Drop Down Fridge Slide

1967 TLC · 08-21-09, 10:38 PM

My story:

About a year ago, flipping through an Australian 4x4 magazine, I found near the back a small ad showing a revolutionary slide system. The ad showed a drop down Fridge Slide .

Now, I love my fridge, but hate pulling it down from on top of my storage system when I need to get something out. And what I hate even more is hefting the fridge back up. As a matter of fact, it does not matter if it is a fridge or cooler; they are still heavy to deal with.

I contacted the company in Australia, but they were not interested in shipping to the States. Turns out shipping from Australia is very expensive. The cost of shipping alone was way more than the cost of the product. I’m sure the weighty of the slide had a lot to do with that.

I tried unsuccessfully to talk my wife into a trip down under for a shopping spree! So, that left me to figure out how to build my own “Drop Down Fridge Slide”. I found a few pictures on the internet and there is a You Tube video showing how it operates.

The build was not that difficult and involved a tape measure, square, chop saw and a mig welder and a lot of referencing of the pictures on the web.

1967 TLC · 08-21-09, 10:40 PM

A few more pictures of my drop slide and storage system.

hawkeye · 08-21-09, 11:55 PM

Very nice. Useing the lever is it easy to lift the fridge?

Aussie cruiser · 08-22-09, 04:05 AM

Very nice looks just like the real thing. I fitted one to mine they work great. You could make a fortune selling them over there.

Butt Ugly Chuck · 08-22-09, 04:41 AM

Great idea! I know - you copied it, but nicely done

Butt

spressomon · 08-22-09, 07:34 AM

Great job 1967 TLC! I've been thinking of trying the same...thanks for forging the route

1967 TLC · 08-22-09, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hawkeye

Very nice. Useing the lever is it easy to lift the fridge?

There is plenty of leverage, but the original employs a gas cylinder to ease the weight of a loaded fridge. I have just completed the build and tested it with a couple of gallon jugs. My twelve year old son had no trouble operating the slide.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aussie cruiser

Very nice looks just like the real thing. I fitted one to mine they work great. You could make a fortune selling them over there.

Thank you, I would love to see an actual example of this slide. They look very slick in the pictures.

As for selling here, Maybe, but I have a good job that pays well and there is a surprising amount of steel and labor involved which would drive the price up. That might limit the market. Not to mention the cost of shipping. This thing is heavy!!

Since you have one, I have a question. I struggled with the gas lift struts and decided to not install any, but they would make the slide very wife/girl friendly to have them. How big and powerful are the struts? I tried using lift gate struts, but they were way too strong.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Butt Ugly Chuck

Great idea! I know - you copied it, but nicely done

Not to mislead anyone about how clever I am, the first paragraph lets everyone know who should get the credit for this fabulous idea. I tried very hard to actually buy it from them. I called them on the phone and emailed them several times. They were not interested in dealing with me. So the next best thing to having the real thing was to build it myself.

Thanks everyone for the compliments, it was a fun build and very satisfying to have my very own drop down fridge.

.

Aussie cruiser · 08-23-09, 02:14 AM

Will check the struts tomorrow to see if they have a part number. Wouldn't think they would have to too strong.

1967 TLC · 08-23-09, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aussie cruiser

Will check the struts tomorrow to see if they have a part number. Wouldn't think they would have to too strong.

Thanks. I don't think so either. The slide works pretty easy without the struts. There is plenty of leverage.

I would love to see some close-up pictures of the slide. Can you post up a picture of both the strut assemble and the latching mechanism?

.

tltaylor22 · 08-23-09, 09:50 AM

I really like it. If you ever do any dimensioned drawings for this let me know. I might be in Australia in a few months. I may have to look up these guys and take a look.

optimus prime · 08-23-09, 10:57 PM

We have a 97 Landcruiser with a fridge and have been longing for one of these drop down fridge slides. My wife and I were in Queensland the month of May and we had initially hoped to get one and bring it back. The people that sell/make this are about an hour south of Brisbane. When we called the shop to have him hold one for us, he said that what he had coming in May, was spoken for and he wouldn't have anymore until July. Apparently, some of the parts are made in China and that was when the next shipment was due in. We did however, come across one in a 4WD shop in Cairns. It was the floor model without a box. We almost bought it, however we kept getting different stories from the airline regarding the maximum allowable dimensions for check in. Also we were not at the end of our trip and would have had to pay double the excess baggage fees because we still had another flight (to Brisbane) before we left to come back to the US. We did check out another shop in Brisbane area (UV4x4 - maarty@uv4x4.com.au) hoping they might have one. They are not selling them yet, because they want to see a proven track record first. It sounded like the slides were very popular, but some people there in Australia were having problems with theirs.

Jerry - Are you going to make more of these? We would love to get one. We are in southern CA. Otherwise, we might have to go back to Australia - which wouldn't be a bad thing!

