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06-10-2018, 07:55 AM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 9
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Refrigerator on while towing?
New to trailering... saw in manual that fridge will operate while towing. Any issue? Is this the way most do it? Requires leaving gas on?
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06-10-2018, 08:00 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Waynesville
Posts: 14,428
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Yes they are "Travel Units" if you want Cold things let it be Powered while "Going Down the Road"! Youroo!!
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06-10-2018, 08:01 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Central Washington State
Posts: 106
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Leave mine on auto all season and never think about it. At end of season clean everything out and put the door clips on doors so it keeps a gap on freezer and main section of fridg.
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06-10-2018, 08:10 AM
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#4
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Site Team
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Goodyear, Arizona
Posts: 33,601
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The vast majority of RV owners travel with propane on.
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Dan-Retired California Firefighter/EMT
Shawn-Musician/Entrepreneur/Wine Expert
and Zoe the Wonder Dog(R.I.P.)
2016 PrimeTime TracerAIR 255, pushing a 2014 Ford F150 SCREW XTR 4x4 3.5 Ecoboost w/Max Tow Package
4pt Equal-i-zer WDH and 1828lbs of payload capacity
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06-10-2018, 08:26 AM
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#5
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Pickin', Campin', Mason
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: South Western PA
Posts: 19,074
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A much discussed topic here!
Some do, some don't and each side has their reasons.
From the multiple R/V sites I follow, most travel with the propane on and the refrigerator operating.
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2022 Cedar Creek 345IK 5th Wheel•Solar & Inverter•2017 Ford F-Series SCREW 4x4•Factory Puck•B&W Companion•TST Tire Monitor w/Repeater•Sinemate 3500w Gen.
F&AM Lodge 358 Somerset, PA - JAFFA Shrine - Altoona, PA
Days Camped ☼ '19=118 ☼ '20=116 ☼ '21=123 ☼ '22=134 ☼ '23=118☼ '24=86
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06-10-2018, 09:26 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: New port Richey FL
Posts: 1,464
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 5picker
A much discussed topic here!
Some do, some don't and each side has their reasons.
From the multiple R/V sites I follow, most travel with the propane on and the refrigerator operating.
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Yes keep that thing cold. How ever if you are sticking to fuel up your propane should be off. Chances are probably low that the pilot from the fridge will make a gas pump go boom but I don't want to fi d out.
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06-10-2018, 09:44 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Brighton, CO
Posts: 180
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I have the basic Dometic fridge in my Prime Time Spartan 1032 toy hauler. As long as I have the fridge and freezer fairly populated with cold stuff...and the fridge is on and at operating temperature when i hit the road....my ice cream is still frozen and everything in the fridge stays fully cold when i travel 7 to 8 hours....with the fridge turned completely off. Been following this routine for years. My wife often adds a small bag of ice cubes to the freezer for cold drink use...and and added margin of safety. ..but never had a problem with keeping everything cold even in the 90 degree heat of the summer.
Most experts will advise against leaving the propane on while on the road for safety reasons.
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2014 Spartan 1032
2015 GMC 3500HD Denali 4WD/Duramax
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06-10-2018, 10:12 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: TEXAS
Posts: 9,130
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JLamb
New to trailering... saw in manual that fridge will operate while towing. Any issue? Is this the way most do it? Requires leaving gas on?
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Of course, leave the gas on if you want the fridge to operate. Unless you have a residential refrigerator that operates only on electric.
Sometimes we travel with it on, but usually off. As RockyMtnMarty says, ours usually keeps everything cold for 8 hours.
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2015 Dynamax REV 24TB class C
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06-10-2018, 10:33 AM
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#9
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Who Dares, Wins
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Chester County, PA
Posts: 7,063
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Always left it on. Never an issue.
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Pat, Jen, Heather & Sapphire, the head mouser.
2015 Chevy HD D-Max
2022 Impression 315MB
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06-10-2018, 10:37 AM
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#10
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Kasual Kamper
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Fairfield County CT
Posts: 1,297
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How else are you going to keep the ice cream from melting?
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Current: 2013 Flagstaff MicroLite 21DS
Past: 2000 Fleetwood Mallard 19N
TV: 2013 Nissan Pathfinder SL 4x4
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06-10-2018, 10:48 AM
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#11
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Who Dares, Wins
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Chester County, PA
Posts: 7,063
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JayArras
How else are you going to keep the ice cream from melting?
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Well if you eat it all ... You do not have that issue... Well thats how we deal with it!
Hmm... Might explain a lot!
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Pat, Jen, Heather & Sapphire, the head mouser.
