Xterra Storage: Fridge slide

[Xterabl]

OK, this thread might grow. First part, detailed below, is slider for Edgestar 43 quart fridge.
Goal was lowest profile so shorter folk can open the fridge, and minimal overall obtrusiveness. Oh and also I wanted a slide out table.
mounting brackets of sliders will allow addition of more storage elements (drawers, shelves, etc.).

I used the 24" 400lb slides from Lee Valley, here:
http://www.leevalley.com/US/hardware/page.aspx?cat=3,43614,43616,50505&p=50505

At first I bought accuride 200lb-ers, but then someone posted infor about these here on Expo, which are rated for double the load for reasonable price (maybe not 400 lb sturdy, but definitely more than the Accurides). But the accurides looked a little better built, with full-lenght ball bearing coverage vs. only about 20% with the Lee Valley. I plan to use the accurides for a future drawer addition to the left of the fridge.

Pics tell the story:

Pic 1: Closed


Pic 2: Open


Pic 3: Slide-out table


Pic 4: With lid open to show clearance


Pic 5: Slide-out table has stainless steel "cutting board"


Pic 6: Slide-out table construction consists of 3-elements: hardwood plywood (maple, IIRC) for inherent rigidity, aluminum angle attached with FLEXIBLE epoxy (from marine store, mucho $$$, like $5/oz.) to plywood for increased stiffness, and aluminum channel--bonded to bottom of the fridge slide-out tray with even MORE flexible epoxy (mucho-mucho $$$, like $20/oz)--the inner dimension of which perfectly matches the outer dimensions of the angle that is bonded to the plywood.


Pic 7: Here is how these 3 elements fit together (Again, aluminum angle is epoxied to wood; aluminum channel, within which the aluminum angle slides, is epoxied to the bottom of the fridge slide-out tray):


Pic 8: Snug fit, partially via dumb-luck


Pic 9: Little storage bin built into the back of the slider


Pic 10: Sub-floor is 1/2" ply mounted below factory carpet; to mount, i removed the factory cargo tie down hooks and used the vacated tapped holes...resulting in a combination of M6 (qty = 2) and M8 (qty 3) screws, with fender-ish washers, fixing the floor at the four corners and upper-center (towards seats)


More "things" will (hopefully) be mounted to this subfloor in the coming months....

 

[BlackX]

Looks great. For the sub floor did you replace the plastic lift up storage door with the wood piece or do something else?

 

[Xterabl]

Thanks!
Yeah, this is a 1st gen Xterra. The plastic piece, which is sort of half-moon shaped, covers the storage "hole" for the scissor jack. I removed all jack-related equipment including the plastic cover, and covered it all up with the wood sub-floor. The wood floor extends across the entire width of the cargo area, and from the hatch opening up to about 16 inches short of the back seats -- basically it goes just beyond the length of the fridge slides.

I am considering cutting out a small-ish section of the sub-floor, near the hatch opening just left of center, which will allow me to replace the scissor jack in its original location...put I am going to wait on this in case I need that particular real estate for anchoring more storage assemblies.

By the way I've updated the post with more information on the slides.

 

[BlackX]

Great idea. Good work.

 

[theindian]

nice job! LIke the slide out cutting table idea. I might have borrow mod from you!!!

 

[Xterabl]

Thanks...to be fair the slideout table idea came from someone's post on this forum. Unfortunately I didn't bookmark the post. So, if you're reading this post now, a big "thanks" to you for the cool idea.
I did however research the slide mechanism...probably looked funny standing in the hardware store with various aluminum stock, sliding them in & out of each other to see if a perfect fit could be found. Also, researching the various epoxies was important because I felt it had to also be somewhat flexible, which is the achilles heel of most epoxies...for that, I searched around boaters forums, and ended up purchasing the epoxies at West Marine.
My final personal touch was the stainless steel cutting board, which was left over from a McMaster Carr purchase I made when I bought several pieces of 12"x12" stainless of various thickness to make a homemade pizza peel.

