Problem cluster
RV refrigerator problems
Absorption and compressor fridges fail differently. Which you have decides the diagnosis.
- RV refrigerator not cooling
Before anything else, establish which kind of refrigerator you have. An absorption unit is a chemistry set that needs to be near level and needs airflow behind it; a compressor unit is essentially a household fridge that needs adequate DC voltage. The same symptom means different things on each, and most "failed" absorption fridges turn out to be level or ventilation problems.
Safe to drive - RV refrigerator works on gas but not electric
This is one of the most useful symptoms in RV refrigeration, because it eliminates the expensive part. Both modes heat the same cooling unit, so if gas cools properly the cooling unit is demonstrably fine. The fault sits in the electric side alone: the heating element, its supply, or the control that switches it.
Safe to drive - RV refrigerator works on electric but not propane
As with the reverse symptom, this eliminates the cooling unit — electric cooling proves it works. The fault is on the gas side: propane supply, the valve, the burner, or flame sensing. The difference is that this side is a combustion system with a vented exhaust, so the diagnosis stops being owner work much earlier.
Safe to drive
For the system as a whole rather than a single symptom, see RV refrigerator repair.
Not sure which of these you have? Structured triage starts from what you observed instead.
Next step
Work through structured triage for this system and you will end up with a written service brief: what you observed, in what order, and what has not been established yet. It is the document that lets a technician quote properly instead of guessing on arrival.
Being straight about what this is. No technician is signed to any territory yet — not one. We do not match you, dispatch anyone, or promise a call. What you get is the brief, and a request form that copies it to us so we know the demand is real. If you need someone today, take the brief and send it to a local technician directly; it works just as well that way.