dometic replaced the cooling unit under warranty and without hesitation. The fridge has been running at 34 deg. steadily for a year now. Right now it is 96 deg outside, and the fridge is 35. I've seen 38 deg on days that we are in it a lot.
Also, they mobile service installed insulation on top of the fridge since none was there to begin with.
While the fridge was out I had a 1/2" x 5' tube installed to replace the drain hose that comes with the fridge. Certainly is a good idea to replace it while the unit is out.

 

[davidg]

What may be a quick fix for you that worked for us is to remove the cover on the outside and put a fan blowing right in, may take a while to recover possibly til the morning, and may not go as low as you would like, as I said this worked for us.
David

 

[wesley1963]

I think a call to Dometic is certainly the best bet right now since your warranty expires next month. At least they will supply the parts for a fix. I seriously doubt that a baffle would help you now, sounds like the damage is done to the cooling unit. I got the break-down for the repair, it was $1000 for the cooling unit and $400 for the labor plus tax. At least the cooling unit would be covered under warranty.

 

[Willym]

On my RM 1350, I find that using the icemaker and water dispenser in hot weather can affect the fridge temperature significantly. This is especially true if your supply water hose is sitting out in the sun as this results in quite warm water getting into the icemaker circuit. This forces the freezer section work extra hard, resulting in the coolant being too warm to cool the fridge section.
In hot weather, make your ice at night, and if you need cool water, run a tap first to flush the hot water out of the supply hose before you let it into the fridge cooler.
My RM 1350 works very well, and did so doing some hot weather in Texas this past March once I figured out some of the "don't do's". The cooling power of absorption units is quite low, so they cannot afford to be heavily heat loaded.

 

[sdagro]

Seems kinda awkward giving a positive report but---the 2 -120mm fans my dealer installed just above my bottom vent seems to have fixed my yr long problem. My fridge has been at 32-33 degrees since the repair. Good luck to you. Steve A. Dagro