We have a 2011 rPOD 177 with a Dometic RM8501 Refridge.  We bought the until a year ago, and within 6 months the heating element went out in the fridge and shortly after, other things starting to fail where we can't run it on propane, battery or electric.

Replacing it looks to be a grand at best.  We are considering just pulling it out and putting a condenser refridge in its place for 200 bucks.  We don't boondock and don't really need the ability to run it on propane so i'm having a hard time justifying spending a grand plus for a 9 year old camper to have a working fridge.

Has anyone replaced theirs with a regular fridgerator?  Anyone pulled out their dometic and have any tips?  Anyone replaced their dometic with a new RV fridge and get an incredible deal?

Looking for any info or tips that anyone cares to share......

Thanks in advance,

NC Griffins, Gary & Carol

My Dometic died and I replaced it with a Norcold, that died an even faster untimely death.  I ordered a new Dometic [we mostly boondock so we need the gas operation] from FR.  The price was cheaper from them than other suppliers, but still pretty close to a grand.  If you are a vet, they'll give you an extra 10% off if you ask.

The Dometic is easy to take out.  Aside from disconnecting the electric [dc and ac plug] and the gas, there are only 4 screws in the doorway that hold it in.  They are hidden by little plastic plugs.  When you disconnect the gas, I would personally figure out a way to cap off the gas outlet so you're not relying on the valve that can leak or accidentally get opened.  

If you don't boondock, it sure makes sense to get a condenser style icebox.  

But if you decide to get a Dometic, they're really easy to install.  It's almost a plug and play exercise.  The problem I ran into was that the original wiring for dc operation was not adequate and I had to wire a second circuit, added at the panel, to accommodate the heavier wire for dc operation.  Of course, I'll almost never use the dc option, but it was a fun project to do.  I'd be happy to send you wiring info that FR sent to me.  They were very helpful with some of my questions.

The other issue is getting one that has the right dimensions to fit the space properly and doesn't look cheap. I've not yet seen one that does and I've looked at a lot of them. If you're keeping it and that doesn't bother you then go for it. 

The Dometics and other absorption fridges only have a limited lifetime, 9-10 years isn't unusual. And they're not cheap. Unfortunately that's just one of costs of RV ownership.