Refrigerator

[Flybob]

Something strange. The fridge and freezer are not separate systems. If one works, both should work. Keep in mind that the cooling capacity on RV fridges is not as robust as home units so recovering from an open door takes a little longer. Fridges work by absorbing heat. There is very little mass in an RV fridge to absorb heat ( from opening the door) unless it is fairly full. You need to leave some room for circulation, but the more bulk you have in the fridge ( especially liquids) the more stable the temp will stay. Also using the freezer to make a lot of ice can have a small impact on the fridge temp.

[Ron, Debra & Foxy]

Understood. However, per the county food safety site:

link to county food safety agency: Role of the Health Inspector

"1. Improper hot/cold holding temperatures of potentially hazardous food (TCS foods) -
Up to 90% of all food poisoning cases occur when potentially hazardous foods are not held at proper temperatures. Keep hot foods at 135°F or above and cold foods below 41°F. Your inspector will check your hot holding units and refrigeration.”

This should be more important to dealers and service centers than what I experienced.

[Ron, Debra & Foxy]

That is pretty much the bottom line, in my view.

People will get sick, seniors and people with weakened immune systems - like mine - can get seriously ill, with a grave outcome.

[MNtraveler]

<<it could take 6 hours on propane to get cool enough, and that it is behaving as expected..... it may be technically true, but excuse me?>>

This is quite true and many people will run it overnight to cool down. You can avoid spoilage by not loading it until it's cool with anything that can spoil. It's fine to load it with beer, pop, etc.

In the shop, they will have to verify if it can maintain temperature or not. Replacement parts take an unfortunate amount of time. But it sounds like your dealer has a bad attitude about it. They should be happy to help you as quickly as possible.

A secondary substitute to get you on the road would be a small dorm-style refer that are readily available now for back to school sales (such as at Costco). You could cool it down before leaving. It may stay cold enough on the road but if traveling far or the weather it hot you may need ice or a cooler. On arrival, plug in and turn it on. (Clarification: this is not a replacement, just a stop gap if you have a long wait for parts.)

You will have to use common sense about your spoilables now. Does the meat look and small fresh? Don't take any risks with poultry and seafood - toss if any questions. Beef lasts better. Cured meats like ham and bacon are sturdy. Eggs don't really need refrigeration anyway so should be fine.