Smooth Trips Start With a Cold Fridge

Everything You Need to Know to Keep Your Caravan Fridge Chilled and Your Snacks Safe

🌡️ The Importance of a Cold Fridge (and Not a Funky One)

There are two types of people when it comes to caravan fridges:

• Those who pre-cool and ride like royalty.
• And those crying into their warm yoghurt by day two of the trip.

Avoid the soggy heartbreak by treating your fridge like a VIP BEFORE the engine starts. A cold fridge is the backbone of trip happiness. It keeps your food fresh, your beers frosty, and your in-laws from starting a riot before lunchtime.

⏰ THE 24-HOUR CHILL RULE 🔁

This one’s non-negotiable, fellow road warriors: you must turn on your fridge a full 24 HOURS before departure.

🎩 “But I turned mine on an hour ago!”
That’s adorable. And now your lettuce thinks it’s being slow roasted on MasterChef.

Start your fridge! Run it on 240V overnight. Give it time to reach your desired temperature (ideally 2–4ºC for fridge, -15ºC for freezer).

Your food will thank you. Your fridge will thank you. Your nose will definitely thank you.

❄️ Pre-Chill Your Food

Packing warm drinks straight from the pantry into your caravan fridge is like asking it to perform CPR on 15 sausages and a block of cheddar — in a heatwave.

👉 Instead, pre-chill everything in your home fridge the night before. It reduces the workload on your caravan fridge and keeps internal temps stable.

🧊 Bonus: frozen water bottles double as backup cooling and emergency hydration.

🧊 Pro Packing Tips: Become a Chill Ninja

DO:

✅ Leave room for air to circulate – vents need space to do their job.
✅ Use storage bins, baskets, or tubs for easy access.
✅ Pack heavier, frozen items at the base for optimal cooling.

DON’T:

🚫 Treat the fridge like a game of Jenga.
🚫 Open the door 30 times to “check it’s still cold.” It is.
🚫 Put hot leftovers in without cooling them first – they’ll warm the whole fridge faster than Uncle Kev warms his seat by the fire.

📦Optional Ninja Gear:
Add a mini battery fridge fan inside for air circulation mastery.
It’s like a secret fridge storm. Silent. Deadly. Cold.

🚐 Travel Day: Keep It Cool on the Move

When you're on the road, here’s how to keep the fridge doing its thing:

• Use 12V if wired properly(or gas if you’re stationary and safe to do so).
• Frozen water bottles make great cold storage companions.
• Limit door opening— every peek is a tropical breeze inside your fridge.

🧰 Not sure if your fridge can run on 12V while towing?

👉 Ask the team at Everything Caravans! We’ll help you decode issues faster than a kid finds snacks.

🚨 Fridge Not Cooling? Don’t Panic! (Okay, Maybe Panic a Little)

Before throwing the entire appliance out the window, try this:

• Is the van 100% level? 3 way fridges are drama queens when tilted.
• Check the seals— do the dollar-bill test (Place a note across the seal and close the door, there should be drag on the note - if not then the seal is not working.
• Is there ammonia smell or yellow residue at the back? Sign of a failed cooling unit. (Time to bring it in.)

📅 Book a service at Everything Caravans - our techs are fridge whisperers.

🔧 Must-Have Cold Gear for Every Trip

Keep your fridge cold and stress levels low with these essentials:

🌀 Portable Fridge Fans – For cool air circulation.
🧲 Fridge Shade Screen – More chill, less solar sizzle.
🛠️ Levelling Gear – Every degree counts.
💨 Fridge Seals – Keep that cold in.

🙌 The Final Chill: What You Really Need to Remember

🥬 Cold food starts cold
🧊 Your fridge needs 24 hours
🚐 Pack smart and don’t overstuff
🧃 Keep it sealed on the road
🛠️ And call us if anything smells weird (especially the cheese)

With these tips, your fridge becomes the VIP it was born to be, and your trip will be smoother than a freshly poured concrete slab.

🛒 Shop In Store or Online

📍 Visit us at our Melbourne HQ
🧑 🔧 Ask our team questions Mon–Fri or Saturdays till 1pm
🚚 Get super fast shipping across Australia

👉 Shop Cooling Products ›

👉 Contact Us for Fridge Help ›

🎯 Share this with your travel crew– because nothing ruins a holiday faster than dairy at 25 degrees.

Smooth trips start with a cold fridge.

Everything you need to make that happen? Right here.

🔽 BONUS RESOURCE

🆓 Want a printableFridge Pre-Trip Checklist? Click below to download our free PDF!

👉Download the Checklist

Here is information on testing your fridge if its not cooling as well as you would like.