Don’t you just love when you buy groceries and then they all spoil because your fridge decided to stop working? It’s my favourite. Not. We recently experienced a long, drawn-out fridge repair that was super stressful and held us back from travelling until we got it sorted. After tons of manual-reading and YouTube-watching, we tried about every different test we could find to try to isolate our issue and figure out why our Dometic fridge isn’t cooling. We have a Dometic refrigerator (RM 2351) and the manual makes troubleshooting quite simple: if your fridge stops cooling, take it to a service centre immediately. How helpful… With the wealth of information available on the internet these days, it’s worth at least giving it a shot before taking it to a professional. Save yourself some cash and maybe even learn something new with our guide to troubleshooting a Dometic RV fridge.

Full disclosure, we are by no means technicians. We’re just a couple of folks that did a ton of research, spoke to experienced professionals, and fixed our $1200 fridge for $7. Also note that this list only applies to absorption fridges. Do yourself a favour and watch a short video to understand how these things work so you can better understand where your issue might lie.

THE BASICS

Before getting into the more technical stuff, check the basics. Absorption fridges rely on gravity to function properly so make sure that your fridge is always level. Unscrew the back panel on your fridge’s vent outside of your van/RV, remove the control board cover and check your fuses. Side note: apparently it’s quite common for wasps and other insects to build nests in these vents, especially if you’re stationary. So be careful when removing the vent. Ours has two glass fuses, a 3A and a 5A, so be sure to inspect both.

Next, check to make sure that your 120v outlet works. When plugged into shore power, plug something else into it (i.e. a string of lights, a cell phone charger, etc.) or get your multimeter and check for a current.

Lastly, make sure you have propane and that it is in fact, on. If you’ve solved your problem by this point then rejoice! Your RV refrigerator troubleshooting days are behind you and you can move on to cool, refrigerated happiness.

Also, remember that these things take a while to cool – 6 hours is the recommended time by Dometic to test the temperature. As the technician told us, every time you open the door to the fridge, you lose 1-2 hours of cooling.

CULPRIT: LP GAS (PROPANE)

First, bypass the LP system by putting your fridge on auto while hooked up to shore/AC power and see if it works.

Test the propane by removing the fridge’s vent cover while the fridge is off. Remove the metal cover under the flue tube. Make sure that your fridge is on gas mode, not auto, and have someone turn it on while you listen for the sound of the propane igniting. Once it lights, observe the flame – it should be a nice clean blue flame. If it’s not, there could be an air bubble in your line so bleed the line (turn propane off and light stove until the flame goes out and there’s no more propane in the line before turning the propane back on) and try it again.

Next, clean your flue and flue baffle. These are very funny names for very important elements. The flue is essentially the chimney of your fridge and the flue baffle is a twisted metal piece that sits inside the flue tube. These should be cleaned periodically; buildup and dust can affect the performance of your fridge. Also, please don’t be silly and test for propane with an open flame – you’re just asking for it.

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CULPRIT: ELECTRIC ELEMENT

First, bypass the 120v system by putting your fridge on gas while disconnected from shore power so it will only use propane and 12v DC power and see if it works.

With the fridge off, switch back to auto and make sure that you’re connected to shore/AC power. Turn it back on and check if the boiler gets warm. If it doesn’t, you may need to replace your electric element or always run on gas mode.

CULPRIT: CONTROL BOARD

Turn your fridge and propane off and disconnect from 12v and 120v power. To test if your control board is shot, which is very common and super easy to replace, you’re going to need to bypass it. Find an appliance you have lying around that no longer works (or get something from the dollar store) because you’re going to need to steal the plug from it. Cut the wire on your dud appliance (leave a foot or two in length) and locate the wires that power the electric heating element, which run from the boiler into the control board. Unplug them from the control board and you’re going to need to hardwire them to the loaner plug that you cut off from your spare appliance. Polarity does not matter so you don’t need to worry about which wires are positive or negative.

With your fridge now having a direct plug that doesn’t require the control board or fuses, plug it into your 120v outlet while connected to shore power. Alternatively, you can plug it directly into the shore power source. If it gets cold after a few hours then you’ll need to replace your control board. In theory, if your control board is broken then your fridge should be frozen if you leave it overnight. These run about $100 but are as simple to replace as unplugging your current wires and reconnecting them to the new board. Here’s a link to a video to watch it being done.

