Fridge basics - for weekend use

[nykolas]

hi

mostly I use my 5th wheel for spending weekends away from the city and most times I am alone. And boondocking not connections just propane

I've mostly been using coolers but I was curious to know if it is an idea to start up and run my fridge for the weekend.

I'm not sure if it is worth starting up just for 2 days and shutting it down etc.

Also I was curious to have a basic idea of how much propane it would use for the weekend.

Thanks to all of you for your answers this is an awesome forum !

Nicholas

[CharlesinGA]

The electric heating element is 300 watts for many Norcold units, I guess the Dometic is about the same. The gas consumption is very low, little more than a pilot light on your oven.

Charles

[way2roll]

The amount of LP and current it uses is nominal. The fridge in your RV was designed to be used in situations like you describe. The question is, why wouldn't you use it? If it were a residential fridge the answer would be different, but an LP fridge is fine.

[opnspaces]

I mostly boondock for weekends and I always use the refrigerator. As said above if possible leave the RV plugged in to shore power for a day or two before your trip. Run the refrigerator on electric and fill it with pre-cooled foods from your house refrigerator.

When you are ready to depart on the trip flip the refrigerator to gas and go outside and put your ear to the exterior compartment door and make sure you hear a dull roar from the flame.

Go on the trip and enjoy your new found cold food including ice cream if desired. When you get back home put the refrigerator back on AC power.

As far as propane use I've never even thought about it. I have two propane cylinders and an auto changeover regulator. In the 15 years I've owned my trailer I've probably only filled the cylinders 10 times. If a cylinder runs out the regulator automatically switches to the other one and puts up a red indicator to let me know so I can get a refill when I get home.

[ksg5000]

You paid for the fridge and it's designed for the type of use your planning. As others have suggested you should probably "pre-cool" the fridge b4 the trip - using food that has been pre-cooled is also helpful.

[theoldwizard1]

OP, for one or two people there are some nice DC powered compressor refrigerators and freezers on the market (Dometic). They are about the size of a large cooler. The work well but are $$$ ! Also, if you are boondocking, you really need at least TWO 6V golf cart batteries. You will likely need to charge those batteries at least once per day.

[theoldwizard1]

2oldman wrote:
My Dometic comes to temp on gas in just a few hours, provided I've stuffed it with cold food.

I usually start the burner the night before and then load it in the AM, right from the house refrigerator.

[2oldman]

My Dometic comes to temp on gas in just a few hours, provided I've stuffed it with cold food.

[Lwiddis]

I would never not use my TT fridge.

[wolfe10]

Running the refrigerator takes BOTH propane and 12 VDC.

And if you do turn it on, most take 24 hours to come to operating temperature.

No right or wrong answers, but you need to know that battery power is also needed.

[DrewE]

As a very, very rough rule of thumb, an RV fridge (in propane mode) uses around a pound of propane a day, possibly a little less, depending on the exact fridge model and the conditions you're using it in. Starting it up for a weekend trip and turning it off afterwards is perfectly sensible, in my opinion. Leaving it on all the time to use it on the weekends is rather wasteful of energy; on electric power, they use a few kWh per day.

(As for leveling, if the RV is level enough for you to be comfortable walking around and cooking and so forth, it's plenty level for the fridge.)

[Tiger4x4RV]

My usual solution is to just use my small 3-way fridge like a cooler: put a lot of frozen bottles of water in it. It stays cold for several days, with the added plus of not having to totally level the truck at every campsite.

[camperdave]

I use mine on all trips. I cannot precool due to parking on a hill at my house, but I start the trip with a bag of ice in the freezer (along with all the cold food in the fridge) and the fridge is cool by the time I arrive at my destination. Propane use is quite small.

Coolers work fine, I'm sure we all used them for years before RVing. But fridges are better. Use it if you got it.

[enblethen]

Are you able to keep rig plugged in? If so, leave the refer on. You do not need to worry about propane as it uses very little.
If not able to keep plugged in, you will need to keep an eye on your battery level, Majority of RV refers require 12 volts DC for control.
If you have a residential refer, you will need to keep rig plugged in to shore power or have a good battery bank.

[Bert_the_Welder]

Not sure what you have to do to start it up or shut down? Maybe yours is more complicated them ours.
I just plug in day before, at the house to get it cold and fill it. Run it on propane when camping. Empty when home and leave it off. Wipe it out the next day and prop the door open. Ready for the next outing.