Dometic 4-Door 1350 Fridge Modifications to Help with Cooling

[howson]

Ok that's great Howard, I'll stand by. I have full confidence in grand design and the amazing support on this forum!

we are loving the Solitude life in SW Florida!!

I sent another request for a response to GD--hopefully they'll get back to us soon with a course of action regarding the baffle. I'm sure GDRV-Emily and GDRV-Megan are all over this!

[Mark&Colleen]

I sent another request for a response to GD--hopefully they'll get back to us soon with a course of action regarding the baffle. I'm sure GDRV-Emily and GDRV-Megan are all over this!

Awesome, thanks!!

[howson]

Awesome, thanks!!

I received an email from the Grand Design Service Manager that said, Pull the vertical baffle. The top horizontal remains.

So I went out and removed my baffle. The video below shows how I did it.

NOTES:
1) Remove the upper vertical baffle from Dometic refrigerators with side-vented installations.

2) Don't want to do this yourself? Call Grand Design Customer Service! I do not know if your dealer will remove the baffle without charging you regardless of your initial or extended warranty status. I do not know if Grand Design will authorize payment for an independent maintenance outfit to remove the baffle. Again--call your dealer and/or GD Customer Service.

3) I have no idea if what I found on my trailer will apply to your trailer. If in doubt (you know what's coming, right?)--call GD Customer Service.

4) No, to my knowledge Dometic has not published updated installation guidelines nor were any provided by Grand Design.

OK, now you're ready to watch.

If there's something that's not clear, fire away with questions.

FYI GDRV-Emily and GDRV-Megan

[Pondview78]

This is great information, thanks for sharing! Would you be able to post a picture of the baffle you have at the top of the fridge?

Humidity has gone here here and my fridge is back to 37. My cooling returns to normal during low humidity. I may have a different issue. My guess is an airflow problem. When humidity rises, I don't have the airflow across the fins to compensate. Of course just a guess from a layman!

Mark

Mark,

May be a few days before I have daylight to get a picture off the metal baffle. Will get one as soon as I can.

Jim

[Mark&Colleen]

Thanks for that video Howard! I don't have that upper baffle at all plus no insulation on the left side of the fridge. My vertical baffle does not go as high as yours did.

Its beweildering that they didn't construct these properly at the factory!

I'll call customer service as you suggest.

Thanks again!
Mark

[howson]

Thanks for that video Howard! I don't have that upper baffle at all plus no insulation on the left side of the fridge. My vertical baffle does not go as high as yours did.

Its beweildering that they didn't construct these properly at the factory!

I'll call customer service as you suggest.

Thanks again!
Mark

The lack of insulation could be a major factor in the poor performance of your unit, Mark.

[GDRV-Megan]

Thank you howson for that video. Mark&Colleen I would recommend contacting our customer service department to further diagnose/trouble shoot your refrigerator. 574-825-9679

[Mark&Colleen]

GDRV-Megan Thank you, I will give them a shout next week.

Mark

[Kendp]

Thanks for the info Andi, We have a 2020 Solitude with the 4 door 18CF Dometic. We had trouble at first getting the fridge to cool. The freezer would be at 4 deg. but the fridge would still be around 50 deg. Techs at dealer tried to tell me to put another fan behind the fridge to help move the hot air out. Took it on our first trip and met two more Solitude owners that told us how to fix it. They said that the plastic "flapper" between the two doors was not closing tight. I got to checking and found that to be the case. The manufacturer put a sticker on the bottom center of the fridge and the "flapper" was hitting the sticker and hanging up. I removed the sticker (had to use Goof Off to get the glue off) and the flapper seemed to close "most of the time. There doesn't seem to be a great fit at the bottom. Even with the sticker removed, the "flapper" still hangs up some time. We have to manually pull it into place as we shut the left door. With it in place though the fridge cooled properly. I tried to buff and polish the bottom of the "flapper" and it helped a little. Still sticks. still looking for a total fix.

Kendp

[Cate&Rob]

Kendp

I have heard that placing a washer over the lower hinge pin will lift the door just enough that the flapper will swing more easily. (I have not tried this myself . . . so, maybe someone with first-hand knowledge will chime in)

Rob

[OffToHavasu]

I've seen too solutions. The washer, which can cause the a crack on the bottom of the door, or the other options is slightly filing the bottom of the flapper.

[Mark&Colleen]

GDRV-Megan Cate&Rob i called GD customer service and they were not much help unfortunately. They could not tell me what kind of baffles I should have. They steered me to dometic and asked me to search for a technician in my area, have them come out and have a look, all at my expense. I advised I had no upper baffle and was missing insulation on the left side of the fridge. He said I would have to bring my trailer to a dealer and if they confirmed some factory defects then GD would correct the deficiencies. At this point I will monitor the fridge as usual and bring to my dealer in Ontario when I return home in the spring. Not really happy with my 1st experience with GD customer service.

We flew home to Ontario for Christmas and will return to our rig in SW Florida in January

[jxwilliamson]

Hi Everyone... I just purchased a 2019 Reflection 312BHTS and have the 4 door Dometic 1350. I checked the upper fridge vent and my RV does have the baffle. Is there a definite answer for removing or keeping the baffle in place? It's the plywood baffle that runs all the way up against the fins.

My fridge drain tube did not have the p-trap so I put a slight bend in it to create one.

This is a great thread and a lot of great information.

Thank you,
Jason

[howson]

Hi Everyone... I just purchased a 2019 Reflection 312BHTS and have the 4 door Dometic 1350. I checked the upper fridge vent and my RV does have the baffle. Is there a definite answer for removing or keeping the baffle in place? It's the plywood baffle that runs all the way up against the fins.

My fridge drain tube did not have the p-trap so I put a slight bend in it to create one.

This is a great thread and a lot of great information.

Thank you,
Jason

Hi Jason--welcome to the forum. The definitive answer was provided to me by Grand Design's Service Manager (see post 48 in this thread). There's a (hopefully!) helpful video that shows how I removed mine.

I have no idea if GD will support a warranty claim to get the baffle removed should you not want, or have the ability, to remove it yourself. I'd also like to emphasize that my experience is with my trailer and mine alone. Yours could be different. (It's actually quite amazing how different these trailers can be from one to the next!)

-Howard

[jxwilliamson]

Thank you Howard. The video that you posted is very helpful. I will definitely remove the baffle myself.

Does anyone have any pre & post experience with the fridge temps to share?