Norcold Fridge Door Hinge

[f233844]

Has anybody else had this problem, or am I as Winnebago said the only one?

On a recent trip with us, my Brother-in-law opened the fridge door, only to have it drop to the floor, narrowly missing his foot. The rig and the Norcold N1095-IM fridge were not quite a year old. The lower door hinge, the part that is on the door (actually an integral part of the door) broke off. Fortunately for us, the fine folks at McKay RV in Holden Maine, were able to get me a new door the next day, under warranty, Thank you very much.

As anybody who has ever held an RV fridge door in their hands knows, they don't weigh much, being all plastic and Styrofoam. The beautiful Raised Panel Cherry front that Winnebago put on the fridge weighs in the neighborhood of 12 lbs, yes about as much as a gallon and a half of milk. That would be in addition to the milk, orange juice, mayo, mustard and whatever else we hang on the fridge door.

Anybody have any thoughts?

[Grandriver]

What year is your MH? Jayco had the problem in spades. Our door fell off after it was out of warranty (Jayco has a 2 year warranty but our 2007 Kodiak Greyhawk was 3 years old) and Jayco got a replacement quickly (we happened to be at a rally in Elkhart) and it cost me $125 for the door and installation. One Seneca owner was on his FOURTH fridge door.

Our understanding was that Norcold strengthened the door. There is a fix available from Norcold but it seems tough to get it - a support that goes on the bottom hinge. One of our KodiakClassC members on Yahoo was able to get a couple of dozen and they were snapped up quickly.

The irony is that the day before mine fell off we had a group session with Jayco at their office and the Norcold fridge hinge was discussed because so many had doors fall off.

I now have a 2011 Itasca and I've been assuming that the hinge design was fixed. That is why I'm curious as to the year of your MH.

GR

ps. We were wondering if this problem was unique to Jayco because I think its wood inserts weigh much more. Many owners started moving heavy items off the door.

[f233844]

Thanks for your input. The coach is a 2010 Itasca Sunova, and the fridge is the same vintage. Mileage on the fridge door, and the rest of the rig was 11500 when it broke. Until we got the replacement I was trying to design something to get us thru the rest of the trip.

[Grandriver]

I'm not sure when they were supposed to have strengthened the door but obviously it was not prior to your fridge being built. You will need a new door if it is like ours since there is no fix for the broken hinge.

To get us through a from Saturday to Monday one of the guys in our group put gorilla glue on it and we held it while we opened and closed it.

No question it is a big PITA when it breaks.

GR

[f233844]

RPITA might be an even better description.

After the fact I downloaded Norcold's parts list, dated 2/21/2011, probably a year after my rig was assembled. The part number on my replacement door is #-628459, while the list identifies it as #-623942. What do you think my odds are of having the New & Improved model? Winnebago has a Stainless Steel panel set that is available, hopefully I'll be able to convince them it's the way to go, less expensive for them, and better for me. When the door fell off, the wood panel hit the floor first and broke, so it does need replacement.

[Grandriver]

I suspect you have the old door and hopefully you get the new door when it is replaced.

I hope I have the new door as I don't relish having to buy another for the Itasca. Our warranty expires in a couple of weeks.

GR

[tbutler]

We've had a similar experience with a Norcold 1200. Last fall (2010) we were in a campground preparing to depart a campground for another leg of our trip. DW opened the right hand refrigerator door and it dropped to the floor. We had a broken bottle of wine, spilled milk, etc. The bottom hinge failed. I had noticed a screw on the floor in that general location but couldn't find where it came from. I believe that it came out of the bottom hinge which then failed. I used the ever popular duct tape to reattach the door so that it could be opened enough to use the refrigerator for the weekend. We were headed to a rally and techs there were able to repair the hinge. We parked the rig for the winter at our winter retreat in Texas. Our first stop this spring was in San Antonio, Iron Horse RV, where we had a household refrigerator installed in place of the Norcold. I wrote up the process in a posting, Replacing a Norcold Refrigerator and included a set of pictures in the gallery.

[f233844]

Grandiver,

I have in my possession the beautiful, broken, 12 lb Cherrywood Panel.

The old broken door was turned in at McKay RV for the replacement door, under warranty which we all hope is the new improved model.

I'll be taking the rig to my local dealer this week for service, including the fridge door panel.

I might try Norcold to see if they can or will tell me the difference between #-628459, #-623942

Thanks for you help.

