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Old 08-09-2013, 12:52 PM   #1
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Dometic refrigerator door latches

We have the model that has the freezer above/frig below. The door latches are plastic and do not keep the door closed. It seems like they relax and the door opens while we are traveling. Our dealer has replaced the latches once already but with the same type latch. Has anyone else had this problem or have any ideas for a good fix? Thanks
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Old 08-09-2013, 01:08 PM   #2
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Yes and now we have a large crease in our door where it hit the counter in towing. Only our second trip out. DW gets sick everytime she walks in the 5er now.
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Old 08-09-2013, 01:58 PM   #3
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We came in to find everything in the floor and a nice large red tomato stain on the carpet. Not a happy camper. Dh used a clothes pin to keep the catch tight. At least to get us home
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Old 08-09-2013, 02:21 PM   #4
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You know those kids safety latches... we had one on our old Outback.. just glued it on with some really good glue.. undo the latch when camping, secure when traveling. Worked for us.. especially since I found a "brown" one to match the fridge..
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Old 08-09-2013, 03:32 PM   #5
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Thanks for the suggestion. I'll have to look around for them
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Old 03-20-2014, 03:29 PM   #6
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I purchased a 2013 365RL in September 2013 and on my second trip(October) when I arrived home my DW noticed a dent on the right ref. door. The height of the dent is at the position of when the slide is closed. These latches do not secure the doors properly. We have not taken the trailer out since then. I stopped by Berryland about two weeks ago. I spoke with the Sales Manager , Salesman, Parts Manager, & Service manager and a technician . They all told me they never heard of this problem. As I was leaving I went into a Columbus Toy Hauler and tried the ref. doors and guess what the same problem. I told the salesman about it as I was leaving and he said he was going to go and check it out. Sometimes it is the opposite door that does not latch. I am going to put straps on my ref. in between the doors and ref. unit itself and latch it in the middle to keep the doors closed in transit. But now I have a brand new trailer with a dent in the ref. door. The panel can be replaced but I did not ask how much.
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Old 03-20-2014, 03:32 PM   #7
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I purchased a 2014 365RL in September 2013 and on my second trip(October) when I arrived home my DW noticed a dent on the right ref. door. The height of the dent is at the position of when the slide is closed. These latches do not secure the doors properly. We have not taken the trailer out since then. I stopped by Berryland about two weeks ago. I spoke with the Sales Manager , Salesman, Parts Manager, & Service manager and a technician . They all told me they never heard of this problem. As I was leaving I went into a Columbus Toy Hauler and tried the ref. doors and guess what the same problem. I told the salesman about it as I was leaving and he said he was going to go and check it out. Sometimes it is the opposite door that does not latch. I am going to put straps on my ref. in between the doors and ref. unit itself and latch it in the middle to keep the doors closed in transit. But now I have a brand new trailer with a dent in the ref. door. The panel can be replaced but I did not ask how much.
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Old 03-20-2014, 08:57 PM   #8
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We have started putting a clothes pin on the latch so that it pulls the "flap" out and applies pressure to the catch part. We realized that when our slide comes in it tilts the refrigerator back just enough to release pressure on the catch. When the slide goes out the frig is level and the pressure is back in place. It can be a pain in the booty to always have to make sure we clothes pin the frig doors but it's becoming just part of the checklist before traveling. So far we haven't had the doors come open again
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Old 03-20-2014, 09:32 PM   #9
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I found with ours it just wasn't being fully closed. It may seem like it but if you push you hear an extra click as the tab snaps into place. Never had a problem as long as I remember to push.

I now tend to push it everytime I walk by. I don't trust the kids to make sure it's latched.
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Old 03-25-2014, 08:47 AM   #10
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On the previous camper, after having to clean up a ruptured 1/2 gallon of milk and 2 qt pitcher of iced tea, we have started using a bungie cord through the handles and hooked onto the vent hood to make sure it stays closed.
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Old 04-01-2014, 03:21 PM   #11
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This past weekend i took the plastic latches off all 4 doors.
Each latch as two plastic hinges. I bent the latch towards the way it would latch and replaced them on the doors and it seems that this worked. I have also purchased a couple of straps and will use these for security to keep doors from opening during transit. Will pass the strap between the door on both sides and around the outside of the doors and latch in the middle.
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Old 04-01-2014, 06:20 PM   #12
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We've never experienced this problem before with the Norcold refrigerator in our travel trailer but the 5ver has a Dometic fridge. We haven't been out on the road with it yet but now after reading about everyone else's troubles I'm thinking a piece of Velcro on the door and another on the side of the fridge with a Velcro strap placed across the two sounds like a good idea when in travel mode.

Problem hopefully avoided thanks to the helpful folks on these forums!
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Old 08-20-2014, 09:48 PM   #13
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While at the rally in a Goshen the Dometic Reps came to check the problem with the doors opening while traveling. Our refrig is in the slide and when it is in to travel, the frig leans back and the doors opened. The reps found that when it leans back the doors were no longer aligned in the lock position. The solution was to add a washer under the door at the hinge on the bottom. Problem solved for us. No more clothes pins holding the latch under pressure. We traveled home with no problems.


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Old 08-23-2014, 07:56 AM   #14
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My doors come open when traveling. The first trip out we came home to find the drawers in fridge on the floor with one broken. I have been meaning to look into ideas on how to keep them closed. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with this problem. One of the big selling points on this Lacross was the double door fridge, so it's kinda disappointing having this problem.
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Old 08-23-2014, 10:14 AM   #15
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Glad it could help you. It's really aggravating to find the doors open and everything in the floor. I put a clothespin on the latch to keep the pressure on. It worked until dometic fixed it


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Old 08-27-2014, 02:46 PM   #16
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We just took our maiden voyage in our 2012 Lexington and on the first right hand turn the freezer door opened and everything hit the floor. Broke a couple of our ice tubs throwing ice all over but fortunately no damage to the door or floor. I used a plastic bag stuffed between the door frame and the latch to add pressure to keep it latched with no further problems but we need something more permanent. It looks like straps are in order!!
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Old 09-14-2014, 04:18 PM   #17
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Anyone replaced the handle on the Dometric RM1350 four door refrigerator? Looks like I might need to remove the door panel first. Any ideas?


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Old 05-14-2015, 08:50 AM   #18
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I've got the 2 door Dometic model RM2652, and have a similar problem with the door flying open on the lower (fridge) part. Seems to happen while turning, and makes quite a mess. We make a habit of giving the doors an extra push in so the 'click' is solid. The fridge is in the slide, so I'll look at that as a potential source of the problem, SBX2. The clothespin trick is also something to try, as well as the child lock. The child lock install would look a bit "in-elegant", and I've seen some 3-D printed door locks on Amazon recently. Anyone have a similar problem or a neat fix?
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Old 05-14-2015, 11:45 AM   #19
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When we were at the rally last year in Goshen the techs checked the fridge doors and found that it was not staying level when the slide came in. This allowed the door latch to move out of position of the opposing catch. Once this level was corrected, we have not had a problem with the doors opening. Hope this helps with yours
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