REEFER: Common Practices

you guys leaving the reefer on all the time at your storage area, are you having to level the trailer or is your parking pad already level.

Ours runs all spring, summer and fall. We turn it off and clean it for the winter. We also have a compact fridge in the basement of our 5th wheel that we use for pop and beer. We now empty it and turn it off in the winter. Ask me how we learned that. :R

Ours stays on all season. We keep the trailer parked in the driveway inbetween trips so it makes for an excellent place to keep extra beverages and just hang out for a while. Agnes

scottsnider wrote:
I left mine on between trips by mistake and did I pay for it. I got my electric bill that jumped from maybe $40 a month to over $100 and I could not figure out what had happened. Then I cked the Trailer (always plugged in at home) and sure enough the Fridge and Freezer was on and the Freezer was almost full of ice from frosting over that it took 4 days to get it all cleaned out. And yes my electric bill went back to normal after that. What an expensive lesson to learn. So yes I turn if off between trips!

If your reefer used $60 worth of electricity in a month you've got a problem with something. Sounds like you might have left it on and left the door open. That would account for the high usage and the ice formation at the same time. Close the door and usage should drop down the $3-$5 per month range.

scottsnider wrote:
I got my electric bill that jumped from maybe $40 a month to over $100

Holy ****! Where do YOU live?

$100 a month......is a very small bill where I live.

I left mine on between trips by mistake and did I pay for it. I got my electric bill that jumped from maybe $40 a month to over $100 and I could not figure out what had happened. Then I cked the Trailer (always plugged in at home) and sure enough the Fridge and Freezer was on and the Freezer was almost full of ice from frosting over that it took 4 days to get it all cleaned out. And yes my electric bill went back to normal after that. What an expensive lesson to learn. So yes I turn if off between trips!

Leaving it on at my permanent site during a heat wave cost me a new fridge. Now I leave my new fridge off between visits.

I empty mine and replace the baking soda when not in active use

I asked our local camper repair guy (who sadly closed his doors last summer) and he said it was much better for them to stay on than to cycle them, and he had been in business since the early 70s. I have followed his advice since.

I am fortunate to be able to keep my trailer next to my house and plugged in so I keep mine on and have beverages in it because I use it as a man cave in between trips. If you are able to keep you rig on your property and plugged in then there is no reason to not use it, otherwise empty it out and wipe it down.