Another Refrigerator Question

[amberlynn]

Sorry for what is probably a dumb question, but as you know, we're newbies! We are leaving next week for the Fort, and are planning on splitting the 20 hour drive into 2 days....The refrigerator (which is a necessity with 4 kids) will have to run on propane while we're traveling....Does the driving portion of our trip use a lot of propane if we run the refrigerator? Our tanks are now full. Thanks in advance for all of your help and patience with our newbie questions!

 

[retired and happy]

I don't think you have anything to worry about with the fridge. It only uses a pilot size flame. I assume you have two of the standard size tanks, and both are as full as they allow. While at the Fort you will most likely not be using a furnace, and could do some cooking on the grill. of course you do not say how long you will be on your trip, but a few weeks should be ok. if you DO uise a lot of propane, you can get a tank filled at the Meadows Trading Post overnight.

 

[North of Mouse]

Sorry for what is probably a dumb question, but as you know, we're newbies! We are leaving next week for the Fort, and are planning on splitting the 20 hour drive into 2 days....The refrigerator (which is a necessity with 4 kids) will have to run on propane while we're traveling....Does the driving portion of our trip use a lot of propane if we run the refrigerator? Our tanks are now full. Thanks in advance for all of your help and patience with our newbie questions!

Your driving portion will use VERY little propane if it's just for the refrigerator, especially for two days. You won't even notice it.

 

[tcu4me]

We drove to FW and back at the end of May and ran the fridge the whole time. We were on the road for 2 1/2 days, 21 hours of driving. The gauge on my propane tank did not move during the trip.

 

[Disney Bunny]

Sorry for what is probably a dumb question, but as you know, we're newbies! We are leaving next week for the Fort, and are planning on splitting the 20 hour drive into 2 days....The refrigerator (which is a necessity with 4 kids) will have to run on propane while we're traveling....Does the driving portion of our trip use a lot of propane if we run the refrigerator? Our tanks are now full. Thanks in advance for all of your help and patience with our newbie questions!

We make a yearly 6 hour trip with our camper. I get the refrigerator really cold before we leave home and then load it up. We don't even turn on the propane for the trip and everything in our refrigerator stays plenty cold/frozen until we set up and I turn the fridge back on. The key is not opening the fridge door a lot of times.

 

[ctpooh]

Just because I am now curious and we have never thought to run the fridge while driving. Is it dangerous to have the propane running while you are driving? What happens if you get into an accident? Is it safe? Not judging at all, but I am curious before I ask my husband, why do we not drive with the fridge running!!!

 

[North of Mouse]

Just because I am now curious and we have never thought to run the fridge while driving. Is it dangerous to have the propane running while you are driving? What happens if you get into an accident? Is it safe? Not judging at all, but I am curious before I ask my husband, why do we not drive with the fridge running!!![/QUOTE

If all your systems are properly maintained to assure no leaks, then there should be no problems using the refrigerator while driving. There are those that say they should be turned off (also tank shut off) while refueling, but we never have done that.

We have always run with ours on and have never had a problem in 42 years. We also run our generator at times while driving, ours is gas, but some are propane.

There is always a small risk with gas or propane tanks in accidents, while driving. (we obviously 'must' have our engines running, so you have 'gas' lines full at all times).

Some tunnels, or other local ordinances, require everything to be shut off, but for the most part you can use appliances while running.

Is there a 'small' risk, yes, but most things in life are - just keep your RV maintained in very good condition.

We have always been 'super conscious' of 'all' our maintenance, and our fear is parking (in campgrounds) or even passing by those that don't seem to take very good care/maintenance of their RV's.

Have a safe happy trip and be careful!

But, tire maintenance is 'just' as important. We put new tires on every 7 years (per recommendation) even though we keep our MH garaged.
We have seen the 'results' of old tires on trailers/MH's - not pretty.

 

[DentalDana2]

I'm just curious if any of you have an option of running the fridge off of DC power while driving? I turn the fridge on AC while the camper is plugged into our house power (we plug it in a few days prior to a trip to make sure the battery is fully charged) about 4-5 hours before putting food into it. When we unplug to hit the road, I switch the fridge to DC power and it runs off of the battery. I was told that the battery would continue to charge off of the TV while on the road.

 

[retired and happy]

I have never owned a 3-way fridge, but have been told the DC mode is more of a keep-cool mode, whereas the AC and Gas modes do a much better job at cooling and freezing.

We run our genny on the road with the fridge on AUTO, so it runs on AC most of the time and switches to propane if we lose power (genny or shore). We also have an AC fridge we added, two roof A/C's, and some medical equipment we run enroute or in camp, which accounts for running the genny.

 

[articfox676]

Food must be kept below 40 degrees to insure no bacteria. Not all food is cooked to kill the bacteria. The cost of a few pennies of propane is worth it.

 

[amberlynn]

Thanks so much for all of your help! 4 days till we check in at the Fort!

 

[loislane]

I'm just curious if any of you have an option of running the fridge off of DC power while driving? I turn the fridge on AC while the camper is plugged into our house power (we plug it in a few days prior to a trip to make sure the battery is fully charged) about 4-5 hours before putting food into it. When we unplug to hit the road, I switch the fridge to DC power and it runs off of the battery. I was told that the battery would continue to charge off of the TV while on the road.

We ran our popup fridge on battery last summer on a 5-hour drive home from Hershey Park in PA and it totally drained the battery. Won't do that again!

Glad to hear the propane doesn't burn much since that's how we'll be running it in August on our drive down to the Fort.

 

[jbrostek]

There are two schools out there. One that refuses to run the fridge on propane during travel and those that do. I feel the fridge is designed for that operation and I like to keep my food fresh or frozen. We generally run 12 hours on the road the first day and 6-7 the next and I never have any issues with it running.

I would say that when you stop for fuel, someone should turn off the fridge. It is an open flame and spark. But beyond that I would let it run.

 

[North of Mouse]

There are two schools out there. One that refuses to run the fridge on propane during travel and those that do. I feel the fridge is designed for that operation and I like to keep my food fresh or frozen. We generally run 12 hours on the road the first day and 6-7 the next and I never have any issues with it running.

I would say that when you stop for fuel, someone should turn off the fridge. It is an open flame and spark. But beyond that I would let it run.

We've also never had any issues. We (nor any of our friends) have ever turned our fridge off at all while traveling. I've heard though that if you do turn it off when fueling, it's necessary to turn it off also at the tank (not just the fridge). We do neither.

I'm not letting anything in our fridge get too warm while traveling, and it will, for sure, in the summer heat when we are on the road 8-10 hrs if we do not run it. We are constantly needing drinks, etc. while on the road and that's the nice thing about having one is opening it and using it.

 

[jbrostek]

I personally only turn my fridge off when having the propane tank filled or if I am very close to others using gas pumps. Since I am a diesel pusher, I am normally over on the truck islands to get my 60+ gallons of fuel load and I worry less about flamable gasses then I do when I have to mix it up with the autos and the gasoline pumps.

As others have pointed out, being a class A as well I do run my genset at times mostly during warmer trips then my annual january trip to FL for vacation.