Feature Friday: 9 Portable Fridge Freezer Setups For 5th Gen 4Runner

9 Example Portable Fridge/Freezer Setups For Your 5th Gen 4Runner – Cold Food Storage Inspiration For Overland Builds

This Week’s Topic: Portable Fridge Setups

Welcome back to another Feature Friday! Last week, we covered interior storage setups. This week, we shift our focus to the summer camping season and dive into portable fridge setups used by 5th Gen 4Runner owners.

Say goodbye to ice-filled coolers that leave your food soggy and beverages lukewarm. Not to mention, the cleanup afterward. With a portable fridge/freezer in your 4Runner, you can keep your perishables fresh and your drinks refreshingly chilled throughout your trip. A portable fridge provides you with the convenience of having a reliable and temperature-controlled storage solution for all your food and beverages.

In addition to a portable fridge, there are several mounting options available to optimize your setup. Mounts and bases ensure the secure placement of your fridge, rather than it sliding or toppling over during adventures. In addition, drawers add organization, allowing you to access your supplies easily, and can double as a base for your fridge.

Finally, a power station or dual battery setup provides a continuous power supply to keep your fridge running without draining your vehicle’s battery. Combining all of this equipment will help provide comfort and convenience like never before on your adventures.

Let’s look at how the 5th Gen owners below have set up their portable fridges!

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Note: The builds listed below are in no particular order

1. Brooke Wood (@tobyt4r) – Dometic 

Fridge Setup 

• Dometic CFX3 75DZ
• Mounted On Dometic Fridge Slide & Aiden James Customs Gear Plate

Tell Us About Your Setup

We’ve been running a Dometic fridge since 2017 and upgraded to the dual-zone model in 2022. We stayed with Dometic because of its proven quality and reliability.

The fridge sits in a Dometic fridge slide mounted to an Aiden James Customs gear plate. We chose the AJC gear plate because it’s lightweight and allows for multiple mounting solutions, including our AJC aluminum drawer and gear tie-down points. The gear plate comes with pre-drilled holes and T-nuts in each hole for easy mounting.

As for organizing the fridge, we typically use the larger side for drinks, and the other side holds all our prepped food and snacks. We used to pack drinks in a separate cooler before we upgraded to the larger dual zone.

2. John Winchester (@j_c_dubya) – BougeRV

Fridge Setup 

• BougeRV 30QT 12V Fridge
• Mounted On Custom DIY Shelf & Fridge Slide

Tell Us About Your Setup

I was originally looking for a new cooler last year, but man, they are expensive. I found this BougeRV fridge and couldn’t beat the price point (comparable to or less than a cooler). It’s pretty basic, but doesn’t draw a ton of power, is super quiet, and keeps everything cold.

I designed and built a shelf and fridge slide for car camping. I mostly keep drinking water and food inside and don’t do anything special with organizing.

Pro-tip: Don’t mix bait and food in your fridge when you’re fishing with the boys.

3. Cindy Locklin (@echo_inthepnw) – SetPower

Fridge Setup 

• SetPower 48QT/45L PT45 Dual Zone 12V Electric Cooler Freezer
• No Mounting System

Tell Us About Your Setup

I chose this SetPower fridge because of what it offers at a budget-friendly price.

SetPower checked all the boxes for me. It’s a true dual-zone fridge with a low amp draw which gives me peace of mind when camping for extended periods of time.

The fridge has two compartments, one large and one small. I typically use the larger compartment for meals and snacks and the smaller side for drinks. However, having the option of enjoying a tub of ice cream while camping in the desert is what dreams are made of. All in all, this fridge has been a great addition to my setup.

4. Dan Bufford (@fudrnr) – ARB

Fridge Setup 

• ARB 50QT Classic Fridge Freezer Series II
• Mounted On ARB Fridge Slide & Dobinsons Dual Drawer w/ Slide

Tell Us About Your Setup

My wife and I lived out of the 4Runner for a year, so we have used this fridge well.

The fridge setup was essential to us driving to all 48 continental states. It allowed us to go shopping anywhere we could stop and carry food with us off-grid. The 50QT fridge was the perfect size for the 2 of us; not too big or small. We could easily hold a week’s worth of proteins and produce in the fridge while always having orange juice for my wife.

The Dobinsons drawer setup ended up being a perfect complement to the fridge slide. The left drawer has a sliding top which allows for more prep space, a quick coffee table, or a workshop table.

Having the freezer option makes this fridge invaluable. We have used it to bring ice cream into Death Valley to spite the desert. We also have been able to bring real Chicago deep-dish pizza to my father-in-law in Cleveland, Ohio. It’s so functional!

