A while ago, I posted a query for some help to come up with a way to mount a big (60L) fridge in a Toyota Tacoma xtracab (U.S. version truck, very similar to Hilux).
(I tried doing a "follow up" to that thread, but it doesn't seem to show up as active, archived, or "both" for some reason.) I came up with a final design, so here is the latest news on the project.
I had to extend the OEM bench to accomodate the width of the fridge. When I put the fridge in the xcab, there was no longer any room for my old Kenwood speaker boxes. So, I incorporated the speakers into the new deck. I had to remove the rear seats, rear seatbelts, and rear backrest to make this project work. I would not recommend this for a tall person, as I am about 5'-10" and was able to squeeze the fridge back there without losing my normal
seat position that I have always had, but a taller person might have trouble, so would probably want to use a 45L fridge.
[ View Image]
Here is the pass.
seat fully reclined (this was required to keep my wife happy with the fridge mod :o)
[ View Image]
You will notice the power cord and thermometer wire (small black wire, I have a thermometer remote sensor in the fridge) are laying with "slack" in the lines, and not hidden. This is because I put the fridge on sliders, and can slide it across
the bench to the middle. The white rope you see is the "quick release" that holds the fridge in place... like this...
[ View Image]
I put the fridge on sliders because I wanted to be able to access the compressor and motor area, have easy access from either side of the truck, put the load in the middle if I want, and also to access the OEM stow compartments on either end of
the bench, like this...
[ View Image]
[ View Image]
I cannot believe how many hours I have spent on this!! This must have taken more time than a solid-axle swap!! Hahahaha - It seemed like a fairly simple mod to begin with... everything in that xcab is contoured... oh man, it took forever to shape the pieces for the deck. And then figuring out how to build the deck super solid so it would support the weight of a loaded fridge... even upside down (like a rollover - I hope not). And then figuring out how to do the fridge slides so they were equally stout. This doesn't even include the dual battery setup and battery controller...
I used a Xantrex Pathmaker dual battery isolator/combiner that has user programmable set points for the voltages. I had no place (and didn't want) to mount the controller in the engine bay, so I split the controller from the solenoid, and left the solenoid in the engine bay, while I relocated the controller to the cabin, like this...
[ View Image]
Below the controller is a battery energy gauge that reads like a fuel gauge. It can be switched between the main and aux. batteries. I made a cover for the controller out of... (I can't believe this, hahahaha) ...a fishing tackle box! Hey, don't laugh too hard... it works great! The box dimensions were just perfect. Although it was a twin sided box with lots of little dividers, so I had to cut the back half of the box off, and remove the dividers. Here is a picture with the lid open...
[ View Image]
If you look at the carpet where it meets the plastic wall, there is a step in the line of the carpet, just below and to the left of the battery gauge. That is where the original bench
seat used to take a 90 degree turn to the floor.
And it's still not over!! I am going to be doing some more tweaks and mods with this. I still need to mount a magnet on a small bracket above the fridge, to hold the lid open for hands-free access to the fridge compartment, and I am also going to be adding some fans for better cooling and ventilation. I plan to add a small 12v fan to the bottom of the fridge case, to blow up at the compressor when the fridge is running, and a solar ventilation fan that will be mounted in the OEM side speaker hole on the side of the cabin. This fan will pull hot air from the cab and push it out of the cabin vent located on the back of the body. Because it will be solar powered, it can run automatically whenever the truck is parked without adding any load to the battery.
BAJATACO.COM