Fulltime RVing, RV Maintenance and Upgrades

Norcold Hinge Repair

52 Comments

While prepping for dinner the other day, our Norcold refrigerator delivered us an unwanted surprise.  As I opened the door, it fell completely off and into my hands.  Luckily, I sensed that it was going and was able to grab it before it landed on my toes.  Upon further inspection, I noticed that the hinge portion on the door is made of plastic, of all things. Having spent the majority of my life in a house, I am well aware that residential refrigerator manufacturers use a fairly substantial piece of steel for their hinges.  I also know that RV manufacturers strive to save weight by using plastic where they can, but I incorrectly assumed it wouldn’t have been in a place that bears as much weight as a refrigerator door does.

This is the piece that broke off.  Imagine a door full of condiments and whatnot riding on this small plastic part.

This is what the hinge looks like from the factory.  I am showing the undamaged freezer hinge as an example, which is identical to the refrigerator hinge.  The bracket extending off of the body of the refrigerator is metal, but the door portion is plastic.  There is a piece that pivots on the metal pin that hangs off the door and is totally unsupported.  It is an intergal part of the door and is not replaceable…you need to buy the entire door. My first thought, as I was holding the door, was ‘this really should have a metal piece underneath it.’  I also thought that this was probably a common problem, and that there might be an aftermarket repair piece out there that I could purchase.  I was correct on both counts, but the aftermarket piece available through Norcold…in my opinion…didn’t have enough surface attached to the door to support the weight of a loaded door.  Besides, they wanted $27 for this little gem!

They also stated that this piece only be used on a door that had not yet broken.  In other words, it was only to be used to reinforce their poorly engineered stock design.  Hmmmmm…….

I then saw a YouTube video where a couple of guys took a 2″ piece of aluminum and fashioned a crude plate that extended further along the bottom of the door.  I chuckled throughout the video, as the narrator was quite vocal about how he felt that Norcold designed the piece to fail, and the only recourse was to replace the entire door.  Diana can attest that he was using the same colorful language that I used in the description of the engineering team at Norcold when I was holding the door in my hands.  😉

With a rough idea of what I needed to make a plate, we were off to Menard’s!  


We picked up a 6″ corner mending plate, some flat head screws, and a can of flat black Rustoleum.  With us being on the road without a vise, I knew metalworking was going to be difficult.

I ended up attaching half of the bracket to a board.  That allowed me to cut the plate and round off the corner with a file.

I then drilled a hole to accept the pin that the door rides on.

I gave the top side a coat of flat black paint to help it blend in with the refrigerator.

After using super glue to put the plastic piece back in place, I lined up the bracket as shown. I left the bottom of the bracket unpainted, as it can’t be seen and the zinc coating provides plenty of protection.

Here is the bracket screwed into place.  Time to head inside and mount the door!

I removed the hex nut/post from the top hinge, slid the door over the bottom post, then replaced the top hex nut/post.

Here is the repaired hinge at the bottom of the door.  The superglued plastic piece isn’t supporting any weight; I put it there to keep dirt out of the hinge and for asthetics.

For the cost of a mending plate, a can of spray paint and a package of screws, our refrigerator is back in business, stronger than ever.  It sure beats the cost of a new door!  If you have this setup in your rig, you may want to consider beefing up your hinge before it fails. It might prevent some broken toes. Diana was busy slicing vegetables at the time. If she would have been the one who opened the door when the part failed, this story may have had a different ending!

52 thoughts on “Norcold Hinge Repair”

      1. Same recent experience 2 weeks ago. Door did fall on the floor but only injuries were to a ketchup bottle and one clear bin (all 3 bins came off but only one broke). We were 2 hours from home when we stopped for food and it came off. We “put” the door back in place without the condiments and wedged a chair and some towels between the chair and the cabinets and got home.

        Is your friend making replacement type hinges?? We could certainly use one.

        Liked by 1 person

    2. This helped me a lot I fix mine with this method saved 240 I think I could have modified the stronger hinges they sell to make it work

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  16. Pingback: Leelanau, 2017 | exploRVistas

  17. Thanks very helpful! Just finish the repair like you described easy and not expensive repair. added some crazy glue to the metal so it does’nt come loose! thank’s saved me a lot of money and took about an hour total to do the job!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  18. Wow! This LITERALLY just happened to me. As I closed the door of my Norcold n-109 it broke in my hands, exactly as you described! We just began our lives in an RV soon to hit the road. We have so much to learn, but gaining from your experiences has been a huge blessing. Thank you so much. TW

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much for commenting, Theron! That fix lasted the life of the refrigerator (an additional one and a half years) and showed no signs of wearing out. The cooling unit ended up being what did that refrigerator in.

      Have fun on the road and make sure you carry a toolbox with you. Fulltiming is tremendous fun, especially if you can perform your own repairs and stay out of the shop. Enjoy!

      Like

      Reply

  19. WoW thaïs exactly what just happen to my fridge and I was wondering how the heck I was gone fix that without replacing all the door! Thank you very much!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  20. Just had this happen this morning! So glad it didn’t fall on husbands toes. We were thinking we would have to get a new door until we found your post. Thank you for the great instructions. One question…what length screws did you use? Is there a specific size to use?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. That was on our old refrigerator, so I can’t pull one out to look. If I remember correctly, I used the screws that came with the plate. It just goes up into the interior of the door (which I assume is foam inside), so the only thing holding it on is the plastic you are screwing through. We never had a bit of trouble with it after that, and we travel full time. Best of luck, and I am glad we could help!

      Like

      Reply

  21. Wow this just happened to us as we were driving down the road! I’m relieved to find such a helpful post! Thank you exploRVistas!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  22. This happened to me on my Norcold Fridge. My camper is 15 years old and the hinge broke off just like yours. I tried to epoxy it back on but it didn’t hold up to the weight put on the door. Found your write up and did the same thing as you did with a piece of corner mending plate. Worked out very well. Thank you for the detailed write-up!!!

    Vernon Harris

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  23. My Norcold N8X hinge broke on the
    second day of a 3 week trip. I had 2 days left on my Jayco 2 year warranty so I
    called Jayco and they say they will cover it. Tired of waiting so I did the repair same as you only I am home now. Turned out perfect. Thank you so much for the great pictures and directions.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. Finally heard back from Jayco today and Norcold is sending a new replacement door. Don’t know what I will do with it as the repair is better than the original. Put it away I guess and maybe try to sell it. About $170 on Amazon. Thanks again.

        Liked by 1 person

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.