Running fridge while driving

[swimmer_spe]

I want to load up my fridge at home. It is a 3 way fridge. Will the battery be charging from my truck? How long typically will the battery last with the fridge on and not charging? Once I get to my site, I will be hooking up to shore power.

[rockhillmanor]

Back at my old stick and bricks. The big huge truck that backed into my driveway to fill my propane tank RUNS on propane!

So not only is he carrying a huge bomb of propane his truck runs off of propane while he is running down the road!

So no I don't think driving my MH with a tiny propane tank on board in the on position is going to trump that!:C

[stevemorris]

we use the propane fridge constantly on the road as do almost all of us.

we had to shut ours off for ferry trips a couple of times, we don't see many tunnels! in fact just one, in the middle of montreal.

a really long ferry ride could be an issue like to newfoundland, but the hour long trip to prince Edward island didn't even require shutting off propane, which in reality, really should

[kerrlakeRoo]

swimmer_spe wrote:
OP here.

I thought it was illegal to use any propane appliance while the trailer is in tow.

I was planning on just 12v, no propane on.

Technically your correct, and those nay sayers are the same ones who tear the tags from their mattresses.

[krobbe]

I run my fridge on propane while traveling or parked without shore power.
I use 120v while plugged in.
Never heard of any laws against operating on propane unless going thru some tunnels. Tunnels that go down hill(like under a river) may have restrictions to stop and make sure propane is turned off. Tunnels that rise slightly(through a mountain) have no restrictions.

[time2roll]

With the exception of a few bridges or tunnels you can run propane while in motion with no issues. Thousands of RVs are doing this right now on the road. Some people shut off for refueling but I think most do not including myself.

12v cooling will give poor performance in most conditions. Best to avoid except for last resort. Good chance 12v draw will exceed what comes through from the tow vehicle. Yes it may keep you cool for 3 to 8 hours on the road if you start with a full battery and your connection is solid. Initial cooling will be slowest on 12 volt.

[rockhillmanor]

Hannibal wrote:
I start mine plugged into shore power on propane a couple of days before we load up. Then battery/propane on the road and shore power/propane at the campground. I've never seen one that runs on 12vdc alone.

The older RV fridge's all had that option of 3-way. You won't see many 3way fridges anymore for just that reason of how the batteries won't last very long and/or efficiency.

Fridge also does need 12v for thermostat so it still needs an operating battery on board. If battery runs low or fluctuates the thermostat won't work. I.E. Fridge will come on but when it hits the desired temperature and shuts off it will not come back on.

[Hannibal]

I think you're right and the shame I feel is unbearable.

[swimmer_spe]

OP here.

I thought it was illegal to use any propane appliance while the trailer is in tow.

I was planning on just 12v, no propane on.

[ScottG]

SpeakEasy wrote:

ScottG wrote:
Your fridge will be ok, just let it run on the auto setting as you go down the road. The truck will provide the 12V and propane will keep it cool.
It's a great system that requires no attention. Just let it do its thing.

Your answer assumes three things:
(1) the charge line from the truck's 12v is live
(2) the propane tank is open
(3) the OP WANTS to cool with propane


But the OP was asking about cooling with 12v.

-Speak

Then set it to cool on 12V only while going down the road. It's a three way so it can do just that and the truck will take care of the battery.
Easy cheasy.

[SpeakEasy]

ScottG wrote:
Your fridge will be ok, just let it run on the auto setting as you go down the road. The truck will provide the 12V and propane will keep it cool.
It's a great system that requires no attention. Just let it do its thing.

Your answer assumes three things:
(1) the charge line from the truck's 12v is live
(2) the propane tank is open
(3) the OP WANTS to cool with propane


But the OP was asking about cooling with 12v.

-Speak

[ScottG]

Your fridge will be ok, just let it run on the auto setting as you go down the road. The truck will provide the 12V and propane will keep it cool.
It's a great system that requires no attention. Just let it do its thing.

[SpeakEasy]

Tvov wrote:

dave17352 wrote:
If you refrigerator runs on 12 volt and it is a typical propane, 12 volt, and 120 ac design it will us a ton of power on 12 volt and kill you TC battery in a few hours. I think they draw close to 20 amps 12 volt. The 12 volt really should only be used when your truck is running and charging and you should have a heavy gauge wire from your truck to your truck camper. Lance requires 8 gauge.

I'm not sure if I am following, and/or truck camper frigs are different. The Dometic in my TT runs on propane / battery, or AC if hooked up to shore power.

When running on propane, the TT's battery lasts for days, we can stretch it to a week if careful with lights and other power usage. Propane frig needs the battery to run, but seems to draw very little power from it.

It all depends on whether your fridge is a 2-way (runs on propane or A/C) or 3-way (runs on propane or A/C or 12v). The OP said 3-way and specifically indicated running it on 12v. If run this way (the 12v battery supplies the energy used for cooling) it will run your 12v battery down quickly.

-Speak

[stevemorris]

swimmer_spe wrote:
I want to load up my fridge at home. It is a 3 way fridge. Will the battery be charging from my truck? How long typically will the battery last with the fridge on and not charging? Once I get to my site, I will be hooking up to shore power.

not long without an external charging source(truck or inverter)!
most fridges now run on propane or 120 and just use 12v for controlling the propane system

if you don't have 120 available, run it on propane

if you have a 12v source from the truck, you can use the 12v when the truck is running

[RPreeb]

Mine is just 2 way, but I put the switch on automatic. When plugged in, it runs on shore power. When unplugged it runs on LP with just enough juice from the battery for the thermostat. I don't even have to think about it.

When we have a trip planned, I plug it in at home a couple of days ahead, switch to auto, and forget it. When I unplug to hit the road, it switches to gas and stays there until the next time it's plugged in. If I'm dry camping it just stays on gas, and then I may turn the switch to gas only, just because there is no point using auto if there is no shore power planned for the trip.

[dclark1946]

Hannibal wrote:
I start mine plugged into shore power on propane a couple of days before we load up. Then battery/propane on the road and shore power/propane at the campground. I've never seen one that runs on 12vdc alone.

That is what we do with ours too.

Our first trailer(Casita) had a smaller (4 cu. ft.) fridge that was 3 way and used 12V for the heater when the 12V mode was selected. The 12V heater was lower wattage than the 120V heater so even if fed by 12V it did not provide as much heat to the system. I thought that was the way to go when traveling but found that it pulled too much current to operate properly while traveling so we switched to propane. Most absorption RV fridges are too big now to even attempt 12V only operation.