Swift Motorhome - Never Again

Just because industry doesn’t work like that at present doesn’t mean it can’t do so if there’s a will. 

I have had a share in a narrowboat for 18 years and during that time we have had at least 4, 12 volt, Shoreline fridges, which work using power from the leisure batteries.  If the battery power is low the fridge simply turns off and the people using the boat are only aware when they open the fridge door and notice either a flashing light (which is difficult to see as it is situated behind a plastic box) or they notice that the fridge is warm.  One very hot summer's day the fridge stopped working so I phoned up a chandlers to enquire about buying a new fridge as I knew that the batteries were charged enough to power the fridge. They didn't sell them but suggested that I pull the fridge out and tilt it backwards and forwards to re-distribute the gas.  I tried that, turned the fridge back on and was astonished to find that it actually worked!  I don't know whether  it can be tried with a caravan fridge and don't know whether it would solve any of the the problems which people are commenting on here but just thought that I would mention it in case in could be of assistance. What I do find infuriating is that manufacturers of domestic fridges update their models all the time and there are hundreds of models to choose from which cost far, far less than fridges/freezers for boats, caravans/M/Hs and the models for them are rarely updated, not even it seems to even include an audible warning for when a fridge is not receiving any power!

When I was at school, my Saturday job was in a domestic appliance shop when electrolux (.now dometic) domestic absorption fridges  either electric or gas were quite quite popular, and often went out with engineers on faults and it was often to absorbtion fridges not working ,and we just turned them upside down to get them working again

Or do the smart thing & don’t buy shoddy🤷🏻‍♂️. They will never change all the time they get away with their current practices. We all have choices to make just make the right ones👍🏻

I thank those of you who have made a contribution to this thread.  It is interesting to see the differing points of view. 

I accept it is highly unlikely Dometic will redesign the shelves for my model of fridge, unless Swift get concerned their reputation is going down the pan and sales are dropping off due to its choice of equipment supplier. 

The plastic used for Dometics shelves seems unsuitable for the job and is surely used in other models, so unless owners broadcast their problems, the scale of the issue is unknown.  I have replaced numerous shelves under warranty but at the end of that, each one will cost £30+, so not an issue without long term implications.

I have made repairs to one set, using aluminium angle which is not pretty but works.

A point raised about changing to a Thetford is a choice I would like but Thetford do not make a version of the same dimensions to fit my van.

I would like to hear from new owners of the latest incarnation of my model, now called the Swift Kontiki Sport (sic) to know if they have similar parts, particularly the appalling panier drawer runners.  How will they feel after shelling out £80k+ when they get the same issue I have?

Keep the comments coming in.

I think vbfg and JVB66 have missed the crux of my issue with my fridge.  It is a DOMETIC fridge, not a domestic fridge and it is the internal door shelves that break when used in accordance with the manufacturers user guide.  No amount of gymnastics with my model will solve that.

Perhaps there is an opportunity for someone to produce replacements using 3d printing.

I got individual 3D printed parts from e-Bay that were far far cheaper than buying a complete lock mechanism from a Dometic dealer.

I was aware that you were referring to a Dometic fridge, NOT a domestic fridge - I have one in  my motorhome and I was also aware that your problem was with the plastic shelving in the door. Sorry that I could not help with any advice about that, but as  your post mentioned a problem with a fridge, I thought that I would mention a problem which I had with our 12 volt, fridge (also not a domestic fridge, as such) and perhaps assist those who may have had, or may have a similar problem in the future. For my future, I will try not to digress from the subject matter nor try and give unwanted advice!

 I will remember the advice about tipping a fridge upside down, even if others do not.

I found your advise very useful and I'll try to remember it if the need should arise.