Refrigerator Madness
copyright 1992 by Derek Drew

Here, in no particular order, is what you need to know about your VW Vanagon 
Refrigerator so you can use it properly and get the most out of it. 

This is part 2 of 2 parts

Service

The Unhelpful VW Dealerships

If your refrigerator isn't working right don't expect a VW dealership to be
able to fix it. 
Many VW dealers hate the refrigerator and don't understand a thing about it.
The Unknowledgeable Dometic Repair Facilities

The official place to go for service is an independent service shop for RVs
and motor 
homes which Dometic designates as an official repair facility. This means
that they are 
supposed to have an adequate supply of spare parts and expertise to fix your 
refrigerator in case it needs repair. Unfortunately, this is usually not the
case. The 
reason is that these repair facilities simply don't see many VW Vanagons and
rarely 
stock parts for the particular model that VW uses, the Dometic model RM 182B.
The 
mechanics are familiar with the many other models of Dometic refrigerator,
however, 
and so they have a fighting chance of being able to fix yours. Also, if spare
parts are 
needed, they can easily order them from Dometic.

It will help these dealers, when you bring in your refrigerator, if you bring
along the 
spare parts list and repair manual included with this package and leave it
there 
until the repair is complete. (You may also want to photocopy for the
mechanics 1) 
the instructions for how to remove and install the refrigerator from the
giant $80 
Vanagon official VW repair manual published by Bentley and 2) Volkswagen's RM
182B 
Air Supply Modification bulletin.) The facility is unlikely to have the
repair manual and 
almost certainly won't have the list of spare parts--both of which will often
be needed to 
properly repair your unit. The mechanic, if you can try to see him, will
usually tell you 
sheepishly that he hasn't repaired too many VW refrigerators before (which
often means 
he's never seen one). He will usually appreciate all the information you can
give him.

There is an official Dometic instruction program that the mechanics working
for its 
repair facilities can take to learn how to better repair its line of RV
refrigerators. 
Unfortunately, this program gives the mechanics scant, if any, information on
repairing 
the VW Vanagon refrigerator. One reason for the Vanagon refrigerator's orphan
status 
within Dometic may be due to the fact it is manufactured in Luxembourg, of
all places, 
and is considered an oddball item not made in the USA. 

Another reason the mechanics arn't that familiar with the unit is that not
that many 
come in for service. This is partly because there weren't all that many VW
campers sold 
in the US. It is also because many camper owners don't understand their
refrigerators 
very well. When the refrigerator fails to function right, they arn't sure why
and give up 
on the unit rather than try to get it fixed. It is also because RV type
refrigerators such 
as the Vanagon's lack a compressor to go bad so they don't break down all
that often.

The Hard-To-Reach Dometic Repair Facilities

Aside from the fact that the mechanics have scant expertise in repairing the
Vanagon 
refrigerator there is another bedeviling fact. Basically, aside from the
expense, repairing 
your refrigerator at a Dometic facility involves hours and hours of
inconvenience.
This is because there are far fewer official Dometic repair shops than there
are official 
VW dealerships and the nearest one is often hours away from where you live.
Since the 
shop probably doesn't stock the parts you may need, you'll usually have to
leave your 
vehicle, drive hours back to your place, and then complete another round trip
to see if 
their repair turned out OK. (Often it isn't.).

To find an official Dometic repair facility locate a shop listed in Dometic's
list of official 
RV repair shops. Make sure to use a current list since these seen to change
from year to 
year--not a good sign but a fact. To get a current list call Dometic on the
phone and ask 
that they send you one.

Given the hassles involved, you can also try your luck looking for RV and
motor home 
repair shops in the yellow pages. Many of these will express a willingness to
work on a 
Dometic refrigerator even though they are not designated as an official
repair facility by 
Dometic. The quality of their work is in even more doubt than an official
facility, 
however, so its up to you.

E-Z Self Service

Many of the things that can be done with your refrigerator are fairly simple
to do. 
Looking at the huge time investment involved to drive all the way to an
official repair 
facility, I decided it would actually save me time to do some of the work
myself.
For example, I found I could remove and install the refrigerator myself;
after I had done 
it once, I could perform both removal and installation in a total time of
about an hour 
and a half. This way, I could drop the refrigerator off for repair at the
facility without 
having to leave my Camper there. This meant I was not deprived of the use of
my 
Vanagon and also that I didn't need two cars to get to the repair shop.

Doing repairs yourself also makes sense because, typically, a mechanic
doesn't have an 
edge in experience over you in repairing the unit since he sees so few of
them.

The Dometic Warranty Dometic Doesn't Know About

If your refrigerator goes bad during the second year that you own a brand new
Camper 
you have a special problem. Basically, this is because all other Dometic
refrigerators 
have only a one year warranty while your refrigerator is still in warranty
until the 
second year. It is a 50% chance that your shop will call Dometic to see
whether the 
refrigerator is still under warranty and Dometic will tell them that it is
not. When you 
call Dometic to complain that VW warrants the vehicle for two years, not one,
it is usual 
for the Dometic employee to tell you that Dometic only warrants its
refrigerators for one 
year and, basically, get lost. At this point you must tell this employee to
consult with her 
supervisor (or try Bob Troyer) and eventually someone at Dometic will recall
that VWs 
are covered for two years and authorize your repair.

Some repair shops will charge you for taking the refrigerator out of the
vehicle and 
putting it back in, saying that Dometic will not reimburse you for this
labor. In this 
case, pay them and submit this charge back at VW.

Any expenses that you do have that Dometic won't cover under its warranty
coverage 
you should simply submit back to your normal VW dealer. VW is much less
stingy than 
Dometic and will usually pay you back for any expenses Dometic wouldn't pay.
The entire procedure will usually give you gray hair, heartburn, and ulcers.

The Dometic Extended Warranty Program

You should know that Dometic has a variety of extended warranty programs,
some 
covering just a couple of expensive parts and others covering everything.
Getting 
warranty work out of Dometic is so difficult, however, and for various
reasons I have 
decided not to avail myself of any of these programs. Most have some serious
loopholes.
Call Dometic to ask about the programs if you are interested. Note that you
can start 
signing up for these programs long after the vehicle is out of warranty and
they are 
renewable until the unit is about 10 years old or so. The longer you wait to
start, the 
higher the price is likely to be.

This ends part 2 of 2 parts of this article.

This file may be reproduced and redistributed for any noncommercial purpose.
All other rights reserved. Derek Drew, 487 Columbus Ave. #3R, New York, NY
10024. 

derekdrew@aol.com