In a message dated 08/11/2005 12:27:24 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
LISTSERV@GERRY.VANAGON.COM writes:

On the  flip side, the heat from the fridge did keep the van interior
a bit  warmer.  I'm wondering if perhaps the crazy Westfalia  engineers
designed things this way on purpose, to vent some heat into the  van
interior to keep it warmer on cool days?   Or is it just poor  design...

Piss poor design plain and simple.  NO OTHER  RV vents the fridge to the
interior of the vehicle.  The fridge should have  been sealed off to the vehicle
and vented to the exterior.  I have  installed a 3" ~ 4" pancake fan in the
city water port as previously described  by someone on this list.  This has been
the single most beneficial thing  that has improved the Dometic operation in
warm weather.  The amount of  heat being blown out of that port will amaze you
when you think that all that  heat was previously being contained in the van
and trying to exit through the  skylight if you remembered to keep it open.
Once the interior temperature  surpasses 80 degrees F the fridge ceases to work,
no more  possibility of  heat transfer ~ no more cooling ~ plain & simple !

Cheers,

Frank  Condelli
Almonte, Ontario, Canada
'87 Westy, '90 Carat, '87 Wolfsburg  (Forsale) & Lionel Trains
Vanagon/Vanagon Westfalia Service in the Ottawa  Valley
_Frank Condelli  & Associates_ (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/busindex.html)
_Vanagon Stainless Steel Exhaust  Systems_
(http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/stebro.htm)
_BusFusion_ (http://members.aol.com/BusFusion/bfhome.htm)  a VW Camper
camping event, Almonte, ON, June 08 ~ 11,  2006