Cargo drawer question - fridge

OK, I've been mucking around building myself a set of drawers out of 12mm plywood for the rear of my D40. Most of the work has been done for a basic set of drawers, but I now plan on modifying the LH drawer to carry the Engel fridge. (I'd prefer not to have the fridge on a slide on top of the drawers - too high - and I don't want to purchase a drop down slide!)
So this means cutting a piece out of the cabinet top to allow the drawer containing the fridge to slide in and out, with the piece cut out becoming a hinged lid for when I'm not carrying the fridge - ie the drawer reverts back to a standard drawer.
Can anyone tell me if this won't work and why? I'm a bit nervous taking to the cabinet with a power saw and seeing the whole thing collapse! : )
My main thought is that by taking out a fair chunk of the top of the cabinet it would put too much stress on the rest of the cabinet??

Is there anyone with experience in these things? thanks

Some pics might help. But if you check my ride thread you will see I have. done something similar.

heata said:

Some pics might help. But if you check my ride thread you will see I have. done something similar.

Click to expand...

Good on ya Heata - it took me awhile to find that thread, but I did eventually. Yep - the set up you've made is very similar to what I have planned. Thanks again.

Well I managed to spend a few hours over the weekend on the drawers - most of it is done now apart from a bit more hardware, and I also want to extend the deck out over the wheel arches - I'll make that 'stage 2'
I decided to use one drawer for the fridge, meaning I had to cut a piece out of the deck. I also made this drawer shorter than the other, and I'll use the extra space in the cabinet either for carrying emergency water, or maybe for a second battery.

The lid has loose pin hinges, meaning I can easily take the lid off completely - I'm not sure I need to at the moment but will look at ways of securing the lid whilst travelling. I ended up getting a heap of skateboard bearings off ebay to use as drawer runners. Anyway, it has turned out vaguely as intended - now to see if it all holds together! Fingers crossed it will stand up to the rigors of a far west coast of SA trip!

Looks Uber professional.

Maybe try removable hinges on the lid so you can remove it when the fridge is fitted.

I'm building some at the moment out of 3/4" SHS.
The Fridge slide can either be mounted flush with the top deck with 2 draws under (like yours) or down low with one draw next to it.

the engel fridge,being a scroll compressor fridge needs good ventilation
my worry is it will be working harder with minimum airflow
but drawers look great
any pics of your skateboard bearing setup ?

sparra04 said:

the engel fridge,being a scroll compressor fridge needs good ventilation
my worry is it will be working harder with minimum airflow
but drawers look great
any pics of your skateboard bearing setup ?

Click to expand...

G'day Sparra - yes the ventilation issue has been on the back of my mind. I might put some holes in the side of the drawers/cabinet to allow a bit more air through. The bottom pic shows the bearings which run either side of some aluminium tubing - they're attached via some bolts and spring washers that allow the bearing to run freely. I decided to put the bearings on the drawer instead of the cabinet to allow ease of service/replacement if necessary.