Fridge working (or not)on a slope

[getaway]

Prior to leaving for a trip, I park my van in my drive which has a slope of about 10-15 degrees, and I find that the fridge will not start, presumably because of the slope. So far, I have levelled off by driving up a pair of ramps, which solves the problem. However, this a bit nerve racking as the ramps are basic car type and not big enough for 205x70 tyres. Two questions: what is the max angle of slope that I can expect the fridge to work at, and can anyone suggest a source for heavy duty ramps. Many thanks for all answers!

[Derek Uzzell]

getaway

 

My John Wickersham's "The Motorcaravan Manual" (every motorcaravan owner should have one) says the following:

 

"All Electrolux refrigerators manufactured before 1986 had to be completely level to operate. A tilt in excess of 2-3° could impair operation. Since this date, all higher specification models are described as 'tilt tolerant'. Some models will operate at an angle of 3° (eg RM122 and RM4206); others at 6° (eg RM4217, RM4237 and RM4271)."

 

So your 10-15 degrees of incline is way outside any 3-way fridge's design parameters.

 

I can't help much with your heavy-duty ramps question. GOOGLE throws up plenty of potential suppliers, but it depends on how heavy your vehicle weighs, how high you need to lift it, the slope of the ramp (the shallower the better really) and how much you are prepared to fork out. You may find the best solution would be to get a couple of ramps made to your exact requirements by a local metal fabricator.

[Silicongyro]

getaway

 

You could try parking on the drive the other way round. I have a Electrolux RM6505 and on the couple of occasions it stopped working when we parked on sites with a significant slopes we turned the 'van round and fridge worked OK. We find cab end downhill gives a problem, but never with cab end up hill !

silicongyro