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Old 04-27-2016, 09:23 PM   #1
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Trouble again with our coachmen

We just bought our coachman freedom express in November 2015, so far we have had the converter replaced, the furnace replaced so we were going out this week and the a/c was not working took it in and it has to be replaced!! So we have had one trip with no problems and a trailer that spends more time in repair shop than in storage, so frustrating and disappointing as this is our first travel trailer and was so excited to go, now it's like what next, have once again canceled our trip and only thing left is water heater, oh yeah forgot they replaced battery too, ugh!!!
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Old 04-28-2016, 03:12 AM   #2
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Best thing is, now you have all new parts. It is unusual that all your sub components have failed at the same time. Don't worry, you'll be camping in no time.


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Old 04-28-2016, 06:27 AM   #3
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Best thing is, now you have all new parts. It is unusual that all your sub components have failed at the same time. Don't worry, you'll be camping in no time.


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Agreed. Complete guessing without all the facts of course, but kinda sounds like the power converter took out a whole bunch of things when it decided to give up the ghost or maybe the camper was subject to a power surge at some time that fried everything. I would ask them to do a thorough check of the fridge, water heater and the rest of the systems while it's there getting the A/C changed out.

Hang in there and good luck!!
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Old 04-28-2016, 07:34 AM   #4
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Did you happen to plug the trailer into a 220volt plug? With all the electrical problems you are having you must have gotten a spike in power of wrong voltage.
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Old 04-28-2016, 12:11 PM   #5
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electrical problem

This really sounds like a power surge problem. I would suggest adding a surge protector like one of the Progressive Industries products before plugging in again.
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Old 04-28-2016, 01:07 PM   #6
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Hang in there!

RV's, camping and related traveling evolves into a lifetime of fun for you and the family. Sorry you got a rough start but don't give up.
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Old 04-28-2016, 07:14 PM   #7
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Ladybugg747, please let us know what surge/EMS protection product you are using if any. Like the rest of the group I would have guess your electrical/electronics was hit with a surge or 220 volts. Suggest getting better surge protection or Progressive EMS-PT30C (30 Amp) or PT50C (50 Amp).
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Old 04-28-2016, 08:32 PM   #8
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We didn't have a surge protector on and never plugged into a 220, although the first trouble we had was the battery won't hold a charge then came the converter failure, then the furnace and now the a/c failure, will call dealer in morning and have them check water heater and refrig. Another event happened when we picked it up after furnace fixed, we stored it for 2weeks we went and checked it and the battery had very little charge left on it , so we recharged it and no further problems from that Thanks for all your ideas on this
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Old 04-28-2016, 09:15 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by Ladybugg747 View Post
We just bought our coachman freedom express in November 2015, so far we have had the converter replaced, the furnace replaced so we were going out this week and the a/c was not working took it in and it has to be replaced!! So we have had one trip with no problems and a trailer that spends more time in repair shop than in storage, so frustrating and disappointing as this is our first travel trailer and was so excited to go, now it's like what next, have once again canceled our trip and only thing left is water heater, oh yeah forgot they replaced battery too, ugh!!!

The three failed items do not constitute a power surge failure. In that case all a/c devices would fail concurrently, the heater is a 12 VDC and would not fail in the "surge". Wonder why it could not be repaired though. The a/c meanwhile if mfg by Dometic is understandable. They have a terrible run of failing rooftop units. It's a two year warranty, hope you can take advantage of it. The OEM converter is low quality and can fail at anytime. You should have your shop provide failure details in writing for your or a RV savy friend to review. Frankly I'm skeptical for all this in 6 months.
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Old 05-01-2016, 09:28 AM   #10
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Dometic

The A/C in my 2016 Forest River Hemisphere was a Dometic and it failed before we had it for a year. Technician said that it was a wonder that it ever worked due to it not having enough freon installed in it at the factory. It was replaced under warranty. Things happen and sometime we never get a reason for it. Hang in there. It gets better after the bumps.
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Old 05-01-2016, 09:52 AM   #11
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Dometic acknowledges that they had a bad batch of AC units ( improperly sealed/ filled) units and has extended the warranty but not issues a recall as it is not a safety issue. If you are storing your unit for several weeks and do not have a battery cut off or battery tender, the parasitic draws will kill the battery. In some cases, this will then kill the converter or at least blow the protection fuses. If you have power in the storage area, a battery tender is the best solution. If not, add a disconnect switch.
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Old 05-01-2016, 12:07 PM   #12
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@ "Flybob", I would love to have any printed info on Dometic extending the warranty on their A/C units. My Coachmen is 16 months old and I am on my third A/C unit, all replaced under warranty. With the last unit, installed in April, the service guy called Dometic to ask them about extending my warranty due to this being my third unit. They told him that my originaltwo year warranty would be all I would have. That means that as of the latest installation I have approximately nine months left for A/C warranty. I have to agree with the service guy that a new Dometic A/C unit should have a two year warranty from the date of installation. He did show me something in print from Dometic to their service centers that they had found a "number" of units that had been built without the evaporator not being properly cleaned leaving flux on the solder joints. I know enough about this to understand that leaving flux on a solder joint can/will cause premature failure at that joint. Strangely you need flux for a properly soldered joint but not cleaning off some types of flux will lead to early copper eroding.
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Old 05-27-2016, 02:13 PM   #13
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Ditto on the extended warranty. I am also on my third A/C and was told the original two year period applies. If that has been extended, it would be good to know!
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Old 05-28-2016, 07:17 PM   #14
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@ "Flybob", I would love to have any printed info on Dometic extending the warranty on their A/C units. My Coachmen is 16 months old and I am on my third A/C unit, all replaced under warranty. With the last unit, installed in April, the service guy called Dometic to ask them about extending my warranty due to this being my third unit. They told him that my originaltwo year warranty would be all I would have. That means that as of the latest installation I have approximately nine months left for A/C warranty. I have to agree with the service guy that a new Dometic A/C unit should have a two year warranty from the date of installation. He did show me something in print from Dometic to their service centers that they had found a "number" of units that had been built without the evaporator not being properly cleaned leaving flux on the solder joints. I know enough about this to understand that leaving flux on a solder joint can/will cause premature failure at that joint. Strangely you need flux for a properly soldered joint but not cleaning off some types of flux will lead to early copper eroding.
I can't think of one product that extends the warranty.. your computer has an issue and it is fixed within the warranty periid.. your TV goes out, it is fixed, your car breaks down and it is fixed. No product again that I know of will extend the warranty if repaired/replaced... they always follow the original warranty.
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Old 05-31-2016, 09:45 PM   #15
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Ditto on the extended warranty. I am also on my third A/C and was told the original two year period applies. If that has been extended, it would be good to know!
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Old 06-05-2016, 11:30 AM   #16
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"GDoubleU": I am now on my third Dometic A/C unit on an 18 month old Coachmen unit. With experience with non-RV air conditioners I have to question your technician making the statement: "it was a wonder that it ever worked due to it not having enough freon installed in it at the factory." Theses units do not come with ports on the low or high side of the freon lines so there would be no way to measure the freon contents. Best guesses can be made with a good infrared thermometer and checking temps at several places.
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