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  • Great way to secure doors on residential fridge

    On our first pull of over 7 miles, we discovered the shortcomings of the door latch that came installed on our Samsung residential refrigerator. Not only will it vibrate or bounce open (that was a mess... and put a little dent in the left fridge door from hitting the kitchen island), but the OEM latch does nothing to secure the freezer drawer. I did some research and found the Fridge Fixer. Before I go on, I want to say that I have absolutely no connection with the company that makes this. I ordered one and had it waiting for us at our daughter's house in Maryland when we arrived last week (used some rope to secure the doors and drawer to get up here). I got around to installing it yesterday and it's an excellent solution for the problem. The only thing I'm not super pleased about is the distortion in the right hand door that the screws for the OEM latch caused. I found some low-profile screws to fill the holes so the T latch for the Fridge Fixer would slide in and out easily. Perhaps Grand Design should consider this option rather than the latches they are installing... Here are some links and photos:

    https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


    https://www.rvtechmag.com/tech/91_fridgefixer.php

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    Rob
    Attached Files
    Last edited by Second Chance; 06-14-2020, 03:30 PM.
    Rob & Laura
    U.S. Army Retired (Rob)
    2012 F350 DRW CC Lariat PS 6.7, PullRite OE 18K
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, MORryde IS and disc brakes, solar, BB LiFePO4, DP windows
    (Previously in a 2016 Reflection 337RLS)
    Full time since 08/2015

  • #2
    Originally posted by Second Chance View Post
    On our first pull of over 7 miles, we discovered the shortcomings of the door latch that came installed on our Samsung residential refrigerator. Not only will it vibrate or bounce open (that was a mess... and put a little dent in the left fridge door from hitting the kitchen island), but the OEM latch does nothing to secure the freezer drawer. I did some research and found the Fridge Fixer. Before I go on, I want to say that I have absolutely no connection with the company that makes this. I ordered one and had it waiting for us at our daughter's house in Maryland when we arrived last week (used some rope to secure the doors and drawer to get up here). I got around to installing it yesterday and it's an excellent solution for the problem. The only thing I'm not super pleased about is the distortion in the right hand door that the screws for the OEM latch caused. I found some low-profile screws to fill the holes so the T latch for the Fridge Fixer would slide in and out easily. Perhaps Grand Design should consider this option rather than the latches they are installing... Here are some links and photos:

    https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YRZKY55/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    https://www.rvtechmag.com/tech/91_fridgefixer.php


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    Rob
    GDRV-Emily and GDRV-Megan ,
    With the future being the movement away from absorption ("RV") refrigerators, note the damage Rob's Samsung experienced during normal towing and the solution he found. Might be something for the factory to consider as a standard feature when installing residential refrigerators in GDRVs.

    Howard
    Forum moderators are not GD employees--we are volunteers and owners presumably just like yourself. Unless specifically mentioned otherwise, we have nothing to gain should you choose to purchase a product or engage a service we discuss on this forum.

    2017 Ford F-350 DRW, '19 315RLTSPlus

    Comment


    • #3
      Thanks for the post. We had exactly the same experience and ordered the fridge fixer 2 stops into the first trip out with the residential fridge. The latch the factory uses is useless and comes loose too easily, plus it leaves 5 holes in the doors to deal with when removed.

      Comment


      • #4
        This is what happened to our residential fridge! This photo shows the dent in the upper right corner of the freezer door. After our second tow, we had a big dent in the freezer door from it opening while traveling. My wife secured the freezer door with self adhesive velcro tape on each side but that failed on our next trip when the freezer door opened again and the dent got bigger. It's actually much worse than the photo shows. I drive at 60mph and take turns very gently. I have an air bag hitch and MORryde IS suspension. I'm pretty sure my 5th wheel moves around less than the average one. Nevertheless, our freezer door is trashed. I'm going to look into getting a replacement door from Samsung. I'm also going to order what Grand Design should include with all residential fridge units - the Fridge Fixer that Second Chance is now using.

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        Last edited by bertschb; 07-11-2020, 07:34 PM.
        Brian & Kellie
        2020 Grand Design Solitude 310GK-R, FBP, MORryde IS, 1,460w solar and 540ah BBGC3
        2020 Ford F-350 Platinum SRW PSD Tremor, 60g TF fuel tank, Hensley BD3-F air bag hitch

        Previous setups:
        2019 Grand Design Solitude 373FB-R, 2019 Ford F-350 Platinum DRW Powerstroke, Hensley BD5 air bag hitch
        2016 Grand Design Reflection 318RST, 2016 GMC 3500 Denali SRW Duramax, Hensley BD3 air bag hitch

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by bertschb View Post
          This is what happened to our residential fridge! This photo shows the dent in the upper right corner of the freezer door. After our second tow, we had a big dent in the freezer door from it opening while traveling. My wife secured the freezer door with self adhesive velcro tape on each side but that failed on our next trip when the freezer door opened again and the dent got bigger. It's actually much worse than the photo shows. I drive at 60mph and take turns very gently. I have an air bag hitch and MORryde IS suspension. I'm pretty sure my 5th wheel moves around less than the average one. Nevertheless, our freezer door is trashed. I'm going to look into getting a replacement door from Samsung. I'm also going to order what Grand Design should include with all residential fridge units - the Fridge Fixer that Cate&Rob is now using.

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          GDRV-Megan and GDRV-Emily -- more feedback on this issue for the factory.
          Forum moderators are not GD employees--we are volunteers and owners presumably just like yourself. Unless specifically mentioned otherwise, we have nothing to gain should you choose to purchase a product or engage a service we discuss on this forum.

          2017 Ford F-350 DRW, '19 315RLTSPlus

          Comment


          • #6
            I installed a residential fridge to replace my a Dometic unit, so it did not come with any latches from the factory. I got some nylon webbing and installed snaps on the ends of the freezer drawer to keep them closed. Worked all the way to California and back last year with no issues, as long as we remembered lol. The fridge I secured with a velvet strap between the handles.
            Forum moderators are not GD employees--we are volunteers and owners presumably just like yourself. Unless specifically mentioned otherwise, we have nothing to gain should you choose to purchase a product or engage a service we discuss on this forum.

            Neil Citro
            2018 Reflection 28BH Pepwave
            2019 F350 6.7L Long Bed Crew Cab

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by bertschb View Post
              the Fridge Fixer that Cate&Rob is now using.
              Second Chance
              Brian, I think you have the wrong Rob in your reference.

              (another) Rob
              Cate & Rob
              (with Border Collies Molly & Angel + Kitties Hazel & Elsie)
              2015 Reflection 303RLS
              2022 F350 Diesel CC SB SRW Lariat
              Bayham, Ontario, Canada

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Cate&Rob View Post
                Second Chance
                Brian, I think you have the wrong Rob in your reference.

                (another) Rob
                Dang! Sorry about that! Too many Robs. But, now you know what to do if you ever get a residential fridge
                Brian & Kellie
                2020 Grand Design Solitude 310GK-R, FBP, MORryde IS, 1,460w solar and 540ah BBGC3
                2020 Ford F-350 Platinum SRW PSD Tremor, 60g TF fuel tank, Hensley BD3-F air bag hitch

                Previous setups:
                2019 Grand Design Solitude 373FB-R, 2019 Ford F-350 Platinum DRW Powerstroke, Hensley BD5 air bag hitch
                2016 Grand Design Reflection 318RST, 2016 GMC 3500 Denali SRW Duramax, Hensley BD3 air bag hitch

                Comment

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