RE: [A/S] Refrigerator replacement choice

["Oliver Filippi" <ofilippi@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Tricia and Conrad,

I would suggest that you ask Jay the service manager at Oasis RV in Tucson.
He probably has more experience with what holds up and what doesn't.

He has done several repairs for me, and I am very satisfied with his work
and his thoroughness and competence.  He has also worked me in with a couple
of emergency repairs, for which I am very grateful.  Oasis's prices are not
cheap, but they are fair, and they really know what they are doing.  Also,
they are so experienced that they don't need to waste a lot of time
diagnosing the problem. Thus even with a substantial hourly labor rate, the
repair costs stay under control.  A really fine resource.

I think you can count on Jay to give you an honest answer on any Airstream
problem.

Tell him I said hello.

Oliver Filippi

P.S.

I have the original Dometic in my '76 25' Tradewind.  I have had a problem
with the valve, and couldn't get the gas mode to function (which Jay fixed
by cleaning and lubricating the valve for me - a lot cheaper than a new
fridge).

The unit is a little fussy about being level at a campsite.  Running it when
the trailer is not level can really foul up its operation (like stop it from
working!). One time it refused to make any cold with electricity (I thought
it might be a bad heating element, since there is no indicator light on the
older units to tell you if the electric heater is working) The gas flame
stayed on, but did not produce cold either (and I was sweating the
possibility of a new refrigerator).  I tried "burping" the refrigerator, but
not by taking it out and tipping it over.  I simply turned my Dometic on in
gas mode and proceeded to tow the trailer up and down several steep hills
and rough roads to jostle the ammonia and salts inside the cooling chamber.
When I returned from my half hour "Burma Road" excursion, I pleasantly
discovered COLD in the freezing compartment, and a new lease on life for the
old refrigerator.

I do not know how good the Dometic is vs. the competition, though Dometics
have been around a long time, so they ought to know how to make them.  [But
I am less than enthused about Swedish products so far as reliability is
concerned.] Hasselblad cameras, for example, are very good when they work,
but do not have a good reputation for reliability, like, say an old German
Leica. [The America astronauts used a Hasselblad on the moon, but it was
specially built.  On the other hand, Sir Edmund Hillary took essentially a
stock Leica to the top of Mt. Everest, for his pictures of himself and
Tenzing.  Even more impressive was Leica used by the sucessful Everest climb
of a Canadian team back in the late 70's, I believe.  At the time, Leica had
a camera and lens factory in Canada, so they supplied the camera. A Leica
manager (who should know) told me that the camera the Canadians took to the
top of Everest was strictly stock - nothing special, no special lubricants
etc.!  Though they did test it in a cold room before shipping it. That's my
idea of quality and reliability! Though not that much different from an
Airstream (which is why older ones are still highly sought after.)  On the
other hand, I have a several year old Asko (Swedish) front loading clothes
washer which works well, but has a number of dumb idiosyncrasies (which you
would never find in a Japanese Lexus).  Still, the Dometic may still be the
best RV refrigerator.