So, pardon the newbie question here - when the books say that you should have the fridge as level as possible to keep it working properly do they mean when the fridge is in operation or all the time (ie, when the RV is resting in your driveway at home, not in use). Our driveway isn't very flat and we wonder just how much effort we should put into leveling the rig at home.
Only when using while stationery. If using while in motion, the movement of the RV keeps the stuff moving around.
My brother-in-law ruined his fridge when he had his RV parked in his driveway which was pretty unlevel. It was there for several weeks, and he thought it would be OK as long as the fridge was not turned on, but he found out the hard way that is not true--for his fridge anyway.
The RV and fridge should be allowed to sit stored in an un-level position, as long as the fridge Is turned off. Is it possible your brother in law tried to cool it down for a few hours in his driveway? The reason these RV fridges need to be level, is that they use a different gas to cool other than freon. If unlevel, they can develop crystals in the cooling system I'm low spots that will clog and damage it beyond repair.
I really have no idea. That happened about 5-6 years ago the the MH itself was older than that--probably about a 2004 model, so possibly things are different now. I just know it did happen because it sat unlevel too long (at least according to the repair tech).
So we spent some time really getting the camper level beside the house and even built a little walkway to it with paving stones so we can dash out there in the rain without taking grass clippings and dirt into the camper. It looks better level anyway