Mounting the fridge right behind the front seat with access from the rear doors?

moabian

Active member
My 63-qt ARB is mounted behind the passenger seat in the JKUR. I took out the back seat and had a flat floor built with storage underneath. The ARB fits perfectly between the front seat and the Tuffy deck. Velcro strips on the lid and on the speaker bar hold it open when necessary for loading, etc. It's hard-wired through a switch on the dash...dual Odyssey batteries.

back.jpg
 

Comanche Scott

Expedition Leader
Your posts are extremely helpful. Thank you very much!

Awesome pics and info! Thank you all very much! :beer:
This is a huge help, and I sincerely appreciate your input!
 

Dan Grec

Expedition Leader
I'm in the process of mounting my Dometic 35L behind the passenger seat, lengthwise (so it's at a right angle to the photo KevinsMap) posted above.
It's (obviously) very easy to get into from the rear passenger door, and I can get into it while sitting in the drivers seat without too much hassle.
I wouldn't do it while driving though, it requires too much reaching/turning.

It just fits, but it allows for a bunch of the other cool stuff I'm building. The front passenger seat can not go all the way back, it has to be about 2 clicks forward.

I don't have a backseat, and it's sitting on a "flat floor".

Photos coming very soon.

-Dan
 

KevinsMap

Adventurer
Lots of cool arrangements; especially valuable because I have seen very few like these setups in person, even at the Expo or various shows. Good ideas!

My priorities, for those who are interested; Both front seats had to be fully functional in rake and seated recline. The rear 1/3 split "buddy" seat must be retained. It had to be a "tall and small" fridge, because every square inch of a JK is precious, but of course tall wine bottles had to fit ;-) ... and food for 2, for 5 days minimum. The tailgate loading area had to be unimpeded completely; the subwoofer got replaced, and put in a more space-efficient location.

The fridge had to sit as low as possible... it gets very heavy when loaded, and indeed ended up only 4cm from the footwell floor including the shock mountings and Transit Mount. Also for this last priority, the battery compartment had to fit in the not-very-usable behind-the -seat footwell space immediately forward of the fridge. It weighs 43kg (93 pounds)! But with 160Ah 50% deep cycle, its the Energizer Bunny!

The electronics also live in that awkward space, giving me input/output power distribution convenient to the rear door and to the driver seat both. The custom battery box is hydrogen vented (marine-style), isolated from the electronics... though it is a fully-sealed marine AGM type and will only burp under - highly unlikely - severe overcharging (but hydrogen is not to be trifled with, so it's vented).

Finally, i'm with those of you who cook away from the vehicle. So the fully loaded (heavy!) fridge slides right out the door with very easy clearance.
 

Comanche Scott

Expedition Leader
Great input guys! Thanks

I'm in the process of mounting my Dometic 35L behind the passenger seat, lengthwise (so it's at a right angle to the photo KevinsMap) posted above.
It's (obviously) very easy to get into from the rear passenger door, and I can get into it while sitting in the drivers seat without too much hassle.
I wouldn't do it while driving though, it requires too much reaching/turning.

It just fits, but it allows for a bunch of the other cool stuff I'm building. The front passenger seat can not go all the way back, it has to be about 2 clicks forward.

I don't have a backseat, and it's sitting on a "flat floor".

Photos coming very soon.

-Dan

Awesome,
will look forward to seeing the pictures!

Lots of cool arrangements; especially valuable because I have seen very few like these setups in person, even at the Expo or various shows. Good ideas!

My priorities, for those who are interested; Both front seats had to be fully functional in rake and seated recline. The rear 1/3 split "buddy" seat must be retained. It had to be a "tall and small" fridge, because every square inch of a JK is precious, but of course tall wine bottles had to fit ;-) ... and food for 2, for 5 days minimum. The tailgate loading area had to be unimpeded completely; the subwoofer got replaced, and put in a more space-efficient location.

The fridge had to sit as low as possible... it gets very heavy when loaded, and indeed ended up only 4cm from the footwell floor including the shock mountings and Transit Mount. Also for this last priority, the battery compartment had to fit in the not-very-usable behind-the -seat footwell space immediately forward of the fridge. It weighs 43kg (93 pounds)! But with 160Ah 50% deep cycle, its the Energizer Bunny!

