Norcold Fridge owners beware!

[SkyBound]

Just got back from a 25 night trip with the trailer. We had a great time, did all the things we wanted to, and spent quality family time together.

Just wanted to share with you a problem I encountered, which after some research seems like it's somewhat common and likely preventable.

We were loading groceries into the fridge when all of a sudden the door made a popping sound and went crooked, and nearly fell off. The lower hinge had broken.

The Norcold fridge door has a plastic frame in which the hinges are molded into. These plastic pieces sit on a metal dowel which is part of a bracket bolted to the fridge. The fridge door itself is quite light in weight, but the wood trim fascia is actually surprisingly heavy. That, combined with the weight of the food and drinks loaded in the door makes for a very heavy piece for a little plastic hinge to hold.

I went to the local Jayco dealer and they looked into it, finding that an entire new door would be required to fix it (the female part of the hinge is part of the door) and it would cost over $300 for a new one.

I bought some Gorilla Glue and glued the broken piece back in place, and removed the heavy wood trim from the door as well as all food items inside. In doing so, I was able to limp it through the rest of our trip without any problems. I'll finish the season like this and get a new door next year.

In summary, watch how much weight you put in the door of your fridge! The hinges are plastic and the bottom one takes an incredible amount of weight and is prone to breaking.

I'm certain the 6 and 8 cubic foot models use the same hinge design but the 8 cubic foot models are at a higher risk due to a larger/heavier outside wood trim piece and more shelves on the inside for greater capacity.

I will try to call Norcold and see what can be done about this because in no way was the door overstocked with food/drink. Seems like a design failure since it's somewhat common amongst owners.

[koko]

Good to know. Sometimes we put milk and a couple of juice bottles in the door...probably not smart. We'll rethink how we load. Thanks.

[norty1]

This is a common and known problem that has been discussed in a thread here. There is a mod to purchase a metal attachment that strengthens the weak spot.
Someone will surely post the link. I added mine and have no worries. As I remember the kit comes with the part for a left and a right opening door. Someone gave me the left over part and it was a 5 minute job to install.

[RVhiker]

Norcold makes a hinge reinforcement kit; it is made of metal. I added the kit to our norcold door to hopefully avoid the hinge breaking. It is available at Amazon Hinge as well as at many other places.

It is stupid for Jayco to hang heavy wood panels on plastic hinges. It is wrong for Norcold to charge about $30 for a $3 piece. And it is wrong for Norcold not to add these reinforcements to all hinges proactively.

[ALJO]

Yes, Norcold should look after their customers - it is their poor cheap design.
Send it for FREE Norcold. Corporation will take your money and run. Small business will give good service........oops!

[TCNashville]

Originally Posted by RVhiker

It is stupid for Jayco to hang heavy wood panels on plastic hinges. It is wrong for Norcold to charge about $30 for a $3 piece. And it is wrong for Norcold not to add these reinforcements to all hinges proactively.

Couldn't agree more with this statement. I did this mod last year and yes it was very easy and I don't worry about the door on my N-8 fridge falling off any more. I used the left hinge and sent the right one to a JOF member in need. Shame on Norcold for not putting metal hinges in there in the first place.

[SkyBound]

Well if anyone has a right sided hinge reinforcement bracket they don't need I would be ever so grateful...

[DaveT]

Is there a way to remove the heavy insert?

[Big1]

So do you replace all of them?

[SkyBound]

The heavy insert slides into the door from the vertical side that is not hinged. There is a black trim piece that can be pulled off (it's a track clip style) and then the wood fascia slides out.

[ChristopherW]

I had this same poorly designed hinge fail on me at the start of a trip. I would suggest anyone with a Norcold Model N821RT and other models ??, buy the Retrofit Hinge repair kit and install it before your next trip.

I like the “Norcold Guy” http://thenorcoldguy.com/for a great website of Norcold products.
The Hinge repair and “Door Liner” are also available from Amazon. Note the “door liner” is the white liner inside the fridge, as well as the black edge trim and top/bottom hinges. If the hinge breaks, I suggest you buy the door liner (and the Retrofit kit) to keep the hinge from breaking again.

Note: there are no instructions included with the door liner. It is an easy job to install the liner, here is what I did:
-You must first disassemble the old door/liner
-On the broken door/liner, pry at the broken end with a screwdriver and cut the foam insulation holding it together with a putty knife. Remove that end with the old broken hinge
-Slide out the wood panel from the old door/liner
-On the new door/liner, pry at the bottom end with a screwdriver and cut the foam insulation holding it together with a putty knife, the same as you did on the old door
-Slide in the wood panel (from the old door/liner) into the new door liner
-Re-glue the end of the new door liner/hinge to the same spot now that the wood panel is in place. At the recommendation of TAP Plastics I used E6000 glue which has held for 3 trips. I used some long pipe clamps to apply a little pressure during drying.
-Attach the hinge retrofit kit and re-install the door

I hope that makes sense, good luck.

[norty1]

Credit where credit is due. hoppers4 sent me his extra lower door hinge support. It was easy to install before it breaks and less expensive.

Thanks again!

[edatlanta]

I performed the mod on my Norcold a few years ago, but I also NEVER travel with anything in the door. I just move these items back to the door after arriving. I know the metal bracket mod is supposed to prevent door damage when the door is loaded, but I just don't want to tease the gorilla when traveling.

[norty1]

Ours is always loaded. Never a problem but now it's not a worry.

[SkyBound]

Has anyone called Norcold and got anywhere with this issue? It's clearly a design flaw if there is a repair/reinforcement kit out there for this exact problem.

[FeatherFam]

I continually read and hear negative things about Norcold products.

[Roamer55]

Is this a problem with the double door fridge also?

[dzwiss]

Originally Posted by norty1

This is a common and known problem that has been discussed in a thread here. There is a mod to purchase a metal attachment that strengthens the weak spot.
Someone will surely post the link. I added mine and have no worries. As I remember the kit comes with the part for a left and a right opening door. Someone gave me the left over part and it was a 5 minute job to install.

Thanks for the heads up. I installed this part and not only do I feel that I headed off a problem, but now the door swings much more smoothly and closes easier. The unreinforced hinge must have been sagging and probably would have broken soon.

[bdreinv]

Originally Posted by dzwiss

Thanks for the heads up. I installed this part and not only do I feel that I headed off a problem, but now the door swings much more smoothly and closes easier. The unreinforced hinge must have been sagging and probably would have broken soon.

Heads up on the 1210 model ordered interior cooling fan from Smart RV Products.They include a replacement for the interior drip pan only has about a 1/4 inch lip.They claim Norcolds pan is to deep and creates an air dam which effects cooling.Will post some pic when I get the unit. Thanks

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by SkyBound

Has anyone called Norcold and got anywhere with this issue? It's clearly a design flaw if there is a repair/reinforcement kit out there for this exact problem.

It started happening 8-9 yrs go and "supposedly" they redesigned the hinge. Apparently not..