Keeping the fridge cold during travel without propane or generator

[LaughlinBob]

When traveling from point to point, what is the best way to keep the items in the fridge cold without running the generator (in a 5th wheel), which uses propane. I'm thinking safety here, so that the propane lines are empty and there's less chance of fire in an accident. I'm thinking about bagged ice in the veggie section of the fridge - is there a better way?

 

[donr827]

It depends on how long your travel time is. The fridge will keep the contents cold for quite a few hours. We have always traveled with the fridge on propane.
Don

 

[sengli]

Once cooled our fridge satys cold quite a while. I turn our fridge on the day before we go, and shut it off during travel. Granted I dont usually go that far. I would think the ice idea is valid, but the water from that ice when it melts might be a mess.

 

[SilverRhino]

If you really think you need some extra cooling when the frig is off for travel....I guess you could use a couple of the re-freezable "Blue Ice" units. They would not leave the mess that the melted ice would.

For normal travel, for us 300 mile and / or 6 hours, the frig maintains a cool enough temp to not be a problem.

Travel Safe!

 

[LaughlinBob]

Thanks, everyone, for your comments. If we used ice in the veggie trays, we'd put it in ziplock bags, like we do with our shopping coolers during the summer here in Laughlin. But I also like the idea of the 'blue blocks,' because we use those, too. Thanks again!

 

[jnbhobe]

I just leave the propane on

 

[branson4020]

I leave propane on too. I'm assuming you're talking about an RV fridge, not a residential? Travelling with propane on is safe. In the event of an accident that ruptures the lines, the tanks will shut down automatically. There's an insignificant amount of low-pressure vapor in the lines themselves.

 

[Hastey]

I would put the blue ice thing up high, cold are drops. We travel with the propan on, I like my ice to be solid when I get to camp. It's actually quite safe to travel with them on and the tanks themselves are very durable. Heck I've shot them tracer rounds and wasn't impressed.

 

[TXBobcat]

I have been traveling fulltime since 2007. I follow Mac the fire guy's suggestion of turning off the propane when I travel. I also have a 5 CF freezer that only operates on AC. I have not had either not keep the food inside cold or frozen when I travel from one location to another. I normally leave around 9:30 or 10:30 am and normally arrive before 4pm. I would suggest that you turn off the Refrig and propane, then when you arrive at your destination check to see if everything is still cold or frozen. If not then start adjusting how you want to keep the Refridg cool.

FWIW
BC

 

[Wharton]

It depends on the time of year and where you are. We travel with the propane on and have a little battery fan that circulates the air. We only have problems in the heat of summer in the south.

 

[JohnD]

We travel with the propane on as well . . . shut it off when fueling, then pull away from the pumps and turn the gas back on!

When we don't want to run the fridge while traveling, we use our coolers and bags of ice until we get to the destination.

 

[Lynn1130]

I always leave the propane on. It is way too hot here and through much of the area we travel to depend upon the small amount of ice that I can get in the fridg with the food and the chances of a fire is much smaller than the chances of food poisoning.

 

[wdk450]

Here in California, I travel with the propane on. I have re-enforced the flexible rubber propane hose to the slide with thick, heavy, woven-wall, polypropylene tubing to protect it from road debris or exploding tire fragments. I have also spent $270 on a self-deploying Halon fire extinguisher secured in the outside refrigerator compartment. The modern propane tank valves are supposed to cut off gas flow in case of catastrophic gas flows (line rupture), the refrigerators have fusible links in the 12 volt primary wiring which will cut off the refrigerator propane gas at the refrigerator solenoid valve in case of fire. So my system has 3 layers of cut-off/extinguishing redundancy, and an extra level of supply line fire protection. BTW, Mac the Fire Guy SELLS the self-deploying Halon extinguishers.

I keep a couple of large bricks of blue ice (and 1 small brick) in my freezer. This can come in handy if the refrigeration unexpectedly quits (I had an intermittent problem with this a couple of years ago). I use them quite regularly now in my Heartland soft sided drink cooler (rally prize) as I drive or go on excursions.

Last of all, I rarely fuel up with the trailer in tow. I try to plan my trips starting with a full tank, and fuel up during the overnight (or longer) stops. This is safer fire-wise, and causes less parking and maneuvering headaches for me ( and all the vehicles around me).

 

[marcusweeks]

How about wiring in an inverter? I bought an 800 watt one from lowes for $43. I tried it to see if it would run mine. It did fine. Supposedly using 223 watts of power. the camper battery would charge from the tow vehicle while hooked up.

 

[JohnD]

How about traveling with the furnace on?

How about traveling with the furnace on?

Like in freezing temps with water in the lines . . . ?

Might have to do this in January when we pull our trailer to Arizona for a week.

Has anyone done this?

 

[Birchwood]

The only time the propane is off is when we change tanks.Does anyone have info on how many trailers explode while traveling?
Maybe its more of a hazard than I think,don't know?

 

[gwalter]

John, last winter we came out of Colorado with temps in the 20s and the camper was winterized. When we got to Roswell New Mexico I stopped and started the furnace and let it run until we got to Carlsbad, this worked well for us. The temps at Carlsbad were in the upper 30s and we had above freezing temps for the rest of the trip.

 

[JohnD]

John, last winter we came out of Colorado with temps in the 20s and the camper was winterized. When we got to Roswell New Mexico I stopped and started the furnace and let it run until we got to Carlsbad, this worked well for us. The temps at Carlsbad were in the upper 30s and we had above freezing temps for the rest of the trip.

Cool!

So depending on the weather, I'll probably travel with both the fridge and furnace running while we are traveling.

Not sure if you've seen it yet, but here are pics of the new truck with the topper on it!



Hope to see you soon at one of the meet and greets or rallies!

 

[danemayer]

The only time the propane is off is when we change tanks.Does anyone have info on how many trailers explode while traveling?
Maybe its more of a hazard than I think,don't know?

Most, if not all of the fire examples I've seen referenced have been motor coaches. I've seen at least one article that spoke to the issue of tire blowouts cutting fuel lines (not propane), causing a fuel spill on hot engine components.

It's probably happened, but I don't recall examples of fires from running the refrigerator in a 5th wheel or travel trailer. But obviously it's safer to tow with tanks closed.

Mac the Fire Guy talks about propane fires, but I haven't heard him distinguish between travel fires on different types of vehicles, or for that matter between towing fires and fires while parked. Maybe it's because he has limited time to tell the story, but to me the examples all seem kind of mixed together.

If you do run the frig while towing, I would say that if you pull up to a fuel pump, it's a good idea to shut off refrigerator so you don't have an open flame in the area of fuel vapors. And while diesel vapor is less of a problem, if there's a gasoline pump anywhere nearby, a gas spill could be a much greater risk.

And with tire blowouts being fairly common, if you have propane lines behind your wheels, the risk would be higher. If I had that configuration, I'd have the tanks closed while towing. And maybe that's why fires on motor coaches may be more likely.

 

[danemayer]

For what it's worth, here's some info from a JackDanMayer.com presentation:

Difficult to identify good data•


- About 1/2 of RV fires are while parked
- 70% start in engine compartments
- 20% are tire or brake fires
- 25% are in the 12V system

No mention of fires caused by having propane on while towing. I realize the numbers don't add up - I'd guess these are statistics collected from different sources.

But again, obviously the risk is lower if the propane tanks are closed while towing.
About HALF of the fires are

while parked. (RV Alliance

America)