- Joined
- March 4, 2007
- Messages
- 26,320
- Reaction score
- 122
- City, State
- anaheim hills,california
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 95 ranger 4x4/ 91 X 4x4
...My "Project X" really hasn't had any projects done to it lately but today all that changed..
..I've been kicking around this idea for a while now and the first thing I needed to do was make the commitment that this fridge is going to stay in this truck most of the time..
..Commitment made..
__________________________________________________________
..But let's back up a minute and start at the beginning..
..In the past I had the Norcold MRFT60 (aka MT60) fridge and that thing was about 30% larger than this fridge and weighed about 75# empty and are designed to carry about 100#'s of food...It would be great for a family of 4 for a week but for me it was a beast to lug around and after a couple trips, (one in which 3 of us used this fridge) the best I could do was fill it 1/2 way for 7-10 days offroad..
..Enter this smaller fridge, the Norcold MRFT40 (Same as the old ARB 45qt. and the Engel MT45 - rebadged). It is slightly smaller in size than the MT60 and weighs about 55# empty..These fridges are designed to carry about 80#'s of food..
..I've packed this fridge around for the last year or two thru SoCal, Nevada, and Utah...After figuring where I want it to sit generally I did the "Hinge Mod"..
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2902501&postcount=297
..This has been strapped down temporarily (as a loose description haha) this whole time (pics from hinge mod thread)
Some information links of options for this fridge
Norcold site for MRFT40
Engel site for the MT45
Optional transit bag
Transit Slide Lock and hold downs
Fridge Slides
Baskets that fit into the top of this fridge
__________________________________________________________
..The need to tie it down better
..I've been really lucky so far as to not damage the truck or the fridge but it is definitely time to "Attach" this thing permanently..
..At minimum I was going to need to get a "Transit Slide Lock" to secure it down to the back of the seat in it's folded down position..
..After looking at the above "Informational links of Options" I decided to browse Sierra Expeditions site as I knew they would have the cheapest prices and Wil over there has helped me a couple times in the past for parts..
..After looking long and hard at my financial situation, counting my spare change and that included what I found after removing the seats, it was determined that it was going to run me anywhere from $90-$600 to secure this fridge down so I decided to get creative and tackle this myself..:biggthump
..This led to the little voices in my head to be unleashed once again and to take control...
..One voice said, "You need more space and storage" ..Another said,"Remove the seat to accomplish this", while another voice was screaming, "Rip it all out and cage it..You know you want to"..Welcome to my world.....
__________________________________________________________
...And the ideas started flowing..
..But first the reasons I selected where I did to locate the fridge in the truck..
a) Keep long term weight between the axles
b) Driver and fuel tank on drivers side - I want equal weight on pass side
c) I like the ease to enter the drivers side to crawl in the back
d) I sleep on the drivers side-Why run around to passenger side or rear hatch?
e) In foul or hot weather I can get groceries into the cover of the vehicle and load them into the fridge without standing in the rain or the hot sun
f) Ease of access while in the rear of the truck to grab something to eat
g) I can also reach inside the fridge from the drivers seat
e) Able to adjust temp on fridge from anywhere in vehicle
..:scratch:..Some things I want to accomplish..(in no particular order)
Mount securely the fridge.
Drop it out of the direct sunlight from windows
Drop it out of clear view from passers by
Lower C.O.G of fridge (and contents) weight
Use existing bolts first/drill additional only if needed
Be able to replace seat and other components easily back to stock condition
Keep the fridge relatively cool in it's new spot
Be able to open the fridge lid easily from all 4 sides
Add secondary fuse block in that area
Add 12v outlets there for the fridge and ?
Keep passenger in the jump seat comfortable and not crowded
Add a cup holder and possibly 12v power for the jump seat too
Keep as full deck storage when jump seat is down- no gap to fridge
Additional items I decided would need to be addressed
..Since I do change up what I'm hauling for each trip I want to..
Keep it clean and simple in this and the rear area
Keep this project as lightweight as possible (Fridge and contents weigh enough)
Allow as much air flow for fridge and it should be cooler out of direct sun
Allow for "Quick Grab Storage" behind/between pass seat and fridge
Build new support for fold down "Seat Bridge" to fridge
Mount a full time aluminum floor jack in this area
Easy access from drivers seat to power plug for fridge/Verify while driving
Tie downs for my action packers and other gear
__________________________________________________________
..On to the Initial build Pictures..
..All the build pictures can be found here..
http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=3961
..I first needed to throw the fridge in it's new spot and check to see what room I had left and what it looked like in "Deck mode" with jump seat down in the closed position..
..Make sure the lid would open freely..(Even with part time fan installed above)
..I need to check space around the fridge and jump seat with seat "Open"..
..and also under the folding "Deck seat/bridge"..
..Then I tested out the fitting of the aluminum floor jack in this area..
..:scratch:..I'm not totally sure where this secondary fuse block is going to end up yet but thought I would toss it in here while I was thinking..
..Before the test fitting was all done their was one more thing left to do...That's right...Sleep in the back over night just to verify nothing else needs to be moved and what I'm tying to accomplish will actually work..
..I did..It does...We are all good...:biggthump
..One of the bonus's of this is the fridge will now be at about the same height as my little action packers in the rear cargo area..It's Kind of a uniform height table area in the back now when moving stuff around or preparing stuff coming out of the fridge..
__________________________________________________________
Tomorrow's Project..Shopping then start to Building..
..I have a picture in my head of what I want to build while keeping the cost down as well as the weight..
..My thoughts as of right now are this will be built out of aluminum, steel, plywood, and carpet...It all depends on my steel supplier on what parts and materials they have in stock as to how I will go about building this project..
