dometic fridge / freezer

Well some of the members may already know while at Wilsthorpe regatta field.. our Dometic fridge/ freezer decided to not freeeeeeze on our 3 year old Rapido 9090DF...or even get cold... gas was working....230/240v was working...even 12v engine it was kicking in....all seemed to be working ...even the digital readout was showing no fault...it showed all the items as working  gas...230v..12v..even auto....but nothing was getting cold...so we returned back to France 4 days early..(Nobody could get a part in the Uk for at least another 2 to 3 weeks)..

So today....off to le Toquet to the Rapido Dealer at the airport...about the Fridge/freezer....well the cost of the part is........... 780 euros......then labour so it will be over 1000 euros......!!!!!! bluudy heck..chris said we are not wanting another Rapido we just want the fridge/freezer mending........

So then off we go to Calais to see a dometic agent Bustner dealer...he is going to check the price then come back to us ???.....
We was told a while back to replace one of these fridge/ freezer would be over 1000 euros...??...Dometic warranty is only for 2 years...

I will keep you up to date what happens if any are interested....

rollicks Mel, just wish I had known about earlier as I have a contact in Clithero that could have sorted you for a lot less than that.   

What a bummer and we are parked about 20 miles from Clitheroe------come on back

Mel, sorry to hear that, might be better getting a new one as replacement part is way over the top.

Don Quixote. wrote:

Mel, sorry to hear that, might be better getting a new one as replacement part is way over the top.

John you may be right....and we are thinking of going down that route..But Alan has just sent us an email saying a company in england wants £1300 just for the new fridge...without labour....and these fridges are built in so tight or have been built into the van in situe and not allowing any repairs...or to take out without taking a lot of the van to bits/dismantle...????not sure which is the best route at the mo John

Can you not go direct to factory ( not sure how far from you they are ) and show them the list of things in the past and see if they will do a discount and perhaps fit at factory? How you "googled" problems with Rapido Dometic/Freezer see if any other owners have had a problem in the past. Anything at this stage is worth a try. Fingers crossed.

Don Quixote. wrote:

Can you not go direct to factory ( not sure how far from you they are ) and show them the list of things in the past and see if they will do a discount and perhaps fit at factory? How you "googled" problems with Rapido Dometic/Freezer see if any other owners have had a problem in the past. Anything at this stage is worth a try. Fingers crossed.

John we have already tried the factory route many times in the Past...Our Rapido has had a fair few problems...toooooo many to mention....Rapido will not deal at the factory they tell you to go back to the agent and they will repair....and what repairs we have had done in the past by the Rapido main agent...a blind man could do better ...in fact in many cases after they had been working on the M/home for over 5 hours and we are sat in the show room.. I have had to show, in fact repair myself with the new equiptment they had and was trying to fit...for the first two years I spent more time back at the dealers having repairs what should never have come out of Rapido factory....so yesterday we travelled to another Rapido agent !!!! ??? say no more 750 euros for parts plus the labour we are now talking over a 1000 euros as the fridge freezer has to come out to do the repair ...and the Rapido man did not even come out of his showroom to look at the fault!!!....so that is why we have now gone to a Burstner / Dometic agent and now waiting his reply

Worrying that they can be so casual about it all considering how how you have spent, but then again perhaps thats how they are are the sale. I hope the reply is good news.

Don Quixote. wrote:

Worrying that they can be so casual about it all considering how how you have spent, but then again perhaps thats how they are are the sale. I hope the reply is good news.

it seems that way John ...once they have your brass

BUGGERS........... On a different subject sent Sat box for update and Ron informs me could takes weeks as his programming box has gone back to factory and they are not playing the game, so you get yours updated at just the right time.

What about contacting anyone in the UK that does repairs on MH and see if they can supply and fit new one. This MH game is bloody expensive.............

Don Quixote. wrote:

BUGGERS........... On a different subject sent Sat box for update and Ron informs me could takes weeks as his programming box has gone back to factory and they are not playing the game, so you get yours updated at just the right time.

What about contacting anyone in the UK that does repairs on MH and see if they can supply and fit new one. This MH game is bloody expensive.............

