How to Keep The Refer Cold While Driving Down The Highway

[casejh]

While fueling my vehicle with a running refrigerator in tow I do not turn off the refrigerator. I carefully choose a pump where my trailer is positioned away from the pumps.

That almost always means it is hanging into the driveway/access area of the pump island. I check to be sure there is suitable clearance for other vehicles. I never position the trailer so it is adjacent to a pump where someone may be fueling on the other side of the island.

I also do this.

 

[George Johnson]

Wow, thank you everyone for your responses to my concerns. I've learned a lot, even about some things I didn't even know enough to ask about.

I'm going to recheck the propane connections, then against my original thought, use propane while on the road. The refer pilot light is well protected and seems to be designed for this use.

 

[barry-ESC]

While fueling my vehicle with a running refrigerator in tow I do not turn off the refrigerator. I carefully choose a pump where my trailer is positioned away from the pumps.

That's what I do also, but there are a few stations that do have signs warning of no open flames, our local Costco being one. One has to remember that gasoline fumes are heavier than air so the likelihood of the fumes making it up to the height of the refrigerator is slim even if there is a spill.
Barry

 

[cpaharley2008]

FogLark,
Since you have an older trailer, I' suggest new propane lines on the outside tanks and check your tire dates.

 

[George Johnson]

Thanks, cpaharley, good idea to change out the hoses, even though the trailer has almost no miles on it (saw the original owner's log book), and it spent all it's time at home under cover.

Regarding the tires, very odd situation there. Three new tires purchased just prior to my purchase, and two original tires from the Escape factory with casting nubbins still on the side walls! These two will be replaced.

Was told one of the original tires blew out when the trailer was taken to a local RV repair shop for a check out prior to sale by the owner's brother but he only replaced the three remaining "on the ground." They made it from the point of sale to my home, but I won't trust the two old ones any further than that.

Even cream puffs deteriorate from lack of use--almost as rapidly as heavily used trailers, just in different ways.

 

[Iowa Dave]

Tires

Thanks, cpaharley, good idea to change out the hoses, even though the trailer has almost no miles on it (saw the original owner's log book), and it spent all it's time at home under cover.

Regarding the tires, very odd situation there. Three new tires purchased just prior to my purchase, and two original tires from the Escape factory with casting nubbins still on the side walls! These two will be replaced.

Was told one of the original tires blew out when the trailer was taken to a local RV repair shop for a check out prior to sale by the owner's brother but he only replaced the three remaining "on the ground." They made it from the point of sale to my home, but I won't trust the two old ones any further than that.

Even cream puffs deteriorate from lack of use--almost as rapidly as heavily used trailers, just in different ways.

Don’t let this “new” set age out. Use your Escape at every chance and wear them out instead.
That will show them. Good luck with your camper.
Iowa Dave

 

[DougG-ESC]

I have also been looking for my own solutions to this problem. Personally I am just not comfortable running down the road with propane system on, to each their own.

The short answer is that Dc-Dc chargers seem to be about the only way to ensure the fridge and the trailer batteries both get enough juice. Also, ensuring that the fridge only runs on dc when the tow vehicle is running.

I have the 2 way rm2510. So in my case it also requires adding the 12v circuit. Details of my plans are here http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f8/adding-12v-heating-element-to-rm2510-fridge-16224.html

 

[Mswan]

We travel with our fridge on propane but we try to remember to turn it off before fuelling up.

The link shows what happened to one poor soul last November. We had the same type of van before the Escape. Fire dept says he was fuelling up with propane when this happened although it is unlikely that this was a propane powered vehicle but just filling his RV tank. The pilot ligh for the fridge on this van is right above the propane fill. You can see the rectangular opening centre bottom of the van. That's where the pilot light would be.

Now I know this is different than filling a truck with gasoline with a fridge running quite a ways behind, but still.

Sorry I don't know how to make an active link using my iPad.

https://www.kelownacapnews.com/news/van-engulfed-in-flames-along-highway-33/


Sent from my iPad

 

[gbaglo]

There have been many fires at gas stations caused by explosive fumes. They did not involve propane or refrigerators.

I assume you fill your vehicle's tank at a gas station. Do you turn off your cell phone prior to filling up?
Propane fumes are much less explosive than gasoline fumes. You're just used to filling up with gas.

 

[cpaharley2008]

I see a lot more people smoking a cigarette while pumping gas than rv's filling up, just saying...

 

[Dave Walter]

...Do you turn off your cell phone prior to filling up?...

I think that they disproved that as a possible source of ignition on Mythbusters!

 

[Jim Bennett]

I have mentioned this before, but I was eager to give the 12V a tryout near 3 years ago, after putting the 240W of solar on the roof. I was returning home from Osoyoos on a sunny day, not too hot around low 20°Cs on average and full of on highway driving. For tow vehicle charging I only had the stock setup.

We had a fridge and freezer temperature sensors which we could read in the truck. During 6 hours of driving, we watched the temperatures slowly rise up. At the 6 hour mark the temperatures were getting beyond a recommended safe level, so I pulled over and had a check on things. Along with the fridge/freezer temperatures rising too much, the voltage of my dual AGM batteries had dropped a heck of a lot, from what I remember around 12.4V, so not terrible but boy if we had to stop and run the furnace a lot it would not have been great.

Anyway, I switched the fridge back to propane, and in the 3 hours it took to get home, the temperatures were back down to normal and the batteries were back to being charged.

