Community Forums

mikemc53 · 05-24-2015, 06:34 AM

These questions will be coming often and will be pretty basic and maybe even a little...unsmart.

This session will involve the refrigerator and how to use it (power options, etc). We are getting a Rockwood 8329ss, which is on order. We haven't rv'd in years so I am sure that things have changed somewhat, technology wise.

Do most of you load the frig prior to leaving? If so, what powers it originally, is it the TV battery? If you do an overnight quick stop at a rest area or someplace that is not a real campsite (WalMart) do you run off propane or TT battery?

What does one need to do to change over from battery to propane as far as running the frig goes? And what about when you go to shore power - do you have to do anything to the frig to change it from propane to electric?

Probably very rudimentary questions but I am clueless. And, as I said, there will be plenty more of these to come in the near future.

Thanks gang.

FastGlassMan · 05-24-2015, 07:09 AM

Welcome to IRV2, it is my understanding that it is best to precool the fridge at home on shore power then put precooled food in it. we run ours on shore power to cool it down then switch to propane. Should jst be a switch on the front of the fridge to switch back and forth. What fridge do you have 2-way (110volt/propane) or 3-way (110volt/propane/12volt)? What brand? Bobby

wingnut60 · 05-25-2015, 12:57 PM

If you will have a regular propane/elec fridge, then it should be an autoselect as to power--if plugged in, will operate on electricity and if not plugged in, should automatically shift to propane. Assuming that you have propane and tanks are open.
When driving to campground, fridge should be running on propane, and will change to electricity when you plug the trailer in at the campground. Haven't seen a manual select in a long time, nor a 3-way fridge.
The fridge will ALWAYS need good 12-volt power to operate properly; if you let the battery(s) run down, the fridge won't operate.
And, yes, pre-cool the fridge and have all food cold when you put it in. Should take anywhere from 8-12 hours to cool, perhaps longer if outside temps are high.
Joe

BBQ Warren · 06-02-2015, 06:29 PM

We pre-cool ours at home on shore power before loading it with food. We ALWAYS have it in the automatic mode meaning if shore power is available it will use it otherwise it will shift to propane. Since anything can happen at home, I open the valve on a propane tank so it will shift if I lose power to the TT. Don't want the food to spoil. I always use a refrigerator fan to keep the air circulating. Another tip is we do a lot of dry camping at NASCAR and I always keep the drinks in a cooler so people aren't constantly opening and closing the fridge.

2014 Keystone Outback Tavel Trailer
2012 Ram 1500
Retired Navy

rideandslide · 06-02-2015, 07:13 PM

Always start our start ours on propane at least a day before, since it need to be on propane as we travel, and switch to elect. once we hook up. As mentioned the beer and drinks stay in a cooler outside to minimize opening the frig.and trips inside the camper.

Texastbird · 06-03-2015, 11:36 AM

Yeah, that's a good idea to make sure its running on propane ok before taking off. I always light the burners on the stove to make sure the propane is working ok and I didn't leave something shut or I had swapped to an empty tank. We use one of those little battery powered fans and it seems to help even cooling of the refrigerator.