Aluminum Drop Fridge Slide (5 Viewers)

[Pascoscout]

Figured out the cord situation today. Was concerned it would get caught up under the fridge when moving back and forth.

I took the standard ARB cord, wrapped it tight around a 1/4" metal rod, and heated it up with my heat gun until it was hot to the touch. Not so hot as to melt the cover but just the point it gets a slight shine on it. That causes it to lock in the "spring" coil so it somewhat retracts after being stretched.

Fastened one end to the top corner of the fridge and plugged the other into the power outlet. Stretches out nice and folds back up near the power outlet when retracted. Only downside is I won't be able to store anything on that side of the fridge now. I couldn't put much there anyway because it blocked off the vents on the fridge.

Another method would be to leave a gap (probably about an inch) between the frame and the cradle and use one of those wire chains to protect the cord. I didn't want the extra height though so this method works for me.

 

[cruiserpilot]

Might try a light bungey to pull the cord back against the side panel when you store it, maybe keep it
up out of the way?

 

[Corbet]

I use a bungee to pull my fridge cord up out of the way. Connected to my cargo barrier up high. Works great.

 

[thelal]

nicely done and thanks for sharing design & video

 

[MrMikeyG]

Considering the price of the 2 "nice" drop slides I know about; I think a few people would be interested.

Easy Slide - Lowering Travel Fridge Slide By Clearview

The Easy Slide is a fridge lowering slide by Clearview that will safely lower your portable travel fridge by an impressive 11.5 inches!

www.clearviewmirrorsusa.com

Product Category | MSA 4X4

msa4x4.com.au

 

[Pascoscout]

Considering the price of the 2 "nice" drop slides I know about; I think a few people would be interested.

Easy Slide - Lowering Travel Fridge Slide By Clearview

The Easy Slide is a fridge lowering slide by Clearview that will safely lower your portable travel fridge by an impressive 11.5 inches!

www.clearviewmirrorsusa.com

Product Category | MSA 4X4

msa4x4.com.au

Yeah, I looked at the clearview one. At $850 plus truck freight shipping I figured I'd try one on my own. Mines not as fancy but it works pretty well. A heck of a lot lighter too. The MSA one seemed out of reach as I didn't want to mess with shipping from Au. and didn't see a state side vendor.

 

[bj70_guy]

Yeah, I looked at the clearview one. At $850 plus truck freight shipping I figured I'd try one on my own. Mines not as fancy but it works pretty well. A heck of a lot lighter too. The MSA one seemed out of reach as I didn't want to mess with shipping from Au. and didn't see a state side vendor.

FWIW, Kakadu Camping in Vancouver BC sells the MSA - still not stateside but a lot closer to you than Oz.

DS40 Fridge Drop Slide

LIGHTER. STRONGER. SAFER. SMARTER. MSA 4X4's DS40 Fridge Drop Slide is an innovative, patented design which allows you to safely lower your fridge, providing easy, convenient access to its contents. The Drop Slide is designed to slide smoothly out from its stowed position, before lowering 30cm...

www.kakaducamping.com

Still weighs 77 pounds though.

 

[Pascoscout]

FWIW, Kakadu Camping in Vancouver BC sells the MSA - still not stateside but a lot closer to you than Oz.

DS40 Fridge Drop Slide

LIGHTER. STRONGER. SAFER. SMARTER. MSA 4X4's DS40 Fridge Drop Slide is an innovative, patented design which allows you to safely lower your fridge, providing easy, convenient access to its contents. The Drop Slide is designed to slide smoothly out from its stowed position, before lowering 30cm...

www.kakaducamping.com

Still weighs 77 pounds though.

Thanks. They don't list the DS50 which is what I would need for my fridge. Since the 40 is already at $850 I have to imagine the 50 is more.

And yeah, I have that weight beat by close to 50lbs. They do have some fancier features though.

Happy with mine so far. Had it in the truck for a couple drives around town and no rattles from it, so that's a good sign. Going on a 6-day camping trip next week so that will be a good test.

 

[bj70_guy]

Thanks. They don't list the DS50 which is what I would need for my fridge. Since the 40 is already at $850 I have to imagine the 50 is more.

And yeah, I have that weight beat by close to 50lbs. They do have some fancier features though.

Happy with mine so far. Had it in the truck for a couple drives around town and no rattles from it, so that's a good sign. Going on a 6-day camping trip next week so that will be a good test.

I'd be surprised if they wouldn't bring you in a DS50 even though it's not on the site. The few dealings I've had with them have been quite good.

I think what you've done is really cool - the commercial drops are so heavy. I mainly posted up Kakadu as info for anyone seeing your thread that may be in the same boat you were

 

[MrMikeyG]

Jeeezus. 75 pounds. I think I'm going to flat deck (slides only) my fridge. I would love to get my rear door hinges modded to 110 degrees, then I could back seat a fridge.

 

[Pascoscout]

So after a week living out of my truck I noted a change that needs to be made. The long arms twist a little when your vehicle is not level. Will need to add some structure to them. Otherwise the slide worked great. I even found that it also acts like a tilting slide if I just pull the try out till the front drops so I could quickly grab a drink without dropping the whole thing.

Will reinforce the arms a bit when I can. Next slide will probably use thicker material for the arms to prevent the twisting.

 

[2fpower]

really nice work.. got any pics of the updated long arm?

also, what do you think about adding a shock to help raise it? see video below...

 

[Pascoscout]

I have not had time to update the arms. Been focused on another project lately. The slide is still working fine, the arms just twist a little if I am using it on uneven ground.

I have looked at adding a shock to help lift it. I really don't need it as I have no trouble lifting the fridge even when it's full but I can see where it would be very useful.

 

[Blackknight1]

Made good progress today. Got the main portion of the slide done so down to just a few details and mounting in the cruiser. Added some UHMW strips for the cradle to slide on, seems to work very well. It's pretty light, the drawer slides themselves are most of the weight. I'll weight it once I have everything done.

I unfortunately found that I made the slide a little too narrow. I took my measurements at the top and bottom of the fridge but failed to notice that the middle bulges out about half an inch. The arms rub the side of the fridge just slightly. It still functions but I will probably end up making another one that's about an inch wider. Someday I plan to get one of the covers for the fridge so will need room for that.

Video of it in action. Holds the weight easily and does not take much effort to operate:


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Dude , that is BADASS !!!! congrats .