Keeping things in the fridge from moving too much while in transit
NWescapee said
09:51 AM Nov 19, 2014
A recent arrival at a new campsite, after a very bumpy drive across I-40 had me cleaning out the inside of the fridge and wiping down every single item in the fridge. Why? Because something had tipped on its side while in transit and slowly leaked all over everything on the lower shelves. Since going on the road, I've always had things moving around a bit in the fridge, get to our next location and couldn't find the mustard or whatever else I was looking for as it had moved.
I've gotten very tired of everything moving around in the fridge, so I added 2 small trays to the fridge and put things like relish, mustard, sauces, etc. in those trays. Just had another move this past weekend and Yay, everything stayed in place. No spills, I'm not hunting for the jar of relish, it's exactly where it's supposed to be, etc.
I'm going to guess a lot of you already figured this out well before we did, but thought I'd share this tip for those of you that are new.
The Junkman said
10:06 AM Nov 19, 2014
They sell retainers.. look like small double shower curtain things.. for like $5.. I use them everywhere.. dish cabinets, bathroom , my desk.. They work pretty good too.
We bagged a couple pillows someone mentioned here, before that.. that worked too..
TRAILERKING said
10:35 AM Nov 19, 2014
I bought a BIG/HEAVY motorhome on air ride suspension. Rides smooth and stands its ground. The nice thing in a motorhome is "You're in the box with everything else" so you can tell if the road is too rough for the rig and drive accordingly.
Not so with a trailer bouncing down the road. You are riding in the seat of the tow vehicle while everything is agitated it the trailer. When we had trailers we'd open the door after traveling to find stuff on the floor rolling around, things in cupboards shuffled, fridge contents rearranged, you name it.
That's what I hated about a trailer.....No matter how cautious you drive that trailer is still bouncing and rocking without knowing how severe.
NWescapee said
12:53 PM Nov 19, 2014
We have used the retainers in the fridge, doesn't stop containers from turning sideways on any given shelf, unless of course you have the shelves packed so tightly nothing moves.
We've had an upgrade done on our truck with the suspension system so most of the time it rides fairly smoothly and yes, we slow down when we hit highways like I-40 that have long bumpy stretches. I wasn't trying to start a discussion on the suspension, MH vs 5th wheel etc., I was trying provide a hint on keeping items in place in the fridge.
The Junkman said
12:59 PM Nov 19, 2014
Yea.. pack it.. pack it all on one shelf if needed.. thats exactly what we do..
Some one mentioned those swimming pool doodle things.. went looking.. out of season I guess... I guess cutting up pipe insulation could do the same thing..
The Bear II said
01:04 PM Nov 19, 2014
X-2 Pack it tight and use the tension rods
A friend uses the air pillows that come in shipping boxes now days. They stuff them on top and between stuff to prevent movement.
NWescapee said
01:17 PM Nov 19, 2014
So, if we don't have enough "stuff" in the fridge to pack it tight, the suggestion is to use pool noodles? I think I like my tightly packed plastic bins with the option to leave empty space on the shelf. Especially since I already bought them
TRAILERKING said
03:12 PM Nov 19, 2014
NWescapee wrote:
So, if we don't have enough "stuff" in the fridge to pack it tight, the suggestion is to use pool noodles? I think I like my tightly packed plastic bins with the option to leave empty space on the shelf. Especially since I already bought them
As the title read.....
Keeping things in the fridge from moving too much while in transit
You seem offended........
You gave your idea for a solution. Now many others are giving their ideas and solutions.
So, what's wrong with that??
Terry and Jo said
04:14 PM Nov 19, 2014
TRAILERKING wrote:
NWescapee wrote:
So, if we don't have enough "stuff" in the fridge to pack it tight, the suggestion is to use pool noodles? I think I like my tightly packed plastic bins with the option to leave empty space on the shelf. Especially since I already bought them
As the title read.....
Keeping things in the fridge from moving too much while in transit
You seem offended........
You gave your idea for a solution. Now many others are giving their ideas and solutions.
So, what's wrong with that??
Bernie,
I don't think Ruth has been offended. Perhaps you are reading things wrong.
We do about the same as Ruth by having small bins/tubs with 3 or 4 items in each one. I also don't think I'd want to put pool noodles in our refrigerator.
Terry
TRAILERKING said
04:18 PM Nov 19, 2014
Oops..............Sorry Terry.
There I go reading things wrong again.
TheNewhalls said
04:30 PM Nov 19, 2014
I think noodles are a good idea.
NWescapee said
06:41 PM Nov 19, 2014
Nope, not offended. Just feeling like the topic of the post was changing, wasn't meaning to talk about suspension and had been frustrated with things moving, especially when it resulted in the sticky mess I had to clean up when it was syrup. I hadn't thought at all about pool noodles but was pleased with the end result of my decision to use some small trays to keep things contained. Just trying to share something it took me a while to learn.
PD CFK said
08:25 PM Nov 19, 2014
Our 5th wheel has A 2 door refrigerator, and things are so tightly stuffed in that I rarely have this problem! But every once in a while we hit a bad spot in the road. Actually it only takes one really severe bump and you never know when it's coming! Pat K.
bjoyce said
08:43 PM Nov 19, 2014
We use refrigerator bars and luckily all the small stuff fits in the door, so it is contained. Even with a heavy diesel pusher, doing evasive maneuvers or hitting a surprise pothole can cause stuff to shift, in the fridge and in cabinets.
