PSA: Don't make the same mistake we did

[desert-star]

First of all we LOVE our 2020 Dynamax Isata 5, we purchased new in 2020 and have not had it on the road as much as we would have liked due to my husband's medical issues.

It has been in storage for the last 1.5 years, so Memorial Day weekend we thought we would de-winterize it and take for a quick trip to the mountains.

I found that the Fridgidaire fridge was no longer cooling. I thought surely this would be an easy fix, even though compressor, evaporator fans were all kicking on maybe it was the thermostat?

I gave up trying to hunt down the problem and called our son-in-law who is an appliance repair tech (but lives 6 hours away) and he said after all of my checking he guessed the freon leaked out and we were looking at a fridge replacement.

Took it to a shop and they are quoting 10 hours of labor @$189/hour and a $1200 fridge replacement, we are looking at $3300 of repairs on a 2.5 year old coach that has had little use. 10 hours of labor due to the fact that the dinette window, valance, light fixture all have to be removed to get the old refrigerator out and the new one in.

My Public Service Announcement (PSA) is BUY A WARRANTY! I am regretting that we did not opt for it either at purchase or buying the Good Sam Extended Plan after the fact. We could be paying a minimal deductible.

I will be purchasing a warranty TODAY. I know the faulty fridge is not the fault of Dynamax, for the record I have never been a fan of Frigidaire or GE (the only option available to replace it due to size) appliances and now we are trading one for the other. Hope the new one lasts longer.

I never would have imagined we would be dealing with such a huge repair 2.5 years in.

Off to get a glass of wine to drown my sorrows...thanks for listening.

[tomkatb]

Unfortunately, trailer places cannot service a compressor fridge. He must have a special license to handle Freon. Most do not.

I am sure they measured the fridge with the door off to know it would not go out.

Folks have cut the freezer in half to remove it. Saws all.

Often counter depth fridges can go through some doors. Door and hinges come off. Having been in the kitchen business I know this. Helped carry several into homes.

This is a known problem. I would have thought by now after 5 years the rv manufacturer would have increased the door size. My fiver door is big enough. But, a cabinet might be in the way. Never measured.

For service you have to con a fridge guy to look at it. In the past fridges installed in moving vehicles had no warranty! Repairpersons refused to service them. Might today.

For interested readers, it is a bad plan to leave a fridge unused for years! Freon loss is common. The running of the compressor lubricates seals. Prevents leaks.

You likely need a compressor and Freon. Would cost more than a fridge likely. Cheaper in a home to just replace it.

Last year we had a suspension failure in California. Cost us over $6000. RVing can get expensive.

[johndjmix]

I’ve heard on class A’s the windshield can be removed to get the fridge out. Possibly that would work?

So glad I got my EPA 504 certification so I can work with Freon and fix my own fridge or ac. Getting the cert was/is free!

—John

[Daxinarian]

My caution every time someone suggests an extended warranty is: consider the fact that warranty companies are still in business… in other words they must take in more money than they give out. So you are often better off saving the money that you would spend on a warranty (just make sure that you have the discipline to actually save it and don’t spend it on other things). This is true of all extended warranties. Just like at the casinos, you might get ahead of the house for a little while, but if you keep playing the house will take your money.

[Iwritecode]

Warranties are always a hot topic around here. There are a small percentage of people that are glad they bought them and it saved them a bunch of money, but more often than not they are a waste of money.

We normally pass on them but a few years back we bought a brand-new washer and they offered us one with the caveat that if we didn't use it within a 5-year period we'd got our money back for it. We figured it was a win-win as it was a local company that had been in business for many decades.

About 3 years later they went out of business. We never did need to use the warranty and we never got the money back either.

[NMWildcat]

The thing with RVs isn't IF they will have some sort of problem, but WHEN.
If you do your research and read all the fine print, there are extended warranties that are very beneficial. XtraRide platinum policy is one. I have never heard anything bad about this policy and have used it myself. It is pretty much a bumper to bumper policy. Even covered seals. Of course it doesn't cover things like tires and brake pads. Used it all over the US with no problems.
Will it pay for itself? Probably, if you actually use it like you should. We turned in every repair that was going to cost over the deductible of $50 per claim. And a claim could have multiple repairs included. Every repair facility took it as they were familiar with it and said that this policy actually paid them in a timely manner, unlike warranty from manufacturer.
How many folks use extended warranty? Don't know, but most of my group does, especially with the fancy, expensive RVs these days.

