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Danisawannabe · Joined: 14 May 2006 Posts: 39 Location: Central Florida

Just got upgraded to a 2005 Columbia with a tri-pak. Would like to upgrade from my Coleman cooler to a real fridge. Measured space, then looked around (Wally mart, Sears, Target, Office depot and such) for one that would fit in the hole. No luck so far.

Does anyone know of a make/model that will fit in the hole for the fridge, and who sells it?

TIA,
Dan

Rev.Vassago · Joined: 04 Apr 2006 Posts: 4809 Location: Green Bay, WI

Danisawannabe wrote: Just got upgraded to a 2005 Columbia with a tri-pak. Would like to upgrade from my Coleman cooler to a real fridge. Measured space, then looked around (Wally mart, Sears, Target, Office depot and such) for one that would fit in the hole. No luck so far.

Does anyone know of a make/model that will fit in the hole for the fridge, and who sells it?

TIA,
Dan

If you remove the entire cabinet, you can fit a GE 4.3 Cu Ft. fridge from Wal Mart in the space. It is really easy to remove the cabinet, and you can use the top of the fridge for storage. I put one in the 2005 Century Class I used to drive.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2593968

Danisawannabe · Joined: 14 May 2006 Posts: 39 Location: Central Florida

Rev.Vassago wrote:
If you remove the entire cabinet, you can fit a GE 4.3 Cu Ft. fridge from Wal Mart in the space. It is really easy to remove the cabinet, and you can use the top of the fridge for storage. I put one in the 2005 Century Class I used to drive.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2593968

Thanks for the info. Will it fit in snug? Should I get some straps to hold it down?

Thanks, Dan

allan5oh · Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 2:02 pm Post subject:

http://www.truckfridge.com/models.html

Efficient fridges that have true 12VDC compressors, not inverters running an AC compressor. In english, they're much more efficient.

Rev.Vassago · Joined: 04 Apr 2006 Posts: 4809 Location: Green Bay, WI

Danisawannabe wrote: Rev.Vassago wrote:
If you remove the entire cabinet, you can fit a GE 4.3 Cu Ft. fridge from Wal Mart in the space. It is really easy to remove the cabinet, and you can use the top of the fridge for storage. I put one in the 2005 Century Class I used to drive.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2593968

Thanks for the info. Will it fit in snug? Should I get some straps to hold it down?

Thanks, Dan

Yes, it is a tight fit. I never secured mine, and it never budged. I would, however, get one of those plastic child safety locks for the front of it. I believe the one that works well on it is the one used to hold toilet seat lids down. Otherwise the door will swing open when you make a left hand turn.

allan5oh wrote: Efficient fridges that have true 12VDC compressors, not inverters running an AC compressor. In english, they're much more efficient.

It's also 4 times the amount of an AC fridge, and less than half the space.

allan5oh · Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 9:40 pm Post subject:

Sure but it will actually last, and is a true fit.

Rev.Vassago · Joined: 04 Apr 2006 Posts: 4809 Location: Green Bay, WI

allan5oh wrote: Sure but it will actually last, and is a true fit.

The GE fridge has lasted 3 1/2 years so far, and fit like a glove. :wink: FWIW, the plastic used in those 12V fridges is cheap, and becomes very brittle very quickly.

Uturn2001 · Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 10:48 pm Post subject:

Here is a few things to consider.

1. Unless that APU provides AC power through an inverter tied into the truck's batteries you are not going to have AC power to keep an AC fridge operating while running down the road unless you leave the APU running. Likewise if the APU does not have a charger hooked into the batteries and you install an inverter for your fridge you may wake up to a dead truck in the morning.

2. If this is a company truck you could get into major trouble if you start tearing out cabinets.

driver67373 · Joined: 08 Feb 2007 Posts: 191 Location: Monticello, AR

Danisawannabe wrote: Just got upgraded to a 2005 Columbia with a tri-pak. Would like to upgrade from my Coleman cooler to a real fridge. Measured space, then looked around (Wally mart, Sears, Target, Office depot and such) for one that would fit in the hole. No luck so far.

Does anyone know of a make/model that will fit in the hole for the fridge, and who sells it?

TIA,
Dan

Sent you a PM

Rev.Vassago · Joined: 04 Apr 2006 Posts: 4809 Location: Green Bay, WI

Uturn2001 wrote: Here is a few things to consider.

1. Unless that APU provides AC power through an inverter tied into the truck's batteries you are not going to have AC power to keep an AC fridge operating while running down the road unless you leave the APU running. Likewise if the APU does not have a charger hooked into the batteries and you install an inverter for your fridge you may wake up to a dead truck in the morning.

I know you've been out of trucking for quite a while now (those kids gotta have their diapers changed, you know!), but apparently you haven't a clue as to how a Thermo King Tri Pac works. :roll:

choperbob · Joined: 30 Mar 2005 Posts: 697 Location: geneva new york

rev v. ouch! sometimes kids need diapers changed. most companies will fire someone for pulling out cabinets. yeah tech. has changed. my apu supplies 120v. all the time it will kick on when it needs to. it is smarter than me. as far as fridge, pull out cabinet and fit the largest freezer/ fridge that will fit behind your seat when it is set for best driving. buy a cheap wal mart micro wave and you will save lots of money on food

Rev.Vassago · Joined: 04 Apr 2006 Posts: 4809 Location: Green Bay, WI

choperbob wrote: rev v. ouch! sometimes kids need diapers changed.

They sure do. But changing diapers does not make you an expert on trucking, just like being a former truck driver does not make you an expert on today's trucking technology.

Quote: most companies will fire someone for pulling out cabinets.

While this may be true, I doubt there is any company that would fire you for asking if you could.

Quote: yeah tech. has changed. my apu supplies 120v. all the time it will kick on when it needs to. it is smarter than me.

The Thermo King Tri Pac of today supplies 120V power via an inverter, and will supply 12V power to your batteries to recharge. Running a 120V fridge would work just fine on a system such as this.

Quote: as far as fridge, pull out cabinet and fit the largest freezer/ fridge that will fit behind your seat when it is set for best driving. buy a cheap wal mart micro wave and you will save lots of money on food

That's exactly what I was talking about, and is exactly what I did in my Century Class (as a company driver, BTW). And yes - I asked before I pulled out the cabinet, after giving them specifics as to what I was doing. They told me it was fine as long as that cabinet ended up back in the truck without any alterations or damage.

LadyNorthStar · Joined: 08 Jun 2006 Posts: 428 Location: Whitehorse, Yukon

Take the cabinet out, you should not get fired (??) because you can save the bolts and put the dang thing back in. I've done it several times myself.

Walking Eagle · Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 2:09 pm Post subject:

The Tri Pack is basicaly a big motorized generator. They put in a big invertor, think 2000 watt is standard, mine I got a 3000 watt cuz of all the cr@p I plug in. It runs everything and if the batteries get low the Tri Pack fires up and re charges the batteries. The Rig Master and Carrier units you have to fire up to get 110 volts.

Rev.Vassago · Joined: 04 Apr 2006 Posts: 4809 Location: Green Bay, WI

LadyNorthStar wrote: Take the cabinet out, you should not get fired (??) because you can save the bolts and put the dang thing back in. I've done it several times myself.

From what I remember, that cabinet is a whopping 4 bolts to take out too.

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