2015 Chevy HD D-Max
2022 Impression 315MB
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06-10-2018, 11:25 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Alberta - East of the Rockies, West of the Rest
Posts: 1,785
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When we had a rv fridge we never had the need to travel with it on, loaded it up a day before leaving, turned it on and kept the door closed.
Know where you'll be traveling, certain tunnels, ferries and the province of British Columbia are propane off by law and they do enforce it.
Whatever you decide to do, turn the propane off when you're at a gas station!
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2018 RAM 5500 Laramie CC
Sold: Riverstone Legacy 38RE, 960 Watt Solar, 6x6 Volt AGM Battery Bank, Freedom SW 3012 Inv/Charger
Ordered: 2021....
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06-10-2018, 12:39 PM
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#13
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Junior Member
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 23
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That boom issue...
In our town a motor home passed by a propane fill station. Unfortunately the propane fumes reached out to the passing R.V.with it's propane on for the fridge. Yes, explosion and the attendant doing the refill of the other tank was horribly burned.
Food for thought. Think ahead on every occasion. Just like the tunnel issue previously mentioned, there are times to shut down the fridge. Anyway, mine stays cold enough to travel when pre-cooled.
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06-10-2018, 12:41 PM
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#14
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 87
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Just leave it on auto.
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06-10-2018, 01:24 PM
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#15
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Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 14
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I ran with the fridge running on propane all the time while on the road in my old trailer, but the igniter was persnickety, so it often wouldn't stay lit. Checked it every time I stopped for gas.
Now I have a three-way Dometic in my new trailer, so it runs on DC. Problem solved.
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06-10-2018, 02:13 PM
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#16
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Site Team
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Goodyear, Arizona
Posts: 33,601
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RockyMtnMarty
Most experts will advise against leaving the propane on while on the road for safety reasons.
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Please provide a link to these experts.
__________________
Dan-Retired California Firefighter/EMT
Shawn-Musician/Entrepreneur/Wine Expert
and Zoe the Wonder Dog(R.I.P.)
2016 PrimeTime TracerAIR 255, pushing a 2014 Ford F150 SCREW XTR 4x4 3.5 Ecoboost w/Max Tow Package
4pt Equal-i-zer WDH and 1828lbs of payload capacity
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06-10-2018, 02:13 PM
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#17
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Boondocking Only
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 360
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Always gas on fridge on......so do 99% as for the 1% that don't , haven't seen a legitimate reason yet.
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2014 Shamrock/Roo 21SSL
Complete LED Lighting
Off Road Package
2010 F250 Lariat 6.8 V-10 w/Timbren SES
Custom Tunes by 5 Star Tuning
Boondocking Only
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06-10-2018, 02:15 PM
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#18
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Site Team
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Grayson County, Texas
Posts: 21,502
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bikendan
Please provide a link to these experts.
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X2 — “most experts” is pretty broad.
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2015 FR Wildcat 295RSX / GMC Sierra
Nights Camped: '13 = 49/'14 = 74/'15 = 74/'16 = 85/'17 = 110/'18 = 111/'19 = 86/'20 =108/'21 = 115/'22 = 135/'23 = 78; Booked for 2024 = 69
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06-10-2018, 02:27 PM
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#19
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Brighton, CO
Posts: 180
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Here is the risk.... the flimsy propane lines feeding the stove and fridge run the lower outer edge of the frame. They typically run right above the wheels. When a tire blows, it typically tears apart the area all around the wheel. My buddy just had a blow out last week that caused $3000 in damage to the side and underside of his trailer. If the damage ruptures the propane line, which is feeding unrestricted gas from the tanks because the valve is open to run the fridge, any resulting spark can fuel a fire theat could possibly destroy your entire trailer. I may be in the 1% ...and not one of the "experts"....but the risk is real.
__________________
__________________________________________
2014 Spartan 1032
2015 GMC 3500HD Denali 4WD/Duramax
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06-10-2018, 02:34 PM
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#20
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Pickin', Campin', Mason
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: South Western PA
Posts: 19,074
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The experts that manufacture these units advise they can be used while traveling.
Are there 'expert' experts that know something different?
__________________
2022 Cedar Creek 345IK 5th Wheel•Solar & Inverter•2017 Ford F-Series SCREW 4x4•Factory Puck•B&W Companion•TST Tire Monitor w/Repeater•Sinemate 3500w Gen.
F&AM Lodge 358 Somerset, PA - JAFFA Shrine - Altoona, PA
Days Camped ☼ '19=118 ☼ '20=116 ☼ '21=123 ☼ '22=134 ☼ '23=118☼ '24=86
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