 

[TemboTusk]

Thanks...to be fair the slideout table idea came from someone's post on this forum. Unfortunately I didn't bookmark the post. So, if you're reading this post now, a big "thanks" to you for the cool idea.
I did however research the slide mechanism...probably looked funny standing in the hardware store with various aluminum stock, sliding them in & out of each other to see if a perfect fit could be found. Also, researching the various epoxies was important because I felt it had to also be somewhat flexible, which is the achilles heel of most epoxies...for that, I searched around boaters forums, and ended up purchasing the epoxies at West Marine.
My final personal touch was the stainless steel cutting board, which was left over from a McMaster Carr purchase I made when I bought several pieces of 12"x12" stainless of various thickness to make a homemade pizza peel.

The slide out table looks good and I like the storage area behind the fridge. Great place to put fridge accessories. You may have seen something like the LoadSpotter slide with a cutting board attachment.

.

 

[Silver dude]

Awesome work! Been looking for ideas. I have the same issue with the subfloor covering my jack. Been thinking about relocating it under the hood or. Making a compartment under the driverside rear passenger seat just cautious about cutting a hole in the floor. Subbed.

 

[targa88]

Holy thread resurrection....

Xterabl,
Nice set up - especially like the slide out cutting board.

Similar idea from Jeffry Scott - below his drawers

 

[Xterabl]

Oh, that is a pretty nice slide-out board, the Jeffry Scott one!
I thought I got the idea from someone, maybe a year ago, but I can't remember who. Perhaps it was indeed the load spotter one referenced above.
To Silver Dude's comment: I have since made a (very coarse) cut out of my sub floor which allows the stock jack to be kept in the same location...will try to update with a pic of this.
Also, I have now built a storage unit around this fridge slide, and water system too. Pics will be added when time allows....
Thanks for the nice comments!

 

[washington taco]

Glad to see this come back to life! I will be building my new platform this winter and need some fresh ideas!

 

[Silver dude]

I have since made a (very coarse) cut out of my sub floor which allows the stock jack to be kept in the same location...will try to update with a pic of this.
Also, I have now built a storage unit around this fridge slide, and water system too. Pics will be added when time allows....
Thanks for the nice comments!

Yeah it would be a shame to not utilize that space in some way. I've made my own subfloor Click here Just having a difficult time wanting to cut the area of the jack as its where I tie off my storage containers. Needs to be strong. You keep the crank rod / lug nut wrench elsewhere then?

 

[Xterabl]

Yeah, I wouldn't want to cut that pretty subfloor either. For me, it wasn't such an issue. I decided early on to keep the factory carpet over my subfloor...and cut slots through it where I needed them. So, my sub-floor is covered and it's OK to cut ugly cut-outs in it...so long as they don't compromise it structurally.
If you look at the last picture in my initial post, you can see the sub-floor exposed below the carpet. To make the space below functional for the jack, I only had to cut to the left of the center-line (notice the couple of screw holes in the center...the cut ends about there). Basically, the shape of the cut is like a quarter of an ellipse...with the arc going from the left side (about 12" from the center) close to the hatch to the middle about 6-8" forward (towards the back seats) of the hatch...then straight down the middle back toward the hatch. The stock scissor jack fits by putting it in at an angle...and jiggling and forcing it just a bit, etc. The other hardware (lug wrench, jack handle) fits as well, with various improvisations..

 

[Silver dude]

Thanks might not be so bad then if its just a smaller half eclipse. Might be handy as I need a jacking platform anyways. Possibly I can make the subfloor plug thicker then the subfloor. Allowing me to remove the plug place it under my jack and have additional lift. The stock jack and a 2x4 scrap of wood was just enough to get my 32 inch tires off the ground up front. As it sits I don't have the subfloor bolted to the truck have been eyeing the factory tiedowns which you describe. Unforcunatly my bolts rusted and snapped easily on removal. Leaving me with broken studs directly above the rear frame rails. So I've a got a whole project ahead of me. In that reguard. At times I think it would be great if I could just hinge the floor at the seat mount and come up with a manual hand type fastener for the end. But, then I get a flat tire while loaded I have to completly unload. Also thought about just storing the jack inside the spare wheel if it would fit. But, the simple trap door option like you have is likely the best.