The electronics also live in that awkward space, giving me input/output power distribution convenient to the rear door and to the driver seat both. The custom battery box is hydrogen vented (marine-style), isolated from the electronics... though it is a fully-sealed marine AGM type and will only burp under - highly unlikely - severe overcharging (but hydrogen is not to be trifled with, so it's vented).

Finally, i'm with those of you who cook away from the vehicle. So the fully loaded (heavy!) fridge slides right out the door with very easy clearance.

Nice setup! Do you have any shots during construction?
 

KevinsMap

Adventurer
"Nice setup! Do you have any shots during construction?"

Sorry, no. And... Thank You!

I'm not really into writing "build threads" myself; oh, but do I read them! "How to" vs. "How not". ;-) It's a good way to learn... So I'm happy to help, if I can answer questions and "give back".

I am finishing up some additional modifications next month. Likely enough, I will take more pictures at that time, including details of my version 2 power console and battery box. I have no good pictures of the current version, though the outward appearance will change only in detail. Maybe it is time to post something.
 

Comanche Scott

Expedition Leader
Fridge/Freezer fits in Jeep... barely

Well the fridge showed up, and it's pretty big! :Wow1:
So now it's time to start building a floor platform to secure it. Just have it sitting on a piece of plastic down spout as a "mock-up" for these pictures. The passenger seat is all the way back and tilted to a nice comfortable position.
.
Going to fabricate a folding step that will slip onto the Rock rail tubes, to make access easy when at camp.
.
The little cooler sitting on top is what I used for the Moab / Mojave Road trip. It is small enough to sit on the rear floor with the seats still in. Worked great to keep drinks and sandwiches cold, but no ice cream treats. :elkgrin:
 

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Dan Grec

Expedition Leader
Well the fridge showed up, and it's pretty big! :Wow1:
So now it's time to start building a floor platform to secure it. Just have it sitting on a piece of plastic down spout as a "mock-up" for these pictures. The passenger seat is all the way back and tilted to a nice comfortable position.

Which Dometic is that? I went with the CFX-35, here's mine mocked up, and that's basically where it's sitting now on the completed platform

fridge.jpg

-Dan
 

Comanche Scott

Expedition Leader
Definitely like the way your fridge sits, and looking forward to see how all the rest goes together. Still debating on removing the carpet in the rear before building the raised floor.
This is the CFX-65DZUS. It's the smallest I could find that had the ability to work as a fridge and freezer together. They made one called the CF-50DZ, but I couldn't find it available here in the states any more.
Pretty nice quality on these fridges. It took 2 hours to go from 82*F to 9*F in a 97*F garage.
 

Dan Grec

Expedition Leader
Pretty nice quality on these fridges. It took 2 hours to go from 82*F to 9*F in a 97*F garage.

I agree with that for sure. I set mine just below freezing and had little bits of ice in my water in 2 hours.
I also only have one battery so far, so I have the low-battery-disconnect set on high - when the battery goes below 12.1V the fridge will turn itself off.
Jeep was sitting for 2 days, fridge was still running :)

-Dan
 

dstock

Explorer
Well the fridge showed up, and it's pretty big! :Wow1:
So now it's time to start building a floor platform to secure it. Just have it sitting on a piece of plastic down spout as a "mock-up" for these pictures. The passenger seat is all the way back and tilted to a nice comfortable position.
.
Going to fabricate a folding step that will slip onto the Rock rail tubes, to make access easy when at camp.
.
The little cooler sitting on top is what I used for the Moab / Mojave Road trip. It is small enough to sit on the rear floor with the seats still in. Worked great to keep drinks and sandwiches cold, but no ice cream treats. :elkgrin:

Damn, that is big!!
 

Comanche Scott

Expedition Leader
Damn, that is big!!

lol Yeah, after ordering it, I went to out to the Jeep with a tape measure, and all I could think is... uh-oh!
But a day later, I'm glad not to have compromised... each time I walk out to the garage, and grab an ice cream treat. :elkgrin:
 

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dstock

Explorer
lol Yeah, after ordering it, I went to out to the Jeep with a tape measure, and all I could think is... uh-oh!
But a day later, I'm glad not to have compromised... each time I walk out to the garage, and grab an ice cream treat. :elkgrin:

Haha! Awesome!!
 

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