Fridge that’ll fit under a Hilux hard-lid

My 75ltr Brass Monkey is low. 49cm height. It sits in our black canopy on the back of our ute

How on earth did you get a 40 litre Engel to fit under your roller cover?

I have an Isuzu X Terrain, what the Mazda is now based on and impossible for a 40 litre to fit under the roller shutter, just too high.

It was a real little as had a 4 month old new 40 litre Engel that now sits in the shed.

Had to get its smaller brother, the 32 litre Engel. On a fridge slide and transit bag, fits perfectly.

Athol,
Excellent to hear. I’m kinda thinking that a decent high quality unit such as a Engel should do ok most of the time. Happy to accept less than stellar performance when it’s 47 degrees outside and the car is parked. Another option for longer trips might be to remove my rear seat base & secure it to the floor inside the cab, but that’s not really the easiest or most convenient thing to do.
Half wondering how hard it’d be to get fresh air forced into that space (while moving). It’d keep things a tiny bit cooler and also cut down a bit on the dust getting in there. Problem for another day…

Stephen L

It was a tight fit, had to remove the rubber feet from the fridge, and the roller door has minimal clearance (a sheet of paper it would touch)

Also worth noting is that the tub of the Mazda is not the same as the tub fitted to the Isuzu, although the depth of each tub's are listed as being the same (490mm) the roller tops and canopies are NOT interchangeable.

Regards
Athol

Remove the rubber feet from an Engel?
It will shake your spotties off!!!

Athol

Are you able to post a photo of your Ute?

Is your Mazda BT 50 a Ford or Isuzu build?

As for you claiming they use a different tub to what Isuzu use is not correct. The current model Mazda BT50 are all Isuzu with cosmetic changes inside and outside of the vehicle but paying a premium of up to $10 k dearer for the Mazda badge.

Even if you removed the standard tub liner that come with the Isuzu, that will give you a maximum of 23mm extra clearance, the feet another 25mm in clearance and then you are still short of over 50mm/2” short to get a 40 litre Engel to fit under the standard roller shutter.

I still have my tub liner in on my Isuzu Ute and have an almost brand new 40 litre Engel in the shed and when I put it in the back of the Ute and it sits 4” higher than the roller shutter.

You only have to go to both the current model BT50 and Isuzu Facebook pages and fridge size is a common asked question. They all say the same thing you can use 60/80 litre larger fridges with a lower profile and bigger footprint or a 32 litre Engel, but impossible to use the 40 litre Engel on the current model utes.

Just trying to clarify if we are actually talking apples with apples and not different model utes.

Stephen L
My vehicle was new build 13/12/2022 and first registered 31/-1/2023 and Isuzu built Mazda. The tubs are different between the Mazda and Isuzu, tail lamp assemblies are different shapes and not interchangeable, and all suppliers of canopies or roller door covers list different part numbers and are quite specific in that there parts are not interchangeable between the 2 vehicles.

My vehicle is the XTR variant, which is roughly the equivalent to the LSU Isuzu, although both manufacturers have made sure that they do not each offer identical vehicles. The only manufacturer supplied extra being the HD towbar kit (which includes the Redarc brake controller and wiring for the breakaway battery charging).

Regards
Athol

Athol

Still not comparing apple with apples…….period.

For starters your Engel is not a 40 litre model, it’s actually only 38 litres and the all plastic model fridge, whereas the true Engel 40 litre model is all metal.

Your MR40F has a standard height of 483mm high and the MTV40 has a height of 508mm, so you can see a very big difference and you can see why I said that a 40 litre Engel is impossible to fit under any roller shutter.

Stephen L

Whilst I have not actually measured its capacity it was sold to me as a 40 litre capacity back around 2009, and it was noticeably larger inside than the 38 litre metal case engle that I also had from 1993 to around 2015.

Regards
Athol

Unfortunately Athol you are not the first and will not be the last to be given false information from a salesperson that has no idea on what they are selling.

Many salesmen think that the 40 in the MR relates to the actual litres of the fridge. It’s the same as the metal case fridges when they used to be the MT series, the 40 litre was model MT45FG and many salesman sold them as 45 litre fridges.

