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Old 03-02-2006, 06:42 AM   #1
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Gas refer use while driving

Hello folks,
I am getting ready to take my first long trip and need help.
How many people use their gas refer while driving down the road?
Is there anyone that dont use the gas refer while driving and why?
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Old 03-02-2006, 07:15 AM   #2
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I have a three way so this is not a concern for me. I was at a seminar conducted by Dometic last week and this subject of driving while having the burner on came up. The gentleman stated that fridges made prior to about 1985 must be kept level to operate properly. Check your exhaust flue if it is square you must stay level. His suggestion was to get the fridge cold the night before and not open the door in the morning. Use a cooler for those items you must have for breakfast and shut it down before you start driving. Another interesting thing he said is that it takes considerably longer for our RV fridge to recover than it takes our fridge at home. So if you open it at breakfast time it does not have time to recover before you start off for the days travel.
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Old 03-02-2006, 07:42 AM   #3
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Turn it on and leave it on. The only concern is that it might blow out and you don't notice for a few hours (if it does, the whole verical plenum is reasonably sealed and any leak--there should be none--goes right out the top), so you might thaw stuff in the freezer on a hot day.

My old fridge never blew out, but when I got a new one (Dometic) I could hardly move without it going out. So I decided it was a bit drafty in the plenum and I built a small aluminum box as a baffle and attached it with two screws--fridge hasn't blown out since.

Even old fridges are OK while driving, despite the many moments you're not level. The motion tends to slosh the condensed amonia into the right places so you don't fry the other chemicals into crystals, which will permanently kill your fridge.

By the way, does anyone know what "level" means? Is it 15 degrees, 5 degrees, or 1 degree? And is it more constrained in the left-right axis or the front-back axis? I have a friend who fried hers in a bad parking spot with what looked like about 15 degrees, mostly with the fridge tilted back.
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Old 03-02-2006, 08:42 AM   #4
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mtnman,

This topic has been pretty well covered previously, use the search feature to find the threads for that. The boiled down version is this: some turn off the propane and others do not. I myself tend to use mine particularly if the tow is longer than an hour and it is hot out. It should go without saying that you should look at your system closely before towing and at each stop regardless of wether you have the propane going and NEVER NEVER pull into the gas station with that puppy fired up!
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Old 03-02-2006, 11:30 AM   #5
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80,000 miles with the fridge on Gas. Domatic
Never had blowout.
And as for the refer, Turn on, chill out and have a great trip...

Michael
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Old 03-02-2006, 11:36 AM   #6
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Yes to gas

We have a new 2005 2 way fridge in our Overlander. We always travel with the propane on. Our .02.
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Old 03-02-2006, 12:51 PM   #7
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Definitely on going down the road. We load the fridge the night before we leave with non perishables that we like to have cold, plugged into shore power, then when we get the rest of the stuff in on the next day, we unhook the shore power and it kicks over to LP where it stays until we reach our spot in the park. Only way to fly on particularly long trips.
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Old 03-02-2006, 01:00 PM   #8
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This issue came up before and I emailed Dometic since I keep ours on while in transit.

The answer I got back said it is perfectly safe and designed to run while the unit is in transit. They also said that some states may not allow them to run while in transit and to check local laws beforehand.

The only time I tend to turn off the fridge is when I'm filling up the truck at a gas station. Other than that, if we're boondocking, it runs all the time.

Newer units will actually cycle themselves unlike the older units....meaning that once the fridge gets to the selected temp, the the controller will shut down the flame on the fridge....and turn it back on when a call for cool is needed. This is different than older fridges where the flame ran all the time.
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Old 03-03-2006, 01:59 PM   #9
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Covered before, but still a good question. I run mine on gas when traveling. Since my piezo quit long ago, I light it outside in the compartment, and I don't shut it off when I refuel.

My reasoning is that it's fifteen feet away from the diesel pump, and except at Flying J, I've never found a pump that I could pull straight in to, anyway. I don't turn the truck off when I refuel, either. (That's not a common practice with turbo diesels.)

Lazy me - this fridge is a three way - and I need to get the line installed from the batteries to the back of the truck. Gee, another project...

Lamar
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Old 03-03-2006, 03:32 PM   #10
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Thanks to all!! This is good info and helps so much.
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