Re: [A/S] Fridge not holding up was First year as Airstreamer

[Guy Calafato <greencanoe@xxxxxxxxx>]

   I had a new Dometic installed in my 91 Classic by
Camping World last summer after first replacing the
cooling unit with a defective rebuilt unit from a
rebuilder in Arkansas.  Not only did that rebuilder
tell me over the phone that he was having quality
issues due to a new employee, but I still had to pay a
"restocking" fee when I returned it to him in Arkansas
for a refund. Lesson learned.  When Camping World in
NJ installed the new unit they filled all that empty
space behind the fridge by buiding a baffle out of
plywood inside the back of the compartment to narrow
the space and force the air to flow over the tubes.
The new Dometic still would not hold cooler than 42
degrees set on MAX(5), so I went back to Camping World
and they ordered a "thermister adjuster" and had it
shipped to me.  They showed me where to plug it into
the back circuit board.  Basicly it is a resistor
which sends a false signal to the computer board which
causes it to chill longer and lowers the temperature
about 8 degrees.  Of course it is cold in NJ now, but
last weekend it was holding 32 degrees set on number
"2" versus "5" so I think things are OK now.
   As to the quality issue.  We had a 76 Argosy 26,
bough used 20 some years ago.  When i sold it last
year to buy the 91, the Argosy still had the original
fridge, which would cool down to 15 degrees BELOW zero
in the frige compartment in August, running on 110 or
gas. It still had the original A/C unit which cooled
to 40 degrees below the outside temp.  6 months after
I bought the 91 I had to replace both the A/C and the
fridge and rebuild the Antenna lift mechanism.  I also
have a very long "to do" list of worn out things to
repair or replace that were still going strong on my
76 Argosy.  Don't get me wrong, I like the amenities
and the extra space in the 32 foot Airstream v.s the
26 foot Argosy, but had I suspected that quality of
the major components were so short lived in the 90s
and newer vintage I would have opted to buy a mid 70s
Airstream and used the money I saved to upgrade and
restore it.
Guy