How To Perform RV Fridge Maintenance

Your appliances go a long way in making your RV feel like home, and your family happy and comfortable. RVs are the go-to choice for upgrading your camping trips, after all. To make the experience a hassle-free one, make sure you take regular care of all your appliances.

At Noteboom RV, we know that one very important appliance in your RV is your refrigerator; if you’re going to be spending time on the road, you will need your fridge to be in good shape. To help you keep it that way, we’ve provided some tips below. If you'd like to get professional RV maintenance, visit our locations in Harrisburg, SD and Sheldon, IA. We welcome all our friends from Sioux Falls, SD and Sioux City, IA.

Prep Your Fridge for Travel

Preparing your fridge is easy and involves a few steps that can be part of your pre-trip RV maintenance. It’ll help avoid any problems down the line so it’s worth the effort. First, quickly inspect your fridge, looking for any signs of damage or concern. If you think your fridge is making strange sounds, get it inspected by a professional before you hit the road. 

Before you load up your RV fridge with food, consider pre-cooling it for about eight to ten hours. This helps ensure that the food won’t fluctuate in temperature. You’ll also want to load food that’s already at the proper temperature.

Post-Trip Defrosting

If you plan to leave your RV sitting in storage for a while after your trip, it’s a good idea to defrost your fridge the same way you do for your fridge at home. Even if you plan to store it for a few weeks, it makes no sense to pay the electricity bill for an appliance you aren’t using. You should periodically defrost your fridge even if you’re not stopping using it as this helps boost performance and extends its life. Keep in mind that there will be a lot of water as a result of defrosting. Have a way to catch or absorb that liquid or you’ll end up with water damage. Ensure you take this RV service step after every trip. 

General Safety Tips

There are some safety issues that you should be aware of, so you can spot them and handle them if a problem occurs. For example, if you smell ammonia, there’s a leak in the fridge. Turn the fridge off and then open it up to air it out. Also open the windows and vents of your RV to air it out. This is because not only can ammonia ruin the inside of your fridge, but the fumes can be dangerous to you and your loved ones. Keep the refrigerator off if you’re on a trip and make a service appointment right away to get it fixed. 

Before you start your fridge RV maintenance, remove any flammable items. For some repairs, like cleaning out the vent, you’ll need to work on the roof, so ensure that the ladder is held securely in place and that you have a spotter on the ground.

One final piece of advice we can give you is to be smart about working on your fridge. Many people prefer to just clean it out every once in a while, but some like to get their hands dirty and work on the appliance themselves. If you want to try this, we highly recommend consulting your owner’s manual first to give more information. 

We hope this guide will come in handy for your DIY RV maintenance. If you need professional RV service, visit Noteboom RV at our locations in Harrisburg, SD and Sheldon, IA and we’ll whip it into shape in no time. We’re proud to serve our friends from Sioux Falls, SD and Sioux City, IA.