Fridge in Gladiator bed

nmwranglerx

nmwranglerx

Caught the Bug
Anybody run a fridge in the back of their JT? I’m concerned about it being exposed to rain or moisture while we’re out on the trail. The ARB ELEMENT I assume is up for the task but it’s too large and more than I want to pay. The ARB Zone Zero comes in smaller size and the dometic 55im is about the size I’m after. Both around the 1K mark. I thought I’d put this out to see what experiences people might have. I’ve always used coolers so I don’t have a clue.
 
I run one (not the elements fridge) on top of my Decked system but it is partially shielded by my RTT. I ran 2 gauge (through a resettable breaker close to the battery) through my frame all the way to back to a power distribution block. My fridge connects to the block through a dedicated fused ARB plug; same with the ARB twin compressor I have in the back.
 
I run one under the tonneau cover. On a long road trip right now. It's fantastic. We've done around 10 road trips with it. Several with bad rain and no issues. No regrets. Works great. As far as I recall, the only one that fits under a cover is the 63 qt. I put the ARB plug where the inverter blank was.

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Sharkey said:
I run one (not the elements fridge) on top of my Decked system but it is partially shielded by my RTT. I ran 2 gauge (through a resettable breaker close to the battery) through my frame all the way to back to a power distribution block. My fridge connects to the block through a dedicated fused ARB plug; same with the ARB twin compressor I have in the back.
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Ok, I forgot to mention that I’m running an RTT. So mine would be similar to your situation. As far as brands go I’m leaning towards ARB since I’ve had good experience with their products and customer service. What size do you run? Are you happy with it?
 
WJCO said:
I run one under the tonneau cover. On a long road trip right now. It's fantastic. We've done around 10 road trips with it. Several with bad rain and no issues. No regrets. Works great. As far as I recall, the only one that fits under a cover is the 63 qt. I put the ARB plug where the inverter blank was.

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Awesome. Pics look good. I have a cover but right now I’m running a half height rack and RTT.
 
Mine is several years old and still works great. It’s basically what is now the Classic 50qt. I just went out and snapped a few pics in the rain. As you see, it stays dry enough.
 

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I obviously can’t open the lid very far when it’s under the RTT. At camp I just pull it down to the tailgate or a folding table on the side of the Jeep. Not perfect, but better than dropping $500 on a slide (in my opinion).
 
Just thought I’d jump in here to show you my set up in my Australian spec 2020 Gladiator Rubicon. I have a 60 litre ARB Classic II on a Dunn & Watson (Australia) fridge slide and it just fits under the stock tonneau cover. It has to sit back from the tailgate a bit so the tonneau latch mechanism works, but it fits. The slide bolts in using 6 rivnuts and can be removed/installed in only a few minutes.

I have a power source run from the battery to the front of the bed closest to the cab through the plastic access panel and have 70ah lithium portable power pack to power the fridge when the engine is shut off. I also bring a portable 200W solar blanket that plugs into the lithium power pack for when I plan on staying in one place for a couple of days. With this set up I’m pretty much self sufficient for power to run the fridge and camp lights for a week or more. It all works great, and with the tonneau cover on your never know that it’s all under there. I’ve been running this set up for over 2 years now with no issues.

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