CULPRIT: COOLING UNIT

First, check to see if there’s any crusty yellow liquid inside or anywhere on the back of your fridge. It’s possible that ammonia is leaking and therefore, the cooling unit can’t operate properly and needs to be replaced.

Next, since you’ve been such a good reader and attentively watched the video on how an absorption refrigerator works, you know that the cooling unit is powered by a series of chemical state changes. The only way these state changes can occur is if the tubes are clear for the ammonia to flow through. It’s possible that there is a blockage, which is either past the point of no return or can be “burped” by turning the fridge upside down. Sounds odd but this is an old school trick that can work shockingly well and costs no money – AKA the perfect solution.

You’ll need to make sure your propane and AC/DC power is off and then disconnect your fridge completely. Take a photo of the back of the fridge first so you can see where all your connections go. Then label and take photos of each piece as you unhook them so you can easily hook them back up in reverse order. Remove the fridge from its housing inside of your RV and carefully turn it on its side and then on its head and listen for the sounds of liquids flowing. I’ve read a lot of mixed information about how long you should leave it upside down and there doesn’t seem to be a definite answer. We rotated it 2-3 times consecutively and then left it upside down (and level) for about 3 hours. We could hear the liquids moving through the tubes as we turned it so we knew that was a good sign.

After 3 hours, turn it right side up and leave it to sit overnight before turning it on. It’s important to leave it turned off and sitting upright for longer than 3 hours to let everything settle again. Carefully hook everything back up, turn on your power and propane and turn the fridge on. Test the temperature in 6 hours. A cooling unit can be replaced at home but is a little messier than upgrading other elements. If you can find a replacement at a decent price then go for it but be aware that these are usually $500+.

CULPRIT: THERMISTOR

Most RV fridges are equipped with a clip on the back fins that allows you to control the temperature slightly. The sensor inside that thermostat is called a thermistor. In a nutshell, as the temperature drops, the thermistor increases resistance and sends more ohms through to the control board. Once it reaches a certain temperature (usually about 1°C/34°F), it’ll reach an ohm rating (usually between 7-10k Ω for Dometic fridges) that sends a signal for the fridge to turn off. It won’t come back on until the temperature rises to a point where the ohm rating is below the shut-off level and requires cooling again.

Anyway, if the thermistor is broken then either A) your fridge will cool slightly then stop because it thinks it’s cold, or B) your fridge will always be frozen because it thinks it’s warm. To test your thermistor, unhook it from the control board (follow the wire coming out of the back of your fridge beside the drainage tube) and turn your fridge on. Within 6 hours, it should be cold and if left overnight, it should technically be frozen depending on what your ambient temperature is. You can replace the thermistor by buying the kit from Dometic, buying a temperature control dial with a built-in thermistor, or buying a generic thermistor from an electronics store. A generic thermistor will require connecting the wires to those of your broken thermistor in order to reuse the plug specific to your control board.

This ended up being our culprit, so we bought an epoxy coated thermistor that came with a tiny resistor and wired that into our existing plug. You must make sure that it is an NTC thermistor (negative temperature coefficient) so that the resistance increases as the temperature drops. The ohm rating is key here, ours is 10k Ω, which is a pretty standard one. Standard, but not suitable for this purpose (see below).

*JAN 2019 UPDATE:

Although the 10k thermistor we swapped in got our fridge working again, now that it’s winter and we need far less cooling power, we’ve noticed that the fridge never shuts off. As mentioned above, the thermistor should send a resistance of 7-10k when the fridge reaches temp telling it to turn off. Turns out the 10k resistor isn’t our answer because it doesn’t send that ohm rating until it reaches +25°C, AKA not a temperature you ever want your fridge to be. With some research, we’ve found that you’d actually want to buy a thermistor with a 2.8k rating instead of 10k (data sheet for further reading here and product link here). Send us a message if you find yourself needing to replace your thermistor with one of these bead ones and need some direction on how to do so. You’ll need to solder it onto your existing wire and coat it in epoxy or liquid electrical tape to assure it’s waterproof.

All in all, RV fridges can be pretty intimidating but are really not as scary as you may think. It’s worth taking some time to troubleshoot your Dometic RV refrigerator on your own before taking it in for repair or replacing it altogether. Just make sure to be careful when dealing with all electric and gas connections and to give your fridge enough time to cool down. They are said to take 12 hours to fully reach temperature but factors like the outside temperature and humidity can slow this down and leave your fridge working overtime. The ambient temperature in an RV parked in the desert is going to have a huge effect on the performance of the refrigerator in comparison to a fridge sitting in a 10°C/50°F room. Be patient, be careful and keep that fridge level!

