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Chat to a group of Fortuner owners and many will admit they toyed with the idea of buying a Hilux before finally settling on the SUV.

The double-cab versus SUV debate isn’t unique to Toyota. And it always ultimately comes down to two things: storage and cost.

Drop a canopy onto the back of a double-cab and you have a deep, square load area which offers generous and practical storage. There’s just one problem: the canopy itself.

A fit-for-purpose canopy, with rubberising, and a proper dust-sealing kit, can easily add another R50 – 65k to the vehicle’s sticker price. Whereas, an SUV like the Fortuner arrives pretty much ready to explore.

But while there’s not much you need to do to most SUVs to make them off-road ready and dust proof, there is one area where they typically struggle: packing space.

Caption: Most 4×4 SUVs are essentially turnkey, providing safe, dust- and weather-proof storage straight from the factory. The downside is that their available packing volume rarely matches that of a double-cab. This means SUV owners need to be more inventive – and more critical – about how they use the space available.

THE BOOT PROBLEM

Even with the third row of seats removed, SUV owners have to work harder and be more inventive with the space on offer.

Traditionally, that meant fitting a standard drawer system, putting the fridge on top, then adding a fridge slide, and often a protective cage around the fridge to keep camping gear away from the cooling vents and access points.

Happily, there’s a new solution on offer.

A collaboration between Big Country and National Luna has resulted in a completely new approach to fridge design.

It combines a dedicated drawer fridge with a purpose-designed drawer system to make considerably better use of an SUV’s limited boot space.

Caption: A conventional drawer system typically places the fridge on top, using a drop-down fridge slide to clear the roof when the lid is opened, while also making it easier to see and reach items at the bottom. It’s a tried-and-tested solution, but a fully loaded fridge can be surprisingly heavy, requiring increasingly elaborate – and expensive – slide mechanisms to manage the weight. The Drawer Fridge does away with all of that.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF FRIDGE

The heart of the system is National Luna’s completely different approach to fridge design. Unlike a conventional camping fridge, the 40- and 60-litre National Luna Drawer Fridges feature an externally-mounted compressor. This allows the fridge to sit low and integrate directly into a drawer system, eliminating the need for a conventional drop-down fridge slide.

That seemingly simple change has some significant advantages.

Because the fridge can be mounted at floor level, everything inside is easy to see and reach without having to drop the fridge to access its contents. More importantly, it changes what happens around the fridge.

There’s no protective cage to take up valuable space, no need to accommodate a drop-down fridge slide, and no awkward packing arrangements dictated by the fridge’s position. The entire drawer system also has a flat upper surface, creating a much more practical platform for luggage and camping gear.

LOW PROFILE, HIGH UTILITY 

Best of all, the overall height penalty is surprisingly small, and you still get plenty of vertical packing space that can be utilised.

Big Country was the first to take advantage of this new fridge design, developing a drawer system specifically around the National Luna Drawer Fridge.

The result is a storage solution that makes the most of an SUV’s available space, while also incorporating a dedicated area at the rear for mounting a dual-battery and charging system.

Caption: To make the most of every available centimetre, Big Country has incorporated a dedicated dual-battery shelf at the rear of the drawer system, providing a neat home for the auxiliary battery and charger.

NOT JUST FOR FORTUNERS

And the idea isn’t limited to mid-sized SUVs like the Fortuner.

The National Luna Drawer Fridge and Big Country Drawer System are also available for the Land Cruiser 100, 200, and 300 Series. These larger vehicles make use of the 60-litre Drawer Fridge, while the Fortuner uses the 40-litre unit.

Caption: Of course, the National Luna Drawer Fridge isn’t limited to off-the-shelf storage solutions. Its low-profile design makes it an ideal candidate for a custom drawer system in just about any vehicle.

There are more applications in the pipeline, including a 37-litre version and dedicated drawer system for the Ineos Grenadier. The Suzuki Jimny is also under consideration.

So, while this particular solution might have started with the Fortuner, the thinking behind it has a broader application: use the space you have more cleverly.

For updates on new applications as they become available, subscribe to the 4WD Revolution mailing list here.

PRICING

NL40 Single Control R13 700

NL40 Dual Control R15 400

NL60 Single Control R15 500

NL60 Dual Control R17 500

The Big Country Drawer Fridge storage system starts at R30 999.

To check if there’s a Drawer Fridge and Big Country storage solution for your vehicle, call:

Safari Centre on (021) 595 3910 for Western Cape enquiries.

Big Country on (011) 795 9700 for Gauteng enquiries.

National Luna on (011) 452 5438 for nationwide fridge enquiries. 

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