Fridges and Utes

[Mudzuki]

Just wanting some personal experiances of people who have fridges on the back of their ute.

I'm looking into it, as i'm sick of eskys and buying ice.

How well do they cope with dust, rain, etc?

Do you use a cover?

Does your cleaning process include anything to account for being exposed to the elements?

Cheers

Richard

[Mousie]

my plan is to put it inside a cheaker plate tools box... with locks so it can stay there all the time

[CWBYUP]

I'm looking at making a look and just leaving it in the travel bag.

if i get real inventive I will make it fit behind the seat when I do the cab chop.

Nick

[HotFourOk]

All that I have seen on the back of utes were in travel bags, many seemed quite dirty and used... so I guess they still work!

[philhod]

I had a 40lt Engel in the back of my old 75 series ute for a couple of years.

I made up a spring base for it so that rough roads didn't kill it and a locking system for it with over centre latches. Seemed to work well.

You should definately have it in a travel bag though because been exposed to the elements they do get dusty and a bit knocked around. Underneath the bag my fridge still looks in great condition.

This is the only picture I have

[me3@neuralfibre.com]

Remember, springs without damping are worse than useless. Rubber is self damping to some degree. Springs will oscillate, hitting the end stops and cause harsh shocks. The compressor internals are sprung anyway.

Paul

[RoldIT]

Run mine in the back of my ute for more than 3 years. Has a travel bag and a pretty dodgy (Read: Leaky) tonneau cover but never skipped a beat. Get dusty and needs a blow job every now and then (Don't we all!) but otherwise going strong.

P.S Engel 40ltr BTW.

[Dicko1980]

I run a 40L Trailblaza in the back of my ute permantly and have had no issues to date. I actually got a free promo DVD from Trailblaza webpage and they have these fridges bolted onto army tanks. So I guess they must stand up to the punishment.

dicko

[want33s]

Best fridge I ever saw on a ute was an Electrolux kero job with the exhaust running up through it.
Was only good while engine was running and the harder you went, the colder it got.... but was no drain on engine or batteries!!!

[cloughy]

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r107 ... 0_0003.jpg

Mine lived in the weather outside for near a year

[BrettInUte]

whle I do know of a few engels that live on ute trays - my money is with a trailblaza.

They are built for that kind of treatment.

[dogbreath_48]

the trailblaza's seem pretty cheap compared to the engels.

i.e. base model 80L for $1507 versus 80L engel for what - $2k+?

How much tougher are the trailblaza's? What compressor do they run? Are they simply cheaper cos they're ugly and don't have engel stamped on the lid?

[MissDrew]

Dan, aka MUD000 has run his 40lt engel on the back of his 79 series since the day he bought it in 02. It only has the travel bag on it. The sipper on the travel bag never gets done up. His 79 gets driven everyday for work and the fridge is on the back everyday.

[micka1]

I ran my 80litre engel on the tray for about 6 months in a bag, got pretty dusty and copped a fair bit of rain but kept working alright.
only problem i did have was in summer she would get very hot in direct sunlight and drain batteries rather quickly, so when i was parked if i could not get shade i would strap my reflective sunvisor from the car windscreen over it . hope this helps

[mule75]

my 42lt bushman lives on my tray. it's been there for at least 4 years. it has had thermostat/controller problems but i don't blame it. it's in a bag but it still looks rooted underneath.

[MUD000]

It is one of the first 40ltrs I had it in my hilux for 2 years & then its been on the back of my ute since 02 still work perfect bag is a bit second hand thou

[Dicko1980]

Here's a shot of the Trailblaza mounted in the back of the tray. Its bolted down on a mat of rubber, the interlocking stuff the camping shops sell for tent floors and its secured to the vehicle with thick S/S chain and a pad lock. This fridge will live in the back of the ute till the day it dies.

Cheers
dicko

[mickbeny]

Hi all...Ive had my Trailblazer for more than 15yrs,and it has lived in the back of my utes for all those yrs exposed to all the elements.Still going strong today and never broken down.