As your RV drives (or is towed) down the road, the twisting of its frame and body can cause a variety of things to move or get jostled, including the contents of the fridge. Worse yet, if your RV refrigerator’s door OPENS while driving, you could have a real mess on your hands when you get where you’re going.
So, in this post, we’re providing 6 different ways that you can remedy the situation. Most of the options are neither expensive nor complicated… but all of them are effective (as long as you remember to use them 😉).
Why Your RV Refrigerator Door Opens While Driving
When we’re driving or towing a home on wheels, we roll over miles of terrain. We turn left, we turn right, we brake, we encounter potholes and all sorts of road conditions. As we do so, the twisting of the RV’s frame and body, along with the weight of the refrigerator contents pressing against the door(s), can be enough to overcome the little latches that normally hold the doors of an RV fridge closed.
In addition, if your fridge is older, the door seal & latches might have weakened over time. For more information on that issue, please check out our post on how to test refrigerator door seals. But even if you’ve got a good strong seal and working latches, there’s a distinct possibility that you still may have difficulty keeping your RV fridge doors secured during travel.
RVing to beautiful locations can often mean long trips down less-developed roads… and no one wants to arrive with the contents of their fridge on the floor.
Traditional RV refrigerators usually have latches that resist opening when the RV is in motion. Residential-style refrigerators don’t, since they were engineered for use in stationary homes. So, while it’s more common to need a solution to the fridge doors opening when driving for residential-style fridges, the latches on RV fridges aren’t a guarantee, either.
Add to all of that the fact that the CONTENTS of the refrigerator can (and will!) shift around while the RV’s on the road, and you can see how easy it can be for those contents to end up on the floor.
Tips For Keeping Your RV’s Fridge Doors Closed While Driving
There are many ways to accomplish this task… and the best choice will depend on the type of refrigerator you have, where it’s mounted, etc. But, on the bright side, you usually don’t need to apply a whole lot of pressure against the doors to keep them from opening while you drive, so let’s check out some of the ways to do this:
Velcro Straps
This idea is useful, especially if you have a French Door refrigerator (like the residential fridge we had in our Mountain Aire). We actually did this with our fridge. We used some velcro straps to wrap around the fridge door handles to keep them from flying open. A simple, inexpensive, effective remedy to the problem of RV refrigerator doors opening while you’re driving.
- ✅【Size and Application】- At 2 inches wide and 12 inches long (Max. 18.9 inches stretch). The ideal range for wrapping is 2 inches to 4.8 inches...
- ✅【Elastic and Versatile】- While many other straps are limited in terms of length, Trilancer 12-inch elastic cinch straps can be stretched to...
Fridge Strap (French Doors)
This is another option for French doors on RV fridges. These fridge straps function in the same way as the Velcro straps we used on the residential fridge doors of our motorhome. Simply secure them around the handles to keep the doors from opening as you drive.
- This is a newly designed child safety product. We have installed a red switch on the plastic buckle of the cabinet safety lock to prevent children...
- Durable design: Made of high-quality nylon hook and loop strap and plastic lock buckle, the plastic buckle design is to reduce the reuse of hook and...
Bungee Cord or Strap
Another option is to install the appropriately sized eyelets alongside your RV refrigerator door(s) and use a strap or bungee cord to stretch across the doors to hold them shut. We used this method to secure the bottom freezer drawer on our residential fridge in our motorhome.
Following are a bungee cord option as well as an example of the eyelets needed. You’d want to measure to make sure you’re buying the right size bungee cord for your needs and select the proper size eyelets as well (NOTE: it may be easier to buy bungee cords and eyelets at a local hardware store or at big box stores like Lowes, Home Depot, etc. so you can be sure they’ll work properly together before installing anything).
- 18" carabiner bungee cords
- Max stretch about 3 feet
- 【Heavy duty】 This screw eye hook is specially designed for heavy duty applications and can hold objects weighing up to 200-300 pounds. It can be...
- 【High Quality】 These hook screws are made of 304 stainless steel and have excellent rust, water and corrosion resistance. Ideal for indoor and...
Child-Safe Closures
There are also inexpensive child-safe closures that are made to keep little ones out of areas that might be dangerous to them (such as household cabinets and the like). These can work well to secure an RV fridge, preventing the doors from opening while you’re driving. This is a package of two, but they also come in a pack of eight if you have other cabinets you need to keep closed.
