ice improving refrigerator performance

[momoney]

I also have a wimpy fridge . A simple temp upgrade.

I only camp for couple of days at a time.  I  take a large Cooler with ice and the camping food and drinks inside . I transfer everything to the refrigerator after popped up. After camping transfer back and drive home.

Why ? If I run the fridge. before leaving and packit. I can not reach food  or drinks until popped . Also on freeway the propane blows out.I guess I could do the friige 110 and then try not to forget to switch to gas after stopping overnight or at campsite.But still my brand new popup frig. is not that cold inside after 12-36 hrs on propane (45 - 70 outside temp )

So it seems kind of stupid to use the ice but last weekend I put the crushed ice in cooler on friday did the tranfer in and back to cooler and everything stayed cold and the ice melted very little.by sunday night and I had cold drinks and food all weekend. ( the two camping trips before the fridge just was not that cold )

[austinado16]

Since you have an '08 Rockwood, why not take it back to the dealer under warranty and have them confirm the problem and either fix the fridge or replace it?

By the way, you use the 120v feature at home to pre-cool for 24hrs prior to camping, then you switch to 12v for towing.  Once at the campground you either switch to propane, or if you're plugged in, switch back to 120v.  Having cold food inside the pre-cooled fridge will help it maintain temps during towing and do a better job of cooling once at the campground.

[mike4947]

I hate to say it but over the years we've found over 1/2 of the fridges we've inspected had faulty installations. The major malfunction being improperly installed or missing baffles. Next badly installed venting plates. Then damaged or missing insulation.
 
Here's a link for the venting/baffling issues: http://www.rvmobile.com/Tech/Trouble/vent.htm
scroll down to "almost good venting" as out PU's do not have a roof stack/vent.
 
We've found a properly installed fridge will hold 40 degrees or below in temperatures will into the 90's F without any extra fans, etc.
 
And I put the link in as most dealers don't recognize bad baffles/vents and need to be educated so they can give you proper warranty service for something that is definitely a warranty issue.

[Twolarsons]

Please stop towing with the propane on! I talked to a guy a few months ago who lost his PU this way. The insulation somehow shifted and the fridge lit it on fire. He was hauling down the highway without a care in the world. By the time he saw the smoke and flames shooting up in his mirror half the PU was gone. He pulled over, unhitched and moved the TV out of the way as the fire spread to the front of the PU. It was gone in a matter of minutes.

[PattieAM]

I have a Fleetwood Niagara, and can't access the fridge when the unit is closed, so pack my perishables in the cooler with a few ziplocks of ice and maybe a frozen soda bottle.  When I get set up, I transfer cooler contents to the fridge, and turn on the fridge.  Generally I use the 120v setting (if above 80 degrees outside I will start off using the propane setting as it seems to cool faster).  I place the frozen bottle or a ziplock of ice cubes in the bottom of the refrigerator, and in the freezer portion of the fridge, I will place a zip lock of ice.  This helps my unit to cool faster, and gives me ice for use in the interim (while my ice trays are freezing).

[momoney]

Thanks for the tip , pre cooling and driving on 12 volts does make sense ,and I should do at temp test and verify what the temp is and and have if covered under warranty . I"m not using it much in the winter any how.thanks for the info.