Getting To Know Your RV: Important RV Refrigerator Tips Before You Hit The Road

It seemed so simple when they showed you how to use the RV refrigerator the first time.

But, in reality, it isn’t all that easy.

There’s more to it than just putting the switch in the ON position.

An RV refrigerator has some unique quirks about it.

Here’s what you need to know if you want everything in the RV refrigerator to be cold before you hit the road…

RV Refrigerator Models

RV refrigerators come in 2 configurations:

3-way RV refrigerators – which will operate on 12-volt DC, 110-volt AC, and propane gas.
2-way RV refrigerators – which are more common and operate on 110-volt AC and propane.

Here’s a little about the differences between 2-way vs 3-way refrigerators.

Leveling Your RV Is The First Requirement

So you have the RV sitting in the driveway, and you need to pack everything for a trip tomorrow. What’s the best way to get things cooled down, so your beverages are ready to drink when you pull out of the driveway?

Your first concern should be your rig level. RV refrigerators will not cool unless they are darn near perfectly level.

The best way to determine how close to level you are is to stick a small bubble level inside the refrigerator itself. Relying on a level attached to the exterior of your RV may not be as accurate, depending on how the refrigerator is mounted in your RV.

What’s important is the RV refrigerator needs to be level to allow the solution inside the cooling unit to percolate. This is how it transfers heat out of the interior. (The solution consists of Sodium Chromate, mixed with ammonia, hydrogen and water.)

Just like in a coffee pot, heat is used to create the percolation action. When you’re plugged in and operating off household 110-volt AC electricity, a heating element heats the fluid and creates circulation. If you have a 30-amp receptacle available at home with the same prong configuration as your RV power cord, you will have no problem using this source of power to operate your refrigerator.

However, if you’re running an extension cord across the yard to reach your RV, keep in mind that your power source may not allow the heating element to get hot enough to do the job. You’re better off running on propane at this point.

Starting An RV Refrigerator On Propane

To start your refrigerator on propane, for many models it’s as easy as flipping the switch to GAS.

There is one potential problem: If your RV has been shut down and stored for any length of time, that means the gas lines are empty and your refrigerator is not going to light the first time you flip the switch. In fact, you might have to flip the switch from OFF to GAS and back for quite some time before it will actually light.

When you open the valve on your propane tank, the easiest way to purge a good portion of the air out of the gas line is to light a burner on the stove. The stove has a big flame, and the gas line that supplies it is good sized as well. The burner may take a minute or two to bleed off the air, but once it’s burning you have brought the gas supply much closer to the refrigerator.

Now, you can cycle the switch on the refrigerator to the GAS position, and after 3 or 4 tries it should light. It may still take more attempts, but no matter what, you have greatly shortened your time before achieving success.

If your refrigerator doesn’t have an electronic ignition, you will need to hold in the pilot knob until you have ignited the flame. Once you have a flame, continue to hold the button in for 30 seconds until the thermocouple senses the flame.

Refrigerators with the 12-volt DC feature can be operated in this mode when driving to conserve propane and avoid any danger that operating on propane may present while traveling.

One thing to remember: The drain on your RV battery will be extensive when operating on 12-volt DC. If you turn off your motor to go shopping or sightseeing for a couple hours, you’re likely to have a dead battery when you return.

Personally I’ve traveled all over the country with my refrigerator running on propane without any problems. In most cases, you will find your refrigerator will operate better and cool much more efficiently on propane too.

So there you have it! As long as you start your refrigerator the evening before you plan on loading it, you will find it nice and cold when you’re ready for your trip.

Other Helpful Tips About RV Refrigerators

About Curtis

I’ve been involved in RVing for over 40 yrs -- including camping, building, repairing, and even selling RVs. I’ve owned, used, and repaired almost every class and style of RV ever made. I do all of my own repair work. My other interests include cooking at home, living with an aging dog, and dealing with diabetic issues. If you can combine a grease monkey with a computer geek, throw in a touch of information nut and organization freak, combined with a little bit of storyteller, you've got a good idea of who I am.

