Refrigerator falling out

[AWF1945]

Okay glad I caught this in time. My wife yells the refrigerator is falling out as we were existing the interstate. If not for the bungee cords it may have.

Not sure if it left the factory this way but its not fastened at the top. Its leaning in at the top too as if the legs in the back are not adjusted right.

Looks like four small screws at the bottom are all thats securing it. Looks like I'm going to have to remove it to see whats up with it leaning in towards back.

Check your everyone. Thank goodness for the bungee cords.

[AWF1945]

Cords saved the day.. notice how its leaning in at the top..

[halla]

Will check ours asap. I swapped bungee cord for a kayak strap, no give in it, which hopefully holds it better.


2016 Dynamax Force. Just-Rite2

[bclemens]

I don't think we're supposed to screw into the fridge. So I think that brace is just meant to hold it in place. A residential fridge sits on the floor/deck, unlike a gas absorption fridge which is built in.

What fridge do you have? I can ask what is supposed to be there.

[AWF1945]

Not sure how that L bracket is supposed to keep it from tilting back and forth banging against wall or something. It wasn't like that when I bought it because I checked it. This thing was loose.... very loose. I assure you going down the road like it is can't be good for the compressor.

I'll figure it out. I slid it out and noticed double sided tape holding where apparently the L brackets were attached. The fridge dropped down a little somehow and pulled it loose.

I'll remove that plastic cover disconnect wires and figure out better top mount. The way it is aint gonna get it.

[halla]

Our looks like it has 3m double sided tape on the bracket where it touches the fridge, screwed to the wood only. Ours is not shaky, yet. Lol. I think the road is the main culprit in most of my items unscrewing themselves. I used blue loctite on all the machine screws and a dab of interior construction glue on all wood screws i put back in.


2016 Dynamax Force. Just-Rite2

[AWF1945]

Originally Posted by bclemens

What fridge do you have? I can ask what is supposed to be there.

Frigidaire gallary 3 door. I see what they're trying to accomplish with this set up, however it failed on mine. Thanks, just passing it along.

[BLK-9]

My Frigidaire looks pretty good. Attached are a couple of pictures of both brackets. I'm not sure what the adhesive is called connecting the bracket to the fridge.


Mike
2016 Force HD

[AWF1945]

Its held in place with double sided tape.

[bclemens]

More than likely 3M VHB tape.

[Rancher Rob]

My teenage son took a bottle of water out of the fridge and didn't restrap it with that lousy bungy cord and the whole fridge tipped out when we went around a turn! Luckily, depending on how you look at it, the doors flew open first and the door hit the opposite wall and stopped the fridge from fully falling out. It tipped back upright, with his help, a couple moments later as we turned the other direction in the "S" turns. It left a nice gash in the wall. No, I wasn't even doing the speed limit as we were going up a steep hill at the time.

Upon inspection, it appears the adhesive on the angle plates at the top failed as the plates were mounted roughly 1/4" too high and so there was constant downward pressure from the plastic piece on top of the fridge. As well, at the bottom, there were only 2 small screws holding the bottom in place and one of those small screws had sheared off. The screws are obviously too light duty for holding a heavy refrigerator in place.

To solve the issue, we re-bonded the angle plates to the top of the fridge with 3m 5200 permanent adhesive and then re-screwed the plates to the surrounding wood. In the bottom, we put 4 heavy duty screws in to hold it in place. We'll see if it holds now. Like the original OP said 5 years ago, I suggest you check your fridge mounts. I'm just thankful one of the kids wasn't walking through there to the bathroom or something when it fell out!

[bclemens]

1. We are not allowed to screw into the fridge or it voids the warranty...per the fridge mfg.
2. I have seen some fridges settle, and in that case they would be slightly lower. The bracket would not have been installed 1/4" too high.
3. The design we use today is 100% different for a couple of different reasons.
A. we found a supplier that would let us screw into the door, per their instructions. So no bungie cords
B. we were able to put a steel plate in that ties into the door hinges and so we can use their mounting screw holes to tie in and secure the fridge.

Obviously, residential fridges do not come with any method to secure in a mobile environment. So it is constantly evolving. In the 6 years I have been here, I recall 5-6 that have shifted.

[BellaBee]

I had a quick look at our fridge and the top bracket seems to be okay. However, I expect over time it will likely fail as well. Just too much mass to hold with two small angle brackets and four wood screws. One solution I can see (we have the three door fridge) is to have two steel brackets made to secure the middle of the fridge and extend to the wood frame. I'm going to have a go at adding that support to have more confidence on this appliance mounting provisions.

I did away with the bungie long ago by adding an aftermarket bracket with a 3D printed block to install and hold all three doors from opening during travel. This little device has worked perfectly and requires no modification to the fridge. The product is called "Fridge Fixer". https://www.recubed.solutions/

The 3D printed part is kind of rough but the bracket is nicely designed.

While we're chatting about the fridge, do any of you hear water dripping into the bottom of your fridge? We do. I checked the manual and it's normal due to condensation but sometimes it seems like lots of dripping. I've never had an issue with any water overflow so I'm not sure how it's plumbed from the capture tray to exit into the water drain, but I'm assuming it is that way. So far so good.

Cheers,

[Delco Bobby]

Originally Posted by BellaBee

I had a quick look at our fridge and the top bracket seems to be okay. However, I expect over time it will likely fail as well. Just too much mass to hold with two small angle brackets and four wood screws. One solution I can see (we have the three door fridge) is to have two steel brackets made to secure the middle of the fridge and extend to the wood frame. I'm going to have a go at adding that support to have more confidence on this appliance mounting provisions.



I did away with the bungie long ago by adding an aftermarket bracket with a 3D printed block to install and hold all three doors from opening during travel. This little device has worked perfectly and requires no modification to the fridge. The product is called "Fridge Fixer". https://www.recubed.solutions/



The 3D printed part is kind of rough but the bracket is nicely designed.



While we're chatting about the fridge, do any of you hear water dripping into the bottom of your fridge? We do. I checked the manual and it's normal due to condensation but sometimes it seems like lots of dripping. I've never had an issue with any water overflow so I'm not sure how it's plumbed from the capture tray to exit into the water drain, but I'm assuming it is that way. So far so good.



Cheers,

I was told the “capture tray” in residential refrigerators allows the water to evaporate. There is no drain for that water. At least none that I have seen in a frost free household refrigerator.