GMAC recommendations for propane fridge

[elkhartjim]

I just read that GMAC (get mostly all cash) says the number-two mishap is due to us driving while using propane to cool the refrigerator ["Top RVing Mishaps," May 2010 issue of Family Motor Coaching magazine]. I understand that FMCA has "partnered" with them, but isn't that a little cya on the part of an insurance company?

I've been driving with the refrigerator on propane since my first 1974 motorhome.

I'm a first-month member and I wonder what this is about. Did GMAC pay for a multi-page ad or is there something else going on? So far, I'm a little disappointed in FMCA.

[tbutler]

You can drill for oil in the Gulf of Mexico for years; it only takes one disaster to change the whole game. What GMAC is saying is based on statistics and numbers, cold and hard numbers. The facts are what they are ...

[wolfe10]

A very large part of the equation (risk/reward) is whether you do the annual burner tune-up as outlined in your refrigerator owners manual and perform the proper propane system safety checks on a regular basis (PSI, leaks, frayed hoses, stressed metal lines, etc).

If you do the prescribed Preventive Maintenance, your risk will likely fall within the "very reasonable" range (My OPINION, not a legal recommendation).

Totally ignore the propane and refrigerator maintenance, and your risk WILL be higher.

Since many do not perform needed maintenance, statistical information WILL show higher risk. I do not question the data, but realistically, one must factor in whether these systems are maintained properly or just neglected to assess YOUR risk.

It has been suggested that your risk of food poisoning from turning off a refrigerator exceeds your risk of fire IF you properly maintain your systems.

Brett

[elkhartjim]

Bottom line is we should only use the refer on propane when we are parked, not moving. I wonder what the statistics are on refer's catching fire while parked vs driving at 60 mph. Since I don't boon dock I guess I'll never need to buy propane again. I'm glad now I have heat pumps.

The biggest burr under my saddle is I got duped into reading a three page advertisement from GMAC.

[Guest 2driftrs]

Last fall we replaced the Norcold fridge (10 years old) with an identical unit. When we pulled the old fridge, I was appalled to see that the vent pipe for the propane heater was almost tight against the sidewall of the compartment. The hot gases had charred the compartment wall. The new fridge had the same propane vent in the same place as the old one! Before installing the new fridge, we lined the inside of the compartment with thin galvanized sheet.

For 23 years in 3 different motorhomes, we've run the fridge on propane while traveling, while boondocking, and just about all other times when there's no shore power. Not really sure where GMAC gets their info, but one can't help wonder how many coaches out there have been built where the fridge is crammed into a wooden compartment.

[elkhartjim]

Interesting. GetMostlyAllCash (GMAC) has a different take than the RV industry does. After some research I've found that its not the propane heat its the heat period whether its electric or propane that causes the fire. There have been almost the same number of fires started when the refer is on electric as when on propane.

Of course since GMAC is a paid advertiser FMCA will not have comments.

I plan to call tomorrow and cancel my membership in FMCA. Any person with much experience would not only see the blatant bias in the three page commercial but the inexperience of the writer.

I wish you folks well and now I understand why FMCA is struggling to gain membership.

[wolfe10]

Interesting. GetMostlyAllCash (GMAC) has a different take than the RV industry does. After some research I've found that its not the propane heat its the heat period whether its electric or propane that causes the fire. There have been almost the same number of fires started when the refer is on electric as when on propane.

Of course since GMAC is a paid advertiser FMCA will not have comments.

I plan to call tomorrow and cancel my membership in FMCA. Any person with much experience would not only see the blatant bias in the three page commercial but the inexperience of the writer.

I wish you folks well and now I understand why FMCA is struggling to gain membership.

OK, you have made a total of three posts on the Forum-- all on the same subject-- we understand your position.

Other than that one sentence, what else did you find objectionable in three full pages of text in the "Top RVing Mishaps" article?

I doubt many will quit any organization that offers as much as FMCA does to motorhomers because of a disagreement over one sentence, but it is your decision.

BTW, I posted my opinion on this above.

Brett

[jmb1441@aol.com]

Glad to see that others are blown away by the insurance company's blanket statement "Do not drive with your refrigerator running on the propane setting" FMCA May, 2010 p. 37.

I too have been doing it all wrong since 1971, putting just under 200k on three motor homes in that period. First: I just couldn't afford an extension cord that long so just had to risk it. I'm much more fearful, after a long day's drive, about going to sleep at night on top of 100+ gallons of diesel and 40 gallons of lp gas in the basement, all the while with the furnace and heat pump, water heater and refrigerator periodically cycling 'on' and 'off' during the night. Maybe on about the same scale, I don't appreciate the guy in the next bunker building a logging fire next to my fuel tanks to light up the whole West Coast into the wee hours of the morning. Going down the road with the refrigerator keeping those T-bones cold seems mild by comparison.

Guess we campers are risk takers: driving motorhomes manufactured by defunct companies, and exposing ourselves to parking orginances, neighbors' dog waste, ax murderers, outrageous fuel prices and insurance policies written by expert draftsmen to exclude coverage for virtually all risks, either real or imagined, known or unknown. As an attorney for 47 years, I know all about that of which I speak.

Maintenance is certainly the name of the game. Do a good job and maybe you'll survive....at least for a few more outings. Far better than food poisoning from a hot refrigerator upon arriving at Quartzsite, AZ in mid-November. Happy motoring.

[tmoning]

Greg Helm, GMAC’s director of claims, explains why GMAC advised driving with the propone off:

“I think folks may be interpreting this as a fear of a fire being caused because the propane is on while driving. What we’re really getting at is that if an accident occurs while driving with the propane on, there is an increased risk of fire as a result of the propane being on/open. There are certainly safety procedures built into the RV, but they are not fail-safe.

“In the end, this is a personal choice that a customer has to make — the risk is small, but the results can be significant. Organizations focused on safety will side toward keeping the propane off almost universally.

“Having said that, if someone chooses to drive with the propane on and something happens, we still have coverage for that loss (provided all other policy conditions/coverages are in order).

“Our position is focused on safety, but we also understand the RV lifestyle and that there is a convenience aspect with this that a customer may weigh more heavily. We handle covered losses the same, whether the system was on propane or not. We do not use this as a reason to decline claims.”

[Guest Wayne77590]

Why didn't they put that horse in front of the cart when they wrote the article!!!

[dalltop]

If the objective is to prevent a fire if involved in an accident then the proper procedure would be to either turn off the propane detector which will shut off the propane to the coach by closing an electrical controlled valve located next to the manual shut off or to go outside and manually turn of the propane at the tank shut off valve.