Caravan and car power

Thanks all - I mean the battery isolation switch - should I have left it on to ensure the slave battery was used and not the car battery? I am not aware of any isolation switch between the car and the van - the anderson plug is not connected via the accessories switch. If I was to turn the fridge off completely then all would have defrosted.

Quote "If I was to turn the fridge off completely then all would have defrosted."

If you cook your fridge up properly for some time after you last open the fridge before you embark your fridge should be OK. Best do that on a night crossing although it is still fairly cool in the hold on day time crossings.

We did a night time crossing in February. We turned the gas up a bit in the afternoon. Half an hour after eating after having our evening meal we headed for the ferry and the fridge was not opened until the quarantine inspection in Tasmania. We then drove to Burnie and did some shopping. When we opened the fridge again to stow our food the freezer contents were somewhat mushy. We then booked into the park at Somerset and refroze the fridge.

It's OK to refreeze food if it has not been thawed out of a fridge and there are still some ice crystal in it. The instruction to not refreeze frozen food is not the complete instruction. The only food you should not refreeze is food that has been thawed out of the fridge. If your fridge has been warmed somewhat you should reduce the keeping time of your food, but who keeps food very long in a caravan fridge, you don't have the capacity to keep much. We also arrange so we do not have food like chicken that is a little touchy regarding not being kept properly during periods when we know the fridge will be warmed a bit.