Thread: Defender and fridges

buy a national luna fridge 52L they are awesome!

mine has a outback draw fitted

defender has a nice little step to stand on at the back to get what you need inside

Just to give you an idea I have on the back of my Defe an esky 1000Lx500x500 plus a Waeco 50Lts fridge.
On one side of the Defender 110 you can fit a fridge up to 1100 long.
When the Australian army called for a tender for fridges to cool very rapid the water bladders only the Trailblazer meet the specs.
Get one! when my Waeco gone the Trailblazer is first on the list.
Go and visit them at the factory and you will be impressed
Cheers

I take it you want the 875mm across the Defender

In which case yes it will, just! You will need to undo the door stay and open the back door further.

If you are fitting it the other way then it's not a problem.

I think Bundalene runs a Trailblazer in his Defender.

Originally Posted by Chucaro

On one side of the Defender 110 you can fit a fridge up to 1100 long.

This is good info, another reason I wanted a low but long fridge is that you don't have to dig for stuff, it just seems more practical to me. The Trailblazas look good, I'm all for buying good quality stuff so I only need to buy it once.

If height is your primary concern, why not consider a "platinum" drop slide.

I bought one a couple of weeks ago, it is a cleaver bit of kit and very well built.

I am having it fitted this Wednesday, along with Black Widow draws/cargo barrier/top shelf/centre divider/water tank.

The “platinum” slides out and then will drop the fridge down 300mm with the assistance of gas struts.

This is just one of the things that I am doing to make it easier on the missus to help her get the beer out of the fridge .

Originally Posted by Drover

If height is your primary concern, why not consider a "platinum" drop slide.

I bought one a couple of weeks ago, it is a cleaver bit of kit and very well built.

I am having it fitted this Wednesday, along with Black Widow draws/cargo barrier/top shelf/centre divider/water tank.

The “platinum” slides out and then will drop the fridge down 300mm with the assistance of gas struts.

This is just one of the things that I am doing to make it easier on the missus to help her get the beer out of the fridge .

I have a platinumgear drop-down slide, and it's awesome. Makes an annoying problem for shorties disappear!

This is what you need. When the draws go in it will still come down a long way. and that is not my floaty in the back

Here are some things to consider when looking at fridge options. Obviously the answers will differ depending on your needs. I'll comment on how I came to a conclusion as I list them, but your conclusions may be different.

1. Price
2. Reliability & Power Consumption
3. Size / Weight
4. Access
5. Storage around the fridge

1. How much have you got to spend? It's better to buy good 2nd hand, than lesser new.

2. Do some research, have a look at forums, don't just go on hearsay; if people talk it up, but it looks flimsy, then it probably is. The better fridges you less power, so this should help sort out the lesser contenders.

3. How much weight do you want to put in your car? (not so relevant in a Defender).
How much space have you got to fit it in? What else must you carry?
Can you lift it once it's full? I saw one guy had a jib on the back of his Defender for lifting the fridge, because it was too heavy once it was full. I've found around 50litre capacity is good for a family, so unless you're a caterer or a fisherman and need more fridge space, you needn't go overboard.

4 & 5. Access & Storage: Can you get a fridge slide long enough for the fridge you want?
What side will the lid open on?
Do you need to reach behind it?
Do you need to store over or beside it?
How are you going to allow air space for it to vent?

I needed to store over and beside my fridge, the cantilevering slides limited my storage potentials and blew out my budget. I had to store my fridge in a cabinet that would give it some air space, and that I could load on top off.

I opted for the Evakool, because on the 2nd hand market they create less of a bidding frenzy than the Engel & Waeco fridges. There were no Trailblazers in my price range, and the National Luna fridges were not available in Australia, though I did look at them and decided they'd be too expensive.

The 47 litre Evakool is light enough to lift. So I can have it in the house while I'm packing for the trip, and making sure everything sets off nice and frozen, then carry it full to the car.

It slides into the passenger side of the back door, so that the lid opens allowing me to stand on the LHS, instead of being crammed between the fridge slide and the back door.

The compressor compartment remains tucked in the vehicle when the fridge slides out. I can reach in and change the temp. knob if I need to, but I didn't need a slide that could reach even further out.

I have room to fit a 3rd battery between the cargo barrier and the back of the fridge.

The cabinet is made of square aluminium tubing with plastic connectors (about $6 per meter + <$2 per connector) and is clad with aluminium and marine carpet overlay. Closed cell foam insulates the walls on the inside. Cargo rails along the top & side allow other stuff to be loaded & secured over it. The RHS drops to the same level as the wheel arch, extending that storage space, and an ammo box with draw runners riveted to the side slides into matching draw runners under the false floor on the RHS. The LHS wheel arch forms a handy compartment beside the cabinet.

All up, with fridge, fridge slide & compartment it came in at about $600. I made the fridge slide using slide draws from computer servers ;-) and after 2 years with lots of off-roading, they're still working smoothly.

I'll post some pics tomorrow.