Unistrut fridge drawer

[JMacs]

Here it the Unistrut website. There is about any piece and part you could want. http://www.unistrut.us/index.php The common angles and straights are pretty readily available from your local Big Box store or local construction supply store. The oddball stuff you will probably have to find on-line. Most places will only sell the oddballs in bulk. So someone will buy what they need in bulk, use the 2 pieces they need, then sell the rest.

I used the P1000 1-5/8" x 1-5/8"


and the P3300 1-5/8" x 7/8"

 

[hyperboarder]

I love unistrut! Built a home brewery out of it a couple years back and I've been playing tinker toys with it at work for months!

 

[MagicMtnDan]

I like what you've done! Thanks for posting!

I've posted previously on other threads about the consideration I've given to using strut for a sleeping platform and other DIY projects for my Jeep JKUR.

One note: Unistrut is not the only maker of strut. Check out another brand (Powerstrut): http://www.power-strut.com/

There likely are others too.

 

[JMacs]

Thanks all for the kind words.

The first trip with this was a success. With a fridge full of food and more stuff on the back half of the slide, I could still pull the drawer out without much trouble. I, however, was the only family member that could slide it out. You have to lift up on the front end to pull it out. Once you lift up the front end, you are sharing the weight with the wheels in back, kind of like a wheel barrow. Not a big deal for me. The wife is a "maybe" for a lighter load. The 9-year old is out.

The friction brake worked well. Parked with the truck pointed up-hill, dropped the tailgate, and it did not slide out to meet me. Stayed right in place.

There are a couple of modifications that I need to make.
- Drill a hole under the fridge drain hole. (for obvious reasons.)
- Add a couple of L-brackets behind the fridge to act as stops. Pushing it back in, I would have to lean on the fridge a bit to get it back the last couple of inches.
- Wire management. Pushing it back in, I have to remember to grab the power cord so it doesn't catch on the tailgate and pull itself out. So far, so lucky. How is it done with the purchased slides?

 

[fireball]

I am not sure how much you have into your setup, but FWIW you can spend $120 on a set of Accuride heavy duty 500lb locking slides, add two pieces of L-angle alumnium and a scrap of plywood and for under $150 have an awesome setup that is super easy for the whole family to use. I understand folks looking for other lower cost solutions, just thought I'd share this because of how well it works and it is still significantly cheaper than buying any of the pre-made setups.



One other thing to mention, I've built a few systems now that rely on the ARB underside mounting holes. 4 bolts with fender washers and lock washers and they have held up over thousands of miles and lots of rough terrain. The ARB straps always seem to loosen over time and I was constantly fiddling with mine to keep them super tight. It's a bit of a pain to line everything up if you are taking the fridge in and out frequently, but for those that leave the fridge in the truck on a regular basis this is the method I would recommend. You'll likely need to order a few of the metric thread M6 bolts on McMaster Carr to replace the supplied ones ARB provides.

 

[Hillbilly Heaven]

Do you think those 4 M6 screws will hold that fridge in case of an accident or rollover? Flying heavy objects could make a bad accident even worse or deadly. Maybe to supplement the straps would be a better idea.

 

[fireball]

Yes, I do. And ARB seems to agree with me: