I will be going seasonal this summer at a local campground.. plan right now is to visit every weekend or every other weekend. im on a metered site. Is it best to leave the fridge on electric all week with propane backup? or leave it just on electric? and I assume for safety reasons I should turn off the water outside the camper each time we leave but what about the electric? should I also turn off the electric from the main box outside? of course if I did this then my fridge would run off of Propane and my battery will be dead when I get back(don't really use battery, only for slide system). I will also purchase a surge protector this season and put outside by main breaker and get a lock for it.. how do others do this?

Lots of full-timers leave their fridges on 24/7 obviously. If you're going down often enough I'd leave it on just to avoid the 24 hours it takes to get down to the temperature you want. I'd shut off the gas along with the water though.

yankeeslover wrote: im on a metered site. Is it best to leave the fridge on electric all week with propane backup?that's fine. I'm assuming there's food in it.

We've been on a seasonal site for 6 years since travelling. Our fridge is on metered electric from April 15th to Oct 15th, never had a problem. That way we don't have to wait for the fridge to cool down all the time. Leave it on 'Auto'. Ours will/has switched over to LP when the power goes out due to thunderstorms, then reset back to elec when the power is restored. Definately turn off the water at the spigot when you leave. I also momentarily open both a hot and cold faucet to relieve some pressure off the PEX.

I would leave the fridge on....we leave ours on all season...It gets turned on when we de-winterize and off at the end of the season.Set the fridge to "auto" and leave the gas on...this way it runs off of electric primarily but will revert to gas if there is a power outage. If will flip back to electric when power is restored. Definitely turn the water off at the spigot when you are not there and also turn off the HW heater.

this is good stuff, what about the gray and black water tanks? do those stay open or closed? I assume I keep the black water closed at all times even when camping and only open that when it needs dumping, but what about the gray water when im not there, does that matter?

Going Seasonal. Leave Fridge on? Electric??? | Good Sam Community

39 Replies

brownieab
Explorer
Jan 27, 2014
If your worried about the food spoiling, set a few ice cubes in a container in the freezer. If you come back and the cubes have changed their shape, you know the power went off and came back on, refreezing the water back into ice.
mowin
Explorer
Jan 27, 2014
yankeeslover wrote:
this is good stuff, what about the gray and black water tanks? do those stay open or closed? I assume I keep the black water closed at all times even when camping and only open that when it needs dumping, but what about the gray water when im not there, does that matter?

I always leave the black closed untill almost full. I usually dump sunday afternoon befor leaving the cg for the week. I will close the gray sunday morning, and open it back up after I dump the black tank to flush hose out.

Which CG in upstate NY? I'm in Alpine Lake in Corinth.
rockhillmanor
Explorer II
Jan 27, 2014
I wouldn't leave food in a fridge if you are only going there on weekends. You bring fresh food with in a cooler and it can sit there until the fridge cools down. Doesn't take that much time anyway.

Most seasonal RV'ers I know shut the electric off and turn the WATER OFF. I can't tell you how many neighbor RV's I have had to shut the water off at the spigot after hearing a waterfall coming out of their RV's. And almost an equal number of unoccupied RV's catching fire and found to be due to a faulty appliance or wiring.:(

Sadly these RV's are not any where's near constructed like your home. Nope I wouldn't leave it on and most in the CG's I have been at do not.
beemerphile1
Explorer
Jan 27, 2014
Set the refrigerator to auto.

Turn the water off outside the RV.

Do you turn the electric off at your home when you are away? Relax, it isn't that much different.
yankeeslover
Explorer
Jan 27, 2014
this is good stuff, what about the gray and black water tanks? do those stay open or closed? I assume I keep the black water closed at all times even when camping and only open that when it needs dumping, but what about the gray water when im not there, does that matter?
BurbMan
Explorer II
Jan 27, 2014
I would leave the fridge on....we leave ours on all season...It gets turned on when we de-winterize and off at the end of the season.

Set the fridge to "auto" and leave the gas on...this way it runs off of electric primarily but will revert to gas if there is a power outage. If will flip back to electric when power is restored. Definitely turn the water off at the spigot when you are not there and also turn off the HW heater.
Wiscampsin
Explorer
Jan 27, 2014
We've been on a seasonal site for 6 years since travelling. Our fridge is on metered electric from April 15th to Oct 15th, never had a problem. That way we don't have to wait for the fridge to cool down all the time. Leave it on 'Auto'. Ours will/has switched over to LP when the power goes out due to thunderstorms, then reset back to elec when the power is restored. Definately turn off the water at the spigot when you leave. I also momentarily open both a hot and cold faucet to relieve some pressure off the PEX.
2oldman
Explorer II
Jan 27, 2014
yankeeslover wrote:
im on a metered site. Is it best to leave the fridge on electric all week with propane backup?
that's fine. I'm assuming there's food in it.
LakeLifeTL
Explorer
Jan 27, 2014
Lots of full-timers leave their fridges on 24/7 obviously. If you're going down often enough I'd leave it on just to avoid the 24 hours it takes to get down to the temperature you want. I'd shut off the gas along with the water though.

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Going Seasonal. Leave Fridge on? Electric???

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