..First up will be the initial deck mount for the fridge..
..I've been kicking around this idea for a while now and the first thing I needed to do was make the commitment that this fridge is going to stay in this truck most of the time..
..Commitment made..
__________________________________________________________
..But let's back up a minute and start at the beginning..
..In the past I had the Norcold MRFT60 (aka MT60) fridge and that thing was about 30% larger than this fridge and weighed about 75# empty and are designed to carry about 100#'s of food...It would be great for a family of 4 for a week but for me it was a beast to lug around and after a couple trips, (one in which 3 of us used this fridge) the best I could do was fill it 1/2 way for 7-10 days offroad..
..Enter this smaller fridge, the Norcold MRFT40 (Same as the old ARB 45qt. and the Engel MT45 - rebadged). It is slightly smaller in size than the MT60 and weighs about 55# empty..These fridges are designed to carry about 80#'s of food..
..I've packed this fridge around for the last year or two thru SoCal, Nevada, and Utah...After figuring where I want it to sit generally I did the "Hinge Mod"..
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2902501&postcount=297
..This has been strapped down temporarily (as a loose description haha) this whole time (pics from hinge mod thread)
Some information links of options for this fridge
Norcold site for MRFT40
Engel site for the MT45
Optional transit bag
Transit Slide Lock and hold downs
Fridge Slides
Baskets that fit into the top of this fridge
__________________________________________________________
..The need to tie it down better
..I've been really lucky so far as to not damage the truck or the fridge but it is definitely time to "Attach" this thing permanently..
..At minimum I was going to need to get a "Transit Slide Lock" to secure it down to the back of the seat in it's folded down position..
..After looking at the above "Informational links of Options" I decided to browse Sierra Expeditions site as I knew they would have the cheapest prices and Wil over there has helped me a couple times in the past for parts..
..After looking long and hard at my financial situation, counting my spare change and that included what I found after removing the seats, it was determined that it was going to run me anywhere from $90-$600 to secure this fridge down so I decided to get creative and tackle this myself..:biggthump
..This led to the little voices in my head to be unleashed once again and to take control...
..One voice said, "You need more space and storage" ..Another said,"Remove the seat to accomplish this", while another voice was screaming, "Rip it all out and cage it..You know you want to"..Welcome to my world...
..__________________________________________________________
...And the ideas started flowing..
..But first the reasons I selected where I did to locate the fridge in the truck..
a) Keep long term weight between the axles
b) Driver and fuel tank on drivers side - I want equal weight on pass side
c) I like the ease to enter the drivers side to crawl in the back
d) I sleep on the drivers side-Why run around to passenger side or rear hatch?
e) In foul or hot weather I can get groceries into the cover of the vehicle and load them into the fridge without standing in the rain or the hot sun
f) Ease of access while in the rear of the truck to grab something to eat
g) I can also reach inside the fridge from the drivers seat
e) Able to adjust temp on fridge from anywhere in vehicle
..:scratch:..Some things I want to accomplish..(in no particular order)
Mount securely the fridge.
Drop it out of the direct sunlight from windows
Drop it out of clear view from passers by
Lower C.O.G of fridge (and contents) weight
Use existing bolts first/drill additional only if needed
Be able to replace seat and other components easily back to stock condition
Keep the fridge relatively cool in it's new spot
Be able to open the fridge lid easily from all 4 sides
Add secondary fuse block in that area
Add 12v outlets there for the fridge and ?
Keep passenger in the jump seat comfortable and not crowded
Add a cup holder and possibly 12v power for the jump seat too
Keep as full deck storage when jump seat is down- no gap to fridge
Additional items I decided would need to be addressed
..Since I do change up what I'm hauling for each trip I want to..
Keep it clean and simple in this and the rear area
Keep this project as lightweight as possible (Fridge and contents weigh enough)
Allow as much air flow for fridge and it should be cooler out of direct sun
Allow for "Quick Grab Storage" behind/between pass seat and fridge
Build new support for fold down "Seat Bridge" to fridge
Mount a full time aluminum floor jack in this area
Easy access from drivers seat to power plug for fridge/Verify while driving
Tie downs for my action packers and other gear
__________________________________________________________
..On to the Initial build Pictures..
..All the build pictures can be found here..
http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=3961
..I first needed to throw the fridge in it's new spot and check to see what room I had left and what it looked like in "Deck mode" with jump seat down in the closed position..
..Make sure the lid would open freely..(Even with part time fan installed above)
..I need to check space around the fridge and jump seat with seat "Open"..
..and also under the folding "Deck seat/bridge"..
..Then I tested out the fitting of the aluminum floor jack in this area..
..:scratch:..I'm not totally sure where this secondary fuse block is going to end up yet but thought I would toss it in here while I was thinking..
..Before the test fitting was all done their was one more thing left to do...That's right...Sleep in the back over night just to verify nothing else needs to be moved and what I'm tying to accomplish will actually work..
..I did..It does...We are all good...:biggthump
..One of the bonus's of this is the fridge will now be at about the same height as my little action packers in the rear cargo area..It's Kind of a uniform height table area in the back now when moving stuff around or preparing stuff coming out of the fridge..
__________________________________________________________
Tomorrow's Project..Shopping then start to Building..
..I have a picture in my head of what I want to build while keeping the cost down as well as the weight..
..My thoughts as of right now are this will be built out of aluminum, steel, plywood, and carpet...It all depends on my steel supplier on what parts and materials they have in stock as to how I will go about building this project..
..First up will be the initial deck mount for the fridge..
..:mattmoon:...
..for stuff but what gets decided on the jack will eventually fall under the "Accessories" post of this thread...