5. Zak Farris (@helrunner) – Dometic

Fridge Setup 

• Dometic CFX3-75DZ Fridge 
• Mounted On Alu-Cab Tilt Fridge Slide XL

Tell Us About Your Setup

I run the Dometic 75DZ because I love to cook! When I get out and adventure, I normally spend a few hours of my trip prioritizing fantastic meals. I’m a part of the STL Toyota Off-Road group and get to meet a lot of cool people. When I’m out adventuring, this fridge lets me carry everything I need to cook up some fettuccine at camp; nothing will stop me!

I normally store dinner in half of the front zone of the fridge and breakfast foods in the other half. That keeps me from digging around trying to find meals I have planned to cook. In the rear zone, I typically store drinks, mostly sweet tea; you can’t go with sweet tea! Also, perhaps some chocolate milk for the good ole morning camp vibes!

A lot of people go into my fridge as well. If I have a lot of friends at camp with me, I tend to store beer for them! The Alu-Cab fridge slide makes it easy for that, it’s the perfect companion for the Dometic fridge.

6. Anthony Dilone (@ostarahtx) – ARB

Fridge Setup 

• ARB ZERO 47QT Single Zone
• Mounted On ARB ZERO Fridge/Freezer Slide & Goose Gear Standard Rear Mounting Plate

Tell Us About Your Setup

I picked this fridge because of its size. When shopping for a fridge, I read that 50QT fridges were the ideal size for those going off the grid for up to a week. I was torn between the ARB and Dometic, but the ARB just appealed to me more. It fits both my needs and preference for aesthetics; not above the rear seats, and plenty of room to still fold down the seats for extra cargo. This is why I mounted it on the driver’s side.

I also went with the ARB fridge slide because of its price & size. It was cheaper than the Goose Gear Slide and had a smaller footprint. However, I will note that there was some drilling required into the baseplate to make everything fit.

Loading up my fridge is drink-centric! Drinks stay at the bottom to stay nice and cold! Food and other snacks stay up in the top basket. I keep the whole fridge powered with a secondary battery topped off by two 100W solar panels mounted on the roof.

7. Michael Reardon (@6ixrunner) – Project X OffRoad

Fridge Setup 

• Project X OffRoad Blizzard Box 56QT/53L Portable Electric Cooler
• Mounted On Princess Auto Fridge Slide w/ Cutting Board & Cook Top Table

Tell Us About Your Setup

I selected this fridge based on its excellent reviews and ability to meet my needs. It stood out among others as a reliable and highly regarded option.

The decision to choose this particular mount was driven by its unique features, including a convenient slide-out fridge cutting board and a cooktop table. These integrated features appealed to me as they offered practicality and space-saving benefits in my kitchen. With this mount, I can efficiently utilize the available space while enjoying the convenience of having multiple kitchen essentials seamlessly integrated into one unit.

8. Joshua Gray (@blackteqrunner) – Dometic

Fridge Setup 

• Dometic CFX 75DZW
• Mounted On Alu-Cab Tilt Fridge Slide XL

Tell Us About Your Setup

I went with the Dometic 75 because it allowed us the flexibility to run both a freezer and refrigerator side. It also comes with an app that allows you to control and monitor the temps while on the road so we don’t have to pull over to check it.

We picked the Alu-Cab mount because it is one of the only ones that can tilt for easier access. We have brought ice cream before, but we normally pack drinks on one side and food on the other.

9. Brenan Greene (@Trail4R) – Dometic

Fridge Setup 

• Dometic CFX35
• Alu-Cab Tilt Fridge Slide
• PLB40

Tell Us About Your Setup

I’ve been running the Dometic CFX35 in the back of the 4Runner for over 3 years and it’s still going strong. I have the unit connected via DC charge to the Dometic PLB40 and then the PLB40 is connected to the DC cigarette lighter adapter. Although the setup works, sometimes the PLB40 will start randomly beeping which stops powering the fridge. The PLB does this because an over-current protection is triggered or a short circuit protection is triggered. When this happens, you have to turn the device off and release some of the load before switching the device on again. When the setup works, it works great, however resetting the PLB40 is a pain in the ass. The great thing about the PLB40 though is that it’s 12V regulated. That means I can run the PLB40 down to 1-2% and it will provide the full 12V that the fridge needs to keep the compressor on. As long as the PLB40 is connected to the DC cigarette lighter adapter, the unit will power the fridge indefinitely.

Final Thoughts

That wraps up another Feature Friday! We hope you enjoyed this week’s post on portable fridge setups!

Whether you’re heading out for a weekend or a week-long trip, a portable fridge can and will elevate your camping experience. Imagine having the luxury of all of your favorite meals without having to worry about the uncertainties of traditional coolers (ice and how long it will last). This ultimate convenience item transforms your camping adventure!

Next week, we’ll be covering your top three camp kitchen must-haves. If you’re interested in being featured, submit it at the link above!