New guy here. 1999 Santara Class C.I'm about to go on my first overnight shakedown cruise. I'd like the refrigerator to be cold when I start out. The rig is parked at a storage facility nearby.The reefer unit is gas/AC. Are there safety concerns about turning on the propane and the reefer for a few hours, unattended? Thanks,Rich

No concerns that I'm aware of, since you're in a storage location using the AC to cool the fridge down isn't possible. Guess a note of caution is don't light up a smoke when approaching your RV or going inside, just in case the flame blew out and the propane is still on.

rich85704 wrote:Are there safety concerns about turning on the propane and the reefer for a few hours, unattended?If there were, I'd be turning off my refer every night when I go to bed.

:h How else is one going to manage a reefer on propane without leaving it on all the time? Turn it off every time you leave - not.

Rich - leaving your propane on to cool your fridge down is not a problem and is done often. When we are out boondocking, even if we leave for a short ride, we leave the fridge on but turn off the water heater that also runs on propane. The reason for turning off the water heater is because it's not necessary to keep the propane running on it since it heats up quickly when needed. As for the fridge, that's different. Due to the way RV propane fridges are built, they taken longer to cool, hence once on it's best to leave it on. BTW, they are much colder when running on propane then on electricity.

We do every trip. TT in storage so I go over the night before and turn on fridge so it is cold. Next day I bring it home and we load up and go.

Leaving rig unattended with propane reefer on? | Good Sam Community

18 Replies

austinjenna
Explorer
Mar 26, 2014
I also start mine up the night before. I freeze a gallon of water and stick that in the fridge when starting it along with 2 ice packs in the freezer as it will help cool it down and then I have really cold water to drink. I use the freezie packs in a small cooler, fill with beer, sit by the fire. I have solar panels that keep the batteries topped off when in the storage yard as well.
rhagfo
Explorer III
Mar 26, 2014
hotbyte wrote:
Just a thought to keep in mind is liability of being at a storage area. IF something were to happen, you could be liable for much more than just damage to your rig. Someone on a boating forum lost his boat because someone else was working on a boat in the indoor storage facility and it exploded/caught fire totaling several boats. Running fridge on propane is not inherently dangerous but the repercussions of something going wrong in a storage area might be much greater than at home or even in a campground.

That is why I have insurance. I have a end unit, tin wall at back max four units next to me. I don't see an issue, I leave propane on all the time, keeping pressurized all the time I feel is better for the valves.
rickeoni
Explorer
Mar 25, 2014
Been doing this for 30 years, hopefully for 30 more!
hotbyte
Explorer
Mar 25, 2014
Just a thought to keep in mind is liability of being at a storage area. IF something were to happen, you could be liable for much more than just damage to your rig. Someone on a boating forum lost his boat because someone else was working on a boat in the indoor storage facility and it exploded/caught fire totaling several boats. Running fridge on propane is not inherently dangerous but the repercussions of something going wrong in a storage area might be much greater than at home or even in a campground.
rhagfo
Explorer III
Mar 25, 2014
mlts22 wrote:
Ivylog wrote:
Since it's AC/propane and you are asking about propane I'll assume you do not have shore power. I'll also ASSUME that it requires 12V to run the propane unless you have a push to start button that snaps. If you have this button disregard the following... You need a fully charged battery to run the control board as it will shut off if the battery gets below 11.5V.

+1

If the rig isn't plugged into shore power, the parasitic draw from appliances will kill the battery in about 1-2 weeks. One can always install a couple solar panels and a charge controller to combat this.

we always start the refer the night before, well unless we decide to go spur of the moment. Fully charged battery, we have a disconnect switch, turn off on return from a trip, turn on to start reffer.
mlts22
Explorer II
Mar 25, 2014
Ivylog wrote:
Since it's AC/propane and you are asking about propane I'll assume you do not have shore power. I'll also ASSUME that it requires 12V to run the propane unless you have a push to start button that snaps. If you have this button disregard the following... You need a fully charged battery to run the control board as it will shut off if the battery gets below 11.5V.

+1

If the rig isn't plugged into shore power, the parasitic draw from appliances will kill the battery in about 1-2 weeks. One can always install a couple solar panels and a charge controller to combat this.
Ivylog
Explorer III
Mar 25, 2014
Since it's AC/propane and you are asking about propane I'll assume you do not have shore power. I'll also ASSUME that it requires 12V to run the propane unless you have a push to start button that snaps. If you have this button disregard the following... You need a fully charged battery to run the control board as it will shut off if the battery gets below 11.5V.
janstey58
Explorer
Mar 25, 2014
IslandMan wrote:
Guess a note of caution is don't light up a smoke when approaching your RV or going inside, just in case the flame blew out and the propane is still on.

No worries here, the fridge will shut down the flow of gas into the fridge, in the unlikely event the flame goes out.
BIKERK9
Explorer
Mar 25, 2014
Just remember to check you LP gas detector/alarm monthly, replace the batteries annually, and replace the alarm every 5 years as directed by manufacturer (warrantee expires).
Caveman_Charlie
Explorer II
Mar 25, 2014
fj12ryder wrote:
Not a Clue wrote:
Just make sure it is sort of level.
Definitely to do this. Too much out of level can cause the fridge to fail.

I agree with the above . I turn mine on Thursday night so it's cold Friday morning. Then I pack it with cold food Friday morning before work and head out for a weekend of camping after I'm done with work for the week.