Installing fridge in Defender

[AndyG]

Whilst waiting for my Defender to be built I am planning for my first big trip. Am planning to get a 40 liter fridge for some creature comforts. My first plan was tie downs on the rear floor but too intrusive on space. My second plan was a set of drawers and install the fridge on Rh rear side, but I should really do the first trip before committing to a drawer solution. My new idea is a small box 200*200* 900 on the Rh side to support fridge and store spares & emergency fluilds?
Anyone done this? If considered a good idea I will need to find some to fabricate, for the appropriate payment. JW BL could be involved here! (Btw brisbane north side is OZ base)

[noyakfat]

There are 4 tie down points in the rear cargo area of the new Defender 110. The distance between them (front to back) is about 835 mm centre to centre... approximately.

I have my spare tyre in the back, and use these tie down points with ratchet straps to keep it there. It is rock solid and these points appear to be very sturdy.

I am planning on having a false floor/frame fabricated over the top of the spare, but waiting for my tax return to fund this. Of course I won't be using those tie downs after the floor is in place. I have a 50L waeco fridge that I will be attaching to this.

If you have a 5 seater, have a look inside the rear wheel arches and you will see the blanks where the bolts are supposed to go for the third row seat mounts. IMO these would be good options to use for bolting any fabricated box etc to the floor in the rear cargo area, and they are what I am planning to use when I have my floor done.

When I owned my Nissan GQ wagon, I made my own false floor out of a hardwood frame with plywood top, and attached it to the vehicle using existing bolts and holes from the third row seats which I removed. The floor had a fridge slide mounted to it and despite my questionable woodworking skills, it remained a solid fitment up til the day I sold the vehicle (as far as I know the buyer left it in there and loves it).

I am thinking about having a steel frame or aluminium one built for Vincent, but cost will ultimately decide.

Good luck

[Trundle]

If you've got the money, and it works with your ideas, have a look at the drop down fridge slides. My fridge is mounted on a shelf unit in the back of my 130, and it's just high enough to be awkward.
Cheers

[rijidij]

When shopping for fridges, keep in mind, a 50 litre Waeco is externally smaller than a 40 litre Engel, well that was the case when I bought mine a few years ago. The lower height of the Waeco worked in well with where I wanted to put a fridge. Obviously there are plenty of other options for fridges, but it's worth checking the dimensions.

Cheers, Murray

[alan48]

Hi,
we have Drifta rear floor and drawer with slide out table and a drop down fridge slide on left side of centre--works perfectly with Waeco as when slid out is nice height to see what is in it, use it etc. No fridge slide makes it harder to use fridge, and we also have 2nd battery box to the left of the fridge. Used on many trips and great.

[technophile]

I have made up some draws that fit in the space between the wheel arches, so now the back is a flat sureface. I have two 50l Waeco fridges that i have on the left and right wheel arches. To access the fridges i reach in the back door and open the sliding windows. To make this easy i plan to replace the sliding windows with those lift up ones.

As for tie down points, i use the tie down point closest to the rear door on both size, then loop the strap through the handle, around the side of the fridge, through the other handle then attach to the back seat support legs then ratchet it tight.

[RVR110]

I remove the narrow seat from the 2nd row of seats and mount my fridge there. It takes about 30 minutes to do the switch over, so I don't install or remove it very often.

Fortunately, one of the 4 mounting bolt locations aligns with the slot in the black factory seat support bracket just near the C pillar, so I am able to bolt one corner of the fridge directly to that bracket. I have some make-shift supports to support the other 3 corners of the fridge (one day I'll make something a bit neater). I have taken a tie-down point from the back and installed it on one of the seat bolts. I then use a tie-down strap to keep the fridge firmly in place. Again, one day I'll do something a bit more polished but that will probably be after the fridge gets replaced due to age. This setup has survived all kinds of terrain from the Simpson desert to rock steps and everything in between. The door handle has to be removed to allow the car door to shut. The fridge can easily be accessed from the door and it is on the passenger side so you are protected from traffic if accessing the fridge whilst pulled over on the side of the road.

[AndyG]

Thanks,
Thats a great solution for someone who does not need all their back seats, like me !

[Rick Fischer]

A little word to the wise for those installing fridges and slides.

Industry standard for instantaneous "G" at impact is 15. Yep 15G instantaneous millisecond, for seat belt anchorages and all sorts of other things. Did once upon a time do reverse engineering calculations on Engle. The handles will fail at the handle retaining screws. Can't remember if the sheet steel failed in bearing or the screws in shear.

Fully loaded 40 ltr Engle, Say Fridge will weigh around 50lbs 20+kgs, MORE for bigger fridge of course. Whack that up by 15 multiply it by the m/sec at moment of impact. (16.6 @60). There will be lots and lots of KN to be absorbed by the attaching hardware if you don't want the fridge to visit you or your kids up the front. Would also be an extra load on the Barrier that you wouldn't want.

Don't depend on the handles to hold the fridge down no matter what the "make". Tie it down across the top. I've used seat belt webbing and buckles successfully and conveniently for years. If the anchors are good the fridge won't move!

Cheers

RF

[slug_burner]

Fit a cargo barrier, it will provide something to attach things to. If you get one made of strong enough material it can double as an internal hoop to stop the roof crushing down in the case of a roll over.