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Borrego Springs, CA

Friday, October 14, 2011

The plot thickens. (long post)

I finally got a call from Samsung this morning, but it wasn’t good news.  They finally looked at my fax to them, but said only the cover page came through; nothing else.  Ugh!  So I said I’d send it again.  I also stressed that I hoped it wouldn’t take them until Monday to read it.  The guy was noncommittal.   A couple of hours later, they called again to report that yes, it was under warranty (no kidding), and that they would notify Mid America Appliance in Carbondale of my problem.  They also said it could take a day or two for Mid America to get an appointment arranged.  (here we go again)

Well, it wasn’t a half hour later when Mid America called to set up an appointment for Monday morning.  I said make it as early as possible because I was using ice to keep things cooled.  Once I said that, they put me on hold to see if any techs could possibly squeeze me in today.  They were all booked solid, but she said they would try to stop if at all possible.  By 1:30, a tech was knocking on my door!  He was traveling in between appointments in different towns.  He gave the fridge the once over, hoping it was an easy fix, and determined that the compressor was still working so the Freon (sp?) must have leaked out because of a hole in the lines somewhere.  Not an easy fix.  Sad smile  He couldn’t do anything about it today.  As he left for his next appointment, he said he would talk to his boss about it, and get back to me at the end of the day.  I’m waiting for his call now.

In the meantime, I called Cory at Thibodeaux’s Premiere RV in Louisiana.  He’s the young man that did the installation in January.  I needed to talk to someone experienced in what was involved, and that I trusted.  He assured me that pulling the  fridge out to work on it shouldn’t be a problem, and the work can be done inside the rig.  Alrighty then.  I’ll be better informed and confident when the Mid America tech calls back in a little while.

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Jump ahead an hour…Mid America called and said the boss declined to work on the unit unless it is sitting in the middle of the floor, and that it would likely take two weeks to fix it.  I then called Samsung back to further explain the present situation.  (In the back of my mind is just driving to Louisiana to Premiere RV)  I was transferred to another department, and assured that their tech team would call me back tomorrow with a service company that will take the unit out and work on it. 

In the middle of that phone call, there was a knock at my door.  Now what?  It turned out that Martha Norman, a reader of my blog, stopped by to see how I was doing.  Who would guess that someone in Marion, IL, reads my blog?  Not I, that’s for sure.  Anyway, we had a nice visit while her husband went to a hardware store.  It was a welcome interruption to the roller coaster I was on.  She did say that she enjoyed my photos, but that there weren’t very many lately.  She had that right. 

So to remedy that situation, Emma and I are taking a drive to visit Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge tomorrow.  My original plan back before the brake situation was to spend some time at this refuge.  I guess I’ll get my wish after all. 

I know this is a long post, and I appreciate if you have made it to the end.  It’s a good way for me to document what’s happening, and easier to type than writing it out by hand.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

30 comments:

  1. Like you, I'd be thinking about scooting down to Louisiana to a tech I trust if it were feasible. You sure are stocking up on rig issues lately; once they are fixed you should be trouble-free for quite a while! Hang in there!

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  2. I agree! But I'm sure you have to factor in getting Samsung to pay here somewhere...

    What a damn mess! Got any wine that's cold?

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  3. Gee, what a mess. I wondered if there was going to be an issue since the unit was in an RV. Glad to hear they did not try to say that the warranty did not apply. Hang in there and I agree about a bit of wine to help with a bit of relaxation.

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  4. Judy, I have to tell you... I am so afraid I am going to wake up in your nightmare!

    Fingers crossed that this turns into a quick fix, somehow!

    Cyndi & Stumpy @ RVly Ever After

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  5. Howdy Judy,

    PLEASE, DON'T GIVE UP!!! THERE'S GOTTA BE A SILVER LINING SOMEWHERE!! I always thought that Samsung(so I've been told) was a dependable product.. There must be a lot of their stuff breaking down, if it takes 2 weeks to get an appointment!!!! AT LEAST YOU GOT HEADED SOUTH !!
    Go to write in the Ink Spots, click their 100 videos AND JUST SIT BACK AND RELAX!!

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  6. Howdy Judy,

    The comment was supposed to have You Tube after go to..

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  7. Oh, Judy, I just felt so bad for you and was hoping there was something I could do. Shoot, its just so darned exciting to have a blogger camping in southern Illinois!! The beauty of our area is one of the best kept secrets in the state, and I just love to share it with others for the first time! I hope you enjoy your day tomorrow, and that things will start to look up for you.

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  8. Incredible. These guys are making Chinese companies look like service champions!

    Freon leak? Sounds a little sketchy to me. My guess is it's some kind of system board (electronics)!

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  9. Don't feel bad about the long post, we're hanging on your every word hoping there will be good news.

    Wish we were close by to help you. Hang in there, you're a strong lady!

