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Fridge Door Fell Off

Yahoo Message Number: 6838
Well it happen!!! The fridge door hit the floor. We were so careful about the
amount of weigh we put into it! It had 3 soda's, 1 small bottle of catsup, half
small bottle of mustard and half bottle of wine in the door the day it fell off. That
is about the weight we put in it. I think it is the door weigh itself and when you
open it all the weight is placed on those little plastic hinges.
Question ...Its a Norcold fridge Model N841 in a 2008 Seneca 35GS. Do I replace the hinge or do I need to remove the wood or do I need to do a rework
and use metal around the door with medal hinges.?
I read on here about the door and that is why we were so careful. I remember
someone saying they took it to their shop and used metal, I think. I saw where
Greg Gimlick was doing a lot toward the door but couldn't get a lot of info. Will appreciate any input here on what needs to be done!! Thanks in advance for the
help and especially for the other info, I purchased the Progressive Surge Protector
after looking up and comparing the top three.

Re: Fridge Door Fell Off

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6841
Joe, ours fell off at the rally in Elkhart last July. Since it was out of warranty, it cost us $125 to have a new door installed. Randy Zonker, Service Manager at Jayco did a real good job getting us a door almost immediately.

Don

Re: Fridge Door Fell Off

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6843
, Joe Eveld  wrote:
Quote
Well it happen!!! The fridge door hit the floor. We were so careful about the
amount of weigh we put into it! It had 3 soda's, 1 small bottle of catsup, half
small bottle of mustard and half bottle of wine in the door the day it fell off.
That
is about the weight we put in it. I think it is the door weigh itself and when
you

open it all the weight is placed on those little plastic hinges.
 Question ...Its a Norcold fridge Model N841 in a 2008 Seneca 35GS. Do I
replace the hinge or do I need to remove the wood or do I need to do a rework

and use metal around the door with medal hinges.?
 I read on here about the door and that is why we were so careful. I remember
someone saying they took it to their shop and used metal, I think. I saw where
Greg Gimlick was doing a lot toward the door but couldn't get a lot of info.
Will appreciate any input here on what needs to be done!! Thanks in advance for
the
help and especially for the other info, I purchased the Progressive Surge
Protector
after looking up and comparing the top three.

Joe: After 2 doors failed in 2 years, I ground the broken plastic hinge flush with the face of the door. I then fabricated a alum. angle bracket and thru bolted it thru the door. The alum.angle ran almost the length of the door bottom and then I heli-arced a piece of angle that went up 6" on the vertical side of the door. I machined a alum piece that was identical to the bottom hing point and again heli-arced it in to the bottom angle. I painted the assembly flat black. Alignment of pivot point is critical but after 3 years never a problem. Norcold sure cut corners on this door design..........russ

Re: Fridge Door Fell Off

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6846

Btw....its the wood face that weighs so damn much.

~
Victor Burns | KI6IM
2008 Dutchmen 34H

Re: Fridge Door Fell Off

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6849
Hey Russ,
I had the same problem--read on the RV Forum that the fix was to use a metal bracket and J B Weld so what i did was go to Walmart--bought a 3 inch shelving bracket with a 90 degree angle, J B Weld. I took the door--layed it on the sofa in my den--lined up the hole and pen--then applied J B weld to bottom and vertical edges of the door and to the bracket--pressede bracket to the door and just used some heavy books to hold pressure to the bracket--a couple hours later door was ready to be re-installed. I did the fix two years ago and have gone on several trips--no problem. Hope this helps.
Bill W

To: KodiakChassisClassC@yahoogroups.com
From: russclaudia@...
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2011 02:59:23 +0000
Subject: [KodiakChassisClassC] Re: Fridge Door Fell Off



Re: Fridge Door Fell Off

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6851
Joe Eveld wrote:

Quote
where Greg Gimlick was doing a lot toward the door but couldn't get a
lot of info. Will appreciate any input here on what needs to be
done!!

We managed to get some reinforcement brackets from a guy who was doing
business with Norcold and I distributed all the ones I had. If the hinge
is broken you'll need the new door and then you can install one of the
norcold reinforcement brackets or do one of the mods the other guys have
described. Supposedly Norcold has the brackets in their parts inventory
now and should know about them when you call.

Take care,
Greg

Re: Fridge Door Fell Off

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6853
I've seen Russ's fix on the door now you could hang a side of beef on it and won't go anywhere !!

Re: Fridge Door Fell Off

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6854

Are all the Norcold refrigerators susceptible to the hinge breaking. I have the N82 series. I have not had a problem.......yet! I have inspected the hinge and cannot see any cracking. I have made several trips between New England and Fl on I-95 so I have seen my share of bumps. I do not pay attention to the loading in the door. Have I just been lucky so far. My unit is a Four Winds 34G.

Roger

Re: Fridge Door Fell Off

Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6855
Roger, similar to my view in Elkhart when we were meeting with Jayco. We were discussing Russ's four doors and Dave's two doors. Ironically, I inspected mine that evening and the next day it fell off.

