Maintenance & Restoration

camper1887 · 05-29-2012, 10:04 PM

Do you leave your propane on while traveling to have the fridge on? I have talked to people that do it both ways. Curious as to what other folks do. Thanks!

Mike Magee · 05-29-2012, 10:06 PM

Yes.

Byron Kinnaman · 05-29-2012, 10:14 PM

No, absolutely not.

Dave Fish · 05-29-2012, 10:17 PM

Leave it on most of the time. I always turn it off when filling the gas tank and must turn it off for the ferry.

Rene · 05-29-2012, 10:34 PM

Yes I always have the fridge going. I depend on my fridge all day, every day and over long distances.

Carol H · 05-29-2012, 11:04 PM

Nope - never and I also cover a lot of long distances. When I start out on a trip I always start the fridge up the day before so it starts out cold and everything I put in it is also cold before it goes in. I also start out with a large frozen plastic jug of water in the fridge & once that melts I have 4 freezer packs that are always in the freezer & when on the road I put them beside items that must stay cold such a milk etc & I don't open the fridge while traveling other than to switch the freezer packs back into the freezer and put the fridge over to DC only long enough to refreeze them. If its really hot out I might leave the fridge on DC if I dont think the freezer packs can handle the heat. The tow vehicle charges the battery while driving so I just need to remember to unplug if its on DC when making long stops.

P. Raz · 05-30-2012, 03:34 AM

No. While I doubt there is much risk, it is just not something I am comfortable with. Raz

Darrell O · 05-30-2012, 09:03 AM

Isn't the fridge pilot flame liable to get blown out by the air turbulence, drafts, and vacuums at highway speeds?

Carol H · 05-30-2012, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darrell O

Isn't the fridge pilot flame liable to get blown out by the air turbulence, drafts, and vacuums at highway speeds?

Yes and thats the risk of driving with it on.

fusedlight · 05-30-2012, 09:28 AM

I like the idea of loading up with a hunk of ice (or lots of frozen food!). Thermal momentum is your friend.

P. Raz · 05-30-2012, 04:10 PM

The flame blowing out doesn't bother me. There is a thermocouple powering a shut off solenoid that I check regularly to take care of that. I guess I am more concerned with driving down the road and coming upon a volatile environment, say an accident where gas vapor is present. Or forgetting to turn it off when gassing up. As I said, I am just not comfortable with it. Raz

Rene · 05-30-2012, 05:07 PM

My burner tube is completely enclosed and has never blown out even at over 60 mph and in stiff winds. If it did the thermocouple would shut off the gas flow. Packing with ice and waiting until I arrived at my destination would never work for me. I always at a new destination where ever I go. I eat 3 meals a day in my trailer and eat out only occasionally.

**Frederick L. Simson** · 05-30-2012, 05:25 PM

I used to, but I no longer do it since I had a refrigerator fire.

I found that running my 30+ year old refrigerator on gas while driving was no more effective at keeping it cold than using frozen "blue-ice" packs while driving. Each method kept the inside no colder than 50 degrees.

The risk of loosing the trailer (or worse) is not worth it to me. I just need more ice packs.

ThomasE · 05-30-2012, 05:33 PM

I tow with the fridge on propane, it works really well at keeping things cool. 120V is a near second in terms of coldness, 12V is a bit better than nothing. I towed it for 3000 miles over 3 weeks on last year with no problems. But I do worry sometimes especially in case of a crash or something like that. Flame has never blown out when towing.