Good glue to withstand heat and weight?

[rhetthughes]

Hello everyone! I’m having an issue where the front panel of my dometic fridge keeps sliding down. It’s no harm to anything other than one extra layer of insulation. I tried some heavy duty double sided tape that is supposed to hold 20 lbs per whatever small square strip of it. Didn’t work. Figured the 5 pieces I used was not enough so doubled the amount. Just picked up my rv from storage and it had slid again (this was after several camping trips with additional tape. So I’m guessing I need to find some kind of glue that will withstand summer heat in South Carolina and apply a generous amount to the back and to the sides where the panel inserts into the plastic side frames of the door of the fridge. Any suggestions on a glue that will work to hold that front panel in place? Thanks!

[westend]

Get a $4 tube of Goop or Shoe Goo and place a few dollops in an inconspicuous location. When you're done with the fridge door project, put vaseline in the cap for the glue and tighten it up. Your Goop will be ready for another project because it doesn't harden in the tube.

[Chum_lee]

rhetthughes wrote:
Thank you all for the advice! I’ve started by calling Dometic. They want me to send pictures to see if it is an issue on their end or the camper manufacturer (basically said that the panels are often installed at the rv factory to match the decor, and not something that dometic does. So could definitely be a faulty installation at the rv factory.

"So could definitely be a faulty installation at the rv factory."

No way! (this is sarcasm)

IMO, Dometic, and other manufacturers recognize the concepts of differential thermal expansion and expansion/contraction due to humidity. Their door design reflects this. When the refrigerator is working, the door(s) expands and contracts with temperature as compared to when it is shut off. The same condition occurs due to changes in humidity. The door skin (decorative wood or plastic panel) does also, but, at different rates than the door. When large enough, these expansion forces are strong enough to break welds in a nuclear reactor. So, thinking that a little tape, glue, or whatever is going to hold tight is, at best, wishful thinking. If the door skin rattles during driving, you may need to dampen the noise with a piece or two of some type of adhesive but the door skin should be held in place with the moldings on the edge of the door. Check the initial fitment of the door panel. Without seeing it, my guess is that it may have been undercut/overcut at the RV factory or may be an incompatible material or thickness.

Chum lee

[rhetthughes]

Thank you all for the advice! I’ve started by calling Dometic. They want me to send pictures to see if it is an issue on their end or the camper manufacturer (basically said that the panels are often installed at the rv factory to match the decor, and not something that dometic does. So could definitely be a faulty installation at the rv factory.

[Ava]

I would sure like to know what kind of glue was used on my 94 Bounder. I tried to get the original panels off and gave up before tearing the panels into pieces.

[rhetthughes]

BurbMan wrote:
There is supposed to be a trim piece ob the bottom of the door that holds the panel in place. I would call Dometic and see if you can fix the problem right before you glue it in there permanently....because you know that once you do that you'll need to take that panel out....

It does have the trim piece. And it appears to be intact - all the little tab pieces are there and not broken off. It just won’t hold that panel. But that’s a good idea. I’ll call them and see if they have heard of this and if a new trim piece on the bottom would fix it.

[2DHoop]

SoundGuy wrote:

2DHoop wrote:
Hello, will you need to be able to remove this panel at any point in the future?

rhetthughes wrote:
I can’t imagine ever needing to. It’s just reall decorative - that black panel on the standard camper fridge.

Chum lee wrote:
If you ever have to replace the old fridge in it's entirety, you may have to transfer the existing panel on the old fridge to the new fridge if you want it to match so don't make it too difficult to get off.

To the OP - this is correct. Apply GOOP to the back of the panel, a few dabs along the top edge and a few along the bottom edge, where you can later break through it with a thin, flat wall scraper if need be. Support the panel in position for a day while the GOOP cures, then it should hold securely.

Kind of what I was thinking as well. Might want to check out an automotive trim/weather strip adhesive, which I have found to work well for a number of "one-off" fixes.
https://www.amazon.com/3M-03601-Plastic-Emblem-Adhesive/dp/B000CCM3J2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1532458351&sr=8-5&keywords=automotive+trim+adhesive

There are a few different brands to include Goop. I like 3M stuff and I like to buy small quantities as once the product is opened the unused portions tend to dry up over time and can be difficult to use again.

[SoundGuy]

2DHoop wrote:
Hello, will you need to be able to remove this panel at any point in the future?

rhetthughes wrote:
I can’t imagine ever needing to. It’s just reall decorative - that black panel on the standard camper fridge.

Chum lee wrote:
If you ever have to replace the old fridge in it's entirety, you may have to transfer the existing panel on the old fridge to the new fridge if you want it to match so don't make it too difficult to get off.

To the OP - this is correct. Apply GOOP to the back of the panel, a few dabs along the top edge and a few along the bottom edge, where you can later break through it with a thin, flat wall scraper if need be. Support the panel in position for a day while the GOOP cures, then it should hold securely.

[Chum_lee]

rhetthughes wrote:

2DHoop wrote:
Hello, will you need to be able to remove this panel at any point in the future?

I can’t imagine ever needing to. It’s just reall decorative - that black panel on the standard camper fridge.

If you ever have to replace the old fridge in it's entirety, you may have to transfer the existing panel on the old fridge to the new fridge if you want it to match so don't make it too difficult to get off.

Chum lee

[DrewE]

Gorilla glue would work pretty well for this sort of thing, I think. It has better gap filling ability than many other adhesives. A decent caulking would also work and be removable if needed; either a urethane or a silicone would be okay here, I think.

Maybe all you need is a few little wooden wedges of some sort, like maybe bits of matchsticks or toothpicks. Alternately, remove the panel in question and cut a slightly longer one of whatever material you like. (I applied some peel-and-stick dry erase board film to my fridge panels and now have a quite handy place to write down shopping lists and campground bathroom combination codes and similar things.)

[BurbMan]

There is supposed to be a trim piece ob the bottom of the door that holds the panel in place. I would call Dometic and see if you can fix the problem right before you glue it in there permanently....because you know that once you do that you'll need to take that panel out....

[MrWizard]

shoe goo
I used it to hold a D.C. Circuit breaker mounted to a 2000w inverter
And that case gets pretty warm

You will need to tape?
The panels In place until the goo sets 12>24 hours for full cure

[billyboy]

Gorilla glue

[IAMICHABOD]

I have had really good luck with Goop everything that I used it on has stayed in place.

[d3500ram]

I do not know the exact specifics of your situation, but would contact cement work?