Traveling with refrigerator on gas???
I've traveled with the refrigerator running on gas for years but recently heard it is against the law to do that. I was just wondering how many do it. Thanks,
Forum Discussion
old guy wrote:
rv experts like rv education 101 people or the rv DR advise against it. As a firefighter for many years I have fought many fires on the freeways and at gas station because of people who use the frig with gas on. You do what you want to but I hope we aren't next to each other at the gas station.
I would love to see some justifiable support for this statement. I am sure you have been involved with fires on the highways and probably have also seen a few at the gas station but I really would like to see an authentic link to a fire caused by leaving the fridge on. There is a similar thread running on the Airstream forum and I have asked for anyone to offer up a legit example of this happening. It has been at least 5 years and not a single supporting story has been offered up.
If you are worried about this then how do you ever manage to drive your TV with a half tank of gas sitting below you and your family? Where do you carry those little propane bottles for your BBQ? Do you smoke? Do you leave your furnace running at night? Gasoline is far more explosive than propane will ever be but we not only carry that in our gas tanks but many of us also carry an extra can for the generator.
If this were a serious problem the manufacturers of our trailers and our refrigerators would not tell you that it is OK to use the appliances as designed.
There is also no reason for us to turn off the fridge when we fill up at the gas station. The little sparking device is a good 25 feet from the fill door of the TV. It is also about 6 feet above ground level. Even if there is a spill, the gas accumulating on the floor outside will not provide enough concentrated fumes to be ignited by the fridge. If you want to borrow worry the feel free to do so. If you want to turn off your fridge do that too. If you spend tens of thousands of dollars for a nice trailer and you want to pack the fridge with ice for a long trip then do that as well. But....don't forget to look all around you as you drive the freeways. Lots of old cars with gas tanks, lots of folks pulling trailers with propane tanks right out there in the open and lots of us running with our fridges on. Heaven help us all!
