Fridge when in transit?

[rhoag]

  I was having a discussion with a friend the other day about our travel trailers.  We are both relatively new to camping.  We ended up talking about the fridge when traveling.  He said you should never travel with the fridge on gas ... let it run off the battery.  I always make sure the fridge is operating properly on gas before I pull out. 

  What do others do and what is the correct thing to do?
Thanks in advance.

[SeilerBird]

I turn mine off completely. I feel that is the safest way to travel. Nothing is going to change temperature in a few hours of traveling. Even after 8 hours nothing has melted in the refer.

[Molaker]

I set mine on "Automatic" while at home on shore power and loading up.  That's where it stays until I get back home and unload.  Usually the only exception to that is if I have to park somewhere very unlevel for more than an hour or so.  Did your friend say why he thinks you should travel with it on electric?  Does your friend's frig have a 12 vdc mode (3-way) or does he have an inverter?  If not, his frig won't be operating while traveling if not on gas - which is not a particular problem, as was previously posted, if the door is not opened much and it gets put back into operation at the end of the day.

[Steve N Dee]

I also do the automatic thing.  Which means it generally runs off of propane while in route.  This has never been a problem for me and I have had RV shops tell me there is nothing wrong with traveling with the propane on.

Steve

[Scjetb]

Ditto on running with the fridge in AUTO. Not an expert but i have been camping for about 8 years and never had a problem traveling with propane on.

[Mopar1973Man]

2 years now on my Jayco Eagle travelling with a propane burning fridge... No problems I just pack up the night before let everything chill good and leave it burn on my travels. When I get to a fuel station I'll shut it down and load up. If I forget to light it up again no biggy the fridge is nice and cold and will hold cold for few hours for sure.

[Steve N Dee]

Time for a confession.  I've heard you are supposed to shut it down at the fuel station.  In 25 years, I have never done this.  Am I really asking for trouble or is it not really an issue?

Steve

[Frizlefrak]

Time for a confession.  I've heard you are supposed to shut it down at the fuel station.  In 25 years, I have never done this.  Am I really asking for trouble or is it not really an issue?

Steve

I've never done it either.  But then again, the TT is a good distance from the pump.  And out here, the wind is always blowing anyway....odds of vapors gathering are slim.

Some disagree....but I always run with the refer on propane.

[John From Detroit]

The insurance companies say "Never run with gas on"  Of course most modern RV fridges no longer have the 12 volt option, the reason for this is the tow vehicle can't pump electricity to the trailer that fast.

Now, the logic: The FRIDGE is one of the major causes of fires in RV's. the insurance companies seem to think running them on propane is more likely to cause them to go up in smoke.. And in this they are likely right, say 52/48 percent or so (That is small difference)  Plus if you got hit,, "Just right" it could rupture the propane line and cause a magor conflagration..


What they forget is an FMCA rally or other event where RV's are packed into the grounds like sardines.  At many Rallys if they are on a fairground there may be limited electrical hookups, so you Boondock, and that means running the fridge on propane.

So there I am in 100,000 worth of Gasser,, Next to me (Not at this event) is about a half million of Provest Diesel pusher.. My fridge goes up and takes the provest out and the one on the other side of me, as well, before FD can get there.  OUCH!!!! Law suit time (Thankfully that did not happen)

Or, I'm toolind dong the freeway when it catches, Mr. Prevost dropps back about a quarter mile and radios me Hey buddy, You on fire!!!.  Either way my rig is toast.  but this way his.. Not so much as smoke damage.

To Steve and DEE.

Depends, Gasoline, no, Diesel no, Propane yes  Where the fridge is on my rig gasoline vapor could only reach it if I hosed the side of the RV.  (My rig is a gasser)  Propane, however, ... Well, lots more bad things can happen when filling propane tank.

When I pull up to the propane pump, I hit the 12 volt disconnect (STORE) switch and shut down EVERYTHIGN (this kills furnace, fridge and Water heater, All open flames save stove/oven which are never in use at that point in time).

[odie1234]

The insurance companies say "Never run with gas on"

Funny, none of the insurance carriers I have used have ever said that, either verbally or in writing. Is this official, like "we can deny your claim if you do"?

[Frizlefrak]

Does anyone have any documented case where running with the refer on propane caused an incident?

[Foto-n-T]

Refridgerators do indeed start the majority of RV fires but....RV fires in an of themselves are actually quite rare.  We do turn off our fridge when in transit but we do not turn off the gas although if I was going to be really paranoid I'd probably do just that.  We do this simply because of habit and from witnessing one and only one RV fire which just incidentally was caused by the fridge and it just happened to be going down the road.

