RE: Fridge
You're right Ellen, a whole bunch of refrigerator threads of late, almost as
bad as tires..:)
Question: What type of cooling system does your Norcold have, evaporative
like th Dometic stock Westy fridge or a compressor like the Norcold DC0040
that some of us have installed.  If the former then yes, you  don't want to
try to run off the battery in camp, will pull the battery down very fast.
But if compressor type then you might well bet by with up to a couple of
days without charging the battery.
As for cooling the 'fridge with ice, BTDT, and so has Phil Zimmerman.  I had
been getting no cooling on propane for better than a year on the Dometic.
On a couple of trips I used a larger plastic bottle filled with ice (and
refreshed every day) in the 'fridge to keep it cool.  Kept things to about
40 degrees or a little higher.  But also took up a lot of room.  Phil did
the same thing on a trip a couple of years ago before he got his Dometic
working right.
But a bigger '5 Day' cooler also works great.  Put it outside at night with
something heavy on top to keep the raccoons out and use the refrigerator for
dry storage.  BTDT too.