Fridge sliders on the cheap?

[Deelirious]

Priced a couple of 40l engel fridge sliders today and was shocked to find out that its not only bananas that are reserved for the rich and famous. Sooooo....
back to it - doing it yourself.
Lets hear everyone's ideas on do it yourself fridge sliders. At the moment I'm leaning towards ally c section some fixed to the vehicle base with the open section facing in and then the other inside this with the section facing out with the fridge bolted to this and some nylon slides fixed to each with countersunk stainless screws flush tapped into the section.

It would need some kind of adjustment to tension the nylon sliders or oyu just pack one end of the fixed sliders and the other end of the moving sliders so that when you push it all the way in it jams tight and can then be kept in with a bolt.

Should cost about $10 and take about 3 hours from start to finish, nothing to rust, nothing to wear and nothing to rattle.

I don't know what you would have to make a fridge slider out of for it to cost over $300!!!!

Any suggestions on improving my concept before I charge out and grab some scrap ally and cut up an old cutting board from the kitchen?
Ed

[griz066]

How about draw glides? (like on your kitchen draws)
Cost about $15 come in about 4 diff lengths.
Full roller smoothe action, not sure about the weight of a fridge but thought I would mention it.

Good luck

[Deelirious]

I tried to source some heavy duty ones but after a quick look couldn't find a dealer with a good range. Any suggestions on where to get some would be good.

I have had some more thought about this and still haven't addressed the problem of the slides having to be either telescopic or longer than the fridge so that it can extend beyond the base it is mounted too enough for the fridge lid to open.

Ed

[Heno]

http://www.4wdlinks.com.au/gallery/crazie?page=1
This is a home made job..........Looks good and cheap to make.
Heno.

[pojo]

if interested i have one for sale as new for $200.

[Deelirious]

Heno,
Looks good. I love the idea of the tilt mech so you can see inside the fridge when it is mounted high so I'll have to work that one in somehow.

Pojo,
$200 is a little out of my league. What brand is it so I can chase up some specs and prices for comparison.
At this stage I'm prepared to put a little time in if I can get it and make something myself from some scrap around the joint and Heno,s idea of the tilt mech negates the need for a telescopic mech as it reduces the load on the slide when the fridge is out as it tilts down and splits the load across a pivot point. The pivot is further back then if the fridge comes straight out as with the tilt the lid will open without the fridge being completely clear of the vehicle - meaning you can have it just past overbalance.

Let me know the details and I'll have a think about it.
Cheers
Ed

[pojo]

the fridge slide is a waeco .ihad a 50lit fridge on it but it can be adjusted to fit any size also has tiedown straps with it ,new price is around $300

[griz066]

Found this on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Engel-Fridge-...QQcmdZViewItem

and this

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Engel-Transit...QQcmdZViewItem

[Deelirious]

Thanks guys,
I think I'm back to sitting on this one for a while before spending any cash on it. Cheers Pojo but I'm going to give the offer a miss for now.

Thanks
Ed

[Needmorerum]

I made one a couple of years ago for my Cruiser, never finished it off as it has always worked well. Was along the thought that I would carpet it when I proved it was working, it has now done a few Cape trips and a sh!t load of 4WD comps and club runs without a hitch. Have a draw that bolts to the side of it as well that uses the same bearing principles for sliding.
Have a look, it is on my website.
http://www.corrysplace.com/fridgeslide.htm

Cheers
Corry

[Deelirious]

Corry,
Great job there.
You've hit the nail on the head with my problem although it's not just gear. We have a baby a dog , myself and the boss that head off in the Prado. I've built a ply shelf high enough ot put the pram and clothes, portacot etc underneath and the dog can go on top. The shelf still has room for either the engel or a full nally bin on top of it. All is held back with a milford cargo barrier and turnbuckled down to the tie down points on the floor of the cargo bay. Last weekend I put the fridge behind the drivers seat with the 2/3 middle seat folder up and this worked well leaving the full above shelf space for the pooch although he doesn't need it, and it kept him off the other gear. The advantage of having the fridge accessible from the side rear door is that the dog can't ge tout when you get into the fridge and he can't stick his nose in your face when you are trying to get something out. the fridge is also low and easy to see into although you do have to lean over. I think I'll work with this model for a while and leave the slides until we have kid #2 and then it will have to go into the back.

My folks have the same brand of draws you refer to on your website but they have the set up that is the same as your custom one, maybe they have taken on some feedback from customers to develop the current system. It works well although it's not suitable for the dog!

Thanks for the ideas I wasn't sure how to do it but what I am going to do is when I build the metal frame under my shelf I am going to make provision for rollers according to your system and for the width of the fridge so that I can retrofit it later with som minor changes to the shelf but using the same frame I make now.

Cheers
Ed