Leveling a camper for a propane fridge

[Stereo]

I have been driving myself crazy for years trying to get our truck camper level in the backcountry in order to prevent damage to the propane fridge. There's little worse than messing around with leveling when we first find a beautiful spot, especially when people are watching. ? The only benefit to this agitation is even pancakes. I've used an 8" bubble level on the counter above the frig to check for level and was told that I should ensure half the bubble stays within the level lines.

Today, however, I came across some helpful details that should free me up considerable. Apparently, for fridges running on propane, there is a 3-degree allowance between the front and the rear of the camper (side-to-side for the fridge), with even more allowance if the slope is towards the boiler so the coolant can easily flow downhill. On my Dometic 2193, the boiler is towards the rear of my truck, which is great 'cause I sleep better with the front raised a bit. Side-to-side (front to back on the fridge), it's OK for the camper to be as much as 6-degrees out of level.

Here's my problem. The level I use goes beyond the half-bubble mark at just 1-degree off level. Short of packing a very long level, are there any reasonably-priced instruments or techniques I can use that will give me more leeway when leveling while still staying within safe parameters for the fridge?

 

[jadmt]

i just use a level app on my smart phone and lay it in the bottom of my fridge. works great.

 

[Alloy]

This is what I used until I stepped on it..... then I grabbed one that was in the house but it was a $30 mini lelve.

Empire 9 in. Polycast Torpedo Level-33-9 - The Home Depot

The Empire 9 in. Polycast Torpedo Level features durable non-conductive Polycast construction that insulates from heat, cold and electricity. 3 durable acrylic vials provide plumb, level and 45° readings

www.homedepot.com

If you install a ARP alarm the burner will never overheat. If it does the alarm will try to restart the fridge 4-5 times.

Fridge Defend | ARP Control | RV Safety | Dometic | Norcold | RV Fire

Your RV Refrigerator boiler operates at about 350 degrees all the time, but even a brief time off-level, like driving up a hill, can send that temperature sky-rocketing. Events like this produced a lot of thermal stress in the fridge boiler, stress that causes the metal to fatigue and the...

www.arprv.com

 

[Scoutman]

I absolutely hated the 3 way fridge in our old truck camper. I was always messing with that thing and it seemed like it would go from fine to warm at the drop of a hat. Driving from point A to B was the most difficult since the flame would blow out and not be able to re-light, I wouldn't know it until the next stop to check that it was still working. I don't miss it one bit.

That being said, one trick I did was to get it good and perfectly level in the driveway (or somewhere flat) and then I mounted a couple of bubble levels in the cab of the truck. Mine ended up being on the trim ring of my sunroof so I could just look up and know my status. I would try to park so it was pretty close and then fine tune with Lynx Levelers or removing a shovel full of dirt/gravel from a tire or 2. As far as how level, I think if you don't notice a significant slope then you're fine.

 

[Regcabguy]

I use the leveling bubbles sold on Amazon on each corner of the Northstar. They indicate how many one inch Lynx blocks need to be used to level the camper fore and aft and side to side. I double check the level using a nearly full glass of water on top of the fridge cabinet. Not much to it. 20 yrs now.

 

[Stereo]

Thanks for the ideas. I'm old school so I'm still learning about all the remarkable things a smartphone can do. I downloaded the Smart Level app and checked it against my digital level and it's accurate. It allows me to read how far off I am in degrees. When parked in my driveway, I used to have to put one side up on two Lynx blocks to keep my 8" bubble level within half a bubble of level, but the app showed that without blocks, I was within 2 degrees of level side to side, whereas 6 degrees is allowable, and 1 degree sloping to the back, well within the 3-degree limit. I'm so excited to have more flexibility than I thought I had! Now I'll only be worried about being so exact when the cook requires it.

 

[Stereo]

If you install a ARP alarm the burner will never overheat.

Nice insurance but too pricey for me at this point at about $150 for the basic kit.

 

[86scotty]

Thanks for the ideas. I'm old school so I'm still learning about all the remarkable things a smartphone can do.

Just wait until you learn what a 12v DC replacement fridge can do!.........like use no propane, freeze food in an hour or two, run 24/7 on a small solar/battery system, give you more space inside and if that's not enough........work at any angle short of 90 degrees!

 

[grantfurness]

Just wait until you learn what a 12v DC replacement fridge can do!.........like use no propane, freeze food in an hour or two, run 24/7 on a small solar/battery system, give you more space inside and if that's not enough........work at any angle short of 90 degrees!

How heavy a toll do those fridges take on the camper’s battery. I’m thinking of one for my next camper but am afraid of not having enough battery for it.

 

[fwcer]

I don't level my rig with any hi tech equipment except my eyes. We experienced campers develop calibrated eyeballs...

 

[68camaro]

How heavy a toll do those fridges take on the camper’s battery. I’m thinking of one for my next camper but am afraid of not having enough battery for it.

I have their ARB 37L and their website says it average around .85 ah at ambiant temp between 78 and 85* with cabinet set at 37*. I use mine in rear of WK2 here in south I use as daily driver attached to second battery. We love it, cold drinks and lunches all summer long on our trips to beach, mountains, hikes, fishing, mt biking and even running around town in the heat and humidity.....it's expensive but oh so nice.

 

[86scotty]

How heavy a toll do those fridges take on the camper’s battery. I’m thinking of one for my next camper but am afraid of not having enough battery for it.

Just depends on the battery. Any poking around here and other forums devoted more to overlanding/traveling vs. old school RVing will show you that most folks are making the move to DC compressor fridges. A 100 watt solar panel and a 100 AH battery will essentially run one forever with decent exposure to sun. My personal favorite setup for a van/truck/SUV is 200 watts solar with 200 AH of battery. It's overkill.

Just for comparison my work truck runs a big, power thirsty Truckfridge DC model on 4 group 31 batteries. No solar. The truck can sit for a week with the fridge running and maybe go down .3 volts (from 13ish to upper 12.7 or so.

 

[::Squish::]

We have found that the fridge works best if we clean the burner assembly once a year.
for leveling, for us, if it is comfortable to sleep in its fine for the fridge.

we always try to sleep slightly nose high. And the camper squats the back slightly so it works out. We did have to get a decent level, a couple of the ones we got from the RV store were off slightly and that gave us some grief After we first got the rig. We are pretty good at sensing if the truck is out of level before we even get out of the cab, but we still check. We check the fridge, the bed and the floor right by the door for level.

Finally we did do a few things that make our passages across the desert a little better
we added a couple of fans at the top that blow air out the top across the coils.
inside of the fridge we use one of those remote temperature sensors with the display in the cab.
that way we keep an eye on what the fridge is doing.
the finally we use drinking water frozen in plastic water jugs, before the drive the are moved from freezer to fridge and when we get to camp the are moved back to the freezer at night

this has kept our fridge humming along, which is saying something since the thing is 20 years old

 

[Lovetheworld]

Ha, I didnt know these propane fridges were so annoying. Get a dc compressor fridge, and run it with a small solar battery setup. Never have I needed to check the fridge, refill any gas canister, or be afraid of whatever angle the van is parked in. We never level anything. Just park it like it ferls okay from the drivers seat is good enough.

 

[cph05a]

My old truck camper's Dometic fridge was really sensitive to being level and as a result I hardly ever made use of it opting to just put frozen water bottles in it instead. Sometimes you just can't get level.

I have an Isotherm Cruise marine fridge now (running on 12V dc) and it still works no matter how uneven the terrain is. Powering it isn't too bad. I have the 130L model and it draws 418W per day.