Bushman 85L Upright Fridge Install | DMAX Canopy Fitout EP1

[@ApathyGates]

Looks good - really glad you're taking the time, double checking measurements and not drilling a bunch of holes everywhere :) Suggestion - please change out all those nuts underneath for some nylocs or at least load up on the locktite. I'd also suggest using some sika around each hole to guarantee no water ingress. Keep it up; wiring is gonna be funnnnn!!

[@explorebound]

Good suggestion thanks!! Yep quite a lot to go into the 12v system.. 😬

[@bradarnold5008]

Great choice, we did the same, we had a 45L arb fridge and went the bushmen 85L the best thing ever 👍👍 And the best thing is doing the fit out yourself is so rewarding too

[@explorebound]

It sure is! 🙂

[@regkershaw]

Look forward to the rest of the fit out. Well done

[@jtownsend]

Nice one Daniel! A thought on the space under the fridge - run the alloy box section long ways (from front to back of fridge) and that way you can store stuff under the fridge such as glad wrap, board games, bread boards etc. Might be too late now you’ve drilled holes but if possible definitely worth switching. You’ll be surprised what you can fit under there. Looking forward to the kitchen build, enjoy mate 👍🏾

[@explorebound]

Thanks for the idea mate! I was considering running the supports front-to-back, however decided against it because I'd have to run them 10cm or so in from the edges for strength and through it might have looked a little odd, or knowing me I'd loose my keys into the void 😂

[@thisneurodiverselife]

Such a high quality install mate. I really loved the carbon fibre wrap on the MDF. The little touches like that, really finish off the build. You will love Karijini. One of my fav spots in WA. One Life, One Search, Shane.

[@shaunmatthews9680]

I've got the same fridge mate. I can't see myself ever going back to the chested style. Can't wait for the rest of the build series.

[@explorebound]

I've heard good things about them - can't wait to get some good use out of it 👍

[@philipw7557]

Well done on your first part. Excellent job ✌️👌

[@bananasusyd]

Looking good. Can't wait to watch the canopy transform.

[@tonypaine4958]

Taking shape mate 👌 looking forward to seeing the next part of the build

[@jackturtle131]

Just great mate, looking forward to all the new things to come

[@explorebound]

Thanks mate! 🍻

[@jrkeyesful]

Can you tell me how the fridge connects to the cage? It looks like it has screws that goes through the cage into the side of the fridge but how does the bottom of the cage connect to the fridge? I am trying to do a custom one for an upright dometic 85L

[@kazzansoda]

You'll love it! Ive got one in mine and its been great so far, i managed to have (barely) enough room to stick my battery between the fridge and headboard. It'll be an absolute pest to get out but one I'll go lithium and probably get a slim one for there. Looking forward to the rest of the build 👍

[@explorebound]

Nice, that’s a good way to utilise that space 👌

[@jarrodbatchelor7562]

Looks the goods mate, with those rivets on the door opening part, you can drill them out and countersink the raw ally part and put countersink rivets in so then it’s flush and will look nicer.

[@conscriptmik068]

Mate great job very neatly done

[@MightyOverlander]

looking forward to seeing it all in action on your trip!

[@explorebound]

Can't wait! 🍻

[@patelliott8724]

Great video, great fit, looks brilliant!

[@northislandguy]

Awesome video 🤙🏽 After your trip/field test love to see a fridge review, especially if you made some gizmos to stop to food going all over the place 😱 Content overload 😎

[@explorebound]

Thanks! I'll definitely share my thoughts on the fridge after giving it a good test 👍

[@northislandguy]

@@explorebound Legend safe travels 🤙🏽

[@CJFranciss]

How’s the fridge been going mate? Have you been tracking its power draw?

[@henrybates3805]

Looks mint mate!

[@JNDCreations]

Looking good mate! Surprised you didn’t wrap/ paint the ally tube and housing box as well. Would look wicked in black!

[@explorebound]

Haha I thought the silver might tie in with the metal cage, I'll see how I feel about it long term - might end up wrapping them too

[@VideoShowMeHow]

Looks the business! Will be great to hear an update post your trip and the differences between using one of these vs chest version 👍

[@explorebound]

Thanks mate!! Can’t wait to get some good use out of it for the trip 🍻

[@ottouring]

Hi Just read yr comment and thought you might like to Have a look at my videos on truck, canopy and 12v set up Cheers Out There Touring

[@RustysOutbackAdventures]

That's part 1 ticked off....can't be many more to go!! What's the current draw on the 85L Bushman, please, as I'm looking for an upright fridge to go into my caravan build. Looking forward to seeing the fit out progress.

[@explorebound]

The Bushman’s are one of the more power efficient upright fridges (apparently - yet to test myself), but it will still use about twice the power as my old Waeco, but it’s twice the capacity so to be expected. I’ve seen others report that they use approx 40-50ah over a 24hr period but I’ll have to see what I average after a few trips 👍

[@barron204]

I noticed the Bushman fridge is a rebrand of the Isotherm and Engel fridge. This model or at least it’s predecessor have been around for many years and they are good fridges. The door seals can break if not properly cleaned, but still good.

[@ottouring]

Hi Just read yr comment and thought you might like to Have a look at my videos on truck, canopy and 12v set up Cheers Out There Touring

[@-PORK-CHOP-]

Yes, it looks identical to the ISOtherm but at nearly half the price !!

[@robbiereddog4202]

Nice one. Well done.....

