Refrigerator on while traveling

[Badger55]

Just purchased a 5th wheel and my rv friends tell me to plug in the electricity before leaving on a trip and cool down refer. But manual says during travel to turn off the propane. So, will the refer stay cool for a day of travel with no power?

[Badger55]

Just purchased a 5th wheel and my rv friends tell me to plug in the electricity before leaving on a trip and cool down refer. But manual says during travel to turn off the propane. So, will the refer stay cool for a day of travel with no power?

[C Driver]

I leave the gas on and the fridge going if the trip will be more than a few hours. I also keep some ice cubes in a small container that will show if the fridge went off or lost cooling, ie melted!

["007"]

Badger55 welcome to irv2
It takes a while to cool down your refer to where you can saftly load all your food and keep it cold. To travel on a hot day and expect the refer to keep the same temp and not spoil the food is asking alot of the refer. I travel with refer on gas all the time and when you stop for lunch you have no fear of heating up the box which will be the first to warm up without the gas on to keep it cool.
My refer is on now for the rest of the season while parked at home to 110v or on gas while traveling, you can do the same.

[RustyJC]

Add me to the "travel with the fridge running on propane" club.

Rusty

[Badger55]

Thanks for all the good information. My next question is the manual says the 5er must be level before using the frig. Obviously it won't be staying level while traveling up and down the road but this must be ok since all of you do it. My friend here at work says he also leaves the gas on for the frig during travel.

Again, thanks!!

[RustyJC]

The "fridge must be level" admonition really applied to sitting stationary for long periods. During travel, the constant motion will keep everything stirred up in the adsorption refrigeration system so that plugging will not be a problem.

Rusty

[weighit]

If anyone has taken the fire safety class put on by Mac McCoy you will have learned that you can run with the propane off and still keep your refridge cool. Propane fires are not unheard of in Rv's and running with the tank open is not the safe thing to do. Looking at his fire photos will give you pause to think 'could it happen to us'? Naw, fires always happen to someone else . When some of the tires blow, and take out sewer, electric and propane lines, having the tank closed makes fire one less thing to think about.

[RustyJC]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by weighit:
When some of the tires blow, and take out sewer, electric and propane lines, having the tank closed makes fire one less thing to think about. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
While the safest option is, indeed, to keep the propane shut off, this type of situation is the reason that excess flow shutoff valves are required in the propane system.

Rusty

[TXiceman]

On shutting off the propane tank, what do people do with diesel coaches that have a propane generator or a propane fueled vehicle. Can't very well shut off the tank and expect them to run.

The excess flow valves on propane tanks protect against a line rupture by shutting the valve at the tank. The only what to get the valve to reset to open is to shut off the tank manually and wait a long time until you hear a small click. Then slowly open the valve to establish flow once more.

We have traveled with the frig on propane for 25 years and have not set the world on fire. It is good to be cautious, but you can be overly cautious. I hear of people running all day in the heat and the frig hods temperature when shut off totally. We have owned a multitude of RV frigs and in Texas summers, they will NOT be cold at the end of a day and will hardly recover overnight.

Make sure your propane system is in good working order and use your own judgment.

Ken

[Route 66]

Propane is always on, fridge is always cold.

The danger of a propane fire/explosion is remote.

I can't recall of ever hearing of one.

Somehow propane has been demonized, but all of those gasoline tanks in vehicles seem to thought of as harmless compared to propane.

[Bob and Julie]

We agree with everything that has been said so far. We travel with the fridge on.
We do turn off all propane while refueling our truck and turn it back on after we leave the gas station. It is a bit of a hassle but we do not want to spark gas fumes and start a fire. That is a very real danger.
Bob and Julie

[richardcoxid]

To me the issue of running the refer. on Propane when in motion is this-

Would you rather have Propane or Ptomaine?

We have run with the Propane refer."on"� since '82.

We use Truck stops for re-fueling with Diesel, so turning the refer. off is a mote question with all the big trucks in line and re-fueling with their engines running.

[Dagwood]

Just remember the pilot light when you refuelthe TV. In case of a fuelspill it is a source of ignition.