Conversely I was recently advised by an RV tech that has had a bunch of experience with refridgerators that it's actually "good" for the fridge to be operating while going down the road.  Given the fact that the RV is insured (and contents) and the fridge is not, I just might change my mind about operating the thing going down the road.

Personally I just don't think that there is a definitive answer for this particular question, it's more a matter of personal preference.

[Tom]

The choice to run down the road with the fridge or other appliance running on propane is a personal one. But folks, please shut off the refrigerator or any other appliance with either DSI (direct spark ignition) , exposed flame, or a pilot light before fuelling at a gas pump. The fact that you've ignored this for years means you've been lucky, as have others around you. If you insist on ignoring it, please put a 'Danger, spark igniter (or open flame)' warning sign on your vehicle, so I can stay clear. Thanks.

[John From Detroit]

Funny, none of the insurance carriers I have used have ever said that, either verbally or in writing. Is this official, like "we can deny your claim if you do"?

That is from an RV safety course endorsed and sponsored by AEON.

I disagreed with the instructor on a few things, manageded to get him to see it my way on the most important one, that was not it.

[longhaul]

     Guess things have changed but just a few years back RVIA says the water hearter was the number one culprit in RV fires.

I'm from the "ice box era".
  My first 110/propane fridge was in a '84 Aljo. I have owned several since. We always travel with the fridge propane on. In fact this was a big advertising/selling point by the fridge makers when they replaced "the box".

   We made the mistake of not turning it to auto one morning as we left the campground. Temps near 100 as we pulled into the next campground that evening and found a warm fridge with ruined food.  That was a mistake we never made again.

 My insurance agent  says "no issue" when I asked her what the company policy says about the propane fridge on while traveling.

[Brother Bear]

I would never go into transit mode without my fridge running. Of course, mine is residential and runs on inverted 12v power when not shorelined or on generator power. My TV charging system, which incorporates Ford's extra heavy duty alternator, is more than adequate to keep my batteries charged.

[Gary RV Roamer]

That is from an RV safety course endorsed and sponsored by AEON.

Who is AEON? I Googled that name and didn't find anything even remotely related to RVing, insurance or vehicle safety.

Geico has a web page with RV safety tips, but doesn't say anything about fridges or traveling with propane on. Ditto for the US DOT.
http://www.geico.com/information/safety/rv/
http://www.sharetheroadsafely.org/cardrivers/RVSafety_Tips.asp

[Ned]

I think he meant AON, a large risk management and insurance company.  There is no AEON that I know of.

[Foto-n-T]

Water heater fires are pretty easy to mitigate.  Most are caused by critters setting up housekeeping in the heat tube and causing a flash fire that sets the exterior on fire.  The other cause is same or smaller critters inhabiting the burner causing a low flow of air and a huge flame that jumps out of where it's supposed to be setting the inside of the wall on fire.  Bug screens and inspection make it rather easy to put the odds back in your favor on that one.

I could be wrong but I don't know of anybody who actually runs down the road with the water heater on.  I know on my old rig if the wind was just so the stupid thing wouldn't even work.  I would assume that traveling down the highway would tend to make your water heater blow out, I could of course be way off on that one.

[Gary RV Roamer]

Mac McCoy, aka "Mac The Fire Guy", writes on fire safety all the time, and it is his seminars and articles that are supported by AON Insurance.

http://macthefireguy.com/articles/fire_safety_%E2%80%93_it%E2%80%99s_your_responsibility

[SeilerBird]

Good article Gary since it supports my view of shutting off the propane while driving. I can't believe people jeopardize their safety because they are either lazy or think everything will defrost.

Remember there is no real need to travel with your propane tank(s) on.  All modern coach refrigerators will stay cold for many hours without propane or electricity.

And this is from a fireman who actually has seen RV fires.

[Foto-n-T]

Alrighty then...guess who is going to not only turn off the fridge when in transit but actually open the propane door and shut off the tanks now??

[Molaker]

According to the article Gary provided a link to, about 70% RV fires are engine or electrical, 20% are tires or brakes, leaving roughly 10% divided into various causes.  Yes, he does state it is unnecessary to drive with the frig running, but let's get real here.  Just how many of those fires caused by a frig or even a propane leak occurred while actually driving?  That is not addressed, but I suspect the actual number caused by a propane leak or a bad frig while driving is very small.
 