Shane Zimmerman
Curtis, I have somewhat of an odd question – do you have to have propane in your RV at all? Literally 0 propane forever.
- Curtis
  In a short answer no. If you can do without hot water, and you have no need for a furnace, and not running your refrigerator on propane is not an issue, then there is no need for propane. Oh I forgot one other item your stove and oven, if you have no need to cook again you do not need any propane.
Gabriel
I have a question : I started my refrigerator on an uneven driway a couple days before my trip…I never knew it needed to be level..it seemed to be on and working. ..I left it in the on position thinking it wouldn’t be ok..I loaded a few things the next day and opened the fridge to check the temp and it wasn’t working. ..in fact it was hot when I opened the cover on the outside of the trailer. ..it was about 24hrs running that way..did I ruin my refrigerator? ?Im afraid to even turn it back to the on position!
- Curtis
  Level the RV and then turn it on again. That is the only way you’ll know if you hurt anything.
Eric Hutnick-Whitehead
I will be driving for many days with my tent trailer. Is it possible to keep the fridge going while driving for 8 hours a day?
- Curtis
  Yes, it should be vented to the outside even when it is closed up. There should be no problem running it on propane on the road.
Sherry Foley
I would love to run with my trailer fridge running on propane. I have always heard it is unsafe to have propane on while traveling. What has changed? Thanks. Sherry:)
- Curtis
  Nothing has changed. The decision is yours to make. Personally I have left my refrigerators running on propane while driving for more than 40 years without issue. Admittedly there is a slight risk involved, but sometimes it is just more practical to understand the odds are Slim that anything would happen. The important thing is to remember you must turn off all propane appliances when you stop to get gas. The flame of your refrigerator could easily ignite any gas fumes in the area.
  - Sherry Foley
    Thank you. I just bought a Winnie Drop and it has a 2 way fridge. I have a 7 hr drive to campground coming up. Thanks for the reminder of turning off propane to re fuel. 🙂
    - Sherry Foley
      So while driving..Is there an issue that the flame will blow out? Also what if u are going up or downhill for a long period of time? Not being level. Thanks. Love this link!! 🙂
      - Curtis
        Most RVs the flame blowing out is seldom an issue. It is a good practice to check the refrigerator every time you stop to make sure the flame has not blown out.
      - Sherry Foley
        So I assume it is the same answer for going up and downhill. It is seldom an issue with the flame going out. Just check when I stop to be sure. 🙂
      - Curtis
        Yes
      - Sherry Foley
        Thank you very much for ur time and knowledge! 🙂
  - gscavezze
    Isn’t there an issue with getting gas at a gas station? I don’t know if I want an open flame with all of those fumes around.
    - Curtis
      Yes, you should always shut off all propane appliances when fueling. The debate is only Is it safe to drive with the refrigerator going. I would advice Shutting down the refrigerator prior to pulling into a fuel stop .Waiting until you get to the pumps is too late .
larry kern
curtis, with 30 years rv exp. as an owner and salesman 2010-2012, I am once again humbled by my own stupidity. I bought a new Thor Chateau ( for now retired wife and dogs comfort ). It came with an A/C only residential fridge. How I missed that is another story. Problem—we like to dry camp more than do campgrounds. with good, charged batteries come nightfall, what can I expect to get out of my batteries trying to keep the fridge on, before I then have to turn on the generator? also, do you think solar panels will keep up with fridge during the day? I am thinking of major renovation to take out current fridge for largest 2 way and redo cabinets. Can this be done after the fact? Larry in Oklahoma and Utah .
- Curtis
  Anything can be accomplished if you throw enough money at it. The problem you face is how much does that refrigerator draw when the compressor kicks in. More than likely you can purchase an inverter large enough to run the refrigerator for a couple hundred dollars. The big question is how many batteries will you need to carry it overnight and how many solar panels to recharge the batteries. I currently use a whynter chest refrigerator that runs off of 12 volts directly. It draws 5.1 amps when used on 12 volts. I have two group 29 deep cycle batteries and 300 watts of solar panels. With good sunshine this is sufficient. I have no idea how much your refrigerator draws so I really can’t advise you with any accuracy.
Walt Huemmer
My Dometic refrigerator is the bane of my existence. I installed a new 3 way in my Roadtrek last winter and everything works perfect while on shore power or propane as long as its not moving. As soon as I start to drive I watch the temperature go up( mid 40-50) degrees) from my wireless thermometer. I’ve tried gas and DC power but little difference. Definitely affected by ambient temperature but its either getting too much air flow or not enough. Installation instructions mention a box baffle within 1″ of the back of the cooling unit. It looks like Roadtrek simply installed a plastic defector above the lower vent to push air to the back of the unit. should I yank this fridge out and build a baffle out of light weight aluminum to control the air flow? This seems to be a common issue with Roadtreks. thanks in advance.