Missing something? If you have any additional tips/tricks, feel free to let us know and we’ll add them in!

So rewind back to the fall when we set out for the mildest possible Canadian winter we could manage and headed for Vancouver Island. November, December and January had us laughing at how impossibly tame the coastal winter was until February came along and knocked us off of our high horses straight into a big ol’ pile of snow.

Needless to say, we thoroughly tested all of our van life winterization tips and discovered a bunch more good ones along the way. Let’s get cozy!

1. INSULATING EVERYTHING ISN’T ENOUGH

Although the Reflectix window inserts help tremendously (and are also going to be lifesavers in the scorching summer sun), cold air will still manage to creep its way in unless you’re totally airtight. Any older rig like ours is bound to have lots of little nooks and crannies where a draft can enter. We replaced a lot of the rubber seals around the doors and windows with new rubber weather stripping to try and block out the cold air as much as possible. We even added a Reflectix “wall” in front of the back doors to retain as much heat as possible around the bed. Of course we covered it in fabric so it doesn’t feel like we’re sleeping inside of a pizza delivery bag but at -20°C (-4°F), that doesn’t actually sound too bad.

You might also want to get a little area rug to make getting out of bed in the morning less painful and definitely up your wool socks game. Justin’s Nan in Newfoundland has hooked us up with some of the warmest slipper-like socks around and they’re awesome. If you don’t have a local grandma to knit you things, those funny looking down slippers are actually pretty great. They’re super warm and roll down into a tiny little pouch that you can take with you for overnight hikes or for just randomly whipping out at parties when your friend hasn’t paid their heating bill. Basically, even a cave of insulation isn’t going to keep you warm if it’s freezing outside so sometimes you might have to suck it up and go to bed with a toque on or wear a couple pairs of socks and long johns to be comfortable. And remember, snow is a great insulator so if you’re stationary for a few days, letting the snow pack onto your windows is actually better than trying to brush it all off.

2. MOLD IS REAL

Like we said in Part I, moisture prevention is just as important as trying to stay warm. Unless you’ve got an electrical hookup, a space heater is out of the question and the dry heat of a wood stove is not feasible in a lot of rigs – especially if you do any city/stealth camping. Propane heat creates moisture and when you’re in places with a damp winter (hello PNW), condensation is pretty much inevitable.

We got more of those dehumidifying beads at the dollar store and put one in every corner and every cupboard. They might not look like they’re doing much but we noticed a huge improvement in the more confined spaces like the storage boxes under the bed. Just make sure to not let them tip over and spill their juice out because it makes for a greasy mess (yea, that happened). But most importantly, a bit of airflow is key in preventing condensation from building all while saving you from carbon monoxide poisoning – a win-win!

Unfortunately despite all of our dehumidifying efforts, we still had to deal with a bit of mold. Mainly in tight spaces that don’t get a lot of ventilation and on the panels of our back doors that we hardly opened, we found small circles of black mildew like you often get in your shower. It was gross and as much as we’d love to say we found some natural solution that magically made it disappear, we used a bleach-based bathroom cleaner and eradicated it as best as we could and as quickly as possible. Yea, it smelled like a swimming pool and wasn’t good for our skin but it did the job and also worked as a preventive for regrowth in the areas that we sprayed it.

3. POCKET WARMERS ARE KING

Sure, hot water bottles can be great. They’re reusable, cheap and work well…for 3-4 hours. By morning all you have is a super cold bottle of water dressed up in an ugly sweater laying in your bed that you definitely don’t want to be cuddling anymore. When we discovered the HotHands Super Warmers, our winter sleeping situation became a lot more comfortable. Technically you’re not supposed to sleep with them on but we put them under our fitted sheet (flannel sheets = huge upgrade) at foot-level and didn’t look back. So yes, they’re evil one time use chemical packets but we got a 10-pack for $10 at Walmart and I don’t think we would have been able to get through some of our coldest nights without them. Zippo sells refillable butane warmers that work in a similar way and would be better for longer-term use but these worked great in a pinch. Did I mention they stay warm for 18 hours?!?! Ok, it’s probably actually closer to 12 but that’s still pretty fantastic for $1.

