Replacing a Residential Fridge in a 2018 Forza 34T: Fit and Troubleshooting

[roadtripper92]

Hi all, We have a 2018 Forza 34t
We are camping about 30 miles outside Texarkana,TX. This morning around 4 am. I woke to a click hum repeat sound. It was our Whirlpool top freezer refrigerator. I opened the door to find it only slightly cool. I turned it off for a couple of minutes. And the back on. The compressor kick on after a few minutes. It seems to be cooling better now. But I'm afraid we will have to replace it.
My question is how to get the old one out and the new one in? Will it fit the the door if we remove the doors from the fridge? I've watched a couple of videos where they had to remove a window or windshield. I really don't want to do that.
Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[Morich]

I would certainly not jump to changing the frig as a first thought as there are s many small parts involved that may be changed for much less, both in dollars and work/worry involved.
Yes, there is some risk involved on either route but I am willing to go with paying for a pro and hope to avoid the much bigger, much harder issue of changing the frig!
One thing that makes me lean that way is what you tell us about it not working but then working after shut down. One of the toughest things to solve is when the frig stops cooling due to a problem with the refrigerant being lost!
But if it cools after restart, it may be something as simple as a relay of some type sticking. Maybe changing a board gets the job done for a couple hundred, rather than much much more as well as the worry issue!
RV are an expensive game and sometimes it really is like going to Vegas and we have to decide when to lay the money on the table!

 

[creativepart]

Plugged into shore power? And no issues with the power coming from the campground pedestal?

 

[wahoonc]

I would try and trouble shoot it first. It would probably be a lot cheaper. We have a 2014 Itasca Meridian with the original Whirlpool in it and so far it has been trouble free. Our house Whirlpool ran for over 30 years and would probably still be going if they hadn't dropped down the steps taking out of the kitchen to the outside utility room.

Aaron

 

[Morich]

But keep in mind that you had a 30 year old frig that was made to last!
After many repeated warranty repairs on our last frig, I finally got to know the tech well enough for him to share some "insider" info on how my new frig was meant to work and how long it was meant to last.
If we had trouble with the new frig with more than six repairs, they would refund the purchase! I think he said the design limit was seven years but that may need checked?
We made sure to go through the required repair calls quite soon and we did get a different brand!
But the new frig is still less than five years old and I have not gotten on "first name" basis with the repair folks yet, so who knows how long this one is designed to last?

 

[wahoonc]

But keep in mind that you had a 30 year old frig that was made to last!
After many repeated warranty repairs on our last frig, I finally got to know the tech well enough for him to share some "insider" info on how my new frig was meant to work and how long it was meant to last.
If we had trouble with the new frig with more than six repairs, they would refund the purchase! I think he said the design limit was seven years but that may need checked?
We made sure to go through the required repair calls quite soon and we did get a different brand!
But the new frig is still less than five years old and I have not gotten on "first name" basis with the repair folks yet, so who knows how long this one is designed to last?

The one in my 2014 Itasca is pushing 12 years old and is still performing well. It needs a thorough cleaning as well as a few odd pieces and parts. In the OPs case it is about 8 years old, if it were me I would be willing to pay to have the trouble shooting done to see if it can be reasonably repaired before I went to the expense and extreme trouble to switch it out. I don't know exactly how the Forza is laid out, however I saw a Monaco where they had to pull a windshield section to get the fridges swapped out. That looks like an expensive process to me. YMMV

Aaron

 

[Morich]

We probably missed on giving any real help on experience and I have none!
But beyond that, the very idea of trying to squeeze a frig in/out is not one I like to give any thought!
To get the old out, I likely would figure a way to cut it up, but that is not good for getting one in!
A broken side window on a Vista was going to be $700 for a new but I was able to bend the frame enough to get the new glass in place. I would have nightmares about getting a windshield out/in and then the idea of managing the new in without something going totally wrong is even bigger!