I'm not suggesting turning off the frig and even shutting off the propane while driving is not a good idea.  Anything you can do to make your trip safer is always a good idea.  But, you probably are at a much bigger risk just starting the darned thing and pulling out on the highway than you are in driving with the frig running.

[Frizlefrak]

According to the article Gary provided a link to, about 70% RV fires are engine or electrical, 20% are tires or brakes, leaving roughly 10% divided into various causes.  Yes, he does state it is unnecessary to drive with the frig running, but let's get real here.  Just how many of those fires caused by a frig or even a propane leak occurred while actually driving?  That is not addressed, but I suspect the actual number caused by a propane leak or a bad frig while driving is very small.
 
I'm not suggesting turning off the frig and even shutting off the propane while driving is not a good idea.  Anything you can do to make your trip safer is always a good idea.  But, you probably are at a much bigger risk just starting the darned thing and pulling out on the highway than you are in driving with the frig running.

Perzactly.  You're probably 5000 times more likely to get taken out by somebody texting than running your refer.

I want to know the exact percentage of RV fires over a 10 year period that can be directly traced to running with the refer on.  I'm betting it will be miniscule, if not statistically irrelevant.

AGAIN....not saying that it's not a good idea to turn off propane in transit.  But I want the bratwurst still frozen and the beer ice cold when I get to camp.  To each his own. 

[SeilerBird]

...but I suspect the actual number caused by a propane leak or a bad frig while driving is very small.

But it is still a very real possibility and very easy to avoid.
 
Anything I can do to make my trip safer I will do. It only takes a few seconds to turn the propane off and on.

And there just is no excuse for leaving it on.

[Foto-n-T]

As Frizlefrak said "To each his own".

We don't tend to stay in one spot too long when we're on the road, a few days here, a month there if we really like it and then of course a few months if it's time to refill the bank account and go back to work for a bit.  We've run with the fridge off for years and since I do enjoy a cold adult beverage when we get parked that is definitely a concern, but one I've learned to deal with it in a couple of ways.  One is to stuff a couple of Barley-Pops into the freezer in the morning (watch out for diet beer it freezes at a higher temp than fancy beer) or....simply buy one small bag of ice about every two days when we're on the road and use it in my small cooler that rides in the garage of the Toy Hauler.

I've lived through a lot of hazardous jobs from driving airplanes to commercial diving and the one thing I learned a long time ago is "risk mitigaton".  You can't realistically live in a bubble but you can do some simple things to cut down on possible life threatening events.  Personally I'll keep doing what I'm doing and feel absolutely no embarrassment about the fact that I do so.  More than likely absolutely nothing "bad" would ever happen but man would I feel stupid if I looked in the starboard mirror one afternoon and realized that I was about to get to re-experience tent camping.

One thing that everybody needs to keep in mind is that on this forum there are a LOT of new RV owners.  More than a few of them take what us "Old Timers" say as divine wisdom and will blindly follow what we say.  To each his own is correct but do so with a little education and make an informed decision, I recommend to those who are new to this to educate themselves as best as possible and never have to utter the words "So and so told me this would be fine".  Use this forum and take what I say as well as what others say as simply a recommendation, it's not necessarily the best method, but it works for us.

[Frizlefrak]

Good point.  Kinda like politics.....  Do your own research, do a lot of it, and then decide for yourself. 

[therink]

I turn my fridge on in May and turn it off in October. It does not have 12v option so it runs on propane when traveling. I use common sense while at gas stations.

[Mopar1973Man]

Ok... Like me I'm a valid candidate for doing the inspection before firing up the fridge. The trailer sitting out in the yards for months now unused. So it would be worth it for me to take the 10-15 minutes and pop the refrigerator cover and look for damage, wasp nest, spider nest, check the burn chamber for debris, etc. Same goes for the hot water heater too. I would of been out more this year but between joining the local fire dept, and local fires, and the extreme heat...

[Frizlefrak]

Ok... Like me I'm a valid candidate for doing the inspection before firing up the fridge. The trailer sitting out in the yards for months now unused. So it would be worth it for me to take the 10-15 minutes and pop the refrigerator cover and look for damage, wasp nest, spider nest, check the burn chamber for debris, etc. Same goes for the hot water heater too. I would of been out more this year but between joining the local fire dept, and local fires, and the extreme heat...

Yep.  An ounce of prevention........

But I'm the same guy that gets laughed at for repacking his wheel bearings every year.  Better in my driveway than by the side of the highway with a torn up spindle.......