Norcold Thetford fridge

[homer1959]

Once again a company proved that this industry is sick, really sick and that they don't care about their brand name and their customers.

I am kind of pi...d

here is why :

Norcold built a fridge with weak hinges for years , they know pretty well about it

They know so much that they designed a part to correct the flaw in the design

Norcold / Thetford are so bad that even if they screw up , even if they ackknowledge that their product is flawed they charge their customer for the part designed to fix their incompetence ....

. This is totally unnaceptable. Its not like that it is a rare issu. For them to design a reinforcement is the proof that they screw up

No one should give them 1 cents for their parts ... with this kind of attitude


ok now I feel better

[norty1]

So are you going to drive around with the door on the floor? When I found out about it many others were having problems. Others not. I replaced mine just in case.

Have you taken up your complaint with Norcold?

[TCNashville]

Yeah I find it rather silly that a company with a known design flaw just doesn't install the part to fix it in the first place, and this has been going on for years now. But it is what it is and the part is not expensive and the install is easy.

[homer1959]

Originally Posted by norty1

So are you going to drive around with the door on the floor? When I found out about it many others were having problems. Others not. I replaced mine just in case.

Have you taken up your complaint with Norcold?

Are you trying to be a smart .... with your first question ? If you cannot figure that out NO, but i wont give them one penny for their mod either .

They act like highway robber , and I dont deal with highway robber if I can avoid

I dont need their silly bracket ....they can take it with them to hell

Yes I brought hat to the attention of Norcold , politely , explaining my concerns , the problem that cause and the cost involved and you know what ? Thats the respond I get from their Nobel prize :

Hello,

We do have a reinforcement hinge for your model refrigerator, the part number is #634166. Unfortunately we do not sell directly, however you can purchase the part through a local or online dealer such as Amazon.com. To find a local dealer, please follow the link below.
http://www.thetford.com/customer-sup...enter-locator/


Jenelle Hirt
Customer Service
Thetford Corp. / Norcold Inc.
1 (800) 543-1219 Opt. 1

So as you can see they are not at all willing to help their customer or act like a responsible company , all they want is more cash and keep building crappy door. Another reason to buy Made in USA to get quality product maybe ? ah ah ah ... shame on them

[homer1959]

Originally Posted by TCNashville

Yeah I find it rather silly that a company with a known design flaw just doesn't install the part to fix it in the first place, and this has been going on for years now. But it is what it is and the part is not expensive and the install is easy.

To be honest I dont care at all in regards of the price , my concern is that when you are responsible you take responsability for your mistake , obviously in that case Norcold isnt acting properly.



And in this case its not a flaw found right after placing the product on the market ... so they keep digging in our pocket without any remorse its unnaceptable, buy hey , they are part of the RV industry disease , so its normal I guess and I must be the one at fault.... :-)

[Route 66 Traveler]

Mine broke, found the fix on this Forum, paid the money for the bracket, fixed it myself. Just glad I didn’t have to buy a new door. I agree with your anger, but why punish yourself for their lousy design? Fixit and move on...life’s too short to fume about something you have no control over.

If you think Norcold is so bad, buy a Camco water heater cleaning wand!

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...ing-70990.html

[homer1959]

Originally Posted by Route 66 Traveler

Mine broke, found the fix on this Forum, paid the money for the bracket, fixed it myself. Just glad I didn’t have to buy a new door. I agree with your anger, but why punish yourself for their lousy design? Fixit and move on...life’s too short to fume about something you have no control over.

If you think Norcold is so bad, buy a Camco water heater cleaning wand!

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...ing-70990.html

LOL I've looked at the link its so ridiculous I can imagine your reaction when the wand jumped inside the heater lol ..... how they can survive is beyond me , its our fault I guess ... BTW I am not loosing sleep over the fridge door but company like that must get the publicity they deserve. Maybe thing would change if we would not move on with our life so rapidly :-) we have to find a way to make them suffer.... Im working on that LOL ... nahhhh they probably dont care about themselves either , good luck with your fishing LOL dont loose the fishing net in the hole !!!!

[Route 66 Traveler]

I'll be posting an update very soon. I have it captured in a pair of locking hemostat pliers. Now I have to figure out how to get a straight 10 inch tube out of a 1 inch hole. The tube is sitting horizontal across the heating element hole. It is hard plastic and will not bend. I might try using my wife's hair dryer to soften it up..the saga continues.


There are other issues with the Norcold that could be easily improved on, like the latches as one example. Still a lot better than using an ice chest.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by homer1959

They know so much that they designed a part to correct the flaw in the design

:

Just to clarify.

NORCOLD buys the doorframes/hinges from a 3rd party plastics company and an engineer at that company designed the support/reinforcement bracket in or around 2009. Supposedly the plastics company did a redesign of the hinge, whether that is true or not I don't know. Most failures seem to occur on doors with the heavy wood fronts.

My theory regarding the cracked hinge centers around how it is removed and reinstalled when the wood panel is inserted. If the installer has the door on an excessive angle when it goes back on the hinge pin that is when the crack starts. The reason I say that is all doors don't seem to be affected.

Not a proven fact, just my theory.

[norty1]

I would guess that out of all of them in use a very minor number fail and I can understand the frustration if you happen to be one of those with a busted hinge.

Mine did not fail but a forum member bought the kit to replace a broken hinge and the opposite side hinge comes with it for supply simplification. He offered it to me free and paid for the shipping.

There are some nice campers here on on JOF.

[Route 66 Traveler]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

Most failures seem to occur on doors with the heavy wood fronts.

Mine didn't have any wood, and we never travel with anything heavy in the door. My wife just opened the door and a big chunk of hinge hit the floor. So far the JB Weld has held up, and with the reinforcement I hope it stays that way.

[mbell5263]

Interesting...I've had 3 RVs, each with a Norcold and never had a problem with a hinge. Typically, when a manufacturer is aware of a problem, their response depends largely on how extensive and how serious the problem is. If it's a safetly concern, they usually must recall the unit to fix it. If it's not a safety concern and isn't happening on a large scale, they design a fix and leave it to the consumer to pay for if they have a problem. If it affects enough consumers, they may do an owner's notification and offer a fix for customer satisfaction purposes. I don't know how many units have been affected by this concern, but that MAY have something to do with their response, or lack thereof.