Ah Ha John the sat box they mended ours or reset of ours...Mmmm well it works now and again...so that may be the reason....our not set correctly

John if we go to the uk....we have the tunnel to pay with return with a dog plus vets fees so you are taulking 300+ at this time of year plus... short notice....then you would need to stay somewhere.. diesel....and the Dometic agent said he thinks the part would be around £240/£250 and they could not get the part for at lest two to three weeks...then he would need a motorhome agent to remove and refit the fridge freezer for him to work on....so you would have dealer to pay as well..and all this in £s not euros...(exchange rate..1.25)..then if you had a problem afterwards !!!! well....I am not sure the UK is the option......a dometic motorhome agent in Portugal when we had trouble with the same fridge freezer that freezer lock froze solid and we could not get the freezer door open.....he said these freezers..designed by morons.....made by morons and fitted into motorhomes by morons....they do not think of when they break down and need repairing..all there work is done on a work bench.....not in a motorhome

Heck not often we are lucky but touch wood our fridge is working and our Mobilsat works every time we press the button.
Heck I do like tempting providence

Mel, BIG shotgun comes to mind.............. We are not in a rush for the sat box as we are not planning a run out until mid August, so loads of time. 
They have you by the proverbials, looks like a 12 volt freezer box in the short term. We feel for you.

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Mel, give Jeff a call at the above company and give him your story, he has in the past done excellent work on my fridges, yes its UK but he may just point you in a different direction.

Know how your feeling after just paying £1200 for 1 No 5 injector, motorhoming is a way of life not a hobby and can be very expensive and its only gets worse after you have bought your dream machine   

whistlinggypsy wrote:

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Mel, give Jeff a call at the above company and give him your story, he has in the past done excellent work on my fridges, yes its UK but he may just point you in a different direction.

Know how your feeling after just paying £1200 for 1 No 5 injector, motorhoming is a way of life not a hobby and can be very expensive and its only gets worse after you have bought your dream machine   

I totally Agree with you Bob..I was not a moan..I have been motorhoming for many years and before caravanning for 30 + and more years so I do know the score..I just thought I would post for other members....as the saga unfolds...although 3 years is not a long time for a fridge ...... also it's nice to get other members input as they come on board with there idea's and maybe a different route we have not already tried or thought out ....at the end of the day it has to be done....as I said to John coming back to the Uk..for repairs..there has to be a great difference to warrant it.... I will keep the link you posted..thank you..as later on I may need it...

BUT at the moment I am waiting for the Dometic agent in Calais to come back to me either by Phone or email with a price before I move forward ......

Yes Bob I did see where someone had commented about your injector and I did feel for you...ouch....

BOB I never dream....it's dangerous...........But I do know what you mean...at the end of the day Bob the fridge/freezer needs to be mended..because we do like motorhoming.... the modern day gypsy

Don Quixote. wrote:

Mel, BIG shotgun comes to mind.............. We are not in a rush for the sat box as we are not planning a run out until mid August, so loads of time. 
They have you by the proverbials, looks like a 12 volt freezer box in the short term. We feel for you.

Thanks John and thankyou for trying...and yes at the end of the day they do have you by the Bulls locks of hair.... 

Totally feel for you Mel,the newer these motorhomes are getting the more complicated they are, as its no longer under warranty would it be better to use an independant engineer rather than the dealers, just a thought.Hope you get the problem sorted with as minimal cost as possible.

The Burchies wrote:

Totally feel for you Mel,the newer these motorhomes are getting the more complicated they are, as its no longer under warranty would it be better to use an independant engineer rather than the dealers, just a thought.Hope you get the problem sorted with as minimal cost as possible.

Hi thanks,
The new vans do get more complicated, a lot of it just for show...and not really needed.

The bloke who we are waiting a reply from is a Dometic agent....but a Burstner motorhome agent and he did seem to be interested in putting the ffreezer back to right he took all the information had the grills off looked inside where the grills to see if there was any other visible clues and checked with Dometic to try and see if it was still under warranty using the carte gris (log book) but alas no the warranty was only two years and the M/home is now 3 years old..with still 6 month warranty left
All the other dealers Rapido and others could not be bothered to even come outside look at the problem!!!!!!????? just quoted a price