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  10. I wish there was something we could do for you. You have had more than your share of problems. For awhile there I thought maybe Mid-America was actually going to come through for you. Wrong. Have a good day tomorrow. Just getting out of the rig and away from it might help get you through the week-end.

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  11. After all of this waiting, I forgot where it is you were headed in the first place. If it was near Louisiana, I would agree that you're better off going back to where it was installed. What's a little more ice at this point. Our wait on the highway today pales in comparison to what you've been through. Hang in there!!

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  12. Bummer...At least there is support on the way. Enjoy getting out tomorrow and enjoying the wildlife refuge. Sometimes things like that makes more sense...peaceful and relaxing.
    Take care and try to just relax.

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  13. I've been following your blog and just read this info re an RV fridge. You had mentioned that your rig was not level while it was waiting for repair and I'm wondering if this could be the problem. (found it by googling)

    Check if your RV is level. If you run a refrigerator when it is not level, it could cause the cooling unit to become blocked. A blockage makes it impossible for the solvent to flow up the coils properly, causing them to settle and crystalize. If the problem is caught soon enough, you can tip the unit over. This will break up the crystals and get them to flow properly again.

    Read more: How to Repair my RV Refrigerator | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5605563_repair-rv-refrigerator.html#ixzz1aoEx9BU6

    (I'm sure by tipping over the unit, they mean the fridge not the whole RV ;))

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  14. So......have you given anymore thought to that book on Camping at Repair Depots across America. Well not funny I guess but I am sure hoping this is a quick fix and you can get down towards Texas before the birds all head north again.

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  15. Hope you have a relaxing time at the wildlife refuge tomorrow...I think you need it. Good luck on the repairs. We're all pulling for you.

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  16. I hope your next news will be good news. I am always looking forward to your posts and they are never too long!

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  17. Best of luck with a quick, easy fridge repair. (Right...) Anyway, have a great visit to the wildlife refuge!

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  18. GEEZZZ Judy, the way things are going here, we might still be here when you come this way -- if so, we will have those fried green tomatoes, skip the burger & go straight to the Mississippi Mud Pie!!!

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  19. Yours is the only blog I have the energy to read tonight. Just finished writing my post and am about to crawl into bed, but I had to check in on you first.

    Have a good day Saturday, and I hope you see lots to photograph.

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  20. It's not just pouring on you; it's a deluge. Sometime in the distant (very distant future) you'll be able to laugh about it all. In the meantime, enjoy your outing to the wild life refuge and have a great day despite Mr Murphy!

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  21. I hope that the problem isn't that the Samsung refrigerator is not sturdy enough to handle the vibration and bumps of being in a moving RV. It will be interesting to see if anyone will be able to tell why it sprung a freon leak.

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  22. if you haven't been there you might want to make a day trip to Metropolis to see Superman, maybe he can hep you out of you predicaments. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna...

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  23. good luck with getting your fridge fixed..I see that Murphy is still riding along with you!!...time for him to GO!!

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  24. We're all watching how Samsung handles this. With so many fridge recalls out there in the RV world, we have decided to get a "House" fridge if our Dometic ever dies. Seeing how Samsung handles your issue will greatly affect what brand we go with. Samsung might work a bit faster if they knew how many of us out here are following this issue.

    Jan and Greg White

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  25. My goodness girl - it is one thing after another, isn't it? Been there!

    You questioned on my blog if we were using the fire starter on the firepit when cooking. No, in fact we cooked on our charcoal grill, not the the firepit. Thanks for your concern.

    Here is wishing all issues are resolved for you and nothing but clear roads ahead.

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  26. We know how you feel with warranty. Our GE convection oven stopped heating in July. GE set appointments and the day the repairs were suppose to take place we get "We don't work on appliances in RV's". July and six states later they have finally found a repair shop that will work on it (I called them to verify). So Monday our convection oven will hopefully be working again if they don't have to order parts. Hope they get your refrigerator going soon.

    Stay Safe

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  27. Judy, like one of your other commenters, when I heard you were having refrigerator problems, my first thought was the mention you made of how your rig had been unlevel the entire time you were in the repair shop parking lot. As a general rule, being level is important to the operation of RV refers. Not sure about the one you have, but have to assume it must also be level. I wish you the best for a speedy repair!

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  28. Man oh Man, you'd be better of with no luck that the luck you are having now. I hope the fridge repair guys can get you rolling again real soon!!! Keep your chin up and an eye on your vision.
    Muffy @ Muffy's Marks

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  29. All of the comments about the refrigerator being level would be helpful IF this unit were using ammonia absorption refrigeration.

    That is NOT the situation with the Samsung in question. It is a compressor style refrigerator, the same as you would find in any sticks-n-bricks home.

    Freon is used in such compressor units and there is the possibility that the stress of road travel has cracked a line. Then again it may have been poorly constructed.

    Rick said: My guess is it's some kind of system board (electronics)! ... I tend to agree.

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