Just purchased our HiLo ~ sad
 

:(We were so excited!! The man we purchased the HiLo from said the refrigerator worked so off we went after paying $3600. We plugged in the refrigerator and this morning, we were thrown backwards due to the smell of amonia when we opened it....HELP..do we have to replace it? How much $$$ We live in Roseville CA. Thank you everyone - we are looking forward to camping with you all......

If you are a do it yourself person the cooling unit can be replaced, they can be bought on ebay, how ever that is the most expensive piece.There is a possibility that the power control board could be bad also, due to the previous owner messing around. Replacement is your best option. RV refrigerators are expensive they are ammonia gas refrigerators that have no moving parts inside and the ones in Hi-Lo s are 3 way, they run on 110 AC, propane, and 12 volts DC. If you only camp in campgrounds that have electric, then you can get a 110 volt only refrigerator at any big department store they are rather in expensive..

Joyful1,

I would suggest contacting RV Doctor George. His RV salvage yard is not far from Arden Fair Mall in Sacto.

RV Doctor George

I am no expert, but the smell of ammonia is indicative of a leak, kinda kiss of death. The system it operates on is quite simple, there are heating element (110vac and DC) and the propane heater. If the electric heater is out generally you can use the propane, however the smell of ammonia is not good, no ammonia in the system no cooling. There are companies that can rebuild them but there is no cheap way out unless you replace it with what they call dormitory frigs that run on 110 meaning you need constant supply of 110 when you need to use it, these run around $100

The only advice I can provide is: A re-visit to the person who sold you the trailer and ask (politely) for compensation for the reefer. Likely you'll be told that it was working when you left his place, but you never know, he just might be honest!

Refrigerator ammonia smell
 

My dh said it is highly unlikely that the ref. was working and the next day when you got the Hi Lo it stoped working. Sorry this happened to you. Our replacement Ref. cost $800.00 and we could only get a two way replacement. Our dealer installed it and we got a three year warranty. Our ammonia smell meant the ref. was dead. If the seller told you the ref. worked than he lied. I doubt liers will give you your $ back so you can pay for a ref. I would love to be wrong on this.

Need to replace the ref.
 

If you decide to contact the former owner I would have a quote from a RV dealer as to what the replacement cost would be. Have it on the RV dealers letter head. What are the lemon laws in your state? Do you have any recourse such as small claims court?

Having the cooling unit replaced is the most cost effective way to fix things. You can do it yourself if you're handy. You take the old one out and exchange it for a rebuilt one. The cooling unit is the series of amonia pipes on the back of the fridge. I had to go this route on a casita I went all the way to Texas for and yes, the owner did pay for the rebuilt cooling unit. Ran about $600 and a shop nearby installed it for me.

ref
 

I have seen them for sale on craigslist also check some of the RV salvage stores I think there is a big one near Sacremento.