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Topic ClosedBrand new Dometic fridge is worthless
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Casey View Drop Down
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Posts: 19 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Brand new Dometic fridge is worthless
    Posted: 05 Sep 2017 at 10:02am
So the answer is the fridge sucks and that's just how it is, great. But for the people saying thier trailers are different and quality built, you are absolutely fooling yourself's. Your trailers have aluminium frames, you might want to take a look at the quality of the aluminium welds holding that whole thing together before you talk too much about the "quality" of forest River trailers....
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2629 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Sep 2017 at 10:13am
Originally posted by Casey

So the answer is the fridge sucks and that's just how it is, great. But for the people saying thier trailers are different and quality built, you are absolutely fooling yourself's. Your trailers have aluminium frames, you might want to take a look at the quality of the aluminium welds holding that whole thing together before you talk too much about the "quality" of forest River trailers....
Our last trip was up north of San Francisco. The weather was ... sweltering. 95 degrees in the shade. Remarkably, we did not run the AC, as we found the air movement from the fantastic fan made the inside of the R-pod fairly pleasant (in spite of the high temperature). We ran our refrigerator on 120 because we had full hookup. The frozen stuff stayed frozen, the cold stuff stayed cold. 

I'm speculating that some people have defective refrigerators, because ours works very well; even in high heat.
bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
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eye95 View Drop Down
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Posts: 63 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Sep 2017 at 10:26am
Originally posted by Casey

So the answer is the fridge sucks and that's just how it is, great. But for the people saying thier trailers are different and quality built, you are absolutely fooling yourself's. Your trailers have aluminium frames, you might want to take a look at the quality of the aluminium welds holding that whole thing together before you talk too much about the "quality" of forest River trailers....

No. YOUR fridge sucks. Most don't.

Get it fixed or replaced.

If you hate your Pod so much, get it fixed or replaced.

But the bellyaching is getting old. Fast.
<0>
2017 178 The "eye-Pod"
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lostagain View Drop Down
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Posts: 2587 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Sep 2017 at 11:58am
Wow! I should go back and read the whole history before I post.  I had no idea that there was such an intense discussion about RV quality in general.  I don't understand what the problem is.  I've never seen a TT that was built as solidly as it ought to be, except for the super high end ones that I could not possibly afford.  Yes, most RV's are not built very carefully, the workmanship is poor, and the materials are often shoddy.  From my point of view, that's just the way it is and we have to deal with it the best we can.  Some of us can afford a Rolls Royce and for some of us buying a Cherry (from China) is a stretch.  

Every time I work on our Pod, I find something else that needs attention.  Every time I open up some closed off area, I find original debris from the construction and sloppy workmanship; stuff that could have been cleaned up with a vacuum cleaner or made solid by just putting the screw or staple in straight and plumb.  But I don't imagine FR, or most other RV companies for that matter, really push their employees to take their time to do it right the first time, or any time.  Speed, high production and low cost are the concerns of management.

So all that being said, if I want to have the fun of schlepping around in a travel trailer and going to nice places that I couldn't otherwise afford, I'll just have to live the poor construction quality.  I learned when I owned sailboats that all RV's, whether they roll on wheels or float, require ongoing and intense maintenance.  If you're not handy, or at least enjoy tinkering on stuff, then it's going to be frustrating to deal with the quality issues.  

Speaking for myself, I just plan on several hours of maintenance for each trip.  Things are going to break along the way, and many of the things that break are from lousy work in the first place.  On my most recent trip, all the screws on one side of the box that holds all the electrical distribution system and fallen out and the box was leaning out of the wall.  It shouldn't have happened, but it did.  So I took it apart and replaced the screws.  Same for my frig, a screw on the hinge fell out (again, poor workmanship and materials) so I put a sturdier screw in it's place.  

RV's are fun to own, but you either need lots of money pay someone else to maintain them or you need to have tinkerer genes in your DNA.  If we required the exacting standards that one sees in aircraft and all the airworthiness directives issued by the FAA for safety issues, most of us could not afford a travel trailer.  So we'll whine and complain about crummy quality, fix it, and get on to our next trip.
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Fred & Maria Kearney
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Happy Tripping View Drop Down
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Posts: 473 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Sep 2017 at 2:29pm
Originally posted by Casey

But for the people saying thier trailers are different and quality built, you are absolutely fooling yourself's. Your trailers have aluminium frames, you might want to take a look at the quality of the aluminium welds holding that whole thing together before you talk too much about the "quality" of forest River trailers....

Well, this has been one of the less fruitful threads that have been posted here.

Basic economics - 

1. 'You get what you pay for.'

The R-Pod is pretty inexpensive, but it's because they don't do things like vacuum up sawdust from corners and they use a lot of staples. However, the components are ALL of standard RV production, and, except for inevitable unfortunate lemons, work well. I especially like the convection-microwave.

2. 'There's no such thing as a free lunch.'
If you want premium quality, you will have to pay premium rates. That should be obvious.

If you think the aluminum frame is weak, review a picture we saw here a lttle while ago showing an R-Pod upside down after an accident, but still structurally intact. I believe a conventionally constructed travel trailer would have been absolutely wrecked in a similar roll-over.

I have been a harsh critic of the R-Pod's axle, but I am not blind to the positive aspects of an R-Pod. our 171 suits me right down to the ground, as an economical but good quality travel trailer.
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lostagain View Drop Down
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Posts: 2587 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Sep 2017 at 4:08pm
Happy Tripping, How can you say "there's no such thing as a free lunch"?  You mean that free egg I've been eating in the bar while I'm having a beer isn't really free?  You've shattered my illusions, my world!  You mean buy one get one free isn't really true?  Amazon prime "free" 2 day shipping really isn't free?  ðŸ˜­  
Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost
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furpod View Drop Down
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Posts: 6128 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Sep 2017 at 4:49pm
HEY!!! Don't be dissin' the PRIME!!!!

LOL
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geewizard View Drop Down
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Posts: 347 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Sep 2017 at 7:27pm
Originally posted by furpod

HEY!!! Don't be dissin' the PRIME!!!!

LOL


x2!!!  Clap
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Keith-N-Dar View Drop Down
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Posts: 1447 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Sep 2017 at 7:28pm
Originally posted by geewizard

Originally posted by furpod

HEY!!! Don't be dissin' the PRIME!!!!

LOL


x2!!!  Clap

x3
Keith-N-Dar
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2629 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Sep 2017 at 7:31pm
Originally posted by furpod

HEY!!! Don't be dissin' the PRIME!!!!

LOL
Got that right. With Prime your asparagus water is half price at Whole Foods! Star
bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost
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