Running Fridge On The Road

[Nail56]

Originally Posted by MR.M

there's plenty of those that do run on propane when on the road me included and those that don't . Some have issues with the flame blowing out . I never have in 20,000 or more miles and the fridge is always cold . I would make sure it's lite before heading out and then again at stops .

Pardon my not knowing this, but how do you check the lite? I have an electric "panel" with on/off, Auto, and temp but no actual light....

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Nail56

Pardon my not knowing this, but how do you check the lite? I have an electric "panel" with on/off, Auto, and temp but no actual light....

I think he meant "lit", not light.
He's referring to the propane side's burner lighting.

[Eidolon]

The following applies to 5th wheel and other towables.


If your RV has a master power switch, we have found it necessary to leave that on while towing. There is a fan than is needed to make the whole system work.


The vents need to be clear. I know of one instance where the roof vent had become obstructed, causing problems.


In a dozen years or so, never had a problem with leaving the frig on propane while towing.

[wnew813]

Before I use gas on anything in my RV, I make sure the burners light with gas. That way I am sure gas is getting through the lines. We drive with the fridge on gas and if the freezer is cold the fridge should be. The only problem we had was the fridge thermostat was too close to the cooling coils so it didn't register the temp correctly. I positioned the thermostat off the coils but just next to them and the fridge temp got colder and where I wanted it. You might have a bad thermostat if this doesn't work.

[Sprinter2x]

Originally Posted by Webleedblue

Last fall we graduated from a popup after 32 years. The fridge in the pu would work off of 12v from the tv. It doesn't look like this fridge can run off of 12v. We precool the fridge at home (freezer @ 0 and fridge @ 40). Before I unplugged the electric I turned the fridge to gas. When we got to the campground 1.5 hours later both had warmed up considerably even though we had cold items in them, along with a frozen gallon of water in the freezer. I checked the "check" light before we left and it was not on making me think it was working on gas.

Am I missing something? Our next trip is 5 hours and I don't want to get there and find out food has been ruined.

You need to bleed the air out of the gas line. Disconnect from shore power, then light the stove burners and the other gas appliances for a minute or so then start the refrigerator. The flame for the refrigerator is very small so if there is air in the line it won't bleed out fast enough for the refrigerator flame to ignite.

[2USARetired]

Many folks run the refrig on propane while underway without problem. Before using propane for my refrig, or heater, I always turn on a stove burner to first make sure I have propane flowing and there are no problems elsewhere (e.g., a regulator issue). Don't know what type RV you have but am assuming you have a Dometic or Norcold. One thing to understand is that while these refrigerators run on propane or 110V, they still require 12V to operate the control system. If your 12V cutoff switch is off the refrig won't work (assuming you have a cutoff).

[cardiactiger]

Not sure about your unit, but I have to "bleed" the air out of the gas line before the fridge will turn on with gas.

[Webleedblue]

So I figured out my problem for running it on the road. The previous owner put a kill switch in so when he stored the trailer he could kill everything 12v. I found this a few days before we left last week and tested it. I turned the fridge on "Auto" and unplugged the trailer from electric. I heard the fridge light. Everything worked great for our 5 hour trip.