Having an RV fridge is a little bit different than having a regular residential style refrigerator. RV fridges are NOT frost free like residential ones so as moisture gets into the freezer things tend to get a bit icy. The back wall of our freezer gets a thick layer of ice that we have to defrost every few months. We’ve even seen some freezers get a layer of ice on the top or bottom too!
The plus side of RV fridges is that they have the option to run off of electricity or propane. This makes them a great option for boondocking(dry camping)! The down side is that they can be a bit smaller than a residential fridge, have no ice maker, and of course the dreaded defrosting of the freezer every few months!
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How quickly the ice builds up in your freezer will depend on a couple factors.
- How often you’re opening/closing the freezer door
- How long you have the door open when getting something out/putting something in
- How much moisture is in the air in a given location
There are several different methods to defrost your freezer. The one I’m sharing with you today is the method we’ve used from day one and is what’s worked the best for us. As with anything, do your own research and use common sense (aka don’t hold your hair dryer in one spot and melt the wall of the freezer)!
Equipment Needed:
- Hair Dryer
- Lots of Towels
- Scraper
- Bowl or Cup
- Cleaner of Your Choice
- Paper Towels
How to Defrost Your RV Freezer:
- You’ll want to first start by removing items from your freezer. We typically put our freezer items into the fridge. You could also put them in a cooler or insulated bag if you prefer. I like to try to wait to defrost when my freezer / fridge is almost empty and I’m needing to do a grocery trip. That way when I do my shopping I’ll have a nice clean fridge to put our food in.
2. Once all your items are moved out of the freezer, you’ll shut off the the fridge. If you put your freezer items in the fridge like I did, you’ll want to refrain from getting into the fridge until you’re ready to move the items back to the freezer. This process shouldn’t take very long so the food should be okay staying in there for a bit with the fridge turned off.
3. Now time for the fun part! You’ll take your hair dryer and start warming up and melting the ice. Make sure not to hold the hair dryer in one spot and move it around. As the ice begins to soften and melt you can use a tool to start scraping away and getting the big chunks off.
4. You’ll want lots of towels on hand as this can get a bit messy. You can use the towels to help sop up the ice that has melted. You can also use a cup or a bowl to to dump out the water into your sink.
5. Once most of the water is out and the ice is completely melted, you’ll want to finish drying out the freezer. Remember that any extra moisture you don’t wipe up will turn to frost when the freezer gets turned back on! I like to take the opportunity to wipe the freezer down with cleaner in case there are any food spills and since I’m already in there I might as well!
6. When your freezer is completely dry, go ahead and close the doors and turn the fridge back on. Before you return your frozen items to the freezer, you’ll want to wait until it gets nice and cold. I suggest using a temperature sensor in both your fridge and freezer to make sure they’re at the proper temperature.
7. Your freezer is cold so you’re good to put your frozen items back into the freezer and you’re done! Pretty simple right?
Additional Tips:
- Try to wait to defrost your freezer until it is mostly empty. Doing it with a fully stocked freezer and fridge will just make your life more difficult.
- Avoid storing fresh/warm foods in open containers. These types of items give off lots of water vapor.
- Limit time the doors are open.
- Cooling efficiency depends on air circulation- so pack items loosely and avoid shelf liners.
- Use a sensor to monitor the temperatures of both your fridge and freezer.
- The coldest part of your freezer is typically the bottom left (you’ll thank me when your ice cream doesn’t melt!).
We hope this helps prepare you for defrosting your freezer! Have you defrosted yours a different way? If so we’d love to know how you do yours!
This is such good information! One of our must haves was a residential fridge in ours so we haven’t ran into this yet (not sure if we will?) but if we do at least I have this awesome guide!!
Thanks Jodie!! We got a great deal on our rig so we didn’t have much choice when it came to the fridge – it’s actually pretty spacious for an RV fridge. I do miss having an ice maker though 😱 too many ice trays in this freezer lol 😂
This is so helpful Megan! I have people ask me this and I never know what to tell them because we have a residential fridge. Now I will be sending them to this! 🙌🏼
Yayyyy! Send them my way 😂🙌🏼 Always happy to help out a fellow RVer.
Where was this when I needed it last week!? Such a great post – thank you!
Hahaha oh no!!! I wished I had known!
Do you realize how BADLY I needed this?!😂 This was super helpful and informative! I didn’t even know where to start!! Thank you!!
LOL 🤣 I’m so glad you found it helpful!
We left the freezer door slightly open the other day and woke up the next morning to all the ice build up. This would have been super helpful have I seen it earlier. Thanks Megan!
Oh no! 🤦🏻♀️ Too bad I didn’t have this out sooner!
I had no idea how to do this, thank you for such great advice when we need to do this to our freezer!