Minimalist refrigerator?

[alanymarce]

We are looking for a very low profile refrigerator for our Wrangler JK. We sleep in the vehicle, and have a bed built in which has space below the frame where we have storage boxes and a small cooler. The cooler has been OK, however a refrigerator would be an improvement. We had an ARB 35 L refrigerator in our LC80 which was so high that it restricted the bed width at the back, so on our Montero (at home) we chose a Dometic 35 L which is low enough to allow the bed to be full width. However on our Wrangler (in Canada) the height available in the cabin means that we have only a little more than 24 cm (9-1/2 in) available below the bed.

So, we are looking for a refrigerator which will fit into this height. Obviously it will be limited in capacity, however it needs to hold only key items for a few days (including a couple of beers and a bottle of wine – which we replace from ambient storage when we consume). The lowest unit we have found is the Dometic CoolMatic CD 30 which has a height of 25 cm (9.84 in). This might work (perhaps with a bit of sanding of the bed frame, or rebuilding the frame to give more height).

Before buying one and discovering whether it will actually fit, we’d appreciate knowing of any other alternative which has a height less than this - suggestions please.

 

[pith helmet]

Sorry this is a link to the US site, but I have a very similar issue in a JKU albeit with 10.5 inches to play with and have looked at this one. Not going to last like a Dometic, etc. but they seems to perform pretty well for the price.
Amazon.com: Alpicool C15 Portable Refrigerator 16 Quart(15 Liter) Vehicle, Car, Truck, RV, Boat, Mini Fridge Freezer for Driving, Travel, Fishing, Outdoor -12/24V DC… : Industrial & Scientific
Mine folds up so I figure I could run a fridge all day and raise the front up if there was an issue with heat dissipating below and turn it off at night.

 

[alanymarce]

Excellent!

Thank you.

This might work, at 10.2 in in height - we could elevate the bed frame another 2-1/2 cm which is not going to eat too much into the space and slide it in. One advantage of the Dometic is that it's a drawer rather than a top hatch. For the Alpicool we'd need to open a hatch in the bed frame for access, or put in a really thin support panel to slide it out/in - the bed folds back from the front seats, and the mattress could be slid forward to give access, although this isn't ideal. Alternatively we could take advantage of the top hatch in the Alpicool and build a support in the front space, behind the front seats, so that it would be accessible from the front. This is currently used for general kit, clothing, and food (which doesn''t need to be kept cool). We could transfer the latter into the space where we currently have the cooler.

re heat, I see a lateral vent on the Alpicool, so as long as we have some space around the area it should be OK.

You have me thinking now : )

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

You can buy a 12v compressor/condenser unit and also evaporators, all pre gassed. The rest is just an insulated box that most people can make.
Any size/shape you like. The better the insulation, the more efficient.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[alanymarce]

You can buy a 12v compressor/condenser unit and also evaporators, all pre gassed. The rest is just an insulated box that most people can make.
Any size/shape you like. The better the insulation, the more efficient.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

Good suggestion - it had not occurred to me to build something. I'll give this some thought.

Many thanks

 

[joeblack5]

As Peter said,. Boats have a lot odd curved spaces and so they have cooling units available... Another way would be to buy a small ice maker and use the ice in a conventional cooler.
We use a slide out for our microwave made from two ball slides that are screwed against the side of the microwave.. with coolers and freezer you would have to be carefully since you do not know what pipeing is inside the wall.

Good luck,
Johan

 

[alanymarce]

As Peter said,. Boats have a lot odd curved spaces and so they have cooling units available... Another way would be to buy a small ice maker and use the ice in a conventional cooler.
We use a slide out for our microwave made from two ball slides that are screwed against the side of the microwave.. with coolers and freezer you would have to be carefully since you do not know what pipeing is inside the wall.

Good luck,
Johan

Thank you

 

[Ozarker]

Check out Bourge RV fridges, several sizes, on Amazon, heard good reviews on this one......much cheaper too!

 

[86scotty]

Check out Bourge RV fridges, several sizes, on Amazon, heard good reviews on this one......much cheaper too!

It's Bouge RV, no R in Bouge. Easy to find on Amazon either way though. As are a million other China-tastic ones in all shapes and sizes these days. My Alpicool I bought for our Jeep is running 24/7 with no problems for the last year or so.

 

[dstefan]

I believe that Dometic makes a drawer fridge. Mike, the founder of Overland Bound, put one in a drawer system in his 80. Can see on YouTube.

 

[alanymarce]

Check out Bourge RV fridges, several sizes, on Amazon, heard good reviews on this one......much cheaper too!

Thanks for this - I had a look however the lowest is 35 cm high, as far as I can see, so too tall : (

 

[alanymarce]

I believe that Dometic makes a drawer fridge. Mike, the founder of Overland Bound, put one in a drawer system in his 80. Can see on YouTube.

Yes, I believe that's the one I mentioned in post #1.
Thank you.