Fridge on propane while driving

path1 wrote:
Very seldom anymore. $25.00 wireless temperature gauge tossed on dash. I can keep eye on temps. I can go all day driving in most weather without it running. Guess depends on fridg/freezer.

Why? To save the $0.25 of propane or just like watching fridge temps?

So far we've got 1 no, 1 I'm not sure what, contradicted himself. 1 rarely. Who cares picks side of the fence and the rest yes.
For the no, maybe and confused, please tell the rest of the class what makes it more dangerous than running when stationary? Or do you just believe propane is out to get you?

ScottG wrote:

old guy wrote:
I am the RV doctor and the guy from tv education 101 say leave it off. I was on the fire dept for 30 years and fought several rv fires that started in the back of the fridge because they thought it would never happen to them. come to my town and see the new rebuilt gas station we have because of a motor home fridge was left on and he gassed up and burned the place down and a ups truck refueling next to him. there are some tunnels back east that tell you to turn off your propane when going through the tunnel. must be a good reason for that, right?? In my mind there are a lot of people who think it's ok because they have gotten away with it for years. their turn is coming. Murphy will see to that. I use freezable ice packs to put int he fridge between the food when I travel and at night when sleeping I refreeze the packs for the next travel day

I rarely ever post here anymore because of all the jackarses but this kind of stuff needs to be responded to.

First, in an accident when the PP lines are ruptured, the tanks will shut the flow OFF.
Second, I have TWO career fireman living in my neighbor hood. One is a retired Captain and the other is currently a Commander. I talked to both of them in depth about this subject and in their combinded 60+ years of experience, they had NEVER seen an RV fire caused by a fridge. Many eng fires that burned rigs to the ground but NO FRIDGES.
Third, RV fridge fires were caused by manufacturing defect MORE THAN TEN YEARS AGO. Unless you have one of those fridges and have refused to get the FREE safety recall done, your chances of having a fridge fire are astronomical.
Finally, tunnels, ferrys, etc want people to turn of the propane period. This has nothing to do with RV fridges at all.

Now you can flame me all you want, I have no respect for you because of the outdated and made-up nonsense you spread but folks need to know the truth.

Great post Scott. I was going to type something like you did but you beat me to it and did a much better job of explaining things.

The only thing I can add is the reason they want the propane turned off on ferry's is because propane it heavier than air and if an RV has a leak that propane will sink to the lowest part of the boat and if it finds an ignition source it will go boom. As you said, this has nothing to do with the propane on going down the road.

OP, our hobby involves driving down the road. Over 30 thousand people die in our roads each and every year. 30 THOUSAND! A fridge fire is the last thing you need to worry about with what we do.

I have been running on propane for 30 years with no problems , but, I also stay at Wal-Marts with out asking permission and I do not have a TPMS on my tires . WOW how did I last so long .

We run ours. We were on the road Friday for over 9 hours so yes we keep propane on.
I will say have been thinking about getting an inverter & wiring to my transfer switch I installed but don't use anymore.

Old guy, I think you should disconnect the electricity, water and natural gas from your house because that stuff is all dangerous and will eventually fail and kill you!

I mean, how many times have you read about a house burning down and the fire inspector says after the fact that it was caused by an electrical short? I’ll tell you exactly how many times.......lots! I don’t even need to be on the fire department for 30 years to know that.

And that natural gas, did you know you can’t even see it? It’s invisible! That right there is proof of how dangerous it is. Anything that sneaks around and won’t let you see it is up to something I tell you!

Don’t even get me started about water. That stuff can kill you so many ways it’s not even funny. If you don’t drink enough of it, your dead. If you drink too much, your just as dead. It can drown you, and it can conduct electricity, so therefore water can electrocute you too. I bet you didn’t know that, did you?

I’m going back to bed and pulling the covers over my head now.

:):)

When I took the AEON insurance Safe Driving course the insurance company naturally said "TURN OFF PROPANE AT THE TANK".. I do understand why.

That said.. IN MY OPINION (Feel free to disagree) the risk is very slight.

NOW: One risk is the famous fridge fire... I would much rather have it happen on the road where other drivers can avoid than I would packed into an FMCA rally like sardines in a can and burn down 2 or 3 neighbors RV's before Fire can get there to extinguish.

Plus modern fridges.. Well it's harder to get 'em to burn (Still possible though).. Engine fires are more common on RV's. Last "RV" Fire I saw was a TT. The Truck burned (Smoke damage to external of trailer only).

But.. You have to make your own choice... My opinion and now days around 2.50 will get you a cup of coffee (remember when it was 0.25? or even 0.10 (Kresgee back in the 70s was a dime a cup).

ScottG wrote:

old guy wrote:
I am the RV doctor and the guy from tv education 101 say leave it off. I was on the fire dept for 30 years and fought several rv fires that started in the back of the fridge because they thought it would never happen to them. come to my town and see the new rebuilt gas station we have because of a motor home fridge was left on and he gassed up and burned the place down and a ups truck refueling next to him. there are some tunnels back east that tell you to turn off your propane when going through the tunnel. must be a good reason for that, right?? In my mind there are a lot of people who think it's ok because they have gotten away with it for years. their turn is coming. Murphy will see to that. I use freezable ice packs to put int he fridge between the food when I travel and at night when sleeping I refreeze the packs for the next travel day

I rarely ever post here anymore because of all the jackarses but this kind of stuff needs to be responded to.

First, in an accident when the PP lines are ruptured, the tanks will shut the flow OFF.
Second, I have TWO career fireman living in my neighbor hood. One is a retired Captain and the other is currently a Commander. I talked to both of them in depth about this subject and in their combinded 60+ years of experience, they had NEVER seen an RV fire caused by a fridge. Many eng fires that burned rigs to the ground but NO FRIDGES.
Third, RV fridge fires were caused by manufacturing defect MORE THAN TEN YEARS AGO. Unless you have one of those fridges and have refused to get the FREE safety recall done, your chances of having a fridge fire are astronomical.
Finally, tunnels, ferrys, etc want people to turn of the propane period. This has nothing to do with RV fridges at all.

Now you can flame me all you want, I have no respect for you because of the outdated and made-up nonsense you spread but folks need to know the truth.

Scott...thanks for this post! No flame from me, and I have noticed that you have not been posting as often. Hope you reconsider, you have much knowledge to share, and are very helpful, to many members, especially newcomers, that appreciate your respect given them.

Jerry

ScottG = smart man and speaks the truth.
Never knew there was so much paranoia in the world and people spreading it...

And all you will get is "opposing opinions" in this subject.. I've been here way too long and the most "heated" debates besides "payload" is "running the fridge on propane" while traveling! ha, ha! :)

In the end, all you can do is what you feel comfortable with and go from there.

I run my fridge while traveling just to put that out there. What you do when you re-fuel is also up to you too..

Good luck!

Mitch

If it was a danger to run the fridge on propane while in transit I sure do not want to run it when parked and sleeping :S


For those concerned......
Read up on all the built in safety features in RV Propane Systems
Then read up on the safety features on your vehicle fuel system

(Hint: Vehicle safety features will be a short read)