4. BE PREPARED FOR WORSE

Nobody wants to be in a situation where you’re stuck in the snow or slipping down a hill but it does happen. If you think you’ve got the gear for the current conditions, get the gear for if it gets worse. With all of the forest road driving that we do, we were not nearly prepared for what the road conditions had in store. Winter tires are a given but do you have chains or a shovel to dig yourself out if you get stuck? We learned this the hard way after not bringing chains from Calgary and getting into a couple of really sticky situations. Take, for example, when we were at the final hill getting into Twin Lake and got REALLY stuck in some unbelievably wet snow that took us 2 hours to dig ourselves out of. All we had was our collapsible poop shovel and an ice scraper that saved us from sliding into the ditch. Long story short, even if you don’t think you’ll need a shovel, bring one because you won’t regret it when you do. Tire recovery boards or traction mats are also not a bad thing to throw in the back since you can use them in the snow and sand.

5. LOOK INTO A CHINESE DIESEL HEATER

These things have become really popular lately and seem to be an all-around more efficient alternative to a propane furnace. If you have a diesel engine, you can route the fuel to come straight from there or use the auxiliary tank for your designated heat supply. The fan doesn’t draw a ton of power from your battery bank and diesel creates a much drier heat than propane. They’re also quiet and easy to install. We don’t have one currently but if we stay in Canada next winter, we’re definitely going to get one.
**2019 UPDATE: We got a diesel heater! Total game changer. Nice, dry heat that heats the space up super quickly and doesn’t take too big of a toll on our battery. Yes, now we have to get three different types of fuel (gasoline engine, propane stove + fridge, diesel heater) but it’s totally worth it. 1000% recommend.

6. DON’T RELY ON SOLAR

Installing a solar system has been the best decision we’ve made along our entire van life journey. When it’s summer and you can charge your laptop and camera while enjoying the breeze of a fan, life is good. In the winter however, the limits of your battery bank will really be tested. We’d go days without sun and barely manage to absorb any rays even on the clearer days because the sun sits so low in the sky and is only up for a few hours. We have our alternator tied in to our batteries so they charge while we drive and we’d highly recommend this to anyone looking into a solar setup, whether you’re in a cool climate or not. Our old propane furnace draws a lot of power and even with our new batteries, it hogs all of our electricity in the winter so we rely on portable battery packs to keep our phones topped up. We’re extremely mindful of how much power we’re consuming and usually don’t stay in one spot for more than 3 days so we have managed fine with our current setup but a generator definitely wouldn’t be a bad thing to add into the mix. These Honda ones are efficient and relatively quiet and would make for a great back-up power supply.

7. BE PREPARED FOR THE WINTER BLUES

As we said in Part I, winter is only fun if you’re into winter activities like skiing and snowboarding. For the rest of us, the short days with little sunlight can really get to your head. Just like in a regular house, you’ll have to deal with spending a lot more time inside. That can be really tricky when you’re in a van because it’s such a small space and it takes a lot more effort to keep cozy than a regular home where you can take a hot bath or just veg out and watch TV in a Snuggie.

That being said, try to seek out other indoor spaces you can hangout at. We often seek refuge at bars and restaurants but that can get expensive so look into local museums, libraries, or book stores where you can hangout for a while and not have to worry about your propane levels or keeping your battery topped up. If you’ve got friends in the area you’re in, maybe you can hangout at their place and even spend the night if the weather is really bad, or hey, why not splash out on an Airbnb if you’re feeling fancy. You should also put effort into the little things you can do to warm yourself up from the inside like drinking hot drinks and making soup for dinner. Your beach bod can wait when it’s super cold and you just want some comfort food.

All in all, winter is a challenging season whether you live in a van, an RV, or even a house. Cost of living inevitably increases with heating costs and supplementary entertainment to keep yourself sane. While a tank of propane (35L) usually lasts us at least a month, we have to refill every two weeks in the winter and factor that into our budget. Some nights you might even need to plug in your block heater to make sure that your van will start the next morning. There’s no denying that going south is the easier option but we aim to show that surviving the winter in a van or RV is possible with the right preparation – even in Canada. Who knows where we’ll end up next year but with two van dwelling winters under our belt, I think we’ll be A-OK wherever we choose.

Got your own helpful winter van life tips? Share them in the comments so we can share the warmth!