RV Repair recommendations

[icanthearyou]

Fridge stopped working in our tent trailer. Looking for any recommendations/referrals for RV repair in the Kelowna area, thanks

[Bsuds]

There are a couple of Mobile RV repair guys out there. Try Google and read any reviews available.

[Graham Adder]

Country RV used to do repairs.
Not sure if they do anymore, but I'd assume so.
Used to be one of the few and first places that insisted their repair peeps were certified RV tech's.

[flamingfingers]

Try getting in touch with the RV program at OK college in Kelowna - the instructor may be interested in having students diagnose and fix the problem if it fits their program requirements. It is cheap.

[icanthearyou]

Try getting in touch with the RV program at OK college in Kelowna - the instructor may be interested in having students diagnose and fix the problem if it fits their program requirements. It is cheap.

thanks for the recommendation...although if it's anything like the automotive repair program then I (or a family member) would have to be enrolled

[Bsuds]

Did you get your fridge fixed?

[2K]

Country RV used to do repairs.
Not sure if they do anymore, but I'd assume so.
Used to be one of the few and first places that insisted their repair peeps were certified RV tech's.

All the places insist their repair peeps are certified RV tech's, country is nowhere near first OR few. AND, country is about $130. per hour, they won't work on tent trailers (they don't sell them either), they won't work on anything older than about 8 years or older, and they don't like to work on RV's they didn't sell. Try it out

[Bsuds]

I had a friend of my son's who works at a dealership come out and do the bearings and check the brakes on my 5th wheel.
Did an awesome job for about half the cost at at repair place. I never had to leave the house or have my rig sit somewhere for weeks while it waits it's turn!

[twofingers]

1. Take the fridge out of the tent trailer. Be careful with propane and electrical connections. A few screws or fasteners will get it loose. Take pictures before you take anything apart.

2. Take the fridge to your workbench. Flip it upside down. Leave it there for 3 days.

3. Put it all back together. Leave it for a day before plugging it in or lighting it.

4. All fixed!

[django]

1. Take the fridge out of the tent trailer. Be careful with propane and electrical connections. A few screws or fasteners will get it loose. Take pictures before you take anything apart.

2. Take the fridge to your workbench. Flip it upside down. Leave it there for 3 days.

3. Put it all back together. Leave it for a day before plugging it in or lighting it.

4. All fixed!

What's the point of that?

[W105]

that little trick has worked for us !!! also make sure to clean it well with air before lighting it...we found even tiny little cob webs can cause problems...

[twofingers]

"Burping" is a method to free-up the ammonia which may thicken and clog in the tubing in the back of the fridge. Ammonia is used in RV fridges like freon is used in home fridges. Basically, when heated by the LP burner or electric element, the ammonia travels up the tubes and through the fins in your fridge causing it to cool.

When the ammonia clogs, your fridge won't cool. To "burp" it, you take the fridge out and set it on its top for a day, turn it right-side up the next, and so on until you can hear the ammonia trickling up and down the tubing. This may take several days, but it is necessary to free-up the ammonia.

[2K]

"Burping" is a method to free-up the ammonia which may thicken and clog in the tubing in the back of the fridge. Ammonia is used in RV fridges like freon is used in home fridges. Basically, when heated by the LP burner or electric element, the ammonia travels up the tubes and through the fins in your fridge causing it to cool.

When the ammonia clogs, your fridge won't cool. To "burp" it, you take the fridge out and set it on its top for a day, turn it right-side up the next, and so on until you can hear the ammonia trickling up and down the tubing. This may take several days, but it is necessary to free-up the ammonia.

Close... ammonia is a gas and is not the cause of "clogging" or resolved by burping. If there is a "clog", it will be from a substance that is added called sodium chromate. Sodium chromate is added to the RV fridge to reduce the potential for the metal tubes (called the cooling unit) to rust from the inside out as the gases and liquids flow through the metal tubes at the back of the RV fridge. This substance is present when the metal tubes do fail, you can usually spot yellow powder on or near the tubes at the back of the fridge. That's the sodium chromate escaping from the tubes, from a hole or breach in the tubes. If a fridge sits, usually for a few years, this substance tends to solidify, and lots of RVer's have success 'burping" their fridge. Even driving on a nasty washboard road can sometimes break up the clog. Also, many other things can affect a fridges ability to operate. Clogging or solidified sodium chromate is only one of many potential issues. Burp away on the fridge, but remember a proper diagnosis or evaluation may point to another issue or failure in the fridge. Like a propane supply issue, or a defective heating element, or a switch, relay, circuit board etc

[W105]

hey 2k, thanks for the extra advice..

love when people share their expertise..