Propane on while traveling

[jengelkirk]

Since we can't bring our Monty into our neighborhood to get the refrigerator cold before we leave on a trip, we have used a cooler and turn on the propane and refrigerator while driving to the campground. The refrig/freezer is generally cold enough by the time we get to the campsite. Is this a potential hazard while on the road? Our neighbors say they never put the propane on while driving. What do the rest of you do?

Thanks.

[bncinwv]

Opinions vary on this subject, some do, some don't. We do. We travel with the fridge on propane all the time and in the winter we travel with the heat on since we transport the family pets in crates in the rig (I do monitor the temperature with a remote thermometer in the rig). It is highly recommended by some that the propane be turned off during fueling stops. You will hear the pros and the cons, think it over and make an informed decision that you are comfortable with.
Bingo

[Exnavydiver]

We have always traveled with the propane on for the fridge. Never had a problem... Dave and Betsy

[illapah]

I travel with fridge on propane. I have once or twice traveled with the furnace on also.

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Ditto what Bingo and Exnavydiver say.

Run with the frig on ALL the time, but, have the luxury of having Tana here in the yard at the stick built to cool things down before leaving. Have traveled with cool frig, packed with cool to cold food and frig OFF as well.

I transport my houseplants, mostly violets, in the rig, in January when we make our escape from the frozen tundra, so furnace is on.

Disclaimers about gas off during refueling and some tunnels should be included here.

Do what feels comfy, and enjoy the rig!

[TLightning]

We travel with the propane on...that's the way it is designed to work.

[ols1932]

If you do, there is a potential risk when fueling at a fuel stop, however small. We have found that for the 5 to 6 hours we are on the road that the refrigerator remains sufficiently cool for the food and the freezer doesn't thaw.

I know there are many who disagree with me, but we all have our opinions.

Orv

[stiles watson]

We leave it on unless fueling or traveling in an area where it is forbidden. It is easy enough to step inside and turn the fridge to "off".

[rogue]

Same as ols1932, we leave it off, if going a long day 7-8 hours we may turn it on. But we always stop before the fuel station and turn off all propane and the tank, then pull in to refuel. Also pull out of the station and stop to turn turn back on. This minor inconvenience is well worth it compared to the problems one might face if there were a fire or explosion from all the fumes in the refueling area. Thats what we do.
Bob

[richfaa]

Lots of data to consider here..example "The propane appliances (fridge, furnace and water heater) are designed to draw the air needed for combustion with propane from the outside and to vent any exhaust to the outside. The outside covers should be designed to prevent wind from blowing out any pilot light or the flame once ignited. So, operation while on the road should not be a problem"????

Open flame while re fueling.. Gas fumes are heavy and sink to the ground flame for the ridge is high up??? and on our rig a long way back there. However..it could happen.. We have always traveled with ours on except where it is required to turn it off. It is no doubt safer to have it turned off.

[tcorbitt]

Traveling with Propane on.

20 years ago, we would not, but with the new pressure values on the tanks, there is really no more risk then traveling with the tank values closed.
As Rich noted, pilot flames should not be left on when in transit.
In the newer rigs, Furnace, Refridge, HW heater all use a spark ignition.
Only the oven is pilot controlled in most cases these days, so for sure, no baking a cake on the way to the party .
Other than the oven, the stove top, although no pilot, make sure the burners are shut off completely.

As always, do what you feel most comfortable with, and travel safe..

[HughM]

I don't see the problem of leaving the propane on. While refueling aren't other vehicles with engines running coming and going from the gas pump area. A faulty spark plug wire or spark from an alternator would cause a fire just as fast as a propane fridge.
This reminds me of a previous post where you could get sued/or ticketed for being overweight in a private vehicle.
My question is does anyone have first hand knowledge of a fire being started from a propane fridge in a gas station enviroment.
Hugh

[1Happycamper]

We also travel with the fridge on and when refuelling we turn the gas off. On small trips under 5 hours we leave it off. Every thing stays cold or frozen.

