Could you safely leave your R-Pod at a friends house for a day or two before you leave?  At least that way you could run the fridge off your new battery and make sure everything is working satisfactory before leaving.  Sorry to hear about the thievery going on - a sign of our society unfortunately.

Not a good idea to block the airflow from your vents, after ignition/firing of gas at the combustion chamber, heat goes up through your chimney, air temp increases behind the fridge, your bi-metal switch engages causing your muffin fan (s) to kick on and commence the cooling process.  If vents are covered, the above will still happen but the fans will not be allowed to bring in cool air from below and expel the hot air from above causing the cooling ability to be severely restricted.

Have you installed screens over your two vents on the rear side of your fridge?  If not it would be highly recommended to purchase a can of compressed air and blow out the spot around the combustion area as well as up the cooling stack, from below, as well as from the top of the cooling stack, shooting air down.  It only takes a small spider web or bee nest or other debris to cause the fridge to perform less than optimal or not at all.

If things look pretty clean behind your fridge then try to light it with your new group size 27 battery and make sure you have some propane in your tank and that it is turned on as well.  If it lights after one or a few attempts, you should be good to go.

I always start my 'fridge on gas the day before I leave and switch to battery on the road.  I believe the owner's manual (such as it is) tells you to do that.  There is enough power available through my 7 circuit trailer wiring to maintain the battery.  This works quite well. 

I use a simple solar panel/controller to maintain my battery in storage. 

Controller

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Q820UK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Panel

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IFJ73X4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

i have a battery disconnect.  A larger panel, or a sunnier location and this system would keep the battery up without a disconnect. 

Originally posted by StephenH One caveat though. Make sure you have a fully charged battery. If it has been sitting unused (unless you have a battery disconnect or you removed a terminal) the battery is likely discharged. The refrigerator needs 12V power to run the electronics and to light the flame (no pilot light, but electric ignition). If the battery is charged, then you will be okay for a few days if the battery is fully charged to start.

Didn't think of this until now I guess because we usually boondock.  Does the electric ignition of the RM 8501 fridge only work off the 12v battery or would it also function off 120v shore power?

What you propose is an excellent idea.  Actually the fridge will cool down quicker using propane vs. shore power.  We normally allow 24 hours to totally cool the fridge down but have cut that in 1/2 by adding a few ice blocks (or similar) when cooling down.  Put in both freezer and fridge.  Also when adding your food make sure it is already cooled down from your fridge at home (but you likely already knew that).  Just covering the bases.

Also, check your 12v battery and make sure it is at least 12.72v to begin with.  The fridge uses very little 12v power but it is necessary to power the mother board/display panel.