The Junkman said
09:00 PM Nov 19, 2014
I was just sharing what has worked for me.. and what i read worked for others.. I'm sure there is 100's of solutions.. good luck.
WestWardHo said
05:39 AM Nov 20, 2014
Ruth,
After a few trips like yours when I had to clean pickle or orange juice in spite of using bars, someone (Bill Joyce?) suggested earlier on this forum the plastic bins as you found. It worked so well for us keeping the fridge cleaner and more organized that I've moved them into our home fridge.
Sherry
Camper Chronicles said
09:02 AM Nov 20, 2014
I put anything leakable in the sides and make sure it is packed full on each shelf. For the top rack I put one - two big bottles of water and then place items that can tip between them. So far its worked ok. For the middle racks I put non leakable items (ie: butter) and the eggs go in the very bottom drawer with lunch meat etc on top of them. The other suggestion is to use your cooler if it's a relatively short trip but that's kind of a pain in the butt.
Hdrider said
02:09 PM Nov 20, 2014
We use the clear plastic organizer bins as well as spring loaded curtain rods mainly. But we did buy a product called Shelf Hogs that we blow up and they help fill in the voids.
Dog Folks said
04:55 PM Nov 20, 2014
We may be doing things wrong, but for 8 years we have used tension bars.
Push every thing you have to the rear of the shelf they are sitting on so that everything is tight.
Put the tension bar in front and against the items. No extra space to fill in that way, no room for items to tip over.
Works for us.
Rob and Cheryl O said
02:01 PM Jul 4, 2016
So many great ideas! Ya'll are awesome!!!
Barbaraok said
10:36 PM Jul 4, 2016
The Junkman wrote:
They sell retainers.. look like small double shower curtain things.. for like $5.. I use them everywhere.. dish cabinets, bathroom , my desk.. They work pretty good too.
We bagged a couple pillows someone mentioned here, before that.. that worked too..
We use the small expandable rods mainly in the cup boards. Each of our shelves in the frig as a retaining bar build in, plus small items go in the door cubbies and we have a couple of clear boxes of other things that are small.
A recent arrival at a new campsite, after a very bumpy drive across I-40 had me cleaning out the inside of the fridge and wiping down every single item in the fridge. Why? Because something had tipped on its side while in transit and slowly leaked all over everything on the lower shelves. Since going on the road, I've always had things moving around a bit in the fridge, get to our next location and couldn't find the mustard or whatever else I was looking for as it had moved.
I've gotten very tired of everything moving around in the fridge, so I added 2 small trays to the fridge and put things like relish, mustard, sauces, etc. in those trays. Just had another move this past weekend and Yay, everything stayed in place. No spills, I'm not hunting for the jar of relish, it's exactly where it's supposed to be, etc.
I'm going to guess a lot of you already figured this out well before we did, but thought I'd share this tip for those of you that are new.
We bagged a couple pillows someone mentioned here, before that.. that worked too..
Not so with a trailer bouncing down the road. You are riding in the seat of the tow vehicle while everything is agitated it the trailer. When we had trailers we'd open the door after traveling to find stuff on the floor rolling around, things in cupboards shuffled, fridge contents rearranged, you name it.
That's what I hated about a trailer.....No matter how cautious you drive that trailer is still bouncing and rocking without knowing how severe.
We've had an upgrade done on our truck with the suspension system so most of the time it rides fairly smoothly and yes, we slow down when we hit highways like I-40 that have long bumpy stretches. I wasn't trying to start a discussion on the suspension, MH vs 5th wheel etc., I was trying provide a hint on keeping items in place in the fridge.
Some one mentioned those swimming pool doodle things.. went looking.. out of season I guess... I guess cutting up pipe insulation could do the same thing..
A friend uses the air pillows that come in shipping boxes now days. They stuff them on top and between stuff to prevent movement.
So, if we don't have enough "stuff" in the fridge to pack it tight, the suggestion is to use pool noodles? I think I like my tightly packed plastic bins with the option to leave empty space on the shelf. Especially since I already bought them
As the title read.....
You seem offended........
You gave your idea for a solution. Now many others are giving their ideas and solutions.
So, what's wrong with that??
Bernie,
I don't think Ruth has been offended. Perhaps you are reading things wrong.
We do about the same as Ruth by having small bins/tubs with 3 or 4 items in each one. I also don't think I'd want to put pool noodles in our refrigerator.
Terry
There I go reading things wrong again.
I think noodles are a good idea.
After a few trips like yours when I had to clean pickle or orange juice in spite of using bars, someone (Bill Joyce?) suggested earlier on this forum the plastic bins as you found. It worked so well for us keeping the fridge cleaner and more organized that I've moved them into our home fridge.
Sherry
Push every thing you have to the rear of the shelf they are sitting on so that everything is tight.
Put the tension bar in front and against the items. No extra space to fill in that way, no room for items to tip over.
Works for us.
We use the small expandable rods mainly in the cup boards. Each of our shelves in the frig as a retaining bar build in, plus small items go in the door cubbies and we have a couple of clear boxes of other things that are small.