We don't leave ours running all the time, and have found that the absorbtion frig doesn't seem to suit our use pattern. It is fine when we go, turn it on for 5 hours, use frozen bottles, etc. While travelling, we tend to "puddle jump" a lot. Short drive, stop, short drive, stop, repeat many times. We have gotten totally tired of trying to park level, turn the frig on/off/gas/DC, and still have it warm up to 50+ degrees.
We will be switching to a compressor model this winter, to see how that works. They are claimed to cool down very quickly and work well in hot weather, and still are very efficient, as they store cold when they have charging voltage and release when the don't.
Like most people who have responded, we keep ours off when at home. If we have planned a trip, I turn it on the night before via shore power. But, most of the time, it is spur of the moment so, we put in a few frozen bottles of water in the freezer upon launch and also some in the fridge and we are off and running. I like to put a tub of ice in the freezer too for cold drinks on the road. We normally do not put food in the thing but "shop" for a few items upon arrival the first night of the trip or segments of the trip.
We just got back from a cross-country trip and got into a routine of running the reefer on D/C (battery) mode while driving and just turning it off when gassing up and turn it back on when on the road again. This saved the propane for the dry-docking nights. We used less than a half a tank of propane for the 7 week trip.
wsfurrie wrote: Leaving it running all the time is the quickest way to wear it out. If I wanted to take a quick trip I would turn it on and put some ice in the freezer and possibly in the fridge part. We used to keep a few milk cartons filled with water in the home freezer. Popping a few of those in the RV fridge cooled it down quickly.
Wayne
Same here.....
Bob & Sharon
Eastern Kansas
2009 Itasca Navion IQ DL
We have a 30 amp camp ground style connection on the outside of our garage, so our RV is always connected when we are home, thus we don't unload our refrigerator after each trip.
This is a big time-saver when getting ready to go somewhere.
We have been doing this for 10 seasons without incidents.
thriftydutch wrote: Compressor fridge. Turn it on one hour before leaving and then the freezer part is at minus 10 degrees. Wouldn't have it any other way.
I think I have this type of refridgerator, too. I leave it dry & clean between trips, knowing that if I decide to use it, it can be cold enough, quick enough. An hour will do it, no problem.
The freezer, however, is a different story. Since it's so small, I need to "pack in" homemade ice cubes (in ziplock bags), or purchase ice for cocktails on the road, er, I mean at the campsite.
QJane
02 Ford E350 Sportsmobile RB30
with penthouse top
wsfurrie wrote: Leaving it running all the time is the quickest way to wear it out.
Perhaps, but full timers seem to do ok.
We keep ours on with water, ice and drinks in it all the time. It is my daily drive and it is great to be leaving the dog park or the baseball game and have a nice cold bottle of water.
I bought my SMB Sprinter to wear it out. That is the whole idea!
Regards,
Keith
The excellent adventures of Keith and Debbie. Observations about life, at home and on the road in our 2008 Sportsmobile Sprinter. (Warning: Occasional sharp turns to the right.)
Most of the time, the fridge is off, and I will turn it on a couple of days before we plan to go somewhere in it.
However, beginning the first week in September, I keep the fridge on for most of the fall. We use our RT for football weekends. And this fall, it just happens that we will be going to games 5 of the first 6 weekends beginning Labor Day weekend, with a trip to Atlanta.
During this time, it doesn't make any sense for me to empty the fridge, cut it off, and then 3 days later begin the process all over.
Erroll, Mary, Duffy the Wonder Doxie & "Ollie"
1996 RoadTrek 210 Popular, on 1995 Chevy Chassis
booster wrote: We don't leave ours running all the time, and have found that the absorbtion frig doesn't seem to suit our use pattern. It is fine when we go, turn it on for 5 hours, use frozen bottles, etc....We have gotten totally tired of trying to park level, turn the frig on/off/gas/DC, and still have it warm up to 50+ degrees.
Big ditto.
It seems that the 3-ways are best for those who dry camp often and/or don't overnight at campgrounds with hookups. I am not in that category.
If I ever decide to get a new rig, I will think long and hard about ordering it with a 2-way compressor type refrigerator. It's my understanding that the 2-ways will run much longer on DC than will the 3-ways without draining the battery(ies). Is this correct?
If I ever decide to get a new rig, I will think long and hard about ordering it with a 2-way compressor type refrigerator. It's my understanding that the 2-ways will run much longer on DC than will the 3-ways without draining the battery(ies). Is this correct?
- LJZ
They will run many times longer on DC than the absorbtion ones, and actually keep the food cold at the same time! The one we are getting only pulls 2.7 amps of DC when running on the batteries, and does not do that continuously. It kicks up to 5 amps when it sees the higher voltage that indicates the van is running, or you are on shore power or generator. It runs on the higher amps until it freezes the ice pack it contains, and then goes back to the lower amps. When it sees only battery power, it will use up the stored cold of the ice before it runs at all. We think we should be able to go 2-3 days easily on the batteries without drawing them down too far (we have 230 amp-hrs of batteries).
Even, in the very rare case, if we found ourselves without shore power, with no generator allowed, and not going on day trips, running the van less than an hour a day would give us enough recharge to run everything. I find that to be a lot less hassle than what is needed to use the absorbtion frig for the way we travel.
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, Lois 
