Dogs in TT's

[dvitale300]

I know this is kind of an odd question, but we're dog show people new to RV's and will be leaving in a few days for our first dog show with our Travel Trailer. Are there folks out there who travel, leaving their pets back in the trailer when you drive? If so, any tips on how you make things safe for them? Any bad consequences besides the obvious?
thanks

[Major_Dad]

colliehauler wrote:

Major Dad wrote:

Highway 4x4 wrote:
I found that heat was a big problem back there for the pups. It's hard to get AC back there when it's hot. I would have a remote temp gauge back there. If your dogs get stressed and hot, you've got a big problem. The noise level is also high. I have a Bed-rug in mine. You should have gotten a Megga-cab.

I have the megacab and two large dogs. ONE St Bernard may fit back there with the seats folded down, but not two. I'm thinking for giant dogs maybe a 3/4-1 ton van may be the answer, with rear seats removed. The cap on the pickup truck would be a factor in hot weather since the OP lives in West Texas.

If you take out the back seat you may be able to build a platform out of plywood. On my Ford crew the platform was 58"wide by 45"deep and has enough room for 3 Collies. Your megacab would be even larger. You could measure and cut cardboard the same size and lay it on the ground and have your 2 dogs lay on it to see if it would give you enough room. If not you won't have to change your truck.

I thought of a 1 ton d-max van but it was De-rated on power with a lighter duty transmission. This would limit you to a TT as well.

I wrapped the back seat in plastic and store it in the garage. Would take about 15 minutes to put back in.

My 2010 Megacab already folds down into a very nice large platform. I put in a cheapo Walmart foam matress topper, sheet, and dog blanket on top of it. It is enough room for my 55 lb. greyhound and 62 lb. flatcoat retriever. Our neighbors have a couple of Bernards, and I don't see any way to fit TWO of those 100+ lb. lovable giants back there!

[Drippin]

dvitale300 wrote:
Yea - having the same thoughts. My problem is that I have a shell on my truck, but the hatch won't go all the way down when hooked to the trailer (hit's the propane units). Un-hitching the thing every couple hundred miles so they can pee is not an appealing idea.

I have to say that I did not read all of the replies on this post so I apologize if this is a repeat.

We had a similar issue with our truck and was able to buy an extended shank for our Equal-i-zer hitch. It was not cheap but gave us the needed extra inches to open the tailgate when the TT is hitched.

You should look into that as an option then the dogs could ride under the shell in the back.

[colliehauler]

Major Dad wrote:

Highway 4x4 wrote:
I found that heat was a big problem back there for the pups. It's hard to get AC back there when it's hot. I would have a remote temp gauge back there. If your dogs get stressed and hot, you've got a big problem. The noise level is also high. I have a Bed-rug in mine. You should have gotten a Megga-cab.

I have the megacab and two large dogs. ONE St Bernard may fit back there with the seats folded down, but not two. I'm thinking for giant dogs maybe a 3/4-1 ton van may be the answer, with rear seats removed. The cap on the pickup truck would be a factor in hot weather since the OP lives in West Texas.

If you take out the back seat you may be able to build a platform out of plywood. On my Ford crew the platform was 58"wide by 45"deep and has enough room for 3 Collies. Your megacab would be even larger. You could measure and cut cardboard the same size and lay it on the ground and have your 2 dogs lay on it to see if it would give you enough room. If not you won't have to change your truck.

I thought of a 1 ton d-max van but it was De-rated on power with a lighter duty transmission. This would limit you to a TT as well.

I wrapped the back seat in plastic and store it in the garage. Would take about 15 minutes to put back in.

[PAAK]

Our dog is family so she rides in the cab with us, that way she always has heat and A/C. At the camp ground she is either out with us or in the camper. They should never ride in the camper while going down the road.

[Major_Dad]

Highway 4x4 wrote:
I found that heat was a big problem back there for the pups. It's hard to get AC back there when it's hot. I would have a remote temp gauge back there. If your dogs get stressed and hot, you've got a big problem. The noise level is also high. I have a Bed-rug in mine. You should have gotten a Megga-cab.

