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I saw a few threads previously on this and didn't feel inclined to buy (or build) a proper frame. Took the seat out and started playing around with the available space for my Engel 40L and ended up resting it on some scrap wood. This has 2 recessed M10 bolts that screw into where the front seat feet used to be. The rear is fastened to the anchor points on the kings rear drawers although I did have to put an extra one in the middle of the two existing ones (4 pack of Grunt points was $10 or so from Bunnings). I used another of the Grunt points on the scrap piece of wood to hold the strap on the front.
Once the wood was bolted down and the fridge in place I used two grunt straps to hold it in place front and back. The Engel handles do seem a little fragile so i didn't over-tighten.
I then installed the second battery which is just a kickass 120ah dual wiring kit (DCDC MPPT) and battery box. This was a bit sketchy as the instructions didn't make a whole lot of sense and I was getting sparks at one stage when i got the order wrong. A couple of youtube vids later and it seemed to go okay. I ended up putting the cable through the firewall (and then attaching the grey anderson clip on the end fed through into the car). I haven't cut the cable (yet) so the excess is just looped under the front seat. No proper solar or inverter at this stage but I did get the kickass power pack + 50W panel for charging laptops, dewalt battery etc which seems to be a good compromise. This just sits in the footwell next to the battery box.
Have just got back from a 1000km round trip that included the Wadbilliga track and it all seemed to work fine. Some questions/observations:
- the grunt straps are a little loose but generally the fridge seems quite stable
- same for the battery box which just sits on the floor
- the grommet for the firewall is a bit of a pain and I couldn't get it to reseal properly, i was going to gaff tape it but didn't get around to it but haven't noticed any dust ingress
- can be difficult to tell the state of charge of the battery just going from the number on the box. It generally seems to be 14 point something after a lot of driving down to 12 something after running the fridge for a long time. I did try switching the fridge off one night and the freezer section was still frozen in the morning, the other time I left it on fridge all night to save batt - I guess trial and error will be my friend
- when I am not running the fridge and just using and parking the car at home not sure if I should disconnect? there doesn't seem to be an on/off switch on the box?
- really happy with the kit and how (mostly) simple it was for a newbie to install (and also how a 17 yr old Prado doesn't skip a beat
cheers
Once the wood was bolted down and the fridge in place I used two grunt straps to hold it in place front and back. The Engel handles do seem a little fragile so i didn't over-tighten.
I then installed the second battery which is just a kickass 120ah dual wiring kit (DCDC MPPT) and battery box. This was a bit sketchy as the instructions didn't make a whole lot of sense and I was getting sparks at one stage when i got the order wrong. A couple of youtube vids later and it seemed to go okay. I ended up putting the cable through the firewall (and then attaching the grey anderson clip on the end fed through into the car). I haven't cut the cable (yet) so the excess is just looped under the front seat. No proper solar or inverter at this stage but I did get the kickass power pack + 50W panel for charging laptops, dewalt battery etc which seems to be a good compromise. This just sits in the footwell next to the battery box.
Have just got back from a 1000km round trip that included the Wadbilliga track and it all seemed to work fine. Some questions/observations:
- the grunt straps are a little loose but generally the fridge seems quite stable
- same for the battery box which just sits on the floor
- the grommet for the firewall is a bit of a pain and I couldn't get it to reseal properly, i was going to gaff tape it but didn't get around to it but haven't noticed any dust ingress
- can be difficult to tell the state of charge of the battery just going from the number on the box. It generally seems to be 14 point something after a lot of driving down to 12 something after running the fridge for a long time. I did try switching the fridge off one night and the freezer section was still frozen in the morning, the other time I left it on fridge all night to save batt - I guess trial and error will be my friend
- when I am not running the fridge and just using and parking the car at home not sure if I should disconnect? there doesn't seem to be an on/off switch on the box?
- really happy with the kit and how (mostly) simple it was for a newbie to install (and also how a 17 yr old Prado doesn't skip a beat
cheers