Doing a local trip about 6 hours one way. Want to bring some burgers, eggs and such and don't want to store an extra cooler. In the past for shorter trips, I just put on the fridge at my house coldest setting for a couple days, then pack it and go. What do you all think about leaving meat, eggs and such in the refrigerator (off) when traveling for 6 hours (give or take). I can reconnect once I arrive of course. Will it stay cold enough? Will it spoil?

OK, I'll be the first to start the debate! First, what kind of refrigerator do you have? Is it a residential or an RV style.If residential, why can't you run it on an inverter powered through your camper battery?If an standard RV type, why don't you run it on gas?So here now starts the great "to run or not to run your RV refer when on the road debate!"We have an RV refer and never shut it off. It runs on gas when traveling. We have no problems. Ice Cream stays frozen that way!But, to answer your question a little closer, assuming you have an RV refrigerator and you choose to not run it when in transport, how long will food stay safe?Bottom line, that depends upon the outside temperature. More than likely, things in the refer will be OK after 6 hours. Even without refrigeration, meats can usually sit unrefrigerated over night, sometimes 10-12 hours. Eggs can go for days without refrigeration. Milk will go get warm, and spoil within a couple hours. Ice Cream will melt immediately. Frozen foods will be pretty much thawed out in 6 hours, even a 20 pound frozen turkey will be almost thawed in 6 hours. So really, if you have no power to your refrigerator at all, it really depends upon the outside temperature and how much cold-loss the refrigerator suffers before the inside gets above a safe level, and then it will take a few hours before things begin to spoil.No one can really say. You can test the refrigerator with a sacrificial cup of milk inside a cold refrigerator, then kill the power. See how long it takes to spoil.

Yes, if the RV refer has to be completely cold when you left the house. Just taking cold food from the house refer and putting it in a warm or hot RV refer for six hours isn't going to work.Why are you not traveling with the RV refer on or at least pre-cooled?Bill

I'm curious ... why isn't your RV's refrigerator running while traveling?FWIW, my DW would never allow our RV's propane refrigerator to NOT BE turned on and cooling continuously whenever there's food in it we intend on eventually eating. This applies except for when fueling up at a gas station - the refrigerator's ignitor circuit gets temporarily turned off for safety while that's happening.We once owned a 1969 motorhome in which when traveling the wind would sometimes blow out the propane refrigerator's pilot light, but our modern propane RV refrigerator always keeps operating when underway. However, I guess that folks who use a 120V AC residential refrigerator in their rig would need an inverter powering it in order to keep it running while going down the road.

IMO 6 hours will be fine for cold soaked fridge and food if the door is never opened.However I run my fridge in transit.

Yes, I will pre-chill the RV fridge for a couple days before the trip. I did state that, but it may not have come across that way. It is a small RV fridge (21ft trailer) think college dorm fridge. It does not have propane ability, hence why I posted my situation. Never thought of inverter, but right now that is not option. So meats (hot dogs, hamburger, eggs) will be OK, but I should just buy milk locally? I think the forecast this weekend is high 70's, low 80's.

How long will refrigerator stay cold when in travel?

dee74
Explorer
May 25, 2017
Freeze all the meat and milk before you go it should thaw on the trip.
TNGW1500SE
Explorer
May 25, 2017
I Fill it days before we leave. Even put stuff in there that doesn't have to be refrigerated like canned corn, beans, etc.... The more cold stuff in there, the longer it stays cold.

I added a wireless thermometer and watch the temp from the dash. If it goes about 40 we run the generator.
memtb
Explorer
May 25, 2017
95jersey, Maybe someone suggested this, and I missed it! Determine the watt draw on your fridge, then install an inverter just large enough (not expensive)to handle fridge only.Then run an extension cord from inverter to fridge. It may look a little "tacky", but there's is no one there to see it while traveling. :)

We have a small chest freezer in our unit, and run it that way when traveling. That way we don't run the "big" inverter powering most of the equipment in the 5er,minimizing draw on batteries. memtb
weathershak
Explorer
May 25, 2017
I have gone 12 hours with the fridge off and everything was fine. Pre cool the RV fridge. I usually have the freezer packed pretty good. No ice cream. I will put some of the frozen meats in the fridge to thaw out during the ride, which will keep the fridge cool. I use a small portable cooler for drinks so I do not open the fridge door too much during travel. It is force of habit for me. I am always going thru a tunnel or have to stop for fuel.No worries
mike-s
Explorer
May 25, 2017
TragedyTrousers wrote:
You know you don't have to refrigerate eggs.
That's not true in a general sense. Fresh, unwashed eggs will keep fine at room temp. If they've already been refrigerated, or they've been washed, then they need to be refrigerated.
ScottG
Nomad
May 25, 2017
One time we didn't have the fridge set right and it ended up being turned off just before we left for a two hour trip to a CG. The temps were in the low 70's.
By the time we got there I knew something was wrong when my beer wasn't cold.
So even after two hours the fridge had slipped drastically.
Run it going down the road. That's what it's designed for and it's perfectly safe.
TragedyTrousers
Explorer
May 25, 2017
You know you don't have to refrigerate eggs.
old_guy
Explorer
May 25, 2017
get several reusable ice pack and shove them in between the food and you will be OK for 6 hours or so
theoldwizard1
Explorer II
May 24, 2017
Pre-chilling the fridge helps a lot. Meat should be frozen solid when to leave. If you have the space in the 'fridge, take a couple of quart plastic bottle and fill them with water and freeze them the night before. If you do that, you will have no problems.
MarkTwain
Explorer
May 24, 2017
pennysmom09 wrote:
95jersey wrote:
Doing a local trip about 6 hours one way. Want to bring some burgers, eggs and such and don't want to store an extra cooler. In the past for shorter trips, I just put on the fridge at my house coldest setting for a couple days, then pack it and go. What do you all think about leaving meat, eggs and such in the refrigerator (off) when traveling for 6 hours (give or take). I can reconnect once I arrive of course. Will it stay cold enough? Will it spoil?

Cold food into a cold refer will Be fine for 6 hours. We do it regularly. Also keep in mind you could keep it running on propane while you travel.

X1, I always just run the frig on propane. For those who have a safety concern about leaving the propane to frig turned on when getting fuel-----Just turn the propane off until you are done fueling up.