optic Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 Do any of you notice a heat build up inside from the car fridge while traveling? If so have you come up with a way of transferring it to out side without cutting big holes in the car? I have decided to go for a 3 way fridge, mainly due to the fact that the option to use gas while in camp makes more sense. And they work the best off gas so im told? Spent some time at ARB, who dont make a 3 way, but they do have good looking pack racks and awnings. Can i get some feed back on other makes that you guys may be using? Next im also after a good UHF antenna for car, any suggestions on a make and model to suit a GME 5 watt. And if you can help with a make of driving light that does not cost $500.00 that would also help. last but not least, has any one fitted an over head console to a 2001 patrol, I would rather fit the radio up out of the way than in the dash. Or if you can steer me in the right direction so i can look at overhear consoles for the patrol. Cheers and thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cameronpatrol Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 Got me stuffed with all those questions accept a couple UHF aerial you want one fro big distance? probably already know but the shorter the aerial the better for in the hills. gives you more of a bubble around the car. and the long fishing rod aerials are better for long distance they have more of a longer but not so high bubble around the car so to speak. not so good in the hills but flat roads/highways is what they are for. theres a GME fibreglass areal which seem popular it about 1m long and thick. has a good solidspring bass. ivejust got a small jobby which has does me fine for years. depends how much you want to spend as well. some arnt so cheap. when you do fit the aerial push a little extra uhf cable up inside the spring. so when it get pulled right back it wont rip the cable out from inside the aerail. spotlights hhhhhmmm how longs a piece of string. Im running Hella rally eye 2000. not sure how much they are but they are good for me. lightforce have a few models. the cheaper version im not sure how much they are but the only diference is the mounting system. theres a few light bars coming onto the market not sure what there like. there one long bar with shitloads of LED's Buy ya self fourwhell drive action magazine. they also have ones for touring and caravans good magazine and dvd. plenty of ideas to look at. Also check this site out www.4x4earth.com.au theres a forum as well. check it out youll be there for hours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
len Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 Do any of you notice a heat build up inside from the car fridge while traveling? If so have you come up with a way of transferring it to out side without cutting big holes in the car? I have decided to go for a 3 way fridge, mainly due to the fact that the option to use gas while in camp makes more sense. And they work the best off gas so im told? Spent some time at ARB, who dont make a 3 way, but they do have good looking pack racks and awnings. Can i get some feed back on other makes that you guys may be using? Next im also after a good UHF antenna for car, any suggestions on a make and model to suit a GME 5 watt. And if you can help with a make of driving light that does not cost $500.00 that would also help. last but not least, has any one fitted an over head console to a 2001 patrol, I would rather fit the radio up out of the way than in the dash. Or if you can steer me in the right direction so i can look at overhear consoles for the patrol. Cheers and thanks. I have never noticed a heat build up in the car when running the fridge/s I suppose you could in a 4 door leave a back window slightly down to let some internal air escape while running the air con or having a front window down a bit but really I have never had an issue with it or noticed it. I have an older 40 lt metal case engel and a newer 60lt poly case waeco, on long trips I use the engel as a freezer and the waeco as a fridge Consoles http://www.consoles....hoose_model.htm http://www.consoles.com.au/ http://www.4wdinteri...of_console.html Antennas http://www.prestigec...roducts_id=2072 http://www.prestigec...roducts_id=2223 Lights - mostly personal preference and how much room you have to fit them into; one 4wd accessory shop in perth has a heap of them setup on a bar in a dark room so that you can turn them on and off and compare the different lights mounted on it I think that they have about 8 different sets mounted on it http://www.lightforc...orce-light.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman_DJ Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 FridgeNever detected any extra heat. But there SHOULD be some additional heat. Also if the inside of the car is hot, then the fridge must work harder to work. 3 ways are designed to work the best on gas. On 240v it doesn't really matter and on 12v you'll chew up your battery fast. They are really designed around caravans where you have either gas or 240v on tap and 12v while moving about (where gas must be turned off and 240v is hard to keep plugged in). I use a Waeco 12v compressor fridge and like it. But others love their Engels. I haven't heard much, good or bad about the other brands. UHF AntennaThe type of radio you have means nothing in picking a radio, nor does the "size" as you can get quarter and half wave length antennas that basically do the same thing. What you want to look for is the gain, listed in db. 0db means no gain, ie the big bubble to work well in the hills vs the 7.5db antenna I have which is like a very stretched egg pattern which gives me longer range but can't get the guy 200m away if he's at the top and I'm at the bottom of a hill. I have two radios with different antennas for just this reason (the others 3db). Brands mean almost nothing. It's more important about where you install it and how good you do the install. Driving LightsI have a pair of Ironman HID's. About $350 each. But you'd really only need one of them!!! My pair really light up the road, BEHIND me!!! A mate was 1.5kn up the road and said if I was any closer with my HID's on he'd have a go at me. ConsoleNo idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AltonaHunter Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 Ive had a waeco cf50 for a few years and use it in the cab. I have noticed it a lil warm around the compressor at times but nothing that made me think there was anything wrong with it. I bought my cb antenna off ebay search "grunter hunter flexible". Its been a great tough bit of gear. I even got it caught in the roller door as it came down and the top was bent right over to below the base. Still works perfectly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadge Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 A 3-way will give off a significant amount of heat. They run at about 90-120W continuously, on 12V. So yes, you'll need some ventilation. A good rundown on the pros and cons of the different portable fridge types: http://www.exploroz.com/Vehicle/Accessories/Fridges.aspx 3-ways are a great base camp fridge, but not so brilliant if you're mostly on the road. As I mentioned on the other thread, I have an old Chescold 3-way, and it's good. They are Dometic/Chescold now, and still available. http://www.dometic.com The other popular brand back in the day was the Finch/Electrolux, which is now also a Dometic brand. These work a lot better at high ambient temps than the cheapos like the Aldi fridge, but that comes at a price. There is some risk in buying a secondhand unit, as they can fail completely when rust builds up in the pipework. The electric heating elements can burn out too, and are around $120 for the replacement part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wisey Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 Optic, Nitestalker are a light that copies the IPF range. Value for money, $130 for a pair of 200mm lights.... Thats what we sell them for (small auto elec shop) GME Elevated feed aerial with spring are the only ones I reckon Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T bolt sporter Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 Have a look on patrol4x4.com for ideas I have narva 225 ultima spotlight but I bought them separately and cost me not even $100 each (trade) and bought a set of 55w hid off eBay. I have a swb GQ patrol and have made my own roof console which houses my UHF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatlineroz Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Don't get too sucked in by the need for a big antenna mounted on the bull bar, a smaller gutter mount will work as good if not better. (unless it is the bling factor you are after they work because the roof acts as a ground plane). Go to a proper radio store and discuss antenna needs with them and you will find that the more reflective surface you have under the base of the antenna the better it will work. I would not go for a 3 way fridge mounted in the car a quality arb, engal or waeco will last you a lifetime and it is not worth scrimping on a fridge when you consider that you could lose $200+ if the fridge goes at the wrong time. +1 for the ralley 4000 lights metal case and once again will last longer than the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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