- Curtis
  I have had one or two RVs where the propane flame gets blown out while driving. Never was able to satisfactorily cure that problem. Right now I have a 20 inch box fan strapped to the side of my RV over the refrigerator vent to improve airflow. Obviously I am standing still. Temperatures have been running in the triple digits and anything I can do to improve airflow means the refrigerator cools better. If your propane flame is staying lit while driving I would suspect the problem might be insufficient air flow in hot temperatures.
  - Walt Huemmer
    Wow thanks for the rapid response. I recently installed 2 low amp computer fans internally below the cooling unit and also one internally in the refrigerator. Helps when your stationary but has no effect while driving. I even installed air scoops on the lower vent to grab more air into the unit but unfortunately that didn’t help either. As I said before my refrigerator works excellent on gas or shore power, switch to # 3 setting and it’s perfect. My newer unit is cool in that as soon as I stop or unplug my van from shore power the system automatically switches to gas or DC power if it’s available. The key to this working seems to be getting the correct air flow over the cooling fins, not too much and not too little. If we could solve this problem, we might be nominated to the asorbtion hall of fame. Thanks again.
brok
Hi Curtis! Really like your tips on rv refrigerators! My husband and I are totally new to the whole rv living/traveling experience. We bought a toyhauler late last year and only just used it for several months at a lake with 30 amp service. His yearly elk hunting trip is coming up soon. Would you have any sort of idea, even a general one, of how long the refrigerator would run with 2 propane tanks? Regular sized ones that you can swap out for a full one anywhere. He’s taking a generator, fuel and solar panel too. It’s a Greywolf 26RR with the usual rv fridge. Any help or nudge in the right direction would be ever so greatly appreciated!
- Curtis
  If I was to guess I think a refrigerator would run a couple months off two propane tanks. The problem is you will also be using the stove and quite probably the water heater and furnace which are the two biggest propane users. Using everything I would guess you would have about 2 weeks Supply of propane maybe a little more.
  - brok
    Thank you so much for your help Curtis! We really appreciate your time and value your opinion!
JS TOBIAS
I have an RV connected to our electricity. The refrigerator comes on because the light comes on when we open it, but it doesn’t cool. Any advice??
- Curtis
  RV refrigerators need both 12 volts and 110 volts to work electrically. You need to check for both sources of power at the back of the refrigerator. Also to properly diagnose try running the refrigerator on propane. If it will not function on either one possibly the cooling unit is bad which likely means the refrigerator is garbage. You need to try all modes before the problem can be diagnosed.
Jerrico & Loranda Planalp
Prob a dumb question….We have an outdoor “kitchen” on our Bullet Premiere… Looks like it runs off 110, does it keep cool when plugged in to the truck? (I.e. will i be ok to utilize this for food on a four hour road trip in addition the indoor fridge?)
- Curtis
  No it will only work when the rig is plugged into shore power or a generator.
John Pineau
Good day. If you are an intermittent camper does it hurt the refrigerator in your camper to unplug it several times a season for a few weeks at a time. Or would you be better to leave it plugged in all summer. Thanks. John
- Curtis
  Normal practice is to shut it off when you are putting it in storage .The average RV owner only uses their RV intermittently . Time is your enemy, as the refrigerator gets older and the lining of the cooling unit starts to break-down it is long periods of storage That allows the sediment to settle to the bottom of The cooling unit and Eventually clog the cooling unit .
  - John Pineau
    Curtis. Thanks for the reply.
    Shutting it off for the winter months I understand, I’m being told that shutting it off and on repeatedly during the summer is hard on it. We will be using it about every two weeks or so. John
    - Curtis
      That won’t hurt it a bit.
      - John Pineau
        Thank you. John
David Bragg
Nice write up, Curtis. I have a small RV with a Dometic fridge that runs great on 110 volts or 12V, but not on LP. I ran the stove flame for 30 seconds and tried the fridge on and off 3-4 times. At first, it looks like it’s happy but after about 5 minutes, it shows a red light and beeps every few seconds. I think the pilot probably didn’t ever light and gives off this LED red light. Since the water heater, air heater and stove all work fine, I had assumed the fridge was fine as well. Anything I can try before taking it in for service? They seem to have a $1,000 minimum…Just kidding, but they are pricey.
- Curtis