[Jack350]

I measured the refrigerator depth and the rv door first before purchase. There have been to many of these stories of a difficult replacement. Hope you have some luck in your repair.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Did they actually test the refrigerator and find a freon leak? That's a pretty new refrigerator to have that type of problem.

[Sunseeker16]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

The thing with RVs isn't IF they will have some sort of problem, but WHEN.
If you do your research and read all the fine print, there are extended warranties that are very beneficial. XtraRide platinum policy is one. I have never heard anything bad about this policy and have used it myself. It is pretty much a bumper to bumper policy. Even covered seals. Of course it doesn't cover things like tires and brake pads. Used it all over the US with no problems.
Will it pay for itself? Probably, if you actually use it like you should. We turned in every repair that was going to cost over the deductible of $50 per claim. And a claim could have multiple repairs included. Every repair facility took it as they were familiar with it and said that this policy actually paid them in a timely manner, unlike warranty from manufacturer.
How many folks use extended warranty? Don't know, but most of my group does, especially with the fancy, expensive RVs these days.

I'm sure glad you are happy with them, they sure don't have very good ratings

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by Sunseeker16

I'm sure glad you are happy with them, they sure don't have very good ratings

Are you talking XtraRide Platinum specifically or extended warranties in general?
Of course I am really happy with XtraRide, that is why I wrote what I did. I personally know several folks who are also happy with them, and as I said previously, I have never heard anything bad about this specific policy.

[RedhawkCC]

We got our first RV 7 years ago - Forest River Ultra Light 30 foot fiver. We were new, uninformed, just trying to have some fun. Got the PSA on salesman recommendation. We’ve paid for 7 annual inspections to keep that warranty active. At about $300 per year we have over $2,100 out the door and never used that warranty. Find out the inspection requirements before you sign on the line.

[Chuck_S]

The refrigerator as well as all the appliances should have it's own warranty. Forest River or any other motorhome or camper maker buys these and does not warranty them, the manufacturer warrants them. Years ago the local Jayco dealer handled a warranty issue with my camper's refrigerator and they knew I didn't buy it there.

-- Chuck

[Tom48]

Originally Posted by desert-star

First of all we LOVE our 2020 Dynamax Isata 5, we purchased new in 2020 and have not had it on the road as much as we would have liked due to my husband's medical issues.

It has been in storage for the last 1.5 years, so Memorial Day weekend we thought we would de-winterize it and take for a quick trip to the mountains.

I found that the Fridgidaire fridge was no longer cooling. I thought surely this would be an easy fix, even though compressor, evaporator fans were all kicking on maybe it was the thermostat?

I gave up trying to hunt down the problem and called our son-in-law who is an appliance repair tech (but lives 6 hours away) and he said after all of my checking he guessed the freon leaked out and we were looking at a fridge replacement.

Took it to a shop and they are quoting 10 hours of labor @$189/hour and a $1200 fridge replacement, we are looking at $3300 of repairs on a 2.5 year old coach that has had little use. 10 hours of labor due to the fact that the dinette window, valance, light fixture all have to be removed to get the old refrigerator out and the new one in.

My Public Service Announcement (PSA) is BUY A WARRANTY! I am regretting that we did not opt for it either at purchase or buying the Good Sam Extended Plan after the fact. We could be paying a minimal deductible.

I will be purchasing a warranty TODAY. I know the faulty fridge is not the fault of Dynamax, for the record I have never been a fan of Frigidaire or GE (the only option available to replace it due to size) appliances and now we are trading one for the other. Hope the new one lasts longer.

I never would have imagined we would be dealing with such a huge repair 2.5 years in.

Off to get a glass of wine to drown my sorrows...thanks for listening.

Be grateful. If the replacement is available and you can get in to a competent shot. Ours was a 2005 Norcold 1200. Did have a warranty, but took neatly a month to get approval then the frig was a seven month back order. I let the shop handle billing but looked like over $4k for friggin and over $2k for labor. But a plus, we love our new propane frig.