Bill & Angie

[Driftwoodgal]

We are in the minority as we travel with the propane off. Hubby just doesn't want to take a chance of something happening. This is one of the topics I just don't bring up anymore. Since we don't travel with it on I have found that I can keep things frozen even without the propane on.

Just a thought, since you can't bring the Monty to your neighborhood, just turn on the propane a day or two before you leave on your trip and already have the refrig cold before you leave.

I put my frozen meat in the freezer, and then what I want to cook that night in the frig. I also freeze three or four water bottles and place them on the racks and in the door. I place ice cubes in two layered ziplocks and place that in the center of the frig. I use these ice cubes that night before our ice machine has had time to produce cubes. The melted water I use in the coffee pot the next morning. We only use bottled water in the ice machine, so the melted water in the ziplock/water bottles gets used. This has worked well for me even on our days that we have traveled for over 12 hours.

Colleen

[ols1932]

quote:Originally posted by HughM

I don't see the problem of leaving the propane on. While refueling aren't other vehicles with engines running coming and going from the gas pump area. A faulty spark plug wire or spark from an alternator would cause a fire just as fast as a propane fridge.
This reminds me of a previous post where you could get sued/or ticketed for being overweight in a private vehicle.
My question is does anyone have first hand knowledge of a fire being started from a propane fridge in a gas station enviroment.
Hugh

Hugh,
That's exactly why I said I don't run my fridge on propane when refueling. 12 years ago, I was in line to refuel when a pull trailer almost exploded as the owner was refueling his truck. The refrigerator was on propane and it was windy out. Apparently the wind blew the gasoline fumes from a pump into the rig and it went kapow!! The driver was able to quickly pull the unit away to an open area and put the fire out. It didn't do any damage to the inside of the rig but the refrigerator unit was ruined as was the area in which it was housed.

Other vehicles running don't run with an open flame showing somewhere. And, what are the chances of a faulty wire causing a spark at what would have to be called a coincidental time.

For those who want to take the risk, be my guest. I merely put forth what I've observed.

Orv

[exav8tr]

Well, I have attended several RV Saftey classes and I turn mine off prior to moving. We are usually not travelling more that 6-7 hours at most and everything stays cold during that time. To each his own. I just elect to turn it off.

[MAMalody]

To do what you feel most comfortable with and travel safe can be contradictory statements. I read every year where there are fires and explosions at gas stations where the fridge was on. It would appear that the slight inconvenience to turn off the fridge prior to fueling was not comfortable and it turned out not safe also. While I do travel with mine on, at least for trips in excess of 3 or 4 hours, I do try to remember to turn it off prior to fueling up. I just pray that when I forget that nobody gets a "bang" out of my forgetfulness.

[HamRad]

Mike,

Contrary to the "reports" about gas station fires started by RVers with their propane systems going there are very few if any actual such incidents. I believe there has been ONE actual confirmed such incident.

But! You are correct. It is far easier to simply turn off the propane when fueling. It's not that big of a deal. We travel with our system on. I must confess that I seldom if ever remember to turn off the propane. Part of that is because most of the time when we fuel we are not connected to the trailer. Still I will try to remember to do so next time we fuel with the trailer connected.

Dennis

[Bill-N-Donna]

I’ve seen a lot of talk and discussions on this subject but I was wondering if anyone knows of any websites that would indicate what the laws actually are for traveling with your tank valve/valves on?

[rames14]

We use ours slightly different than many. First, we also have ours stored because of subdivision covenants. It's a 20 mile jaunt over to turn on the fridge, if we want to do that. So, we either take a cooler down and turn it on when we pick up Monty, or go get Monty and bring her home to load. We often will do ten or twelve hours in a day and when it's a hundred degrees out in the summer, we would find the fridge to be almost useless if we did not travel with it on.

One of the things that I have discussed with DW is the fact that because I have limited vacation time, we are always in a hurry on our trips. We leave in the evening after a full day of work, travel till late, get up early and hit it again all day. DW also drives Monty, so we don't travel tired. We're just rushed. I have learned from this thread to turn off the fridge before refueling - and also the furnace. Thanks for the information.