Do you travel with your dog in your fifth wheel?

[ML]

Our dog is having trouble with her back and the vet advised her not to jump for 6 weeks. The truck is too tall for her to get into anymore and she is too big for us to lift safely.

We are trying to think of alternatives and considering a hard plastic crate and securing in on the inside of the fifth wheel.

Does anyone leave their dogs in their fifth wheel while traveling? If so would like to hear how you have set it up for them to travel.

Thank you.

[BCSnob]

the conditions you describe are no different than crated on the floor of a tow vehicle or in bed of a truck; but most won't know this based upon the ride on a foam seat

The difficulty with this topic for most is separating safety from emotional responses

[JAC1982]

BCSnob, so why don't we just let kids ride in the trailers too? Strap them down and hope they don't get scared or bounced around too much? Or maybe enclose them in a bunk and tell them to hold on and wear a helmet so they don't hit their head when you hit a bump in the road?

You're never to convince me a dog is safer and better off, away from its people, riding in a trailer, than it would be in the vehicle with them.

[BCSnob]

But the trailer pictured above and many others are not designed to haul animals; they are cargo trailers that have been modified to secure dog crates and are environmentally controlled (i.e. AC). The construction of cargo trailers, travel trailers, class A motorhomes, and the living quarters of class Cs are all the same; stick structures built on top of a metal frame. All will have the same fate in a roll-over; the stick structure will collapse. The attitude that dogs are safer in a motorhome than in a trailer is a fallacy (neither are designed for crash protection). The attitude that dogs are safer loose in a tow vehicle than in a secured crate in an RV is a fallacy (loose dogs are tossed about in the vehicle and can be ejected).

What most people bring up are catastrophic accidents and the state of trailers after words. This is then used to establish transporting in trailers is less safe than in motorhomes or tow vehicles. The problem with this logic is that no one ever also reports the state of tow vehicles or motorhomes after catastrophic accidents and how that relates to the safety of dogs transported in them. Many dogs transported in vehicles are placed in the crumple zones, cargo areas designed to be crushed to protect the passenger seating areas. Based upon the picture below, this is not safe (same logic being used with trailers).



Transport in trailers can be done safely when appropriate measures are taken: secure the crate, control the environment, and possibly add a video monitoring system. These are the same steps that rescue orgs take when modifying cargo trailers for use as rescue transportation.

[JAC1982]

BCSnob wrote:

Home on Wheels wrote:
People should never travel leaving their pets in their RVs. End of story!

Better tell the LA SPCA to stop using their trailer.

Watch this video to see clips of the inside of this trailer showing crates secured on shelves.
http://youtu.be/FL4CRNRtLkw

I think a trailer designed specifically for hauling animals, is a totally different story than having your dog hang out in it's crate in the back of your travel trailer or 5th wheel.

And, if something happened to that SPCA trailer though, that would be awful.

I don't know, I've seen how stuff can move around in the trailer while traveling, and I wouldn't let a kid ride in the trailer while traveling, so why would I put my dog back there, crated or not? At least in the tow vehicle, there's extra safety features built in for the occupants and you can keep an eye on the pet. What if something happened to the dog while riding back there and you didn't see them til a couple hours later?

[BCSnob]

Home on Wheels wrote:
People should never travel leaving their pets in their RVs. End of story!

Better tell the LA SPCA to stop using their trailer.

Watch this video to see clips of the inside of this trailer showing crates secured on shelves.
http://youtu.be/FL4CRNRtLkw

[Home_on_Wheels]

People should never travel leaving their pets in their RVs. End of story!

[ML]

Thank you ALL for the suggestions and advice, much appreciated.

Will look into a portable ramp.

[dturm]

Leaving the issue of safety out, I don't think I'd let my dog with a back issue ride in a trailer, even in a secured crate. I think the ride quality would increase the potential for further back injury.

Doug, DVM

[BCSnob]

I know transporting dogs in trailers (secured in crates) can be done safely; there are lots of examples of rescue groups and humane societies doing it. I think I would first look into a method for your dog to load up in your truck.

For those who like to quote survivability in trailers go look at the inside of tow vehicles after a crash and ask oneself where would the dog end up (especially those dogs that ride loose). Or look at motor homes after a crash or roll overs and ask where would the dog end up.

[Houston_Remodel]

One of our dogs hates riding in the TT

One of our dogs likes riding in the TT

[JAC1982]

Go read some of the threads in other forums about trailers becoming detached from the tow vehicle, or in one case, the tow vehicle catching on fire and thus catching the 5th wheel attached to it on fire too.

I have no idea why anybody would want to risk their animal's life by putting it in a trailer while traveling, crated or not. I have a 40lb dog, a 55lb dog, and a 60lb dog, and manage to get them where they need to go in either vehicle we have. The 60lber is a 11.5 year old basset hound with a bad back. No excuses, sometimes it involves lifting him onto a overturned plastic bin, then lifting him again into the truck. If for some reason we couldn't get them into the truck, then we wouldn't bring them with us, or we wouldn't travel.

[darsben1]

If it was my dog I would not take the chance AND I would miss his/her company. The dog would also not get to enjoy the travel.
You could stay put for 6 weeks if you do not want to buy/make ramps

[Old-Biscuit]

AS suggested ..a ramp to get in/out f truck and 5th wheel

Our 78# Border Collie/Mix started having hip issues, None of the commercial available ramps would work...they were too wide for rear door of our Quad Cab
So I built one
Side boards......1" X 3" X 48" -----2 pieces----ends cut at 45*
Cross boards.....1" X 2" X 24" -----5 pieces
ramp floor...... 24" X 48"-----2 pieces of 1/4" paneling
Carpet Remanent to cover paneling
1 1/2" wood screws


As for riding in 5th wheel in a crate.
Crate would keep them from roaming around and somewhat secure BUT no pet f mine would be traveling in any TT or 5vr.
Slim chance of survival in the event of a crash



On Edit:

I was typing (very slow) as you posted.
See you have a 6' ramp already.

And I take it the extended cab truck doesn't have but 2 doors.
So dog has to enter passenger side then climb over into rear

Can you build a removable extension or hinged extension that would reach seat and still be easily stored?

[ML]

BCSnob wrote:
How will getting in and out of the 5th wheel be any different (hard on your dog's back) than in and out of the tow vehicle? If it were my dog I would look into a dog ramp that can aid in getting in and out of both the 5th wheel and tow vehicle.

Mark

Thanks for asking Mark,

We do have a dog ramp for the fifth wheel but the ramp is too short 6' and the incline to steep to reach the truck seat.

We have an extended cab truck and we would lift her to the floor on the passenger side and she could jump into the passenger seat then walk over the flat console to the rear bench seat where her bed and safety harness are. Unfortunately she can no longer make that jump so we are trying to figure out how to transport her.