Drawer fridge questions

[RedRob]

I’m not having any luck searching forums but that’s probably my own ineptitude.

I’m almost certain I want a drawer fridge for the back of my Tacoma where I have done a seat delete. It’s seems like a Dometic 30 liter is the choice but the Dometic website is confusing and the two customer service reps with whom I have spoken have not been familiar with the concept of putting a refrigerator in a passenger vehicle. Literally never heard of it. I was flabbergasted.

Anyway, I’m looking for any and all advice. Primarily; Is a Dometic 30 liter a good choice? Is there a particular model that would be best, since the website seems to show different models that appear identical and customer service cannot tell me how to distinguish them. Is there a company that sells these that knows overlanding and would the best place to buy.

Thank you for your time.

 

[Sparksalot]

@Michael put one of these into the drawer system he built for his land cruiser. If you look at the OB y’all toob channel about 12-18 months ago, he described the fridge and his decision to choose it.

 

[MazeVX]

I’m not having any luck searching forums but that’s probably my own ineptitude.

I’m almost certain I want a drawer fridge for the back of my Tacoma where I have done a seat delete. It’s seems like a Dometic 30 liter is the choice but the Dometic website is confusing and the two customer service reps with whom I have spoken have not been familiar with the concept of putting a refrigerator in a passenger vehicle. Literally never heard of it. I was flabbergasted.

Anyway, I’m looking for any and all advice. Primarily; Is a Dometic 30 liter a good choice? Is there a particular model that would be best, since the website seems to show different models that appear identical and customer service cannot tell me how to distinguish them. Is there a company that sells these that knows overlanding and would the best place to buy.

Thank you for your time.

So as far as I know, the difference between both is that one has a detached compressor that you can mount somewhere else if you want or need to and the other one has the compressor fixed in the back.

 

[smritte]

Which Tacoma do you have, 4 door or access cab? I have an access cab. My 30 qt IndelB just fits behind the passenger seat. Four door would be easier. You use the term drawer fridge so I'm assuming you just mean fridge and not fridge/slider. The sliders are normally a few inch's wider than the fridge. Some of them can be quite wide because they fit several sizes of fridge. Make sure you look at those dimensions also. I build my own slides out of drawer slides, way cheaper and I can build to fit what I have.

Have you built a platform yet? If not step one is measure out a nice platform out of plywood. Grab the fridge dimensions and figure out how your securing it. There's quite a few threads on Tacoma platforms. I searched "Tacoma Fridge Platforms" and came up with quite a few as well as pictures of a fridge behind the seat of my size truck on a platform.

The next question is how long do you want to camp? I can go 3-4 days out of my 30qt rotating a few drinks at a time with the rest of the space for the few items I refrigerate. What I actually bought my 30 qt for was day trips and maybe an over night. I should have gotten something smaller for that. longer trips I have my teardrop with a 50 qt.

I installed a high current power port on the back of my console. You don't want to use the factory power port for the fridge. It wont flow the power properly and turns off with your key.

Hope this gets you rolling.

 

[OTH Overland]

We had planned to put the Dometic D30 drawer fridge in our Grand Cherokee, but after many shipping delays, the supplier upgraded for no charge us to the Engel version which has the same overall dimensions but a different compressor and was a couple of hundred more if I remember correctly. We have run the fridge for about 3 years now and have been overall fairly happy.

Positives
- really nice to just be able to slide open a drawer and grab what you want without pulling open a slide, opening a lid and reaching over a chest style. (Wife would have difficulty seeing inside without a tilting slide)
- Built the fridge into a cabinet so can pile totes and other camping gear on top and still access fridge.
- Great size for two or three day trips or where access to resupply is available.
- Has had no problem keeping food cold even in hot car.
- Small physical size

Negatives
- Uses a bit more energy than it should and as compared to a chest style. I attribute this to less insulation and the cold spilling over the side of the drawer when opening it.
- Thermostat needs to be adjusted somewhat if outside (or car interior) temp changes significantly to keep the inside constant temp. (fridge does have plenty of oomph to freeze water bottles solid if so desired)
- Thermostat control hangs down on one side of the cabinet, need to make sure food is stacked appropriately to clear the stat when closing drawer.
- compressor at rear of unit is somewhat exposed and could be damaged if unit is not built into cabinetry.

We built ours into a drawer system and added the appropriate sized passive ventilation openings in the rear per the manufactures instructions for exhaust air (intake air is thru vents in the front of the drawer). I added an additional ventilation hole and fitted a computer fan connected to a temperature sensor so the fan will kick on if the temp at the back of the fridge gets to warm. Also installed a temperature gauge at the rear so we can monitor the heat level. So far the fan has only come on when the Jeep sits parked in the sun. I have it plugged into the factory rear cigarette lighter port, and when we get to camp, switch it over to the Jackery & Solar panels. We have left it on the starter battery overnight, but it does make a pretty good dent in the charge even thought it still starts ok. Seems to pull less than 2.5 amps

Would defiantly buy the Engel again.