How To Install A Fridge Slide In A Ute

Richardson Winget1952 · Tuesday, 14 December 2021

6th January 2015,01:52 PM #1

Removable fridge slide setup

Hi, looking for inspiration here!
Considering setting up my D4 (7 seat SE) with a fridge slide for a trip we're planning to Fraser Island but would like to be able to remove the setup when back driving around town.

Was thinking a plywood base (covered in Frontrunner) with an access hole for the spare, maybe using the tie down loops with longer bolts to hold it in place (negating the need to fix with any new holes), with the fridge slide attached.

Anybody done something similar?

Thanks in advance...

David

6th January 2015,03:05 PM #2

Removable fridge slide setup

This was posted in a few days ago. Heaps of good information:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/showthread.php?p=2217512

6th January 2015,03:26 PM #3

Thanks for that Drizzle. I did see that thread and it is very helpful.
I was looking more to just sort the fridge slide (keeping it all a bit lower in the cargo area) than to add drawers. I think I can fit a bit more in the back without drawers - happy to be corrected on that though?

6th January 2015,03:36 PM #4

Hi,
I have just been in the garage seeing if the Waeco fridge slide would fit in the D4. I use to have it set up in a Pajero.
I have a false floor which sites on top of the existing floor BUT I am having problems where when I pull out the slide it hits the fold down door of the D4.

This means I will have to raise the slide a bit further to allow the slide to be pulled out. So far still thinking of best way to do this.

Richard

6th January 2015,03:40 PM #5

Thanks wbowner
I wouldn't have thought of that - without looking at it too hard I assumed the tailgate was flush with the cargo area. I'm have another look at this later tonight.

How high is your false floor?

Let us know if you have a light bulb moment and solve the problem!

David

6th January 2015,03:44 PM #6

I think you will find its about 40mm from memory the amount the slope has to be.

6th January 2015,04:39 PM #7

My false floor is made from 15mm ply and is carpeted, bringing it to about 20mm.
The 40mm mentioned above seems right at a minimum. I did a bit of a test and found I had to at least double the width of the false floor. I will repeat tomorrow if I get a chance and get some more accurate figures.

The trouble is, when you start thinking you have to raise it you start to consider how you will support it and if raising may as well go higher so you can stuff things underneath it as is done with the draw systems.

In my set up (as used in my Pajero) I had a frame that went around the fridge with a shelf on the top. The trouble now is if I raise the floor to much the over all size of the frame will be to high.(I have restriction imposed by SWMBO as she reckons she is a short arse and wants to see out the back window). I would hate to have a space under the floor I could use for something

It may be easier to just start again and not try and use my old set up.

Richard

6th January 2015,06:34 PM #8

Originally Posted by l00kin4

I was looking more to just sort the fridge slide (keeping it all a bit lower in the cargo area) than to add drawers. I think I can fit a bit more in the back without drawers - happy to be corrected on that though?

I also agree you can fit more in without drawers.
We're a family of 4, so the vehicle is always jam packed when we're on the road. Drawers give easy access, but a lot of storage space is forfeited for odd shaped or larger items. This may work ok for couples, but for families storage space is king.

We toured the Red Centre and crossed the Simpson in July and were on the move most days sleeping in our roof top tent and awning tent for a month.

From this experience it became evident that there could be a better way to access items from the back of the car. Most stuff could be moved slightly to access most items, but the biggest pain was getting full access to the fridge. We have a 60L Engel combo fridge/freezer which suits our requirements in remote areas (ice cream for kids, ice for bourbon...). Due to it's larger size it will not fit on top of drawers, so I'm also thinking of just a fridge slide on one side protected by a box or cage around it, with either one drawer or no drawers at all on the other side to maximise our storage capacity needs.

Photos posted by Dreamn of his drawer system is about the closest I've seen to what I've envisaged, although I would either have a single level drawer or none at all:

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/1734087-post58.html

In Dreamn's photo of his raw timber frame you can see the platform is not level as the aft end is tapered up, providing the 40mm to 50mm clearance ~Rich~ and NauticAl were talking about with angled wedges with drawer height requirements to clear the tailgate.

NauticAl's case construction plans show 3 tapered longitudinal supports of 20mm to 40mm in height to lift it high enough to pass the tailgate.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/1514565-post13.html

Looking at getting this sorted for Fraser Island at Easter, so I've still got some time up my sleeve to continue procrastinating?

7th January 2015,08:26 AM #9

Thanks Drizzle,
I'm in the same boat - 5 of us in the car - (probably a 65l) fridge and lots of gear so can't afford any loss of valuable cargo space.

Also heading to Fraser at Easter but I've just started setting my Disco up so sweating a little bit on the procrastination time! :-)

I like the idea of the fridge cage/enclosure with nothing on the other side but the challenge seems to be where to fix it in the centre of the cargo area. Such the thought to put a ply floor in.

Hmm a bit more head scratching to do

7th January 2015,10:16 AM #10

I'm looking at another option for the fridge in my D4.
My son has my old D2 and is about to sell it. In the back of the D2 is a BOAB drawer unit which has a fridge slide to suit 40 litre Engel on top of it (I installed this ages ago when we used to do a few camping trips with the D2). The BOAB unit is not specific to any make / model of vehicle - it is secured into the vehicle using 4 x turnbuckles to the tie-down hooks in the back of the vehicle.

Before he sells the D2, we will remove the BOAB drawer set and see how it fits in the D4 - I will try to mount it to one side of the vehicle as I have done in the D2 so that you can fit a jerry can or other containers down the side of it.

If it fits in the D4 (and I'm pretty sure that it will), it saves me having to go out and buy another set of drawers and fridge slide. Another advantage of this (although not really of any benefit to me) is that you can easily remove the entire assembly by simply undoing the 4 turnbuckles and lifting the unit out if you want to be able to use the third row of seats. Without the BOAB plastic boxes installed in the unit, it is quite light and could easily be lifted in and out by one person.

In my case though, I'll probably remove the third row of seats and if necessary make up a frame / brackets to mount the BOAB drawer frame on. This will allow me easy access to this additional storage area, as the bottom of the BOAB drawer set is only a frame, so with the plastic boxes removed, you can reach down into the area below the frame and store extra gear.

The BOAB drawer set that I have is the same as shown below, with an Engel fridge slide mounted on top on the right hand side.