 

[roadtripper92]

I would certainly not jump to changing the frig as a first thought as there are s many small parts involved that may be changed for much less, both in dollars and work/worry involved.
Yes, there is some risk involved on either route but I am willing to go with paying for a pro and hope to avoid the much bigger, much harder issue of changing the frig!
One thing that makes me lean that way is what you tell us about it not working but then working after shut down. One of the toughest things to solve is when the frig stops cooling due to a problem with the refrigerant being lost!
But if it cools after restart, it may be something as simple as a relay of some type sticking. Maybe changing a board gets the job done for a couple hundred, rather than much much more as well as the worry issue!
RV are an expensive game and sometimes it really is like going to Vegas and we have to decide when to lay the money on the table!

Thank you so much for your help. I emptied the fridge and left it off for a few hours. Then tuned it back on. It has been fine since. We will be returning home tomorrow and will get it checked out then.

 

[roadtripper92]

Plugged into shore power? And no issues with the power coming from the campground pedestal?

Yes to shore power. No issues at the pedestal.

 

[roadtripper92]

We probably missed on giving any real help on experience and I have none!
But beyond that, the very idea of trying to squeeze a frig in/out is not one I like to give any thought!
To get the old out, I likely would figure a way to cut it up, but that is not good for getting one in!
A broken side window on a Vista was going to be $700 for a new but I was able to bend the frame enough to get the new glass in place. I would have nightmares about getting a windshield out/in and then the idea of managing the new in without something going totally wrong is even bigger!

Agreed. I almost choked at the thought of removing that giant windshield.

 

[Morich]

RV frig have a long history of doing weird things that seem to say they have died and then they come back to life for unknown reasons at times.
The mobile part of RV life is certainly full of things we may miss, so I try not to get too upset, too quickly.
Things like I come back and the frig is almost melted down but when I mention it at the office, they say, "OH yeah! We had the power off for a bit while there was nobody here!"
YEAH! Nobody here but I get to drink my ice cream now??
This was a campground that mostly served customers who went to an amusement park for the day, so lots of folks were not around all day! But I wondered how many frigs failed?

 

[deckape]

Open the outside panel and check to make sure the condenser fan is running . Will cause compressor to overheat and cycle off . Since you are in south Texas, if that side is getting the sun ,could be just be a over heating problem, causing compressor to cycle off , clicking sound . Fan can be changed thru outside door .

 

[rarmstrong]

We have a Forza 36G. We took out a Whirlpool and put in a Midea. Both fit through the front door. Take out the passenger seat and disconnect the pneumatic ram so the entry door can be opened all the way. If it comes to that you should be able to swap them out (yes, take the doors off).

 

[roadtripper92]

Open the outside panel and check to make sure the condenser fan is running . Will cause compressor to overheat and cycle off . Since you are in south Texas, if that side is getting the sun ,could be just be a over heating problem, causing compressor to cycle off , clicking sound . Fan can be changed thru outside door .

Thank you. That is good info. I will definitely check it out.

 

[roadtripper92]

We have a Forza 36G. We took out a Whirlpool and put in a Midea. Both fit through the front door. Take out the passenger seat and disconnect the pneumatic ram so the entry door can be opened all the way. If it comes to that you should be able to swap them out (yes, take the doors off).

Hallelujah! I was panicking over the thought of how much it would cost if the windshield had to be removed. It is such a relief to know it can fit through the door. If need be.

 

[deckape]

Did you figure out your problem?

 

[roadtripper92]

Did you figure out your problem?

My husband checked the relay switch and other electrical. Said he didn't really do anything. But the fridge has been working fine since then.
Again, I really do appreciate the advice/information provided here. This forum is great.

 

[ForzaAg]

I'm following this thread closely. I had to replace the Whirlpool fridge in out 2018 Forza 3T in 2022 (yes it fits through the RV door with fridge doors removed).
Unfortunately, three and a half years later, the new Whirlpool replacement is now doing the same thing - running but not cooling to safe temperature.
If this one is kaput, may have to ditch Whirlpool and try the Midea.