DIY fridge slide box

[Tycarver]

I just finished drawing up the plans to build a box to store my fridge and battery in my jeep. I want it to be on slides and plan to put a cutting board underneath the fridge.
My jeep has a shelf in the back that I plan to use to hold the box in place when the fridge slides out ( this way if the box wants to fall out of the Jeep it will hit the shelf and stop itself)
At the moment I plan to build it out of ply-wood and locking drawer slides. Just wanted to show what I have drawn out and see what everyone thinks and if I should make any adjustments or anything. I’ll continue to post on this forum as I build it and share how it goes.
(Pics of sketch, back of Jeep and fridge)

 

[Artsifrtsi]

How about turning it 90*? Then you'll have a lot more storage between it and the front seats, and it'd be easier to access when cooking on the tailgate? You wouldn't even need slides for the fridge, just a hold down bracket. Hardest thing would be where to mount the cutting board you want... You would have room between the fridge and the tailgate to hinge another work surface that would be even with the current one mounted on the tailgate...

 

[Tycarver]

How about turning it 90*? Then you'll have a lot more storage between it and the front seats, and it'd be easier to access when cooking on the tailgate? You wouldn't even need slides for the fridge, just a hold down bracket. Hardest thing would be where to mount the cutting board you want... You would have room between the fridge and the tailgate to hinge another work surface that would be even with the current one mounted on the tailgate...

That was a thought of mine. I was trying to keep it so that I have the ability to grab everything from the tailgate. To keep me from having to walk around the vehicle however that is an idea I’m going to continue to entertain. Not sure what way I’ll do it yet.

 

[Apparition]

@jscherb is the expert at these things. He may have some advice.

 

[jscherb]

@jscherb is the expert at these things. He may have some advice.

I'm not sure I qualify as an expert, but I did design the MORryde Trail Kitchen, pictured here in my LJ:

Your design looks fine for the fridge you've got. My suggestion would be not to underestimate the strength of the slides needed - if you plan to actually use a cutting board the slides out from under the fridge after the fridge slides out, ordinary drawer slides that you might pick up someplace like Home Depot may not provide the sturdiness you need to actually use the cutting board. The Trail Kitchen uses 250-lb. capacity slides and while they are supporting more weight than you plan to do, don't cheap out on the slides in your project.

I'm not familiar with your fridge, but is the battery integrated with it? Can't tell what those electrical connections are. If your battery is separate like most fridges, a convenient place to mount it is over the inner fender. It's a little easier to do in the LJ than the TJ, but it's not too difficult to make a mount that places the battery there - it's out of the way but easily accessible. Your shelf probably prevents the battery mounting there though.

 

[Tycarver]

I'm not sure I qualify as an expert, but I did design the MORryde Trail Kitchen, pictured here in my LJ:

View attachment 294935

Your design looks fine for the fridge you've got. My suggestion would be not to underestimate the strength of the slides needed - if you plan to actually use a cutting board the slides out from under the fridge after the fridge slides out, ordinary drawer slides that you might pick up someplace like Home Depot may not provide the sturdiness you need to actually use the cutting board. The Trail Kitchen uses 250-lb. capacity slides and while they are supporting more weight than you plan to do, don't cheap out on the slides in your project.

I'm not familiar with your fridge, but is the battery integrated with it? Can't tell what those electrical connections are. If your battery is separate like most fridges, a convenient place to mount it is over the inner fender. It's a little easier to do in the LJ than the TJ, but it's not too difficult to make a mount that places the battery there - it's out of the way but easily accessible. Your shelf probably prevents the battery mounting there though.

View attachment 294936

Battery is separate. My plan is to just make the back of the box go back a few inches further then I put the drawer slides so that the battery has room to sit back there. For drawer slides I planned on using heavy duty locking ones for both.