Food & Traveling

[RBPerry]

Ok, we are brand new to the RV world, and camping. How do you plan your food purchases, how much, dos and don'ts. I guess frozen is out of the question since we can't travel with refrigerator on.

[wa8yxm]

Allworth wrote:
I cannot believe that I am the only one on this forum who is NOT comfortable with the propane on while in motion. I turn it off at the tanks. Every time the trailer turns a wheel.

What you do not know is how much safety is built into the propane system. For example yes, in that tiny chance you have an accident and even smaller chance a propane line bursts.

The excess flow cut off valve will slam shut and shut it off. Thus preventing the major fire you worry about.

True, Fridges have caught fire, both on electric and Gas.. But let me describe two different scenarios.

1: you are going down the road. People start honking, and pointing and MOVING AWAY FROM YOU.. You check the mirrors OH NO FLAMES

You pull off, bail out the RV is a total loss you are ok.

Option 2: You make it safely to the FMCA rally, rigs are packed in like sardines on the fair grounds, not even enough room for your awning.. You turn on the gas and re-start the fridge... You go to the opening ceremonies...

Upon your return. You find the same fridge fire I just described, Only now instead of totaling just your RV, the fire spread to the rig next to you and perhaps the one on the other side, and the other side of at least one of those.

Or perhaps the fire started in one of them

Either way Your RV is still a total loss.. But in the 2nd case, if it was YOURS that started the fires,, You are liable for 2 or 3 other RV's as well .. OUCH.. Hope your insurance is paid.

I should add. I have seen RV fires and just missed even more. NOT ONE OF THEM INVOLVED PROPANE, NOT ONE.. One it was a TT and it was the TOW vehicle (Engine fire) One was a Class A and it was the Exhaust system.. long story,, (That was the one I missed) and the 3rd was Electrical.

[rhagfo]

Atlee wrote:
There is a much larger chance that another vehicle will hit you, yet you choose to drive.

Allworth wrote:
I cannot believe that I am the only one on this forum who is NOT comfortable with the propane on while in motion. I turn it off at the tanks. Every time the trailer turns a wheel.

The chance of a propane accident is tiny, but why risk it if it is not absolutely necessary. I watched a TT burn in the median about 10 years ago (after rolling over) and while I know there have been improvements in valves and controls, I'm not risking it.


Your trailer; your choice! I don't see it as worth even a very small risk.

Wow, Allworth must never lived in an all gas house.
Last time I was at local propane shop having a replacement hose made, asked the shop person if my keeping my system pressurized even in storage was a good plan. My thought is all valves would be better holding pressure, than just sitting there, much like an all gas house, he agreed.

[JaxDad]

Allworth wrote:
I cannot believe that I am the only one on this forum who is NOT comfortable with the propane on while in motion. I turn it off at the tanks. Every time the trailer turns a wheel.

The chance of a propane accident is tiny, but why risk it if it is not absolutely necessary. I watched a TT burn in the median about 10 years ago (after rolling over) and while I know there have been improvements in valves and controls, I'm not risking it.

If the unit rolls in the median at highway speed a fire is probably the last thing I'd be concerned about.

I think I'd be a lot more nervous about those two propane tanks held in place by just a single piece of 3/8" ungraded threaded rod in an accident.

[Atlee]

There is a much larger chance that another vehicle will hit you, yet you choose to drive.

Allworth wrote:
I cannot believe that I am the only one on this forum who is NOT comfortable with the propane on while in motion. I turn it off at the tanks. Every time the trailer turns a wheel.

The chance of a propane accident is tiny, but why risk it if it is not absolutely necessary. I watched a TT burn in the median about 10 years ago (after rolling over) and while I know there have been improvements in valves and controls, I'm not risking it.


Your trailer; your choice! I don't see it as worth even a very small risk.

[wa8yxm]

Who says you can't travel with the Refrigerator on? I do, Plus I have a 2nd 12 volt Freezer (ENGEL) that works rather well (outperforms the Rv unit usually)

Of course if you use a Residential Fridge) Did that for a few years before I upgraded to a class A) then you do need to plug it in at least every six to eight hours or it will get hot, KEEP CLOSED when not powered.

