We had our maiden voyage in our brand new Sportsmen 190 last weekend, everything went good. It was nice upgrading from the popup that we had for 11 months and only used 10 times before deciding we should upgrade. It was raining at night, nothing to worry about with the travel trailer. I said everything went good, except, we forgot something. We keep this at a plot of land that the fiancee's parents own, nice spot on a wild river. We have electricity and water, as well. The thing we forgot is when we emptied the fridge, we forgot a fully assembled cooked cheeseburger in the fridge and we turned the power off. So, 102 miles away from me right now, there is a cheeseburger rotting away, in a cheap tupperwear container, in our brand new tt. Do you think it will smell up the rv? I'm wondering if I have to take the trip after work someday and waste the gas and time to go get it. We might be going up on 6-27 for that weekend, but I don't know for sure. If we don't go then, it will be 7-11. So what do you think?

Me thinks your fridge will stink! Yes, it can be cleaned but I would be taking a trip to get this mess cleaned out ASAP!

No brainer. Go clean it. Not only will it smell but it may attract critters of all kinds.

Go - the smell will get into the plastic of the fridge and it'll be very hard to remove.

nal13 wrote: there is a cheeseburger rotting away, in a cheap tupperwear container, in our brand new tt. Do you think it will smell up the rv? I'm thinking it won't smell, its in a seal container! Just don't open it inside the trailer!:o

Because it's in a seal container, you'll be OK for a short while. But eventually, it will break through. I'd return as soon as possible. If your fridge is off, make sure you leave the doors cracked open, never completely shut. Mine came with blue spacers that snap in the door catches to prevent the doors from shutting completely. They snap in and out. We never shut or doors completely when the fridge is off, not even for a few hours. If yours does not have those spacers, then throw a towel over each door to prevent it from shutting completely...anything to prevent it from closing. You'll never have smells then.

Cheeseburger in fridge that is turned off. | Good Sam Community

59 Replies

nal13
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014
pasusan wrote:
Thanks very much for your update - it was an interesting situation.

You are very welcome. I should have left it for another two weeks, you know, for the interest of science. :B
pasusan
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014
nal13 wrote:
Ok, the update, we got back from the camper today. We got to the camper Friday night, so it's been in there for almost 2 weeks with no refrigeration. I'm sure the residual cooling went on for a few days, but it was rather hot and humid in the camper. I opened the door, no evidence of an odor, not even my fiancee, with her sensitive nose, could smell anything. We still had one more door to open, we both ran in the camper and opened it, no smell at all. The hamburger was moldy and fuzzy, but only in a couple spots. No smell at all. We drove down the road to get supplies that night and I threw it out into the woods down the road, to not lure any bears to our site. I didn't smell the tupperware, but I did gag a little from the thought of smelling it and seeing it.

TL;DR: burger didn't smell up camper.
Thanks very much for your update - it was an interesting situation.
nal13
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014
Bumpyroad wrote:

unless it was from McDonald's it was biodegradable.
bumpy

Thank you, it wasn't McDonald's.
Bumpyroad
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014
nal13 wrote:
Gene&Ginny wrote:
nal13 wrote:
... and I threw it out into the woods down the road, ...
Sorry, I think a proper trash bin would be the place to dispose of trash. Our roads and roadside woods have more than enough trash as it is.

Even just a hamburger? I don't litter except maybe food once in awhile.

unless it was from McDonald's it was biodegradable.
bumpy
nal13
Explorer
Jun 30, 2014
Gene&Ginny wrote:
nal13 wrote:
... and I threw it out into the woods down the road, ...
Sorry, I think a proper trash bin would be the place to dispose of trash. Our roads and roadside woods have more than enough trash as it is.

Even just a hamburger? I don't litter except maybe food once in awhile.
Gene_Ginny
Explorer
Jun 29, 2014
nal13 wrote:
... and I threw it out into the woods down the road, ...
Sorry, I think a proper trash bin would be the place to dispose of trash. Our roads and roadside woods have more than enough trash as it is.
nal13
Explorer
Jun 29, 2014
Ok, the update, we got back from the camper today. We got to the camper Friday night, so it's been in there for almost 2 weeks with no refrigeration. I'm sure the residual cooling went on for a few days, but it was rather hot and humid in the camper. I opened the door, no evidence of an odor, not even my fiancee, with her sensitive nose, could smell anything. We still had one more door to open, we both ran in the camper and opened it, no smell at all. The hamburger was moldy and fuzzy, but only in a couple spots. No smell at all. We drove down the road to get supplies that night and I threw it out into the woods down the road, to not lure any bears to our site. I didn't smell the tupperware, but I did gag a little from the thought of smelling it and seeing it.

TL;DR: burger didn't smell up camper.
stetwood
Explorer
Jun 22, 2014
Tystevens wrote:
kaydeejay wrote:
For future reference, if you have power at that location, why bother to turn the fridge off? Power usage is minimal and your fridge prefers to keep running than be turned off anyway.
Mine gets turned on in the Spring and off in the Fall when I winterize.
Runs on propane when on the road, otherwise it's plugged in.

This is what I'm thinking as well. Our fridge gets turned on a few days before our first trip, gets turned off when I winterize. Uses a lot of energy to cool down, vs. relatively little to stay cold if unopened. Plus, it is so nice to keep it stocked with things we'll need -- condiments, sodas, a stash of popsicles and ice cream bars, things like that -- making packing for a trip very quick and easy. I just have to load some fresh food and we're ready to go.

Plus, since ours takes about 24 hrs to get cold and stabilize, and I would be forever forgetting to turn it on the day before we go somewhere, it is pretty much a necessity, or else we'd not be able to make use of it.

Myth: It takes more energy to cool a building when the AC has been off all night/weekend than it does to keep it running at a higher temperature. The facts: It always saves energy to shut units down completely.
When not in use I recommend that the fridge be turned off. The simple reason that I suggest keeping it off is due to energy conservation. Whether you are running off of electric or propane, you are going to be wasting energy. This is the method that I have always used. I have had many RVs over the past 36 years, they have all been different makes and models and vintages and I have yet to have an RV Refrigerator fail on me.
Bumpyroad
Explorer
Jun 22, 2014
06Fargo wrote:

What if the instructions are written only in Swiss?

I doubt it. I spent a lot of time in switzerland and never did see any "swiss" language :)
bumpy
noteven
Explorer III
Jun 22, 2014
Bumpyroad wrote:
Jim & Betty wrote:
mlts22 wrote:
There are also canned cheeseburgers if one needs to have them have a long shelf life.

Yep here it is and I thought you were kidding.

Canned Cheeseburger

JimR

I bet they don't look like that picture they show.
bumpy

What if the instructions are written only in Swiss?

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Cheeseburger in fridge that is turned off.

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