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Topic: Is it ok to travel with fridge on ???

loulee

15/7/2016 at 9:16pm
Location: Yorkshire
Outfit: Autosleeper Neuvo

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My van has a three way fridge. Its onlt two yrs old. Ideally it would be great for us to arrive on site with a chilled fridge....is this possible when hooked up to towcar.
If yes what do I need to do.
Im just worried about turning elec on at isolation switch because that turns on everything. ..obv you can turn things off individually. ...
Maybe in scared
Any advice please....

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Nellie72

15/7/2016 at 9:22pm
Location: S.Wales
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We certainly tow with the fridge on, how else will the gin be cold when you arrive ;)

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Doing whatever the rice krispies tell me to.

JTQU

15/7/2016 at 9:32pm
Location: Hampshire
Outfit: Hymer Nova S

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Assuming it is a post about 1998 caravan and the car and vans 12 volt electrics are wired correctly, then it is designed to be on, via the fridge's "battery" setting.
The correct set up itself automatically isolates the other 12 volt electrics in the caravan via a so called "habitation" relay.
The car engine needs to be running, or the system shuts down not to flatten the car's battery.

loulee

15/7/2016 at 9:46pm
Location: Yorkshire
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My caravan is a swift 2015. The settings on the dometic fridge is mains 240, gas then battery. ...do I select battery option wgen hooked up to car ??

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JTQU

15/7/2016 at 9:54pm
Location: Hampshire
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Quote: Originally posted by loulee on 15/7/2016
My caravan is a swift 2015. The settings on the dometic fridge is mains 240, gas then battery. ...do I select battery option wgen hooked up to car ??

Yes, then if the car is wired up fully then it all looks after itself.
I say wired up fully as not all factory supplied towbar electrics or budget aftermarket towbar fitters do the complete wiring; just the legal stuff for lighting etc.

Peek in the caravan whilst the car is running and the van plugged in and a little light on the fridge should tell you all is okay.

navver

15/7/2016 at 11:48pm
Location: West country
Outfit: Mondeo

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Yes that should be right. We have a 2016 van with a dometic fridge, could be the same one.

There is no light to say it is working on 12voltfrom the car. If its cold when you get there it's working. If not tough.

There is no light to say it is working on 230volt mains either. At handover I was told if the internal light works when you open the door the mains is on. However I have switched the mains off and the light still works so guess that comes from the caravan leisure battery.

There is also an off position and it is important to switch it to this when not using the van such as in storage or on your drive. if not. There is a current drain from the leisure battery if you don't.

It's best to pre cool the fridge on mains before you go away as the tow car side is not that good.

freeatlast

16/7/2016 at 8:20pm
Location: Teesside
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We hired a new motorhome in the US with a Dometic fridge exactly the same as the one in the caravan. It ran for a month on gas alone, as this is legal in the US and Canada except in filling stations and on ferries. never went out whilst travelling.

gould300

17/7/2016 at 1:46pm
Location: None Entered
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We have a 2014 Swift and hook up at home to chill the fridge the night before.

Before setting off we press the black isolator switch under the seat (the one that switches on the 12v system) and set the fridge to 12v with the grey source selection button. All the fridge lights flash on and off until we hook up to the car and start the engine. The lights stop flashing and the fridge power light remains green.

GeorgeB

25/7/2016 at 3:36pm
Location: West Sussex
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Quote: Originally posted by loulee on 15/7/2016
My caravan is a swift 2015. The settings on the dometic fridge is mains 240, gas then battery. ...do I select battery option wgen hooked up to car ??

Hi,

yes you can tow with the fridge on!

Once you're hooked up to the car, just press the battery button & with the car's engine running, hey presto fridge will be working!

The "buttons" on the top left of the fridge are: 1 = on/off. 2 = mains power (picture of a continental 2 pin plug). 3 = gas & 4 = battery.

Buttons on the right hand side are the temp controls, except for the last one, thats the alarm, this will flash on & off if there is no power source connected & will give you that beeping sound as the alarm if you don't notice the flashing warning.

My caravan is a 2016 Swift Challenger

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GeorgeB

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gailbonney

25/7/2016 at 4:07pm
Location: Cheshire
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Sorry for hijacking conversation, would it drain car battery when car is off (eurotunnel etc)?

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blueexpo97

25/7/2016 at 4:57pm
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No because it only works when car is running.

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Taylor56

25/7/2016 at 6:11pm
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You do have a 13 pin socket or a 12s socket as a 12n does not operate the fridge.

loulee

25/7/2016 at 7:34pm
Location: Yorkshire
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Quote: Originally posted by Taylor56 on 25/7/2016
You do have a 13 pin socket or a 12s socket as a 12n does not operate the fridge.

My electric is 13pin single socket next to tow ball

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loulee

25/7/2016 at 7:38pm
Location: Yorkshire
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Quote: Originally posted by GeorgeB on 25/7/2016

Quote: Originally posted by loulee on 15/7/2016
My caravan is a swift 2015. The settings on the dometic fridge is mains 240, gas then battery. ...do I select battery option wgen hooked up to car ??

Hi,

yes you can tow with the fridge on!

Once you're hooked up to the car, just press the battery button & with the car's engine running, hey presto fridge will be working!

The "buttons" on the top left of the fridge are: 1 = on/off. 2 = mains power (picture of a continental 2 pin plug). 3 = gas & 4 = battery.

Buttons on the right hand side are the temp controls, except for the last one, thats the alarm, this will flash on & off if there is no power source connected & will give you that beeping sound as the alarm if you don't notice the flashing warning.

My caravan is a 2016 Swift Challenger

Aww this is great news. ... your instructions are clear and I follow you but what setting do I have it on...ie on fridge. Battery symbol or main socket one. Cheers

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bobmel

25/7/2016 at 9:49pm
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Battery

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Robert (BoB)

loulee

25/7/2016 at 10:07pm
Location: Yorkshire
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Great. Thank you

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Thank you 😊

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