Double Cab Backseat Dometic Fridge Mount

Do you think I would have room?

I am 6’1 and have my seat back almost all the way. I did some rough measurements from the back of the drivers seat in current position to back of wall and it appears there is 31” while the fridge is 28.5 it’s self. But this is with having everything still installed. Anything behind there which would cause me to lose room?

I am tempted to install the fridge in the truck bed passenger side but ideally the cab would be best as it would be the best use of space. Pros and cons though. Electrical would be easier in cab (I think), weight distribution best in the back, back would probably need a slide at some point (extra $$) cab install would require some sound deadening material ($$).

 

I just installed my CFX35 which is about 1.5” shorter than a 50, on a platform similar to the OP’s. I have the panel behind the seat with the plastic storage bin in place, and a recovery gear bag in the bin, but enough clearance so that with the rear seat in, the seatback closes and latches. With the seat out and my fridge platform in place, and the fridge slid all the way back, I can push the driver’s seat all the way back and recline it 4 notches. I normally drive with the seat 2-3 notches off upright. So if you remove the rear wall panel and keep nothing back there, your CFX50 will be tight but should fit. This is on TRD OR ... not sure if other models have thicker or thinner seats or other slight variables.

 

Perfect! Very helpful and now I and confident it will be worth tackling this. Will miss the behind the seat storage for tow strap, arb tire kit, and fire extinguisher but I’m sure I’ll find another way.

 

Those who have removed back seat to fit a fridge, did you do anything special to reduce road noise? I am thinking about sound reading the back panel and putting a mass barrier of some sort but now am concerned that going through this effort will not provide as much insulation to sound than having the upright back seat in place.

 

My carpet-wrapped plywood helped out some. Without that, it was quite a bit louder.

 

For what it’s worth, I’ve had my DCSB 3rd gen for almost 4 years and 70k miles. A lot of long road trips with probably half those miles with the rear seat down, but I find it’s those trips when I also have a s***load of stuff in back too. I did one long trip with the plastic panel removed and I honestly didn’t notice much increase in noise. Again, that’s with the back fully stuffed with clothes bags, jackets, sleeping bags etc. So if you just pop the plastic in when you’re running empty it could be ok. Even if you leave the fridge in all the time it may block some line of sight noise transmission. Worth trying first to see if it’s really an issue.

 

I like what you did here. I am waiting for my fridge to arrive to see if I want to mount the platform as low as possible as you did or use the seat mounts like the OP. Do you have a recommendation?

How did you secure that bottom platform piece? Was 3/4“ material used for both upper and lower pieces?

 

I like these solutions, too, and plan to do something similar. Even though it is easier for the passenger to get into a reefer behind the driver, I'm thinking I'll put mine on the other side so as not to exacerbate the Tacoma's poor weight distribution. How much does a loaded up CFX50 weigh?

 

The weight distribution was on my mind as well, but oh well everything can’t be perfect. Will have to try stacking other stuff up on passenger side. Empty the 50 weighs 46 pounds so I would say it’s significant weight when loaded.

 

I haven’t posted a picture of what I did, but I decided to just mount on top of the rear seat hinges to get the support. I used a pretty thin (3/16”) piece of MDF which seems adequately strong, though it’s only been a week or so, and I haven’t fully loaded the fridge nor gone off road. If the platform seems too weak in bending, I will reinforce it with a few ribs of additional 1/4” wood or even a few metal strips. Note that the CFX has little feet so the load is distributed front and rear near where the platform is supported, so the platform doesn’t need a lot of beam (bending) stiffness.

At the front, I used a piece of 1/2” ply that’s bolted to the vertical wall that the seat cushion hinges attach to ... I counter-bored the plywood so I could reuse the seat mounting bolts, otherwise they’d have been too short. Although I could open the fridge lid wider if I moved the platform down, I like having the space under it for storing stuff that is still easy to pull out the side. And, I can even manage to open the lid on the underseat cubby and reach stuff there too. Thanks again to the OP for sharing a simple effective solution that doesn’t require cabinet maker skills!

 

I like both ways, but I built my platform prior to my fridge, and my cooler lid wouldn't open unless I mounted it as low as I did. I also like how easy it is to get stuff in and out, and the fiance is vertically challenged, so she likes it. The front is mounted with some L-brackets and eye bolts, using the factory seat mounting locations. This mounting method is something I saw from another member here in another thread, so I can't take credit for it. The board (1/2in plywood I think) just rests along the floor board and is not secured in the back. There is no bending or flexing due to the multiple contact points. Also, I elected to remove my cubby compartment door from the floor on that side. This help it stay as flat as possible. I only strap down the front of the fridge with two straps, to the eye bolts as shown previously, and I've never had a problem with it moving. I wrapped my plywood in automotive carpet found at any auto parts store for $10.

I too was worried about weight, but overall it wasn't that big of a deal for me. I took an effort to place my water and heavier items in my bed closer to the passenger side.

 

I will steal your ideas about removing the cubby plastic. If you want to go low as possible that seems like the best way. Looking at your mounting, I wonder if there is a style of hinge which would along the platform to be secured with the factory bolts like yours but would allow the rear of the platform to hinge towards the drivers seat. Just thinking when I’m not carrying the fridge, I could still easily access the cubby space. If anyone thinks this hinge exists please let me know.

 

Well, you've got a removable hinge at the bottom of the seat base. It should keep the height pretty low to. I'm curious to see what you can come up with.

 

Well I feel stupid, that hinge might be perfect and if I remember correctly it’s seemed level with everything else.

 

Finally finish up my setup. Thanks everyone for the inspiration! I wouldn’t have even bought a fridge if I didn’t come across this thread but needed one to store breast milk for an upcoming 3 week road trip.

CFX 50 with plastics removed. CCD sound deadening tiles installed on back wall then Second skin Luxury Liner.

3/4” plywood for base and 1/2” plywood for back wall wrapped in the marine carpet posted earlier in thread.

So happy with how this turned out. Still have enough room under the platform to slip in the arb tire kit, extra cloths and gloves.

 

More pics

 

Here are some pictures of the quick and dirty install I did based on inspiration from this thread. Just stuff I had lying around, no hinges (except the existing seatback hinge) or carpet. Fridge is a CFX 35. The front seat is in my usual position at about 5’10”. As you may be able to see in the first photo, I added a small bungee loop over the grab handle to hold the lid open. Not enough clearance to pull out the fridge basket but good access otherwise. The bungee just hooks over one of the lid latch tabs.

 

you guys are making me want to redo mine and have it flip forward. Looks sweet

 

Got inspired by this thread and threw this together last weekend. Lots of storage space underneath the platform. I have the CFF45 and it fits perfectly

 

Will this absolutely not work if i do not remove the back seat?
or, is it modular and easy to re-install the back seat?