Fridge in ute

Weven · Veteran Member

Fridge in ute

Radar · Guru

Weven wrote:
I have a Styleside ute and want to carry a fridge in the rear. I need to buy a tonneau cover but I am thinking the fridge will struggle because of air flow so was wondering if any one has a method that will work..

Weven hi.

If I had realised when we had brought our beaut crew cab ute I would never had allowed us to end up with a over weight canopy but would of settle for a hard lid, we never load above the tub height.

Now I have 2 friends both have had lids, both have 40 litre fridge in the back and been doing it for years.

Probably not the most ideal situation but I would say about 40% of portable frigs are running not in ideal conditions. 50% of truck's would have a compressor frig working under the most terrible conditions so the tub of ute will be fine. Just allow a air gap around the frig motor.

Whenarewethere · Guru

Put a bigger fan in it.

https://thegreynomads.activeboard.com/t65059593/extra-fridge-insulation-wattage-test/

Radar · Guru

Whenarewethere wrote:
Put a bigger fan in it.
https://thegreynomads.activeboard.com/t65059593/extra-fridge-insulation-wattage-test/

Hi Whenarewethere.

I had another read of article on insulation of your car frig wattage test goes over my head but the insulation work is very interesting.

Thank you for reminding us.

Whenarewethere · Guru

Radar wrote:
Whenarewethere wrote:
Put a bigger fan in it.
https://thegreynomads.activeboard.com/t65059593/extra-fridge-insulation-wattage-test/
Hi Whenarewethere.
I had another read of article on insulation of your car frig wattage test goes over my head but the insulation work is very interesting.
Thank you for reminding us.

Buy a cover for a fridge & a foam sleeping mat from Macpac (they are grey so match nicely). Cut up & stuff 1 or 2 thickness in between the fridge & cover, another piece on the lid.

You will drop your energy usage considerably. The more insulation the better. Easy!

Weven · Veteran Member

Thanks Radar, sounds great, now just have to make a decision which cover...I do have a great 12v van which I will wire in. I like the look of the folding covers that stow when needed against the rear.

-- Edited by Weven on Friday 25th of December 2020 08:33:14 AM

-- Edited by Weven on Friday 25th of December 2020 11:29:39 AM

bgt · Guru

What's the difference to having a fridge in the back of a standard suv? Our 35lt Evakool works it's butt off some times on a hot day in the back of our Jeep. Been doing so for many years.

Weven · Veteran Member

Yes, parked is the same issue, driving with air con not so much.

patrol03 · Senior Member

In my experience with Waeco units is that of poor insulation. The lids are hollow, consequently the fridge must work harder.

Initially I cut a foam sheet and taped it to the inside of the lid. The effect was noticeable but I felt there was a better way.

Eventually I drilled 6 3/8 holes in the underside of the lid and systematically filled the lid with liquid aerosol foam and that made a big difference.

Warren-Pat_01 · Guru

Hi Seven,
At one stage I queried the manufacturer of my Trailblazer fridge about mounting the fridge on the draw bar of my then camper trailer.
The answer was - go ahead as the fridge will still operate "even if I were to bury it! Nowhere is too extreme."

Now that is a HD Aussie made (Caloundra) fridge.

Weven · Veteran Member

patrol03 wrote:
In my experience with Waeco units is that of poor insulation. The lids are hollow, consequently the fridge must work harder.

Initially I cut a foam sheet and taped it to the inside of the lid. The effect was noticeable but I felt there was a better way.

Eventually I drilled 6 3/8 holes in the underside of the lid and systematically filled the lid with liquid aerosol foam and that made a big difference.

Great idea, also help with the sun beating down on the Tonneau cover.

WP, that makes me feel better......

KJB · Guru

Trailblazers are the toughest most reliable fridge I have come across - have had one for over 30 years - still used everyday at home . My Bushman lives on the flat tray of my Land Cruiser ute in a light plywood box (with ventilation cut outs ) and has never given my any problems.

Whenarewethere · Guru

patrol03 wrote:
In my experience with Waeco units is that of poor insulation. The lids are hollow, consequently the fridge must work harder.

Initially I cut a foam sheet and taped it to the inside of the lid. The effect was noticeable but I felt there was a better way.

Eventually I drilled 6 3/8 holes in the underside of the lid and systematically filled the lid with liquid aerosol foam and that made a big difference.

I have made a lot of modifications to my Waeco fridge to make it far more efficient.

Always thought the lid was hollow, so that's the the next insulation project!

The bottom of the fridge is pretty thin. Where I have it mounted on the boot floor, I have a piece of foam stuck on the underside of the boot floor to help insulate the fridge. I was surprised how cold the underside of the boot floor was getting. Obviously the cold is falling out of the fridge.

Whenarewethere · Guru

I would have bought a Trailblazer, but my main issue was the fridge had to fit in a space. Had to take 1 handle off my 28L fridge to get it to fit.

dabbler · Guru

Before i rejigged the rear seat area, I ran my 80l Evakool as a freezer, on a slide in the Hilux tub with a canopy for years. Performance was never an issue even when parked up and canopy closed up in 35+ heat. The three biggest issues were 1) limited access to heavier items positioned past the fridge setup; 2) lost space between fridge and side of tub (needed to get past the indicator assembly; and 3) the sheer weight of a fully loaded fridge/freezer and slide after the rear axle. A smaller fridge may not have these things to consider.

Whenarewethere · Guru

We mostly sleep in our car as we are too lazy to put the tent up, so we move the fridge to the passenger seat. 13kg empty, that's heavy enough for me moving it twice a day!

My aluminium mounting bracket weighs a fraction of the bought steel bracket, which I bought to give me ideas to come up with a custom bracket to reduce weight.

valiant81 · Guru

Hi all; while i do not have a ute, i do have a 95 Pajero 7 seater wagon and for the last 10 odd years have had 2 X 40 Ltr Engle fridges side by side in the back when we are traveling with our caravan. When not traveling one Engle stays home and is used as a beer fridge. Never had a problem with ether fridges and not keeping things cold. Even when free camping with the fridges and plugged into the house battery in the caravan and being recharged by the solar on the roof.

Greg 1 · Guru

A previous post mentioned a hard lid in preference to a canopy. I have had two utes with hard lids and now a canopy. There is no way I would ever have another hard lid. Impossible to get anything from the front of the tray. Find you want to carry something slightly taller than waist height and you can't close the lid. Happens more than you would think. My canopy with lift up side windows is not perfect but far better than either of the lids. The ideal set up, in my opinion, is a trade type canopy with fully lift up sides.

Whenarewethere · Guru

There is only one purpose for a hard lid!

patrol03 · Senior Member

Another modification I made to my old 50L was rewiring the fan so that it ran continuously.This helped immensely when in a confined space. As a point of interest the CF series was prone to thermister breakdowns. I finally used a generic from Jaycar to successfully solve the problem and run for the last 10 years with it.

I also have a late model CFX 50L. Certainly a better unit but the shape makes it difficult to carry and manouvre compared with the old CF series.

Weven · Veteran Member

Regards the fan I intend to have this running to help.
www.jaycar.com.au/80mm-super-long-life-low-noise-maglev-bearing-case-fan/p/YX2580

littledick · Senior Member

I carry a 25L Engel in the back of the Wildtrak. Only about 100mm clearance from the top of the fridge to the sliding track. Never had a heat problem. I leave it in the car all the time whilst travelling. wink

Dick.

oldbloke · Guru

I'm going to try thr additional insulation trick on my Weaco too.

I also use mine in the ute. If its hot I just lift 1 corner of the tonneau cover a few inches. Just provides a little circulation.