Travel with gas fridge

[patrickgrue]

So we bought a 2017 camper with a gas fridge, Norcold I think, they told us don't travel with gas running. Another fellow says, sure, run the gas while traveling, what do you do?

[Cincinnati Kid]

I run it, but many people won't.
My goal is to get a 12v compressor refrigerator so I won't need to worry about that, but this one refuses to die.

[mrmom]

I travel with ours on, but it frequently goes out while traveling and has to be reset. If you are worried about it, freeze a few bottles of water and then place them in the fridge while traveling. Helps keep everything cold.

[one2camp]

We travel with ours on and have never had a problem.

[Grumpy]

Bought first TT in 1977 gas was always on from day 1 when driving.

[Lake Huron]

First two trailer we had I travelled with the gas on, never had any issues. Current trailer has a residential fridge so I dont have that option.

[wiscampsin]

We travel with ours on all the time.

[RogerR]

Travel with gas on but if windy out the pilot blows out. I keep freezer packs in freezer if no frozen food in there and the fuller the better to hold cold when blows out.

Some turn off gas at gas stations but mine is so far back there would have to be a Niagra sized spill to cause a fire.

[Randel J]

Our TT has a Norcold N8XL, propane and 120v. So our only option to keep food cold while traveling is running on propane. Never had an issue.

[garywilson]

On.
Some don't.

If I were driving a propane vehicle I'd probably leave it on, too.
Ditto forklift, tractor, etc.
I even sleep with a propane furnace running.
Just crazy, I guess, engaging in risky behavior.

[Duramaxsky]

I travel with it on or run the fridge on my inverter. I have #4 wire from the truck battery to a plug by the light plug and then to the trailer batteries. The truck keeps them charged. The gas is on and the fridge is on auto so it will switch to gas if the inverter shuts off which they do for no reason sometimes.

[Jagiven]

You will hear everything on this subject.

First it is safe. There are a number of safeties in place. If the flame goes out and cannot restart. It will shut down safely. If you get into a bad accident. And rupture a gas line, there is a free flow prevention device at yank connection.

There are some restrictions in some locations. The propane must be off, in some tunnels, ferries. Some states, it needs to be off at gas pumps. I'm sure there are a few more.

We almost always travel with the frig on. We have never had the flame go out. Not even on the old 80's era frigs, that had a standing pilot light.

I say do what you are comfortable with.

Happy Camping

[Big1]

Gas on, ask me why, well I'm glad you ask, the wife and I was going on a 1200+ miles trip and we had our gas off but by mistake, so we notice that our food wasn't cold so to make a long story short all of our food went bad, and man the little old lady was not happy, trust me so every time we start and when we stop for a rest break I always check it.

[Scott]

If I'm traveling for more than 3 hours, I run the fridge on gas. If less than 3 hours, I just turn the fridge off. In that short of a time, it's still plenty cold upon arrival at the campground. Most of our trips are less than 3 hours.

[Kim Gass]

Probably depends on where you are traveling. Our 195 we never had the fridge on when traveling.. The freezer was so tiny as to be useless so when we were in camp we froze two liter soda bottles.

Kept everything cold during the usual six hour journey.. However we rarely have temps above 80 outside.. Its a lovely 52 today

[TWP723]

No different if the unit was sited. Works the same moving as it does settled down.

[EJH]

What mrmom and RogerR said. If I travel with mine on, half the time the wind blows out the pilot light. The fridge will not reignite the pilot light without being turned off and on. If this happens, you'll arrive at your destination to see the fridge flashing the red LED five times in a row (at least on my Norcold model). I have since stopped traveling with the fridge on (I turn the propane tanks off also). YMMV. No right answer here, but lots of opinions

[TaftCoach]

This should be a sticky as often as it comes up.

I'll add to the running on propane. Been doing it for decades. Our road days are typically ten hours from start to finish.

[us71na]

We travel with our fridge running on propane. It automatically lights when it needs to, there is no pilot light to blow out. I don't turn it off when stopping for gas. Our frozen food stays frozen and the cold food stays nice and cold. Most indoor outdoor thermometers will transmit from inside a fridge so you can monitor the temp without opening the door. I did add a 12 volt fan under one of the wire shelves to help move the air around in the refrigerator section.

[CAG]

Originally Posted by TaftCoach

This should be a sticky as often as it comes up.

I'll add to the running on propane. Been doing it for decades. Our road days are typically ten hours from start to finish.

There are a number of these that should be sticky’s.

Which wax
Which tires
Travel with gas on
And the list goes on.