[f233844]

We've had a similar experience with a Norcold 1200. Last fall (2010) we were in a campground preparing to depart a campground for another leg of our trip. DW opened the right hand refrigerator door and it dropped to the floor. We had a broken bottle of wine, spilled milk, etc. The bottom hinge failed. I had noticed a screw on the floor in that general location but couldn't find where it came from. I believe that it came out of the bottom hinge which then failed. I used the ever popular duct tape to reattach the door so that it could be opened enough to use the refrigerator for the weekend. We were headed to a rally and techs there were able to repair the hinge. We parked the rig for the winter at our winter retreat in Texas. Our first stop this spring was in San Antonio, Iron Horse RV, where we had a household refrigerator installed in place of the Norcold. I wrote up the process in a posting, Replacing a Norcold Refrigerator and included a set of pictures in the gallery.

Thanks for you help, sorry about the wine and other stuff.

Maybe we'll run across each other in the valley, we're not Pharr.

[harrysusa]

HI,

My fridge is a Dometic and about 15 years old when this summer the plastic door hinge pin holder on the bottom of the door decided to break and drop to the floor, about 12", and almost on my wife's toes. The door is heavy when loaded with all the stuff, I would guess about 50 lbs.

A replacement door is no longer available but I was able to jury rig it so that we could complete our trip, 1 1/2 months later.

The model is RM7732, 2 door with ice maker.

Anyone know where I could purchase a used door?

Harry Salit

1997 Discovery 36R,120,000 miles

Banks turbo stinger kit

2006 Scion xB toad

[f233844]

The update is, I did not apparently get the "New Improved Door." The door that replaced the one that fell off in September 2011, has now BROKEN OFF in July 2012, somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 months, not quite as long as the original door lasted.

One could just scream, I guess it is my fault, after all I did put some milk and orange juice in the door, I did assume that's what the DOOR BINS were for, silly me. Winnebago, and my dealer tell me I'm the only one with this problem. I did ask Winnebago. If I was the only one, to extend the warranty for an additional year on just the door, the initial response was "we'll see," Well we will see if they return my calls.

I'll try to keep you updated.

Happy Trails

KamperAl

[f233844]

Well, my dealer said that they'd replace the door, which they've done, at no charge.

I was told that "There's no stop on the door, and it could swing all the way open, putting too much stress on the hinge."

My response was that it was just like the fridge in his home, there is no stop because the stop will put too much stress on the hinge.

I was also asked if I put stuff in the door bins, "uh yep" I always thought that was the reason for those bins.

I did a bit of "creative engineering" on the second broken door after the break, before the dealer & I could get together, it worked like a charm, guess what's going to happen to the new door? Correct a "Preemptive Repair!"

[msslls]

Could you please explain how you fixed the hinge? Mine feel off this morning and I was quoted $600.00 for a new door.

[f233844]

Hi,

I fabricated a reinforcing piece from a piece of strap steel I had laying around.

You should be able to use the top hinge to try the fit since the door is reversible.

The big hole on my piece measured 1/2"; that is a nice snug fit, and will stay snug because there is no movement to wear it larger.

I drilled some holes for Pop-Rivets in the piece, painted it & cut it to size & shape.

;

On my broken door, I used some epoxy to re-attach the hinge, then installed the rivets.

At today price that $600 should buy you somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 gallons of regular gas.

 

Happy Trails

KamperAl

[phaeton]

The left side refrigerator door of our four door frig fell off a few days ago, narrowly missing my wife's toes. After reading the many posts of this and other forums, I decided to try and repair the door myself. I used a 3500 psi plastic epoxy to glue back the plastic strip that ripped out of the lower door where the hinge was attached. After letting the epoxy cure for the required period of time, I tried to reattach the hinge only to find the threads had stripped on the upper screw. I bought a tap and recut the threads then screwed in a new bolt. In the process of reattaching the door once all the repairs were completed, I noticed a unused, threaded hole in the bottom hinge. I drilled a small pilot hole into the plastic at the bottom of the door and drove a sheet metal screw (slightly smaller than the hole) into the hole, which now adds an addtiional attachment point for the hinge along with more strength. I did the same with the other door as a preventative measure. The head of the screw may need some filing to keep it from binding as the door opens and closes. So far so good. We are also putting less weight on the door to hopefully get more longevity before it tries to break again.

[clydeturre]

I had the same problem as the rest of you with my Norcold. Like newbie, I fashioned a similar repair. Has worked fine for a year of heavy use.