If you’re going to be spending much time on the road in your new motorhome, one of the most relied-upon appliances in it is going to be your RV refrigerator.

Part of the lure of an RV is being able to live in it, no matter where you might be. Having a reliable refrigerator to keep your food cold and well preserved is essential.

First off, you have two basic choices when it comes to RV refrigerators:

- Propane
- Low voltage (12V)

Propane is the more common of the two, which factors into making your decision.

Because propane refrigerators are more widely used, there are more parts and repair companies out there than there are for the 12V models. This means that you’re going to be more likely to be able to get service for a propane fridge if you have problems while you’re on the road, saving you both time and money.

12V refrigerators can be less expensive, however, so if you’re looking to keep costs down you might want to lean this way. Just keep in mind that while you can save money up front, if you wind up having to replace it because you can’t get service or parts quickly while you’re traveling you could wind up spending more in the long term.

RV refrigerators are entirely different beasts from the fridge that you’ve got in your kitchen at home. As such, maintenance and day-to-day care is a bit different.

For one thing, you’re dealing with propane which can be extremely dangerous if it develops a leak. You should have a qualified service technician inspect and clean your refrigerator on an annual basis, generally at the beginning of travel season. And this is critical if you’re looking at a used model, since you may not know the history of it.

This annual inspection and maintenance is also required by some manufacturers’ warranties, so always check the warranty information to be sure you’re doing everything necessary to keep it valid.

Because refrigerators made for RVs are smaller and their cooling systems are not as strong as the full-size models you would have at home, there are several things you should keep in mind when storing food in them:

- Pre-cool your RV refrigerator before using it to store food
- Pre-cool your food in your home refrigerator if possible, to put less strain on the RV refrigerator’s cooling system
- Avoid putting warm food in an RV refrigerator as it will often double the time required to cool it down

There are several common brands of RV refrigerators, but they are not the same ones you’ll see at home so don’t worry if you don’t recognize the names right away.

The two most common brands you’ll find are Norcold and Dometic. They both offer several models and are both widely supported and serviced so you can’t really go wrong with either one.