The only reason I replaced the Dometic 8cf cooling unit early-on on our old ‘85 Pace Arrow was my new-owner ignorance. Never let the coach sit very much off-level for more than 20 mins., service the burner annually, keep things clean and inspected in the back, and Dometics just keep going. I did add a small solar fan in the back that helped in extreme summers.
The 12v boiler heater on the unit wasn’t much to praise and was lucky to maintain temp much less cool it down, but it’s 110v and gas options worked great. These days they don’t even put 12v cooling unit heaters on high-end RV fridges that I know of. Ours was 21+ years old when we traded for the Monterey in ‘06.
Fortunately a Dometic 14cf was in the new Beav and not a Norcold, and it can tolerate a little more level variations than older models. But having been burned decades ago for a new $800 cooling unit, I’m still careful about keeping the fridge off in situations where I park on a slight slope for what I think is a brief sorte’ into a store or somewhere... it may not be as brief as I initially think. Some have enough faith in today’s fridge/freezer insulation that they travel with the gas and fridge off altogether.
Joel