I had done this hoping it would work and I could save a wee bit on propane and take good advantage of my solar while driving. I imagine upgrading my truck charging system would have helped the battery level, but I was just not into going to that trouble when not really needed, and I was still concerned that the fridge still would not perform well on 12V. Talking to Reace about it later, he basically said it was not a great idea to rely on the 12V for the fridge.

Not many will remember 10 years ago when I checked with the Ministries of Transport for all Canadian provinces as well as at the federal level, and all said it was just fine to run approved propane RV systems while driving, with the exception of places like ferries and the odd tunnel that forbid them being on, places I will gladly shut it down for the period of use. You will find writings from folks online that will say otherwise, but they are mostly giving opinion and not using real facts.

 

[steve dunham]

When traveling , we get up in the morning , eat breakfast , turn the refrigerator off propane , head to the closest gas station , fill the truck , pull out of the gas station , start the refrigerator on propane and head out. By the time we need to refuel again we’re done driving for the day (33 gallon fuel tank)
After spending many years working in oil refineries , chemical plants , and witnessing many fires / explosions I tend to be cautious .

People drive around sitting on top of a plastic tank full of gasoline and think nothing of it , but crack the valve on the trailer’s propane tank and then it’s panic time

 

[alanmalk]

I measured the voltage with the tow vehicle running at fast idle and the 'fridge running with the trailer batteries disconnected.

13.8 V. at the truck battery - as expected. 12.3 V. at the WFCO fuse box near the 'fridge. More than a 1.5 V. drop, all due to the undersized wires between the alternator and the 'fridge. Had I driven all day under clouds (minimal solar) I would probably have arrived at the campsite with a nearly dead trailer battery.

100% of the blame goes to the wires. One tempting option would be the DC-DC converter which would boost the 12.3 V. back to 13.8. A bit pricey but probably cheaper than a full wire upgrade in the truck and trailer.

But that would ruin my reputation as a cheapskate. So up to now I have relied on propane as most others do. I pay attention to the location of the pumps and 'fridge flame, check the wind direction and trust to Lady Luck. Of course Lady Luck has failed a few folks - something to remember.

--
Alan

 

[Carmel Clown]

Sorry, I'm a little slow about all this "power" stuff. I am hoping the solar panels would keep the batteries on the trailer charged while traveling and prevent the truck and trailer batteries from depleting. Is this not the case?

 

[gbaglo]

I think that they disproved that as a possible source of ignition on Mythbusters!

Yup. That's what we are doing here. ;D

 

[cpaharley2008]

Sorry, I'm a little slow about all this "power" stuff. I am hoping the solar panels would keep the batteries on the trailer charged while traveling and prevent the truck and trailer batteries from depleting. Is this not the case?

YES, That is the case as long as you keep the refrigerator operating on propane, if you try to operate the refer off 12v, then NO, your batteries will be depleted.

 

[DougG-ESC]

I measured the voltage with the tow vehicle running at fast idle and the 'fridge running with the trailer batteries disconnected.

13.8 V. at the truck battery - as expected. 12.3 V. at the WFCO fuse box near the 'fridge. More than a 1.5 V. drop, all due to the undersized wires between the alternator and the 'fridge. Had I driven all day under clouds (minimal solar) I would probably have arrived at the campsite with a nearly dead trailer battery.

100% of the blame goes to the wires. One tempting option would be the DC-DC converter which would boost the 12.3 V. back to 13.8. A bit pricey but probably cheaper than a full wire upgrade in the truck and trailer.

I think this is also the crux of why 12v fridge operation gets such a bad rep about it’s cooling efficiency. These elements are meant to run at 13+ volts, but due to undersized wiring, they are often only getting 12v or less to the element. In my old northern lite camper, with a fully charged battery and the truck running the voltage would be around 11.8v at the fridge.

My rm2510 AC element is 67 ohms, and my DC element is 0.9 ohms. So at 110v the AC element is consuming 180w. At 11.8v the DC element is consuming 155w. So you are only getting 86% of the output that the AC element produces. However, if you can get 13V to the element, through heavy wiring and or a DC/DC charger, that same 0.9 ohm element will produce 188w.
This was my thought process to justify the updates for my 19. Hopefully I get some time in the near future to test it all out.

 

[Greg A]

I quit several years back responding one way or another on this topic. You’ll never convince those who don’t use gas to use it, and you’ll never convince those who use gas to not use gas. What’s important is to make work what is comfortable for you and just get the trailer on the road camping.
I’m actually spending my time on tightening and improving the electrical connections and systems in my trailer, and there is a lot of room for improvement as others on the forum have demonstrated over the years. Poor electrical connections/wiring have been much more responsible for issues and fires in houses, autos, RVs, etc. over the years than gas. Just opening the converter panel and making sure all the connections on the back are tight will go a long way to increasing safety. These things work loose over the years and can cause sparking, etc. not to mention ending a trip early cause stuff quits working.

 

[George Johnson]

Good morning, Greg A, sure glad you are responding to the topic you have quit responding to, 'cause we're learning a lot about things we didn't know before and some of us are even changing our ways, even if only temporarily, despite the fact we can never be convinced to change! It's no wonder my wife gets mad at me sometimes!

Lousy humor aside, I'm glad you commented on the possibility of loose connections creating more problems than many folks realize. I've now got another thing to pay attention to that I might have overlooked without your reminder. Thank you for that, and happy travels to you.