[NYCgrrl]

garmp1 wrote:
After reading most of the posts and skimming thru the rest in this thread I don't want get into the tunnel on/off debate, but do want to put in a plug for the FoodSaver (seal-A-Meal) devices. Our RV is on order and we never had a fridge before so we lived out of coolers until this point. I like to BBQ & smoke meats and the FoodSaver makes it real handy. Cook/smoke up a bunch of ribs, pork chops or what have you and after eating your share package a meal portion in the FoodSaver and seal up good. Freeze until you trip and you're good to go. Not only will the frozen food help keep everything else cold, but also saves ice.
We take out a pack of ribs, still frozen and pop'em into the mircowave (never had a fridge, but can't be without a microwave). The bag blows up like a balloon and steams the food warm. Taste like it just came off the grill. I'm a big advocate for the FoodSaver.

My life would be sad w/o my FoodSaver:c.

[garmp]

After reading most of the posts and skimming thru the rest in this thread I don't want get into the tunnel on/off debate, but do want to put in a plug for the FoodSaver (seal-A-Meal) devices. Our RV is on order and we never had a fridge before so we lived out of coolers until this point. I like to BBQ & smoke meats and the FoodSaver makes it real handy. Cook/smoke up a bunch of ribs, pork chops or what have you and after eating your share package a meal portion in the FoodSaver and seal up good. Freeze until you trip and you're good to go. Not only will the frozen food help keep everything else cold, but also saves ice.
We take out a pack of ribs, still frozen and pop'em into the mircowave (never had a fridge, but can't be without a microwave). The bag blows up like a balloon and steams the food warm. Taste like it just came off the grill. I'm a big advocate for the FoodSaver.

[WindJammer_Norm]

We've been RV'ing for the 5 years, were on our second travel trailer and have always run our frige on propane when traveling from site to site with no problem. Our new travel trailer had a problem with the freezer door would not seal. They eventually replaced the refrigerator under warranty. Now our freezer works great but the frige keeps kicking out when running on propane when traveling from site to site. Have had numerous appointments with our dealer and discussions with
Rockwood & Dominica about this problem. I've put in a baffle kit that Dominica provided for the pilot light and outside lovers, this didn't help. Our dealer would be more then glad to fix the problem but they can't get any support/warranty help from Rockwood & Dominica as they say "The unit doesn't have to run on propane when travel trailer is moving, legally". Has anyone had this problem and were able to make repairs as now it seams that this problem is now mine.

[HappyCamperWive]

We have a very small fridge and we can fit 10-15 bags of groceries no problem! We keep fruit on the counter and oatmeal and stuff in the cabinets. Sure, we stack a lot of food on top of itself in the fridge but it feeds two people all week!

[Dutch_12078]

WindJammer Norm wrote:
My fridge will not stay running on propane when traveling down the road. Works fine when sitting still on electric or propane. Have had it back to the dealer for this problem several times, still not fixed. The final answer I received today from Rockwood and Dominica was, "They do not state in there directions that the refrigerator has to run on propane while the unit is traveling down the road". So this is not a problem that they are responsible to repair under warranty. Looking for ideas to make the repairs myself.

I've seen a couple of fridges and even water heaters that had "blow out" problems while traveling. The owners had fixed the problem by fashioning a wind guard out of foil or flashing in the flame area. One fellow told me it took him a couple of tries to get it positioned right, but he hasn't had any further trouble for several years now.

[bigred1cav]

Use your generator while in route

[2gypsies1]

We full-timed and traveled constantly and the refrigerator was always on. No problem.

For the freezer we always re-packaged the big packages of meat into smaller portions. We didn't use the freezer for snacky-type items such as ice cream, pizzas, t.v. dinners, etc. It just held meats and frozen vegetables. We could load it with 21 days of meals and it wasn't a residential refrigerator. We also didn't have an ice-maker which takes up a lot of room.

If you're just going for a weekend for a typical 2 or 3-week vacation, then plan your meals on paper so you'll have the staples along with you. As stated, grocery stores are everywhere - even in Alaska!

[nineoaks2004]

Start reefer a day or so early, freeze what you can, chill anything else, also you can use gel packs to help keep items cold. I always run with mine on propane
too. Just be sure and turn it off while gassing up.

[WindJammer_Norm]

My fridge will not stay running on propane when traveling down the road. Works fine when sitting still on electric or propane. Have had it back to the dealer for this problem several times, still not fixed. The final answer I received today from Rockwood and Dominica was, "They do not state in there directions that the refrigerator has to run on propane while the unit is traveling down the road". So this is not a problem that they are responsible to repair under warranty. Looking for ideas to make the repairs myself.