[n1acguy]

Well, I wish you the best of luck. Domestic refrigerators are not designed to be in mobile applications. These days high efficiency evaporators and condensers are made completely out of aluminum as opposed to the copper tube and aluminum fin design of yesterday. As the RV is rumbling down the road, the compressor is continually moving on its resilient mounts. This results in cracked tubing and refrigerant leaks before long as you found out.
The same thing happens with the A/C units for the same reason. It's generally cracked tubing from the compressor to one of the coils due to constant movement. The domestic refrigerators are a bad trend in mobile applications. Might not be so bad if they went back to copper tubing for those applications.

That said, I wish people would stop referring to every refrigerant as freon. It was only freon if it was made by Dupont, and they quit making the single component refrigerants labeled as such for the most part.
Ironically they did bring back the name for one of the blends that are designed to replace R-22, but that is the exception.

Most domestic refrigerators use R-134A as the replacement for the old R-12, and most of the automotive industry has moved on to R-1234YF.

[jthorpe]

Originally Posted by desert-star

First of all we LOVE our 2020 Dynamax Isata 5, we purchased new in 2020 and have not had it on the road as much as we would have liked due to my husband's medical issues.

It has been in storage for the last 1.5 years, so Memorial Day weekend we thought we would de-winterize it and take for a quick trip to the mountains.

I found that the Fridgidaire fridge was no longer cooling. I thought surely this would be an easy fix, even though compressor, evaporator fans were all kicking on maybe it was the thermostat?

I gave up trying to hunt down the problem and called our son-in-law who is an appliance repair tech (but lives 6 hours away) and he said after all of my checking he guessed the freon leaked out and we were looking at a fridge replacement.

Took it to a shop and they are quoting 10 hours of labor @$189/hour and a $1200 fridge replacement, we are looking at $3300 of repairs on a 2.5 year old coach that has had little use. 10 hours of labor due to the fact that the dinette window, valance, light fixture all have to be removed to get the old refrigerator out and the new one in.

My Public Service Announcement (PSA) is BUY A WARRANTY! I am regretting that we did not opt for it either at purchase or buying the Good Sam Extended Plan after the fact. We could be paying a minimal deductible.

I will be purchasing a warranty TODAY. I know the faulty fridge is not the fault of Dynamax, for the record I have never been a fan of Frigidaire or GE (the only option available to replace it due to size) appliances and now we are trading one for the other. Hope the new one lasts longer.

I never would have imagined we would be dealing with such a huge repair 2.5 years in.

Off to get a glass of wine to drown my sorrows...thanks for listening.

Honestly you're having these issues because the coach sat for so long. It's kind of like an airplane. Airlines keep them flying all the time for a reason, it keeps them in good shape. These things, like airplanes, are designed to be used and when they sit for that amount of time, they waste away.

Having said that, I would recommend calling a regular appliance repair tech and see what they say.

[JRHill02]

I have to disagree unless you are completely reliant on someone else. Then extended warranties are for you! I don't believe in luck but it may apply here. Then you have to find a shop that will accept the warranty and the pay out, even if they sold it to you. Then there are the magic exclusions. Then all you have to do is hope the shop can actually fix the problem.

I hate extended warranties with a passion. Insurance makes sense in some situations. Not so much in other.

[McLaughlin]

Well, I don’t usually bite on warranties, however, I did with both our F250 and 2014 Elkridge at the time. Thank goodness we did because warranties were used heavily on both and yes one was for the fridge that quit.

However with our current Rockwood mini pretty much everything has gone out once (except for the fridge) and I’ve been able to fix stuff. No warranty.

I think if you are not mechanically inclined, get a warranty that covers everything with a low deductible, especially on large units….

In my humble opinion.

Doug

[Oaklevel]

The few times that we purchased an extended warranty it was money thrown away.

Our current camper needed a $250 AC repair out of our pocket....... extended warrenty $2500 our savings $2250.00

Camper before that no repair needed out of factory warranty...... savings $2500

Camper before that we bought used no repairs needed after purchase. Extended warranty would have been a waste of money.

[Starflyte18]

Most people do not keep their RV long enough to take advantage of the aftermarket warranties. Take care of your unit and use it frequently. RVs are very simple and not difficult to disassemble. The components are easily replaced with time and patience.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by Starflyte18

Most people do not keep their RV long enough to take advantage of the aftermarket warranties.

You must run with a much different crowd than I do then