[@HammerRocks]

I'd like to fit an upright fridge in my rig, then I won't need a fridge slide. But they all have very small freezers - not big enough to fit the amount of meat needed to feed two people for a week or more. Well done on the fitting.👍

[@explorebound]

Yeah that's very true, the freezer is quite tiny haha. Although coming from no freezer at all I'm just excited to have one! For long trips I've tried to provision enough room for a dedicated 40L chest freezer on the other side of the canopy. 🙂

[@thedewaltmancave2549]

How tall is your canopy opening door to bottom. You said you only had 5mm top and bottom from the door which mean your canopy door frame would be close to 635mm tall if you have the 620mm high fridge

[@mothergoose3064]

I've had the Bushman 85L in my MRT canopy for two years and it has been brilliant. For the rest of the build I recommend you get a rivnut tool - rivnuts are much better than using tek screws and great for making things easy to remove. Is your spare wheel carrier and ladder all from MRT? I can't see those items on their web site ?

[@explorebound]

Good suggestion - I've actually been looking into a good rivnut tool! Yep everything on the canopy setup is from MRT - they go in to detail on all the bits and pieces on the setup here: bit.ly/3Aji4Ot

[@oscarkelly2462]

I’ve got one too they’re unreal

[@lukethompson120]

Top stuff mate, coming along great! Just wondering where you grabbed the vinyl wrap from?

[@explorebound]

Hey mate, I actually bought that vinyl off ebay a good 8 years ago - been waiting for an opportunity to use it 😅

[@benabbott7576]

How did you fix the supports to the canopy floor ? Is there a nut under the canopy base and doesn’t it foul on the tray?

[@explorebound]

Hey Ben, the supports are bolted through the floor. Because the canopy has the lift-off system, there's clearance for bolts between the frame (you can see this a bit at 11:36).

[@amIhereornot]

Would love to know what program you used on the last video to work out the layout? Loving the content, am currently in the process of designing my canopy fitout so watching with keen interest!

[@explorebound]

Hey mate, I use Adobe Illustrator for the mockups, probably not the best tool for the job but I use it a lot for work so it's my go-to for anything design related haha. Best of luck with your fitout - it's a fun process!

[@michaelhermans4753]

Great fit out I’m looking at a 85 litre install, I currently have the standard Bushman which I want to use as a dedicated freezer on my fishing trips After looking around I’m considering the 85l Brass Monkey at 1/2 the price, just can’t justify $1500 It has almost identical dimensions to the Bushman Did you look into the BS fridge option?

[@explorebound]

Yeah the Bushman certainly is pricey. I basically chose it after spending a few hours reading through everyones experiences with all the different brands - Bushman was the only brand I couldn't find anything negative about, and read a lot of stories of people using them up north in 45 degree heat for extended periods of time without any issues so decided to pay the extra to be confident it's going to perform well. That being said there was nothing overwhelmingly bad about the other brands (Brass Monkey included) so they're probably fine, I was just blown away by Bushman's reputation haha.

[@outdoors5352]

Noice! Did you consider buying the 80 litre upright Engel instead?

[@explorebound]

I was looking into a few other brands but the dimensions weren't compatable with the canopy unfortunately so my hands were tied a bit haha (Engel's 90L version is quite a bit taller than the Bushman that only just fits).

[@jessetink3753]

What actually holds the fridge in place?

[@Christophpugh]

Did you take the feet off before installing?

[@explorebound]

No the feet stayed on the whole time for the install

[@bluntobject4084]

that's quite a long way off the floor is it possibly to use that space under it? for the electronics?i mean if everything has to be that high up. that's a lot of room

[@explorebound]

Hi mate, that space is about 5cm but I'm sure someone's come up with a clever way to use it - I was thinking it might even be useful for chopping board storage or glad wrap/aluminium foil boxes?

[@bluntobject4084]

@@explorebound just one of those things that I thought shifting it to the left more.then opened up the kitchen space. Way easier for me to say all these things from the couch though 🤣

[@rokysl]

@@explorebound put a induction cooker on a slide to slide in under the fridge or cutlery drawer

[@explorebound]

I spent quite a bit of time deciding how far to sit it off the left hand wall - ended up choosing that location so the door opened up nice and wide for access, and to give me a bit of space for a future 12v setup 🙂

[@lukegonano3956]

I changed the handle of the fridge to the side much better being so close to the top

[@explorebound]

Nice! I might look into the same if that positioning drives me nuts haha

[@andrewa3142]

What brand canopy you running ? 🤙

[@explorebound]

It’s an MRT tray and canopy 🙂

[@Pedro-ju7tp]

Use some 3mm ali flat bar as spacers

[@explorebound]

Nice idea that would look neat - at the time of install I was using what I had lying around in the garage 🙂

[@ryanwilson1201]

Absolutly love it mate, I’d love to show you my canopy! How would I get in contact with you?

[@explorebound]

Thanks mate! You can message me on Insta if you’d like 🙂

[@lachcalsmy]

The space infront of your fridge will gather stuff and you have to move it out of the way to get the door open. Move it forward towards the door as far as possible.

[@explorebound]

The fridge has to be set back or it will hit the canopy door as they taper in at the top - that being said the space in front will be valuable to have phones, cameras etc charging while the raised up fridge door can still swing over the top 🙂

[@Allanallanallan]

I bet 99% of customers want the door opening on the right. Pity they don’t come that way from the factory