Sean

1967 TLC · 08-24-09, 12:08 AM

[QUOTE=optimus prime;4713782]We have a 97 Landcruiser with a fridge and have been longing for one of these drop down fridge slides. My wife and I were in Queensland the month of May and we had initially hoped to get one and bring it back. The people that sell/make this are about an hour south of Brisbane. When we called the shop to have him hold one for us, he said that what he had coming in May, was spoken for and he wouldn't have anymore until July. Apparently, some of the parts are made in China and that was when the next shipment was due in. We did however, come across one in a 4WD shop in Cairns. It was the floor model without a box. We almost bought it, however we kept getting different stories from the airline regarding the maximum allowable dimensions for check in. Also we were not at the end of our trip and would have had to pay double the excess baggage fees because we still had another flight (to Brisbane) before we left to come back to the US. We did check out another shop in Brisbane area (UV4x4 - maarty@uv4x4.com.au) hoping they might have one. They are not selling them yet, because they want to see a proven track record first. It sounded like the slides were very popular, but some people there in Australia were having problems with theirs.

Jerry - Are you going to make more of these? We would love to get one. We are in southern CA. Otherwise, we might have to go back to Australia - which wouldn't be a bad thing!

Hey Sean,

I’ve spent a lot of time on the African side of the world; Australia is on my to-do list.

Having viewed a lot of Aussie forums; the drop down fridge slide does seem popular over there. The biggest complaint appears to be availability. They also complain about the price. Having built one, I understand the pricing. These slides are expensive and labor intensive to build, not to mention the shipping weight. I would be curious about what problems they are having with their slide. So far mine works beyond expectation.

If I can figure out a cheaper way of producing the slide, I might consider starting my own cottage industry to supplement my money pit masquerading as an FJ-60!

You mention being in SoCal, drop me a PM, we’ll talk.

Jerry

shvou · 08-24-09, 06:00 AM

I was looking at making a slide like this one
it looks great
any chance you have a plan
or a material list
cheer

VanGo · 08-24-09, 07:33 AM

Good work!

1967 TLC · 08-24-09, 08:19 PM

For those asking about plans and drawings. I don't have plans or drawings as I followed grainy internet pictures to build the slide.

Given a bit of time, I'll put something down on paper.

Aussie cruiser · 08-25-09, 02:01 AM

Fridge Slide

This is their site.

Will do the pics when I can. Sorry been a bit busy.
Brother in Law bought one from them last week. So at the Moment they have plenty of stock. When I bought mine they were allways waiting on stock and what was coming in were spoken for, There seems to either a glut or a famine with them.

1967 TLC · 08-25-09, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aussie cruiser

Fridge Slide

This is their site.

Will do the pics when I can. Sorry been a bit busy.
Brother in Law bought one from them last week. So at the Moment they have plenty of stock. When I bought mine they were allways waiting on stock and what was coming in were spoken for, There seems to either a glut or a famine with them.

No Problem, when you get a chance is fine. I am most interested in the gas lift struts.

Glut or famine ... the story of a small business I guess! They need to level their supply and damand issues, I'm sure easier said than done.

alia176 · 08-27-09, 09:00 AM

Jerry,

Very NICE job man. I'll be doing the same thing so I'll be copying your design too! Can you shoot me some pics to alia176 at yahoo please?

Thanks.

boerboel313 · 08-28-09, 08:52 AM

1967 TLC, I live just south of you in San Clemente. What would it cost to have one made if you had the time? There would be no rush in the build.

Nice looking, great work.
Chris

1967 TLC · 08-28-09, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boerboel313

1967 TLC, I live just south of you in San Clemente. What would it cost to have one made if you had the time? There would be no rush in the build.

Nice looking, great work.
Chris

Boerboel313,

I will need to get back to you on the cost. My prototype slide was a bit expensive as I did not know how much metal or parts to buy. Of course I bought too much of everything!! I think I have enough bolts to do two more! It also took much longer to build as I was designing as I was building.

I need to do some measurments and drawings and cost out the project. Please keep in mind all this was done in my garage. I don't do this for a living, but if enough people are interested, I might just start a fridge slide cottage industry.

If you want to see the slide in person let me know or come to our SoCal Land Cruiser Club meeting Sept 13th. Click on the club link for more info: http://www.socallandcruisers.com

.

Aussie cruiser · 09-05-09, 06:04 AM

Some pics. Hope these help. If you need any more give me a call

Aussie cruiser · 09-05-09, 06:06 AM

One more pic

1967 TLC · 09-05-09, 09:02 AM

Aussie Cruiser,

That is one stout looking slide. Nice engineering. I used mine for the first time since I built it and what a pleasure to use. No more back breaking fridge lifting everytime you need get something out.

Thanks for the pictures, I understand better how the lift strut works.