Club 80-90 Forums

Hi all, not tech minded just looking for some help regarding installing a fridge, (got the stuff of wiki already) How difficult is it to instal and is there any things i need to look out for, cheers in advance for any help much appreciated. stu

Well I've never fitted a fridge from scratch, but I've removed and replaced the one that's already in our van a couple of times. Had a quick look to see what's already in the wiki. Some bits to think about:

What sort of fridge are you planning on fitting, 2-way or 3-way etc?

If you're gonna run it on gas then you'll need a flue to vent the fumes. This'll involve cutting a hole in the side of your van and you'll need to have a look at where this is likely to need to be, so that it doesn't end-up overlapping / cutting into the swage (sp?) line in the panel, as this'll make things more difficult for you.

Will you also need to fit a vent in the side of the van behind the fridge? This could involve cutting more holes in the panel, but depends on the fridge model that you're fitting. Some people have one vent in the side of the van, others have two, some have none. The joint / gap where the vent touches the side of the van needs to be sealed somehow (e.g. Tigerseal) to stop it letting the rain in.

Rust is a common problem on the panel behind the fridge. Sort any existing rust that is there before fitting the fridge and touch-up any bits of bare metal / scratches to stop them rusting. Fit a couple of layers of thermawrap insulation to the inside of the panel to reduce condensation forming on the inside of the body panel.

If you want to run the fridge off the alternator when you're driving you'll need some wiring for this (see wiki section on camping interior / electrics / split charger).

Just a few things to be thinking about. Hopefully someone who knows more about all this will be along shortly.

Tony

p.s. there's lots of previous threads on here about all aspects of fridges, try the search facility in the menu at top of the page. Can restrict the search to specific forums and I'd suggest technical and the campers forum for fridge info.

also two vents one high one low,is for airflow around back ,im installing 2 in mine and have read that unit has to be sealed to panel to stop condensation i dont know if this is true