I have the megacab and two large dogs. ONE St Bernard may fit back there with the seats folded down, but not two. I'm thinking for giant dogs maybe a 3/4-1 ton van may be the answer, with rear seats removed. The cap on the pickup truck would be a factor in hot weather since the OP lives in West Texas.

[colliehauler]

Highway 4x4 wrote:
I found that heat was a big problem back there for the pups. It's hard to get AC back there when it's hot. I would have a remote temp gauge back there. If your dogs get stressed and hot, you've got a big problem. The noise level is also high. I have a Bed-rug in mine. You should have gotten a Megga-cab.

This is what I found as well that heat was a problem. After one summer trip I sold a Dodge 1 ton with only 2500 miles and bought a Ford crew cab. This was before Dodge had a mega cab. The Collies ride in the truck..

Also agree withRBPRUthat dogs want to be with people.

[rbpru]

We put the dog in the cap with his bed etc. so he would not be cramped on the back seat. We left the cap and cab Windows open so he could look in.

After about 5 minutes of riding, he crawled through to his normal spot on the back seat.

They just like to be with people.

[Highway_4x4]

I found that heat was a big problem back there for the pups. It's hard to get AC back there when it's hot. I would have a remote temp gauge back there. If your dogs get stressed and hot, you've got a big problem. The noise level is also high. I have a Bed-rug in mine. You should have gotten a Megga-cab.

[Major_Dad]

Highway 4x4 wrote:
Congrats Dvitale300,
Showing a Saint is not easy. I have a show Bernese and he travels with me in the cab of my new Ram Laramie, fold flat floor in the rear. I would not travel with him in the TT because I need someone to talk to on the long drives. Not being able to lower the tailgate is also a bummer. Is there room to move the tanks back and then move the tongue jack back enough to clear the tailgate? Might need to do some welding to make it work. Think outside the box. How close is it to clearing? To help with the dog hair some I cover the entire back seat area with a sheet and take a few along on longer trips. Use the dog blower to blow out the truck. If you have too much dog for the cab you'll just have to get a class A MH like all the big dogs at the shows. Do you have your X-pens mounted on the back bumper yet?

I've been thinking about replacing my hard tonneau cover with a camper shell, and replacing it with a cap that has a rear door. My tailgate doesn't open when hitched, so that might be an option for the big doggies. Cap with rear door I haven't looked into the brands yet, but one with this type of design is what I was considering.

[Jack_Diane_Free]

I did ride in a TT for about 2 hours one time years ago and it was not that bad. Had a good nap.

[Highway_4x4]

Congrats Dvitale300,
Showing a Saint is not easy. I have a show Bernese and he travels with me in the cab of my new Ram Laramie, fold flat floor in the rear. I would not travel with him in the TT because I need someone to talk to on the long drives. Not being able to lower the tailgate is also a bummer. Is there room to move the tanks back and then move the tongue jack back enough to clear the tailgate? Might need to do some welding to make it work. Think outside the box. How close is it to clearing? To help with the dog hair some I cover the entire back seat area with a sheet and take a few along on longer trips. Use the dog blower to blow out the truck. If you have too much dog for the cab you'll just have to get a class A MH like all the big dogs at the shows. Do you have your X-pens mounted on the back bumper yet?

[doxiluvr]

Of course you should not have the dogs in the travel trailer while you are pulling it. If you cannot make room for them in the backseat of your truck, then maybe you should buy a Class C or Class A. to where they can safely travel in a crate that won't move around.

[MFL]

Not abnormal at all! What is the sense of having them, if you don't treat them like family. That is a nice setup for them, with the rear door, and ramp.

We have no children, but our little one gets treated as if she were.

Jerry

[Winterwolf227]

downtheroad wrote:
I couldn't care less about what others' take is on this topic. Our girls ride with us. They are part of the family.

X2.. We bought a Truck and a trailer that would accommodate not only our needs but the needs our dogs needs. Call us silly, but they ride in the truck in A/C and when camped, they have their own bunk bed and door with a ramp.

We are probably abnormal, but our animals are family !!

[colliehauler]

Don't those cab to camper boots rub the paint off the cab?