[dobermin]

We ordered the Engel MT45F-U1 Fridge-Freezer for our project van.

I'm wondering what some of you may have done for mounting your refrigerators. I believe our MT45F is 20" x 25.5" x 14.5" so I think ideally a sideways slide out would be convenient.

 

[MsNomer]

See my build for installing that exact fridge permanently into a counter. If I were going to have it slide out, I would mount it in a drawer with a solid lock on the drawer. I looked but couldn't find a photo I saw recently of using turnbuckles to attach the handles to a bottom surface.

EDIT: This is the thread I was thinking about. You could use turnbuckles to attach to a sliding metal shelf.

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56574

Remember to allow for possible crash forces in the thousands of pounds.

 

[tipridr]

I bought the 80 qt. installed on self fabricated slide-

 

[dobermin]

Thank you MsNomer and tipridr --

tip- can you provide any more photos of your build.. what we can see in the one photo, it looks nice..

 

[VanDiesel]

I just ordered a pair of these https://www.woodworkerexpress.com/s...-75lb-ball-bearing-slides-14-zinc-plated.html
drawer slides that lock in and out to mount a similar sized Dometic refrigerator.
I plan to add some 2 x 2 aluminum angle to the mounted slides and mount the refrigerator on a shelf on top of the angles. All mounted securely of course. I will leave some space both behind and on the sides of the refrigerator for air movement.

 

[MsNomer]

Yes, allow for air movement around the vent area, but consider insulating around the box. Makes a great fridge mo betta.

 

[tipridr]

thanks- I'll post some soon

 

[166322]

Fridge Slides

We ordered the Engel MT45F-U1 Fridge-Freezer for our project van.

I'm wondering what some of you may have done for mounting your refrigerators. I believe our MT45F is 20" x 25.5" x 14.5" so I think ideally a sideways slide out would be convenient.

dobermin,

This is a great company http://www.dbroberts.com that supplies all manner of hardware, including ACCURIDE lock in lock out heavy duty slides. I used a nock off of Accurides lock in lock out 500lbs slides for my fridge.

The most challenging issue is how to secure the fridge to the slide securely enough to withstand a crash. I installed Rivnuts in the mounting rails of the fridge and through bolted via the aluminum base plate of my slides. In addition (because my slides faced forward/in the direction of travel) I installed retractible seatbelt restraints through the tie down mount points.

Cheers,

Dave

 

[medicineman4040]

We are using a Slide-master for our fridge.
We chose to put it beside the sliding door yet we wired an area in the middle of both Slide-masters for
the frig in case we ever want to move it. The beside the door position makes loading/unloading and grocery
store runs very easy.
As far as securing the frig to the Slide-master we are using climbing daisy chains rated at 16 kN, maybe not enough,
but the fridge will hit the edge of the Slide-master which might help some.

 

[medicineman4040]

We use a Slide-master for our ARB frig.
We chose the left slider but areas in the middle of both sliders in case we ever want
to move the fridge.
The left side has worked out well for easy of grocery shopping, just pull the grocery cart up to
the slider door, slide the fridge forward and load up.
Out ARB also acts as a mini-table for us.
In the pic the TV and kitty box have since been relocated.

 

[supdies]

Fridge Mounting

We have a cabinet area directly behind 2 passenger seats. I have a Dometic fridge mounted in the lower cabinet. The cabinet is 1"x1" 8020 aluminum framing with 3/4" birch ply surround (kind of overkill, but sturdy!). I used Accuride 24" slides, purchased on EBay ~2 years ago. At the time, they were described as: ACCURIDE DRAWER SLIDES 24" FULL EXT LEVER DISCON 350LB CAPACITY PAIR. They work great and easily support a full fridge. I screwed a 1/2" ply sheet to the slides and then simply rest the fridge on that.

 

[medicineman4040]

Supdies there is a really sharp and clean build. Looks fantastic.

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

supdies, and everyone else, a warning!
In that third picture I see the latch you used. I also used them. I bought 14 total from Home Depot, ordered from their website. They are failing. I have repaired one and three more are now defective. The eccentric part that turns to retract the catch is not a positive fit on the thumb buckle and finally gives up. There is no really good cure. I am slowly replacing them on drawers with heavy loads. I would suggest you do the same so your refrigerator doesn’t take a trip across your van on a hard left turn.
Sorry if my use of them encouraged others to buy them.

 

[supdies]

Thanks RDinNHandAZ - I agree, the latch is cheap and no good. I built the left-hand seat to be able to slide back in front of the seat - so I end up using the seat as a kind of last-resort stopper for the fridge sliding out on left hand turns. I've been meaning to find a sturdier latch. Haven't really spent too much time investigating options: https://www.mcmaster.com/#draw-latches/=180mvwm