Now the warranty on the Rapido is for 3 years and 6 months......yes the 6 months sounds odd, well there is a reason there was that many faults from new on the Rapido 50 to 60 + faults!!!! we complained to the very top of the tree......so they extended the warranty another 6 months...BUT MANY OF OUR COMPLAINTS...was due to the agent /Dealers repairs..that took a lot to be desired many made a bigger problem when repairing the original problem...electronic door locks ..new doors....half the screws was missing in the van..all over...all gas joints was not tightened..many of the electrics behind panels and walls not connected.water joints not fastened...vent grills that fell off...doors to the toilet room had 2 tiny 3/8" no4 screws in.. the other eight were missing not even holes as if they had been any in...door fell off on route...skirting boards had screw holes ..BUT no screws..door locks and catchers that never even locked or caught the pin....the pin keeps had to have extension pieces to hold the doors & draws closed....shower door would not stay shut...why..well they had put the magnetic strip on the wrong way what happens when you put north/south or north/north so instead of holding it closed it did the opposite it pushed it away.??? that was a common fault Rapido said when we called at the factory....and after 4 new expellair cooker hood motors that still does not suck air out....and neither did all there stock of 20 to 30 Rapido motorhomes at the dealers..most of them was on the Merc engine chassis...all the dealer could say was that is what Rapido send to replace yours..YES...BUT THEY DON'T WORK..why fit them..the list goes on ...many repairs have been done by the dealer and then been re-done by myself..rubber window seals 3/4" short at the bottom that allows water inside the door they fitted 3 replacement rubbers all the same.why because that is what comes from the factory in a sealed plastic bag...all to short . many of the faults I have done myself..being a joiner..I could not bring myself to travel 50 miles there and 50 miles back for another bogged job form the dealer .so in Rapido I have no faith....

I was beginning to think I had purchased a kit motorhome you build yourself

Oh by the way the vans is ok at the moment except the fridge freezer all problems now rectified....many NOT by the French dealer...

So as you can see we are used to Problems....it seems a way of life for us with our Rapido ...as I know many others Rapido's owners that have or have had similar problems .....and of course it is not just Rapido...it does seem to be the modern motorhomes coming off assembly lines...
And this fault is not a Rapido fault it's a Dometic
That's life and we get on with it....I do think the older vans are was better built....but I do like my new vans... so we have to take what comes..and be there unpaid quality control officers
Look on the bright side

Mel we also have always had new m/hs (5 off) until we got Buffy and apart from our last injector problem (which could happen anytime to anyone) the basic quality of the m/h is superb for something 11years old with no water ingress, everything opens and shuts as it should, we have had some issues with after sales parts fitted that required attention and was always done to our satisfaction, but in general I agree with you, the modern m/h is shabbily made, poor or ineffective materials and generally shoddy workmanship, yet still we buy these inferior products and the manufacturers and dealers do not want to know once you have parted with your £££££s.

Today I phoned Oaktree m/hs where we bought Buffy from 30 months ago and explained a problem that arose from poor workmanship from the garage that recently repaired the faulty injector, it concerned the failure of the alarm system which was caused by them not replacing the wiring back into the original position and the fan slicing it up, no problem they said bring it in and we will put it right. the service and after sales has been the the best we have ever had from any previous dealer and I will be returning to them for my next m/h when the time is right.

Do hope you get a satisfactory outcome with your dilemma and as always Homers and the members are here to help in anyway possible.

Regards

Bob

I have read all the comments regarding problems with motorhomes. It is true that modern m/hs are very nice to look at, but they are getting more and more complicated and less practical. I once solved a problem for some friends, when after much searching, replaced a relay that had been hidden behind an overhead cupboard! The price of motorhomes has risen to incredible levels, and trying to find places where aftercare is carried out diligently.......difficult. I think this is why I like self built m/hs so much, they are not all pretty, but keep their owners very happy, and when something goes wrong, you know where to look for the problem. I watched a Youtube presentation of a Swift factory tour, and was surprised to find that the workers were on "piece work" might explain a few anomalies. My m/h was 14 years old and had suffered the ravages of time and crappy repairs, and poor manufacturing, so I decided to do a rebuild. Anyway, despite the problems, may we all have happy times in our chosen camping system.

Hi Bob....Your link to Jeff was good and the price would have been excellent, and Jeff replied straight away...a good man and a Dometic agent.. http://www.leisuretechservices.co.uk/
Bob what a shame I was not still in the UK.....I was towing with the idea of still coming but it would be £135.00 more and if anything went wrong it was another lot of money and the journey there and back..total 900miles ....so it looks like Calais caravans have got me by the short and curlies 

Mel


The cost would be to come to the UK
Tunnel booking for for 2 to 4 days travel....
Calais to Folkstone..... 126 euros
return
Folkstone to Calais....... 220 euros.
1 dog ...24 euros each way ... 48 euros
Total.......................................394 euros....exchange rate @ 1.25 =...£315.00
Diesel from home and back...............................................................£190.00
site fees for 2 to 4 nights could be anything from £30 to £100...............£50.00
Vets fees pet passport...from 25 euros to 48 euros (exch rate approx).. £30.00
Cost of repair...................................................................................£450.00......................................................................total cost of repair would be around £1035.00...UK


If I took the Rapido agents rough estimate on the phone..( and this could go up to the same as the Calais agent)...780euros for the part and labour on top we are talking..over 1000euros...of say 1050 euros exchange rate to pound sterling..£840


The Calais quote.....and I would think the Rapido quote would have been the same as they P/fix.. 

