G'day all,
I bought an Engel fridge slide about a year ago and have only just got around to fitting it into the Prado, will be in Tassie on the 15 of Feb so had to get off the old freckle quick smart. Was originally going to build a angle iron frame to fit in the whole rear area and fill this with chip board covered with carpet then bolt the Engel slide to the chip board but changed me mind to the following.
I have used only the original bolt holes that are used for the 3rd seats and tire down "D" loops. The frame is made out of 30x30x3mm angel iron, 13x13mm square tube and 30x3mm flat bar and the cage is made from 10mm round rod and 25x25x3mm gal mesh.
The 13mm tubing is used across the front of the frame and under the angel iron down the side thats in the middle of the floor, the reason for this is because the floor is not level between the edge near the wheel arch and the centre of the floor.
The next image shows the fixtures, yellow markers "D" tire down loops bolt holes and green markers 3rd row seating anchor holes. There is no fitting in the bottom right corner and I didn't want to drill any holes but it is quit firm against the floor and to help I also put a couple of 3mm rubber strip under that corner and there is no movement
Next images shows the slide fitted to the frame
Now with the cage in place
And now with the Engel in place
I know that this might not be the best solution for everyone but it suits me to a tee, when the fridge is not needed in car I can remove it and the cage and still have a relatively flat loading area in the back, and being at floor level the wife who is vertically challenged can see into the fridge when is pulled out without standing on a milk crate unlike some of the other slides that are on top of draws. The most time consuming part of the whole build was using my stick welder to weld the mesh to the cage frame, would be better to use an oxy set and braze the mesh to the frame.
All in all I am quite happy with the build and it doesn't rattle at the moment but time will tell.
Steve
I bought an Engel fridge slide about a year ago and have only just got around to fitting it into the Prado, will be in Tassie on the 15 of Feb so had to get off the old freckle quick smart. Was originally going to build a angle iron frame to fit in the whole rear area and fill this with chip board covered with carpet then bolt the Engel slide to the chip board but changed me mind to the following.
I have used only the original bolt holes that are used for the 3rd seats and tire down "D" loops. The frame is made out of 30x30x3mm angel iron, 13x13mm square tube and 30x3mm flat bar and the cage is made from 10mm round rod and 25x25x3mm gal mesh.
The 13mm tubing is used across the front of the frame and under the angel iron down the side thats in the middle of the floor, the reason for this is because the floor is not level between the edge near the wheel arch and the centre of the floor.
The next image shows the fixtures, yellow markers "D" tire down loops bolt holes and green markers 3rd row seating anchor holes. There is no fitting in the bottom right corner and I didn't want to drill any holes but it is quit firm against the floor and to help I also put a couple of 3mm rubber strip under that corner and there is no movement
Next images shows the slide fitted to the frame
Now with the cage in place
And now with the Engel in place
I know that this might not be the best solution for everyone but it suits me to a tee, when the fridge is not needed in car I can remove it and the cage and still have a relatively flat loading area in the back, and being at floor level the wife who is vertically challenged can see into the fridge when is pulled out without standing on a milk crate unlike some of the other slides that are on top of draws. The most time consuming part of the whole build was using my stick welder to weld the mesh to the cage frame, would be better to use an oxy set and braze the mesh to the frame.
All in all I am quite happy with the build and it doesn't rattle at the moment but time will tell.
Steve
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