Never the less, you have a great fridge with the very same compressor that is found in all the quality Engel fridges.

I am still very biased, as I used to sell them for 16 years and are a brilliant fridge.

Cheers

Stephen

Hi Stephen,
I have a Dmax X Terrain on order.
What height is the 32 liter Engel?
William

Hi William.

You will love the X Terrain when you get it, we have had our since mid November last year and the MY22.75 model. I have been told they now have the MY23.5 so depending when yours arrived, could be a MY23.75 or if next year, then a MY24

We have a BCF fridge slide for our 32 Engel. Would have preferred an Engel slide, but just too high and would not have been able to use the roller shutter.

The height of our Engel 32 with transit bag is around 410 mm high. Sitting on the slide and no transit bag, there was more than a good fingers gap between the roller shutter, and with the transit bag on the slide, it fits like a glove.

The first reply above mentions a guy with his BT50 and roller shutter and claims he has fitted a 40 litre Engel. Without causing a shit fight, it would be totally impossible to fit a 40 under the roller shutter, as they are 100 mm or in the old scale 4 inches taller than a 32 litre.

It is a very common question asked on the Isuzu D Max Facebook sites. Many people go for larger 80 litre fridge, basicly the same height as the 32 Engel, but you lose more than half your tub space.
Also both the 32 and 40 Engel fridge are both the same footprint, just the 100 mm height difference between the two.

One accessory that I can thoroughly recommend is the EGR tailgate seal, which are brilliant. The other thing that I have fitted before delivery was an ARB dual battery that sits just inside the tailgate on the LHS.

Feel free to ask any more question about the D Max’s

Negative pressure airflow with a air filter keep dust out be a possible way whilst in transit but stationery be different story

Some strange claims made re fridges in tubs. I had a 40L Engel with only a cover in a Beige HJ61 Toyota and on a 30C day in Alice it would only hold -1C while working ALL the time. NO LOWER AT ALL. Fridge checked in Alice by dealer too. Almost useless.
Seeing the roller shutter tub covers are black and no ventilation in the tub the temp must soar and the fridge just absorbing heat and pumping it out again only to be immediately reabsorbed back into the fridge. Sort of like stewing I believe!
I cannot see how a fridge under a tub roller shutter can be remotely effective. Some say ice cream is hard, ice cream is never hard just solid and not runny.
Perhaps owners of same should get under their roller shutter and close it on a 30 C day and see if they can remain there. Then again they may stay there permanently. Adding a seal to the tailgate will make it WORSE! Only some sort of constant forced venting may help the situation.

David - Living in Central West NSW growing up I have seem companion and finch fridges plastic melt under the old black vinyl covers .

It does get very hot in ute tubs in summer.



A J

Definitely going to need to do some work in the area of insulation and air flow especially in such a confined space and being so close to the lid.
I would put the fridge in the cabin of the hilux until you figure out what can be done to run it successfully under the roller cover. Maybe replace it with a canopy that would increase storage are as well.

2 of these Rogue filter fans would be the go!

One at the front maybe, and the 2nd down the rear, adjacent to the fridge workings.



Bob

G'day Bob.
Those fans seem to be a nice profile fit but would have to have MASSIVE airflow to begin to combat the under roller shutter environment/heat input quantity!

In addition, you would not be able to fit them to a roller shutter type cover. You would only be able to fit them to a lift-up lid type.

The rogue vents are possibly an option, although I’m not sure where I’d fit them as I regularly load a fair amount of stuff directly on top of the lid (which is exactly why I got it).
It’s looking like my initial options are:
- 32 litre Engel (or similar sized unit) under the lid
- Remove my back seat on longer trips and bolt something larger to the floor inside the cab
Longer term, I’m thinking I’ll modify a heavy duty trailer with something relatively dust-proof, and just carry everything in that. Camper trailer would be nice, but $$$

I guess that yes, I could “just put a canopy on the back”, however I really prefer the hard lid I have. I use it regularly to carry odd sized stuff on the back, and on occasion, it’s even carried my lard-arse when I’ve stood on it to try and get a better view (it’s supposedly rated for 250kg on top).