RV refrigerator repair, at your site.

What usually fails

The typical RV refrigerator (Norcold and Dometic absorption units are the common ones) cools by heating a sealed chemical loop — which makes Florida its hardest environment: it has to shed heat into air that's already hot and saturated.

• Ventilation failure — the rear compartment has to move air past the coils. Blocked roof vents, debris, wasp nests, or a failed compartment fan strangle it, and cooling fades first on the hottest afternoons.
• Cooling unit decline — the absorption loop itself weakens with age and corrosion; Florida's humidity is hard on the coils at the back. A yellow residue or an ammonia smell at the rear vents is the serious version of this — stop and call.
• Control board and thermistor faults — the fridge ignores its temperature setting, freezes everything, or quits on one power source but not the other.
• Propane-side problems — dirty burner, weak igniter, or a rusted flue (humidity again): fine on electric, warm on gas.
• Door seals — seals that mildew, stiffen, and stop sealing in the Florida climate let warm air in around the clock; the fridge runs constantly and still loses ground.
• Level and power — absorption fridges hate running off-level, and low pedestal voltage on a full park weekend quietly underpowers the electric element.

Symptoms worth calling about

• Fridge warm at the top, freezer still cold (the classic early warning)
• Fine in the morning, losing ground every afternoon
• Works on propane but not electric, or the reverse
• Ammonia smell, or yellow staining near the rear vents — don't run it; call
• Clicking igniter that never lights, or error codes on the eyebrow panel

What a mobile tech can and can't do on site

On site: temperature logging, ventilation and vent inspection, burner and igniter service, control board and thermistor testing/replacement, door seal work, 12-volt and heating-element checks, and leveling assessment. Replacement of the cooling unit or the whole refrigerator can often be done at your site too, depending on the rig.

Honest limits: a failed absorption cooling unit is a sealed-system failure — there's no recharge. The real decision is cooling-unit replacement versus a new fridge (including residential or 12-volt compressor conversions some owners choose), and a good tech will price both honestly instead of steering you.

Have this ready when you reach out

• Fridge brand and model (the label is inside the door or on the frame)
• Does it fail on electric, propane, or both?
• Freezer cold but fridge warm, or everything warm?
• Any smells, error codes, or clicking?
• RV year/make/model and where it's parked

Other services

Get a mobile tech to look at it

Tell us what's happening and where the RV is parked, and we'll match you with one local mobile technician for your area — not a shared list of companies.

Educational note: any cost ranges mentioned on this site are typical, general information only. Your technician confirms the service-call fee and an exact quote directly with you before work begins.