Don

Re: Fridge Door Fell Off

Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6856
, rsri1@... wrote:

Quote
>
> Are all the Norcold refrigerators susceptible to the hinge breaking. I
> have the N82 series. I have not had a problem.......yet! I have inspected the
> hinge and cannot see any cracking. I have made several trips between New
> England and Fl on I-95 so I have seen my share of bumps. I do not pay
> attention to the loading in the door. Have I just been lucky so far. My unit is a
> Four Winds 34G.
>
> Roger
>
>
> In a message dated 4/17/2011 10:08:15 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> grandriver125@... writes:
>
>
>
>
> Joe, ours fell off at the rally in Elkhart last July. Since it was out of
> warranty, it cost us $125 to have a new door installed. Randy Zonker,
> Service Manager at Jayco did a real good job getting us a door almost
> immediately.
>
>
> Don
>
>
>
>

Re: Fridge Door Fell Off

Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6857
Roger wrote:

Quote
Are all the Norcold refrigerators susceptible to the hinge breaking. I
have the N82 series. I have not had a problem.......yet!

Have faith - you will :-) That's the same door that's on mine. If you
haven't had a problem yet then you should call norcold and ask about
getting the door hing reinforcement bracket. They'll need to know your
model number and if it's a right or left hand hinge.

Here are the numbers they should have for the parts:

Right hand bracket: Norcold part #633591

Left hand bracket: Norcold part #633590

Take care,
Greg

Re: Fridge Door Fell Off

Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6861

Thanks for the part #''s. I will call tomorrow.

Roger

Re: Fridge Door Fell Off

Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6862
I called Norcold customer service and no help at all. Said I needed to
order new door. Told him nope not going to and there will never be
another Norcold in a rig that I own.
Called another number and told me to leave my number and they
would get back with me within 24 hrs. Was at the Dr office from
11-4 today. See where they called 3 times after noon. Will relay what
they tell me later.
Thanks for all the information from everyone. This site is a blessing
and hope who started it is also blessed.

From: Greg Gimlick
To: KodiakChassisClassC@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Mon, April 18, 2011 4:02:29 PM
Subject: Re: [KodiakChassisClassC] Fridge Door Fell Off

Roger wrote:

Quote
Are all the Norcold refrigerators susceptible to the hinge breaking. I
have the N82 series. I have not had a problem.......yet!

Have faith - you will :-) That's the same door that's on mine. If you
haven't had a problem yet then you should call norcold and ask about
getting the door hing reinforcement bracket. They'll need to know your
model number and if it's a right or left hand hinge.

Here are the numbers they should have for the parts:

Right hand bracket: Norcold part #633591

Left hand bracket: Norcold part #633590

Take care,
Greg

Re: Fridge Door Fell Off

Reply #13 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6865

They sorted me out in minutes when I called with my broken door.

~
Victor Burns | KI6IM
2008 Dutchmen 34H

Re: Fridge Door Fell Off

Reply #14 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6866
Were you still under warranty at the time?

Don

Re: Fridge Door Fell Off

Reply #15 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6868

I called Thetford/Norcold customer service (800-543-1219) today and was told the part numbers, Right hand bracket: Norcold part #633591 & Left hand bracket: Norcold part #633590, are no longer available as individual parts, but come in a "kit" with both LH and RH bracket supports. The "KIT" part number is 634166. I was also told the parts could only be ordered through a dealer, Norcold does not sell direct.
I called my nearest Norcold dealer ( http://www.arlingtonrv.com/ ) and was told he did not see a listing for any of these part numbers from his distributor. He checked with another distributor and found the "KIT" which was the only way for him to get it. So I can get the parts, both LH and RH for $38. Does this sound reasonable for a hinge support? What have others paid, where did you purchase it? Anyone needing right hand hinges want to split a kit?

Roger

Re: Fridge Door Fell Off

Reply #16 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6879

It makes sense they would ship that's a left and right kit both to avoid confusion on the part of the customer who is not sure which they have. It's a rather nice bracket.

~
Victor Burns | KI6IM
2008 Dutchmen 34H

From: rsri1@... ;
To:;
Subject: Re: [KodiakChassisClassC] Fridge Door Fell Off
Sent: Tue, Apr 19, 2011 5:20:11 PM


I called Thetford/Norcold customer service (800-543-1219) today and was told the part numbers, Right hand bracket: Norcold part #633591 & Left hand bracket: Norcold part #633590, are no longer available as individual parts, but come in a "kit" with both LH and RH bracket supports. The "KIT" part number is 634166. I was also told the parts could only be ordered through a dealer, Norcold does not sell direct.
I called my nearest Norcold dealer ( http://www.arlingtonrv.com/ ) and was told he did not see a listing for any of these part numbers from his distributor. He checked with another distributor and found the "KIT" which was the only way for him to get it. So I can get the parts, both LH and RH for $38. Does this sound reasonable for a hinge support? What have others paid, where did you purchase it? Anyone needing right hand hinges want to split a kit?

Roger

 

Re: Fridge Door Fell Off

Reply #17 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6880
They did not even ask. They appeared to understand the problem and ship me a new 1 immediately ~

Victor Burns | KI6IM 2008 Dutchmen 34H
From:
Don ;
To:
KodiakChassisClassC@yahoogroups.com ;
Subject:
Re: [KodiakChassisClassC] Fridge Door Fell Off
Sent:
Tue, Apr 19, 2011 12:59:01 PM
Were you still under warranty at the time?Don