I am Baffled. Should there be a Baffle?

[Papahoosh]

I have a 2019, 295RL,
While doing refrigerator maintenance from the outside of the RV, I looked into the upper vent and noticed a big space on the top of the refrigerator where heat can be trapped. After reading other posts and watching YouTube videos (Changing Lanes) should there be a baffle to force the heat exit the vent?
Please see the attachment.

[minnow101]

Yes there should be a baffle. Our 27RL didn’t have one either. I built my own and the refrigerator temp. lowered a good ten degrees.

[WhittleBurner]

I can't help but wonder about is we replaced the Atwood fridge in our 303 last year with a Dometic. The instructions that came with the fridge said to put insulation on both sides and top of the fridge. Didn't say anything about a baffle on top. In fact when we took out the old fridge it had insulation on both sides and top . No baffle. Our 303 is a 2014, I wonder if they started with the baffles sometime after that. We put the insulation on both sides and top with no baffle and it works fine. Even keeps ice cream hard in Florida.

[minnow101]

The installation manual on the Atwood that came with my 2015 27RL clearly showed that a baffle needed to be installed. If not then air hot get trapped at the top of the fridge and is unable to escape via the top vent. The baffle directs the heated air out of the top vent so it does not "pool" at the top of the fridge.

[Papahoosh]

Well, I looked in my Dometic DM2862RBFX SPECS and on page 24 says the following...
"If there is more than 1/4" between the side or top of the refrigerator and the inside of the enclosure, fill the space with insulation, baffles, or other non-flammable fabricated seals. • Do not allow insulation to come into contact with the cooling unit. ➤ Cut the insulation two to three inches shorter than the depth of the enclosure. ➤ Secure the insulation to the enclosure walls and ceiling. This will prevent it from shifting when the refrigerator is installed".
There is no insulation and there is no baffle.