- Get the most multipurpose locks for a variety of storage spaces or kitchen appliances at a bargain basement-price
- What You Get: 2 multi-purpose cabinet locks that has a high grade 3M adhesive. Flexible strap means you can bend around items from toilet seats to...
Cabinet Locks
Similarly, cabinet locks like these can work to secure RV fridge or cabinet doors on travel days. These come with adhesive tape, so they’re easy to install. You simply peel off the film to expose the adhesive and stick the latch to a clean, smooth door surface. We’re not sure how well the adhesive stands the test of time and travel, so read real-life reviews before purchasing, as always.
- Keep Kids Safe: KongNai baby cabinet safety latches design for Designed to protect children from dangerous goods in cabinets. Compared with straps...
- Easy To Install: This pantry lock comes with adhesive tapes, easy to install. Just need to peel off the film of adhesive and stick the babyproof...
Adjustable Refrigerator Bars/Tension Rods
And finally, these adjustable refrigerator bars are great for keeping items inside the fridge from moving around and pushing your RV fridge door open from the inside. In addition, they solve the problem of opening your fridge when you arrive at your destination and having the contents spill out all over you!
- Why You Need: RVGUARD refrigerator bar can help you keep things tidy, prevent objects from falling, and maintain order in the RV refrigerator and...
- Adjustable Size: The RV double refrigerator rod can be adjusted between 16 and 28 inches. The internal spring has sufficient tension to meet the needs...
How Do You Keep Your RV Fridge Doors Closed While You’re Driving?
We’d love to know how you keep your RV’s refrigerator doors closed during travel. Leave us a comment and let us know! And for our tips for making sure things stay good and cold in your RV fridge, see our post offering our RV refrigeration maintenance tips!
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Bruce
Sunday 9th of November 2025
We installed an apartment size 7.5 Cu.ft all electric fridge when the OEM electric fridge finally died in out 1977 GMC motorhome. We used child lock straps to hold it closed will traveling. They work great! https://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/g6634-all-electric-fridge-by-avanti.html
D Francis
Sunday 9th of November 2025
We use a velco strap similar to what is shown above on the fridge doors. Simple and secure.
We also put one of our small storage ottoman footstools we use in front of the bottom freezer slide out and the opposing wall to keep it from sliding open.
https://amzn.to/4hR7hPj
We also went to plastic food organizer bins to keep things in place after we got the big surprise of opening the door and things falling out on us.
They were just a hair long and sat on one side of the plastic spill retainer around the edge of the shelf, so I used a ginder to get rid of the little feet and make the bottom flat
https://amzn.to/3JPWhVI
To keep the organizers in place we added cabinet door bumper cushions as feet to keep them more secure and not slide
https://amzn.to/4nSiGzH
TheRVgeeks
Sunday 9th of November 2025
Nice! Thanks for taking the time to share your solution(s), D! You never know what will help out someone else!
Hank
Sunday 9th of November 2025
This suction cup device works very well for us. https://amzn.to/43VnaOH
TheRVgeeks
Sunday 9th of November 2025
Interesting, Hank! How are you using this to help stop your fridge doors from opening? Do you mount it between the fridge and freezer doors (i.e. so it's suctioning them to each other)? Or somewhere else?
Kat
Sunday 10th of November 2024
To keep our refrigerator closed during travel, we use cabinet locks similar to what you've shown here. Caveat: Since our fridge protrudes a few inches from the wall, I installed 90-degree angled locks. I used 3M/VHB tape to adhere the locks. Works like a charm.
Peter Crosby
Sunday 10th of November 2024
I went through a year of looking for easy fixes. Then I got serious. I found that I needed to lift the non-hinge side just a bit to get the lock to latch. So,I removed the trim below the refrigerator door. Looked for a mounting spot and attached a steel "L" I made to hold the door up when closing. It takes the weight off the hinge. On the part of the L that sticks out from the bottom of the door o rolled a quarter inch hole for a clinch pin. Now the door does not droop, the factory latch works and the door can not open until the pin is removed. They should be built this way to start with. I did cut the trim to fit the latch and placed the trim back on.