Okay, boys and girls, today we’re going to talk refrigerators.
Wait! Wait! Come back! It won’t be that bad.
I promise!
NOTE: Due to the fact that I’m not inspired to photograph my refrigerator, and also that it’s been too windy lately to roam around outside taking pictures, this post is illustrated with photos taken previously.
The sunsets were taken from our campsite at Midland LTVA, Blythe, California. These scenes appear to be over-the-top unreal. Honestly, this is the way the sun calls it a day in this part of the world.
I also have a collection of photos of Blythe sheep and lambs handy. Thus this post is also illustrated with sheep and lambs.
No need for fancy fakery with lamb photos either. They’re as cute in real life as the photos show.
I speak the truth, do I not?
Now that you are back in your seats, let’s begin. Quiet, please.
In short, my Dometic is pathetic.
I already told you how the electronic control panel went berserk. Before the refrigerator died completely, the panel lights flashed like the control panel on a space ship in a 1960s science fiction flick.
I immediately made sure the ignition area in the exterior compartment was clean. Didn’t help. No response. It’s colder outside than in the refrigerator.
Confession time.
I haven’t told you the entire truth. My refrigerator has a lot of — shall we say — a lot of issues.
It seems that after five years of use, the plastic inside the refrigerator becomes brittle. One day I open the freezer compartment and, whaddayano, it snaps off in my hand! A piece of ice had formed next to the circular thingy that acts like a rotating hinge. Not only did the corner of the freezer compartment door break off, the circular thingy broke, too.
That’s only the beginning.
All those bouncy-jouncy journeys down rutted roads to wonderful boondocks? Well, while I’m cluelessly driving to beautiful camps, inside the refrigerator, the jar of mayo becomes Hellman’s Weapon of Mass Destruction. The plastic door shelves are the main target.
Again and again, I patch the shelves with Gorilla Glue.
Near the end, before the shelves take a death dive into the trash, I’m gorilla-glueing the Gorilla Glue. Why don’t I buy new shelves, you ask?
Well, have you priced those things lately?
Okay, “Next!”
If you go to a place like casitaforum.com, you will find discussions about the hinge plate attached to the bottom of the refrigerator door, including links for ordering a replacement. That there is a clue! This plate that connects to another plate on the frame and allows the door to swing out without the door falling off, well, it doesn’t last forever, folks!
Pretty important little item, this hinge thing. So you know what happens . . .
Yep, you guessed it.
My refrigerator’s plastic hinge plate breaks. Not only that, when it breaks, it takes with it a hunk of plastic OFF THE ACTUAL DOOR!
There goes any chance of fixing it properly.
For months, whenever I want something out of the refrigerator, the door comes off in my hands. I lean it against the wall in order to free my hands to dig around inside the fridge.
Invariably during this maneuver the items in the gorilla-glued-gorilla-glued-gorilla-glued door shelves fall to the floor. And, if the planets aren’t aligned perfectly, which they tend not to be, the duct tape on the freezer door lets go, and down it comes, too.
“Umm . . . What was that I wanted from the fridge?” I ask myself. “Gee, I can’t remember.”
You see why I didn’t blog about this?
Not exactly RVSue-and-her-perfect-life material!
The obvious, inevitable solution is a new refrigerator.
Upon registering at Midland LTVA, I ask Camp Host Netta if she can recommend an RV service place in Blythe. She can and she does: Valley Palms Trailer Supply (“We make house calls!”).
“We had them come out and install a line for that propane tank sitting outside our RV.”
She explains that their Class A’s original tanks are underneath the body . . . in an awkward place, to say the least.
Reggie and I roll on over to Valley Palms.
I have them order me a new refrigerator. When it arrives, an appointment will be made for the Best Little Trailer.
In a future post, I’ll write more about Valley Palms and the continuing saga of the BLT’s quest for refrigeration. Don’t miss it!
About Midland LTVA . . .
Maybe you are unfamiliar with Long Term Visitor Areas and Midland in particular, and you’d like to know more. Rather than explaining it all over again, here’s a link to start you on a series of posts written when Bridget, Reggie, and I camped here last winter.
rvsue
NOTE: Please do not interpret this post as a thumbs down on Dometic refrigerators or Casita travel trailers.
My experience with one refrigerator, a refrigerator that took a lot of abuse, is not representative of the gazillion like refrigerators that are performing well over time. In fact, I am confident that I could ruin a Norcold refrigerator as effectively and efficiently as I wiped out my Dometic. And I’ll always be glad I chose Casita! –Sue
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