Where to put a fridge?

DrivingDutchman · Post by **DrivingDutchman** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 10:02 pm

Hi all,

Where does one put a fridge in the dormobile? any ideas? I have a National Luna 50l weekender. It lives in the defender, but when that one is sold eventually it needs to find a place in Dora.
Any ideas and piccies of solutions appreciated.

Cheers,

Michiel

jerryd · Post by **jerryd** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 10:49 pm

Hi Michiel,
My dormobile was originally fitted with the fridge stand instead of a wardrobe, but I preferred to have a wardrobe so I made one that is wide enough and deep enough to house my Waeco 50 litre fridge. I also keep the table in there

So if I go camping with one son only, the fridge stays in the wardrobe. But if all four of us go camping I pack the wardrobe with clothes, pillows etc and the fridge stands on the floor between the kitchen unit and the wardrobe, then gets put under the vehicle when we arrive at destination.

I'm having trouble with pics at the moment due to a new computer

AlexB · Post by **AlexB** » Fri Feb 21, 2014 7:21 am

There isn't much (if any) spare room in a Dormobile.
You can lower the wheel arch under the wardrobe to get enough room for the small(est) portapotti (lift up the bottom flap / seat to get it out when required
Otherwise, in my opinion, it is as Jerry says, you substitute or remake.

Extra spice racks would be useful or copying the Carawagon idea of hanging cloth or net storage at the top of the sides / bottom of the roof seems a good idea

DrivingDutchman · Post by **DrivingDutchman** » Fri Feb 21, 2014 10:41 am

AlexB wrote:There isn't much (if any) spare room in a Dormobile.
You can lower the wheel arch under the wardrobe to get enough room for the small(est) portapotti (lift up the bottom flap / seat to get it out when required

How much lower can you go on the wheel arch? If you go all the way down, then it would foul the wheel on upward travel of the suspension?

For the fridge I have been toying with the idea of a smaller engel or weaco about 40ltr. But because the missus would like to keep a freezer in the equasion, a small weaco that would fit on the middle position in front on the seats fastned with straps in addition to the fridge. Now we have a fridge freezer in one.

For now I will see where I can put the National Luna we have now. Probably between the kitchen and wardrobe units.
Still havent got the Dormobile back from Rockingham. Hopefully soon with a new MOT..

Michiel

AlexB · Post by **AlexB** » Fri Feb 21, 2014 3:12 pm

we have recently purchased a waeco 18l fridge freezer. Whilst underway, it has to sit in the back, but is small enough that when parked up, it can sit up on the "shelf" when the roof is up.

My problem with it was getting it charged when on the move as it is too sensitive to voltage drops. I need to glean all the info I can from the split charge thread.

RMS · Post by **RMS** » Fri Feb 21, 2014 3:23 pm

True, you've only got to look at the thickness of the wires to the plug on these fridges to realise you need a good supply.
Any dodgy connections, thin cables, cig lighter sockets, etc. can cause enough of a voltage drop to cause the compressor to kick out when it tries to fire up.
Although these fridges are very economical overall, they do require about 5-10A when the compressor kicks in, immediately dropping to a minimal current draw.

The very best supply is a direct feed using 30A cable from the battery, through a fuse, to either a good quality 12V socket or wired directly to the fridge with no connector.

Cheers,
Robin.

TheGreenlanecompany · Post by **TheGreenlanecompany** » Sat Feb 22, 2014 8:31 am

Goede Morgen,

Yes, Dormo's aren't very roomy...

I have a Minus40 to fit and it does take a bit of thinking - and mine is "just" a DIY camper conversion. Mine ended up behind the bulkhead.

Fitting wiring (300 mtrs. used already..)and will end up with some 86 fuses, 18 relais and a lot paperwork....

Oh well..

jerryd · Post by **jerryd** » Sat Feb 22, 2014 2:20 pm

I used 6mm cable when I wired in my fridge and it works fine. Another option I thought of but never tried was to construct some sort of stand that would enable the fridge to be placed on one of the rear seats in the folded down position. It would obviously have to be very secure in case of an impact.

I also made extra "spice rack" cupboards for both sides which are really useful additions, you do not bang your head on them either which was my first concern. I also made a copy of the original one deeper so that it can take a full 4 person dinner set plus cutlery etc with ease.
I've also fitted button locks to all doors so that when off roading in the bumpy stuff the contents of the cupboards don't spill out everywhere

DrivingDutchman · Post by **DrivingDutchman** » Sat Feb 22, 2014 10:33 pm

jerryd wrote: I also made extra "spice rack" cupboards for both sides which are really useful additions, you do not bang your head on them either which was my first concern. I also made a copy of the original one deeper so that it can take a full 4 person dinner set plus cutlery etc with ease.
I've also fitted button locks to all doors so that when off roading in the bumpy stuff the contents of the cupboards don't spill out everywhere

That's a good idea for extra storage. Would you happen to have drawings and measurements for the spice rack cupboards and the extra large one? Did you make them out of metal or wood?

Cheers,

Michiel

jerryd · Post by **jerryd** » Sat Feb 22, 2014 10:52 pm

I used the original "spice rack" as a template to get the shapes and went from there, I used 12mm mdf with an aluminium angle around the front frame to stop any warping. I sprayed the finished articles to match the original hammered finish. These extra cupboards also house the switch plates and additional wiring, I also fitted led lights to the underneath of them.

Not something for the purists I know, but I want to bring my dormobile into the 21st century and enjoy it. I've tried to keep everything looking like original equipment and think it blends in well. It can easily be put back to original spec too

I'll have to work out how to get pics onto this new computer

although there should be a few scattered around on here already

Where to put a fridge?

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