Why are fridges usually placed as far back as possible?

[wiseinvestor]

Working on my cargo space management and I am curious about something. I see so many fridges placed as far to the rear of the vehicle as possible, even when installed on a slide. Most of the best drawer systems put the fridge as far back as possible as well. They then use any space between the fridge and the 2nd row seats for something else. I assume there is a good reason for this. Intuitively I would prefer any extra space to be accessible from the rear, but I must be missing something. Other than having to remove what would be stored aft of the fridge at the lunch stop ... is there another big disadvantage to not mounting it all the way at the back?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

 

[Ratchey]

I would imagine it is because most people access it from the back. The other alternative would to mount it sideways and access it from the rear side doors. If you are wondering why they put it in the back instead of the middle when accessing from the rear hatch, is you would have to move anything in front of it every time you wanted to pull it out, and you would need extra long sliders which are much more expensive.

 

[wiseinvestor]

I would imagine it is because most people access it from the back. The other alternative would to mount it sideways and access it from the rear side doors. If you are wondering why they put it in the back instead of the middle when accessing from the rear hatch, is you would have to move anything in front of it every time you wanted to pull it out, and you would need extra long sliders which are much more expensive.

I think you make a good point about wanting to access the fridge from the rear. I would want to be able to do that as well. But we are talking about less than a foot in most situations right? See in the pic how they have stuff stored behind the fridge? It comes out past the tailgate.. so even pushed into the 2nd row seats wouldn't it pull out far enough to access from the rear without issue? Thanks for thoughts! Cheers.

 

[i4c4lo]

A lot of the food prep is done at the rear of the rig - you have a nice table with the tailgate - we reach in the fridge from back there and we have a nice flat space to make a sandwich or whatever you need. Or you can have a nice flat space to put stuff down while you dig to the bottom of the fridge.

Where would you like to be able to access your fridge?

 

[mep1811]

I think ease of getting to the fridge. All the slides I've seen put the fridge close to the tailgate. Not much room in the back after putting in a 50qt fridge. in.

 

[wiseinvestor]

A lot of the food prep is done at the rear of the rig - you have a nice table with the tailgate - we reach in the fridge from back there and we have a nice flat space to make a sandwich or whatever you need. Or you can have a nice flat space to put stuff down while you dig to the bottom of the fridge.

Where would you like to be able to access your fridge?

I want to access it from the rear. I just want the fridge to live closer to the 2nd row.

 

[wiseinvestor]

I think ease of getting to the fridge. All the slides I've seen put the fridge close to the tailgate. Not much room in the back after putting in a 50qt fridge. in.

Yes, I agree with you. Thank you

 

[Markuson]

No rule about keeping it in back.
I keep mine in row 2 and love it.
It’s awesome bc Can access without opening back and passenger can access while driving.
To me, the back would be a pain, and destroys the biggest cargo spot in the truck.

I can still sleep in the back on either side...

 

[wiseinvestor]

No rule about keeping it in back.
I keep mine in row 2 and love it.
It’s awesome bc Can access without opening back and passenger can access while driving.
To me, the back would be a pain, and destroys the biggest cargo spot in the truck.

I can still sleep in the back on either side...View attachment 2276773View attachment 2276774View attachment 2276776View attachment 2276777
View attachment 2276778

Markuson I love your setup and I want to thank you for your contributions to this forum. I have enjoyed your posts in many threads. I must not have asked my question very well. I am really just asking if I shift the fridge slide from it's usual location 10 inches towards the 2nd row if there is a downside to that.

 

[wiseinvestor]

No rule about keeping it in back.
I keep mine in row 2 and love it.
It’s awesome bc Can access without opening back and passenger can access while driving.
To me, the back would be a pain, and destroys the biggest cargo spot in the truck.

I can still sleep in the back on either side...View attachment 2276773View attachment 2276774View attachment 2276776View attachment 2276777
View attachment 2276778

Also, I am jelly because I really wanted to create a place to sleep inside the truck... but my on board water plan has ruined that possibility. Give and take everywhere in this game. Thanks again.

 

[sdnative]

For me it's about most efficient use of the space. On trips I am usually packed full of gear. I would either want the fridge as far back as possible or as far forward as possible. If furthest back (almost touching the hatch), the fridge is readily accessible from the rear and I can pack the maximum amount of stuff between the fridge and 2nd row seats. If furthest forward (almost touching the seats), then I can pack the maximum amount of stuff between the fridge and hatch. Any place in between and it's a waste of space.

Forward it's over the wheels which is better for weight distribution but I have to work around other gear when accessing it from the rear. Back is less optimal from a weight distribution standpoint, but much better accessibility from the rear.

 

[wiseinvestor]

For me it's about most efficient use of the space. On trips I am usually packed full of gear. I would either want the fridge as far back as possible or as far forward as possible. If furthest back (almost touching the hatch), the fridge is readily accessible from the rear and I can pack the maximum amount of stuff between the fridge and 2nd row seats. If furthest forward (almost touching the seats), then I can pack the maximum amount of stuff between the fridge and hatch. Any place in between and it's a waste of space.

Forward it's over the wheels which is better for weight distribution but I have to work around other gear when accessing it from the rear. Back is less optimal from a weight distribution standpoint, but much better accessibility from the rear.

I totally agree with you about efficient use of space, and wanting it as far back or forward as possible. I am building an on board water tank that will mirror the fridge on the passenger side and it will be located as far forward as possible. For my setup it make sense to locate the fridge in the same way. My thinking was that if I push the fridge slide into the 2nd row to mirror the on board water tank then it would leave me with similar space in the aft of both the fridge and the ob water tank. This way the water weight would be over the wheels. Thank you for the feedback.

 

[bozochu]

With fridge mounted in the back, the top clearance of the rear hatch opening must be considered. If you have tall drawers that the slide sits on top of or if you have a large fridge, when the slide is extended, you would want to make sure you can open the fridge completely.

 

[Sandroad]

With more years of packing experience than I care to admit, I’ve found the space between the back of the seats and the fridge when the fridge all the way to the back of the truck next to the tailgate is just right for all the stuff I need to have along, but don’t use regularly. For me, pushing the fridge to the back of the seats would create a packing/unpacking hassle with stuff in the way I don’t use all the time. That’s in addition to the fridge access issue. If the second row seats were out, it would change the packing dynamics.

 

[terrapin]

I have a DAC truck tent that covers the rear with the hatch/tailgate open. I have my fridge slide mounted in the back and I slide it out when I sleep to give me more room on my platform.

 

[wiseinvestor]

With fridge mounted in the back, the top clearance of the rear hatch opening must be considered. If you have tall drawers that the slide sits on top of or if you have a large fridge, when the slide is extended, you would want to make sure you can open the fridge completely.

Ah.. this is a good point. Thank you

 

[wiseinvestor]

I have a DAC truck tent that covers the rear with the hatch/tailgate open. I have my fridge slide mounted in the back and I slide it out when I sleep to give me more room on my platform.

That makes sense.

 

[wiseinvestor]

With more years of packing experience than I care to admit, I’ve found the space between the back of the seats and the fridge when the fridge all the way to the back of the truck next to the tailgate is just right for all the stuff I need to have along, but don’t use regularly. For me, pushing the fridge to the back of the seats would create a packing/unpacking hassle with stuff in the way I don’t use all the time. That’s in addition to the fridge access issue. If the second row seats were out, it would change the packing dynamics.

I think in the end this is probably the real answer. Does one prefer easy to access storage that has to be dealt with every time you pull out the fridge... or deeper storage and easy access to the fridge. Your answer is helpful as I weigh the pros and cons of my setup design. Thank you

 

[Fisher23]

I totally agree with you about efficient use of space, and wanting it as far back or forward as possible. I am building an on board water tank that will mirror the fridge on the passenger side and it will be located as far forward as possible. For my setup it make sense to locate the fridge in the same way. My thinking was that if I push the fridge slide into the 2nd row to mirror the on board water tank then it would leave me with similar space in the aft of both the fridge and the ob water tank. This way the water weight would be over the wheels. Thank you for the feedback.

Why would you put water inside your vehicle vs carry it in a cans on the bumper? For heat?

 

[wiseinvestor]

Weight is one reason, but also because I want it powered.