  It May be as simple as a dirty burner. I recommend vacuum cleaning the burner area . If it does light and then goes out after a few seconds I would suspect the thermocouple which should sense the flame.
  - David Bragg
    I’m not seeing any kind of access panel above or below the fridge. Perhaps I can remove the vent on the outside and peer in there to see and vacuum the pilot? I have it stored 30 mins away or I would just try it. Thanks for the quick response, BTW.
    - Curtis
      Access is through the vent cover on the outside of the rv.Nothing is accessible inside the fridge.
      - David Bragg
        Well, I tried vacuuming the area around the pilot light area. I can’t see any burner up there, but used my big shop-vac to suck anything around it. Then, I tried it 8 times after making sure the stove lights fine. Not once did I ever see or hear any spark by the pilot. I even shoved a grill light up there to see if it would light at all. Nothing. My wife has this idea that the fridge panel is the problem because it works fine on gas when we are plugged into 110 volts. It is a 3-way and she swears it was not on Auto, but straight GAS setting and worked fine when plugged in. I don’t remember ever seeing that so I’m not sure. So, I started the generator and reset the fridge on the gas setting. No good. Every time, after 4 minutes, it beeps and blinks the red light. Next stop is the service dept I suppose.
      - Curtis
        Yep, not much more you can do.
Liz Frierson
If my 2016, Dometic fridge, is running off the propane, what is powering the fridge light??
- Curtis
  Your 12 volt battery. All the electronics in your fridge work off 12 volts. Only the electric heating element is 110 volts AC. That is why you always need 12 volts hooked up or it won’t work at all.
  - Liz Frierson
    Thank you Curtis,I thought that was the answer but was not sure. Went through the complete book, of course it did not give me the answer. Thank you and Happy Trails
Betty Anne Kinslow
Ok we bought at 1998 rockwood 5th wheel and cant get our fridge to run on ac..we got it going on propane but we can hook up to hydro so want to run it on ac..nothing seems to be getting colder?
- Curtis
  Check all your circuit breakers because the heating element for AC operation is on a breaker. If you have AC power out might be the heating element has burned out.
Tom Ruggles
Hi Curtis, The video link near the top of the article in the sentence, “This video shows what each type of refrigerator looks like and basic differences between the two.” is a dead link. Can you resurrect the link? I would love to see that video. Thanks!
- Curtis
  Sorry but apparently the YouTube author removed it. I have no way of finding it either.
Donna Seburg
Good morning Curtis. I have a 1999 Mallard by Fleeetwood with a dometic model RM2652 refrigerator. We just bought it, the fridge works great on a/c, 4 degree’s in the freezer, 34 in the fridge. When I switch it over to gas I have to light it manually because the igniter is not working but that’s not a big deal. It runs for many hours and stays cold but after awhile the check light comes on and the gas goes off. I have thoroughly cleaned and vacuumed everything and have a strong flame. If I leave the fridge off for a few days and let it sit idle and get warm then start it up on gas it will come down the the above temps which appear to be optimal and run for many hours but when I get up in the morning and check it the check light is on again and the gas is off. My question is this, when it comes up to optimal temp does the gas shut down until the thermostat calls for cold again and then when it tries to relight and cannot (because my igniter isn’t working) the check light comes on? A few of my friends insist that their fridges gas stays on ALL THE TIME and does not cycle on and off. Thanks for your time.
- Curtis
  Current and recent year models of refrigerators do indeed shut off the gas controlled By internal temperature regulation. I am reasonably confident one as old as yours Would-be designed to have the flame on all the time. That said the 1st item that can cause a problem for refrigerators is the propane regulator. You May have what looks to be a good Flame but it may not be intense enough. Because you already have an igniter problem I can only recommend having an RV Tech diagnose the refrigerator. There May be a possibility the igniter is part of the problem.
  - Donna Seburg
    Thank you, I will keep you posted as I work through this.
  - Donna Seburg
    Curtis I have an update and it’s good news. After replacing my regulator with a MARSH EXCEL MEGR253 Auto Change Over Regulator and replacing the re igniter and electrode I am up and running. Even though I thought I had a good flame with the old regulator the new one doubled the size of the flame. And more importantly I’m happy to tell you that my RM2652 does indeed cycle on and off in gas mode. After five days of testing the system, after it comes down to the preset temp the gas shuts off completely. When the temp rises and it calls for cold the gas comes on and I get one click from the igniter and it fires back up. Thank you for the advice and have a great day.
    - Curtis
      We have both learned something today. I was not aware that refrigerators as old as yours shut off when they came up to temperature. I’m glad you were able to resolve your issues,Thank you for letting me know about the igniter.