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Old 01-14-2018, 07:58 PM   #1
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Keeping food cold on the road?

Hi All,
When we went on longer trips last summer I had the fridge on before the trip then loaded the food into it. However I shut the unit off while we were traveling. As a result our food warmed,and I had some freezer melt, etc. The next trip we used a cooler but upon arrival it was hot and took the fridge a while to get down to temp... I saw a facebook post where someone said they left the fridge propane on while on the road so they didn't have to use a cooler or risk loss of food.

Do people leave their propane on to run the fridge when they travel? Is that safe? We thought that it increased risk of explosion in an accident? Want to be ready next season if it ever warms up here...brrr....I hope to keep the fridge loaded and on ready to go to make leaving easier...

Thanks!
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Old 01-14-2018, 08:00 PM   #2
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I'm on my third motorhome and always run the refrigerator on the road. Just make sure you turn it off when refueling!

You'll get varying opinions, I have never had any problems in many years of traveling.
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Old 01-14-2018, 08:01 PM   #3
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On yes, many of us do. Check out this travel with frig on poll.

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...oll-15414.html
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Old 01-14-2018, 08:05 PM   #4
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Not a motorhome but ran the propane fridge in our camper 100% of the time while traveling over the last 3 years.
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Old 01-14-2018, 08:09 PM   #5
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I for one leave the propane on while traveling except when on the ferry or at a fuel station. If that makes you uncomfortable you can use supplemental cooling from ice bags and frozen food in the fridge during travel.
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Old 01-14-2018, 08:13 PM   #6
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Yes, unless there is a tunnel forbidding it, then we pull over and turn it off.

My fridge is on the curb side, so when refueling it is on the opposite side of the pumps from my trucks fuel door. I always use outside lanes when fueling so I'm not concerned about the fridge running in the open air.

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Old 01-14-2018, 08:19 PM   #7
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While we keep the fridge on, the other thing we did was invest in a premium cooler.



One bag of ice lasts for a couple of weeks.
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Old 01-14-2018, 08:50 PM   #8
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Always on

We never turn off the propane & run the fridge except to refuel or fill propane - haven't found a tunnel that said anything about turning off propane yet & probably won't go on a ferry
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Old 01-14-2018, 09:09 PM   #9
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Yes, unless there is a tunnel forbidding it, then we pull over and turn it off.

My fridge is on the curb side, so when refueling it is on the opposite side of the pumps from my trucks fuel door. I always use outside lanes when fueling so I'm not concerned about the fridge running in the open air.

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Old 01-14-2018, 09:27 PM   #10
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I don’t even turn it off when fueling. More important things to worry about in life than the .0000000001% chance that my camper will explode.




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Old 01-14-2018, 10:51 PM   #11
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Hi All,
When we went on longer trips last summer I had the fridge on before the trip then loaded the food into it. However I shut the unit off while we were traveling. As a result our food warmed,and I had some freezer melt, etc. The next trip we used a cooler but upon arrival it was hot and took the fridge a while to get down to temp... I saw a facebook post where someone said they left the fridge propane on while on the road so they didn't have to use a cooler or risk loss of food.

Do people leave their propane on to run the fridge when they travel? Is that safe? We thought that it increased risk of explosion in an accident? Want to be ready next season if it ever warms up here...brrr....I hope to keep the fridge loaded and on ready to go to make leaving easier...

Thanks!
Propane is not gasoline. It is very difficult to get propane to burn, the air/propane mixture where propane will burn is very narrow, about 2.15% to 9.6% mixture, above or below that propane will not ignite. Most of us do leave the propane on when traveling without any issues. When fueling you may want to turn the frig off, but, depending on the situation you may not have to. Again, propane in open air (over 9.6%) will not burn.

One of the joys of RVing is using your Rv and all it's amenities. Refrigerator, toilet showers etc...they are all there to be enjoyed and enhance your Rv excursion.

Happy Camping
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Old 01-14-2018, 11:36 PM   #12
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A motorhome by definition is a self-contained unit. If propane is not an option turn on the generator. That's what's there for.
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Old 01-15-2018, 05:08 AM   #13
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We leave ours on continuously as well.
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Old 01-15-2018, 06:00 AM   #14
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The only time I turn mine off is when I'm defrosting the freezer. This is my 8th year full time.
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Old 01-15-2018, 08:27 AM   #15
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We never turn off the propane & run the fridge except to refuel or fill propane - haven't found a tunnel that said anything about turning off propane yet & probably won't go on a ferry
We also keep our propane on all the time when traveling. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in Virginia does have a regulation for RV's that the propane must be turned off at the valve prior to making the crossing. They have large pull-offs on each side of the Bridge-Tunnel just for that purpose. There is a section on their website with regulations for Recreational Vehicles.
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Old 01-15-2018, 08:50 AM   #16
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Been full timer for eight years now. Never have turned the propane off. Curious about the accident thing. I have forgotten to turn the bottle off when disconnecting. (I like to lift the bottle to see if its totally emptied). Never created a leak then, something in the bottle keeps this from happening? I suppose if a line ruptured downstream from the regulator it could be a problem.
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Old 01-15-2018, 10:10 AM   #17
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I have the generator running when going down the road. Most of the time, I have all my kids in the back and for some weird reason they are temperature sensitive. Because of this, I have to run my AC or electric heat to keep them happy and since this requires generator, I get the added benefit of my fridge staying on as well.
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Old 01-15-2018, 10:16 AM   #18
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We also keep our propane on all the time when traveling. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in Virginia does have a regulation for RV's that the propane must be turned off at the valve prior to making the crossing. They have large pull-offs on each side of the Bridge-Tunnel just for that purpose. There is a section on their website with regulations for Recreational Vehicles.
And the Hampton tunnel actually has an inspection lane where they check your tanks to ensure they are off.
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Old 01-15-2018, 11:20 AM   #19
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If you are uncomfortable traveling with the fridge on get some dry ice for your cooler or put in freezer compartment of the fridge. We traveled from South Louisiana last year with a large cooler full of crawfish, boudin, and other tasty bits all topped with dry ice. When we arrived in Missouri all items in the cooler were frozen solid. They were not frozen when we placed them in the cooler. This was in May and the cooler was just a run of the mill Coleman.
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Old 01-15-2018, 11:43 AM   #20
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At my PDI, the tech said, “turn fridge on coldest setting one day before leaving. if your travel is 4 hours or less, it will stay cold, anything more than that you can run your propane, but it t will take a lot of gas to do that”
I have found this to be true. Most of my trips are under 4 hours so not an issue for me. I have also read others put some type of Ice Packs in fridge/freezer to help keep it cold while traveling.
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