Should We Leave Our RV's Refrigerator Running All The Time?

by Dale

I recently purchased a 2001 Fleetwood Expedition. Should I keep the Refrigerator running at all times? Someone told me that it was not good to cut on and off; from one weekend to the next, when we are using RV. I also have to run inverter to run Refrigerator when I am plugged into 110 receptacle. Will this hurt inverter?

Thanks

ANSWER Greetings Dale thanks for asking your question on our Ask An RV Question Page.

The simple answer to your question is no, you do not have to leave your RV's fridge running to extend its lifespan. RV Refrigerators are designed specifically for RVs with the understanding that they are turned off and on frequently.

The only thing that you will do by leaving the fridge on is increase your energy usage. A good rule of thumb is to turn on your RV Refrigerator 24 hours prior to going camping. This gives the Refrigerator time to cool down sufficiently. Whenever I use my RV's Refrigerator, I also use a Fridge Mate Fan in both the fridge and the freezer it keeps the air moving around in the fridge and freezer and keeps from having warm spots. They run for about a month on 2 D Cell batteries.

When not in use I recommend that the fridge be turned off. The simple reason that I suggest keeping it off is due to energy conservation. Whether you are running off of electric or propane, you are going to be wasting energy. This is the method that I have always used. I have had many RVs over the past 36 years, they have all been different makes and models and vintages and I have yet to have an RV Refrigerator fail on me.

This sort of reminds me of the debate about computers. Some people say that if you leave a computer on all of the time it will last longer, others say that if you turn it off when it is not in use it will last longer. I would suggest that you do what you feel more comfortable with. Now if you were a full-time RVer you would definitely want to leave the fridge on all of the time.

Also your inverter should have no problems running constantly; again they are designed for that type of use.

I hope these answers help you. I am hoping that some of the other RVers post some comments here about what they do with the RV fridge when not in use. I would also be curious to see if anyone has some data or facts that would prove keeping the RV Refrigerator on makes it last longer.

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Happy RVing

RVing Al