03 sun voyager refrigerator

[bbaker]

Last time out the fridge worked fine. We went to turn it on to get ready for a trip and would not get cool. Got warm around the doors. Tried gas and electric. It’s a Dometic Royale RM 3862. We did smell an ammonia smell. My question is can you repair with replacement parts or is it junk?

[Bike Dr]

Hmmm if your smelling ammonia that is a sign the tank is rusted and it is leaking, I'd replace it. 03 has served its life and new will give you much better piece of mind. Mine is 17 yrs old and still working BUT when it fails we will replace it. Unfortunately they are not cheap..but 20yrs on any appliance these days is the life expectancy or close..

[bbaker]

Yes my thoughts as well. I had read on another forum where a fellow just changed the cooling unit. Thank you.

[Bike Dr]

You are welcome! And yes that is very possible and doable. If you have the technical ability to take on an Absorption refrigerator. I am a tech myself and handle all the maintenance on our coach witch helps keep cost low. But please be safe when dealing with any gas boiler!
Good luck and happy camping!!

[Dennis4809]

I was almost glad when my Dometic failed. Was looking for a reason to switch to a residential and that was it. Now an 18 cf Samsung that cools quickly. No more soft ice cream. I installed a separate 1,000 watt inverter with auto transfer so refer is always powered. Battery through inverter when driving to dry camping, shore power at home or at a campground.

[THenne1713]

If warm around doors, find switches on door frame and turn OFF door heaters?

[RY469]

Quick indicator of ammonia leak is you will see what looks like yellow powder on the metal heater box (look to right hand side in the compartment behind the refer, vertical metal cylinder). You can replace the assembly on the back of the refer, but it does not cost much more to replace the whole unit (one I'm working on today, refer = $1,800, cooling assembly = $1,500). I'd personally consider the inverter and residential option mentioned above. That is if you are mostly on shore power and have good battery capacity.

[Chuck v]

I second the residential refrigerator approach! This completely eliminates the danger of an appliance fire, and gives better food storage performance, particularly for frozen items. You will need to limit how long you can dry camp without using the generator, but a good battery bank and efficient inverter will give you quiet night times and keep things cool when in transit. My motorhome had a 23 cu ft side-by-side unit from the factory, and was ideal for full time live aboard use.


Chuck