The price in £ sterling would be £900.00


de : Corinne DEPREZ <[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]>


A : mel********.fr <mel*******.fr>

Objet : Devis Frigo



Bonjour,
REMISE de PRIX

Pour remplacement agregat sur frigo camping car Rapido BK176YF

Depose frigo double porte
Depose et remplacement agregat
Repose et essais.
soit MO 5h 59EUR 295,00EUR TTC

1 agregat RMD 8505 756,00EUR
Divers mastic thermique,vis joints 75,00EUR
---------------
Total TTC 1126,00EUR

Delai reception agregat 8 à 10 jours
Delai actuel travaux atelier fin Juillet.

Bien à vous

Marc DEPREZ

Mel, right now we could not even think about covering that sort of cost, we would need to start working again to cover it. What about the MH insurance will it not cover the damage made by you when you fainted and pulled the door off on the way down. Who would know....... other than all on here...... 

Don Quixote. wrote:

Mel, right now we could not even think about covering that sort of cost, we would need to start working again to cover it. What about the MH insurance will it not cover the damage made by you when you fainted and pulled the door off on the way down. Who would know....... other than all on here...... 

John....what are you thinking of   .......NO I just pay those buggers "Insurance Companies" but never claim....???...  

Well we have just contacted Calais Caravanes to go ahead and order the part and to do the work as sugested at the end of July....it has to be done ...as we are in limbo and can not use the m/home until the F/Freezer is repaired...

John.. don't you dare think about working again once you have retired.... 

Mel, I was thinking out loud...............  

I fully understand you need it done ASAP and to be honest if was me I would be doing the same thing as you and just getting it fixed.

As for working? not a chance I have enough work here between MH run outs to keep me on a 40 hour week....... and most if it is what Dawn wants me to fix, repair, paint, wash, iron and of course drive her all over the place. Such a hard life..................... NOT

Don Quixote. wrote:

Mel, I was thinking out loud...............  

I fully understand you need it done ASAP and to be honest if was me I would be doing the same thing as you and just getting it fixed.

As for working? not a chance I have enough work here between MH run outs to keep me on a 40 hour week....... and most if it is what Dawn wants me to fix, repair, paint, wash, iron and of course drive her all over the place. Such a hard life..................... NOT

 

I said I would report back about the Dometic fridge / freezer on our motorhome that had stopped working...the quotation from Calais caravans was 1126 euros for the repair with labour...when we called at C/caravans to collect the motorhome after they had had it for 4 days...the price had increased another 139 euros .+ labour...they said the electro valve was also blocked with a oily residue so the have had to chang the electro valve...total bill was 1265.00 euros

The photo is of the elector valve they also changed at a extra cost of 139euos + labour..on top of the original price of 1126.00...we have been at Calais Port for a week to test all is ok...

Glad you've got it sorted unfortunately at an extortionate cost.

Due to this electro valve becoming oiled up and causing a problem..after 3 years of use..I have now ordered a inline lpg filter and two replacement cartridges.....I have gone with the Gasit filter...and replacement cartridges.....they both say you to clean and change the filters annually

Cost of the 1 filter was £40.49 that was including £10.50 post & packing... the cost 2 extra replacement filters was £15.88 including postage....total £56.37...@ the exchange rate of 1.20 the Total cost in euros  to me is 67.64 euros......

Now I was going to purchase the truma...until I worked out the cost to me in France.

The Truma filter was 111.00 euros + 6 euro postage....and the 2 replacement cartridges @ 50 euros each + 12 euros postage = 112euros...total cost for the Truma filter + 2 cartridges was..229 euros

The Burchies wrote:

Glad you've got it sorted unfortunately at an extortionate cost.

Me tooooo

We feel for you that is some expense on a 3 year old van. Glad it's sorted and your now hopefully chilling and enjoying life. X

The reason's I have gone for the Gasit filter...1/. is the price !! What!! a difference for me in France...2/. the annual price of a replacement Gasit filters.£8.99 with postage to the £40.00 with postage of the Truma filter..not just a matter of a few pounds...3/. is the size of the Gasit ..compared to the Truma filter ...the Truma I would have had a hard job trying fitting it in due to the 2 x 11kg alugas refillable bottles, pipes and where the regulator is situated on top of the two bottles in the compartment without making a few changers..with the Gasit it is just a simple uncouple the pipe and reconnect with the low in filter in either at the bottle end or the regulator end.


Although for a Yarkshire man the PRICE was the biggest factor