Truck - family of 5 and 65lb dog

[Raife]

So I'm in the very early stages of considering a truck to get ahead of our next trailer...I'm generally a buy once cry once kind of person so looking at Ram 3500, Ford F350, or GMC 3500. However, in test driving these and looking at the back seat I struggle to see how I'm getting 3 kids and a 65lb dog in there...?

What have other people done who are in the same situation?

(FYI - not interested in a class A)

Thankn you.

[mkirsch]

Yeah, youtube comments are a GREAT place to learn things... NOT.

[CharlesinGA]

Long Long Honeymoon video on "Can Someone Ride In a Trailer?"

READ THE COMMENTS, YOU WILL LEARN MORE THAN WHATS IN THE VIDEO, SOME PRETTY GOOD STORIES.

[BCSnob]

Did you know there are dog trailers, PU slide in dog boxes, chassis mounted dog rigs, and purposely built adoption trailers for transporting dogs?

Ever wonder how sled dogs, pack hounds, racing greyhounds, gun dogs, stock dogs, etc get from their home to the events; or rescue dogs get from the kennel/pound to the adoption event in front of a store? People have been coming up with safe solutions for transporting dogs for decades (including in trailers) since there are people who have been transporting more dogs than the typical RVer.

Competing in stock dog events I get to see a wide range of solutions to transporting multiple dogs to events and I get to discuss the pros and cons with those using these solutions.

I periodically see a PU with a 2 level chassis mounted dog box hauling a 2 level dog trailer on the roads here. My guess this rig is transporting a hound pack. We live in an area where there are fox hunts.

[IdaD]

Thermoguy wrote:
Putting a dog or cat in a kennel and putting them in the trailer would not be a bad ride for the animal - where do you think horses ride? Back in the 1980's I rode more than once in the front of a gooseneck horse trailer from Western WA to Boise. Not a bad ride at all. We laid on the bed and even had a small port-a-potty if needed. More recently had a sick horse that we had to haul about 4 hours to the vet. She was trying to lay down so I rode in the trailer for over an hour to try to keep her up. Not talking about the issues with the horse, the ride was not bad at all. You can't tell speed and can't feel most curves. However, you really feel the start and especially the stop. The exhaust brake on our Diesel truck can hit hard on some decelerations and I really felt that. The only issue is heat, but only an issue if a hot day, an open window can solve that. Other than that, if an accident occurs you most certainly will lose the pet. Same problem with horses and people haul them all over the country. I think a horse trailer is built much better than an RV, but they look pretty bad after an accident.

Look at this guy being all reasonable about animals. I think lots of folks would be more broken up over losing a good horse than the family dog or cat... :B

I would agree that stock trailers typically have much stouter frames. The upper portion isn't going to fare too well depending on the accident though. Not that camper trailers do either.

[Thermoguy]

Putting a dog or cat in a kennel and putting them in the trailer would not be a bad ride for the animal - where do you think horses ride? Back in the 1980's I rode more than once in the front of a gooseneck horse trailer from Western WA to Boise. Not a bad ride at all. We laid on the bed and even had a small port-a-potty if needed. More recently had a sick horse that we had to haul about 4 hours to the vet. She was trying to lay down so I rode in the trailer for over an hour to try to keep her up. Not talking about the issues with the horse, the ride was not bad at all. You can't tell speed and can't feel most curves. However, you really feel the start and especially the stop. The exhaust brake on our Diesel truck can hit hard on some decelerations and I really felt that. The only issue is heat, but only an issue if a hot day, an open window can solve that. Other than that, if an accident occurs you most certainly will lose the pet. Same problem with horses and people haul them all over the country. I think a horse trailer is built much better than an RV, but they look pretty bad after an accident.

[Grit_dog]

^Dog will probably climb on the couch if you’re not watching. They’ll be comfortable!

[BCSnob]

......comfortable ride for passengers sitting on seats which have foam & springs to soften the ride. How comfortable would the ride be for passengers on a hard seat (no foam & springs) attached to the truck chassis (like sitting the floor)?

[mkirsch]

Grit dog wrote:
If it’s unreasonable to put even a pet in a reasonable condition (riding in a RV) then how do they sell sooooo many motorhomes?

Because, as we all know, motorhomes and travel trailers are exactly the same. It's not like a motorhome rides on a truck chassis and is designed for a comfortable ride, with passengers in mind, and a travel trailer takes none of those considerations into account... Nope, they're EXACTLY the same.

[Blazing_Zippers]

Anyone remember when it was cool to ride in the pick up bed? Or put a large tarp in the bed and fill it with water?
AHHHHHH, the good old days and the scars to prove it.
I know, off topic.....

[BCSnob]

Based upon ride differences between our Nash and the cedar creek before the Nash I suspect the ride softens as the TT weight approaches the GVWR of the TT much like the ride softens on trucks as they are loaded and approach the GVWR.

[BCSnob]

How different do you suppose the “ride” is between in a secured crate in a TT near the hitch and in a secured crate in the bed of a PU in terms of noise (rattling, squeaks, etc) and the bouncing/jarring? Most people seem to think dogs experience the same “ride” on the floor of a vehicle as we do sitting on the seats.

If you don’t know, crates make noise while traveling when inside the cab of a vehicle, in the bed of a PU, in a motor home, or in a trailer. Since we have a van with 7 crates right now (and as many as 9 in the past) know from personal experience. There’s a lot of noise while traveling on gravel roads.

Btw, items left on the table and counters of our Nash, stay there unless I need to brake very hard.

[Timmo_]

cptqueeg wrote:

Timmo! wrote:
One of the best things i did when we first bought our trailer was to experience first hand what goes on inside the TT. A 20 minute ride (with wifey behind the wheel) on one of the Death Valley dirt roads was like an E-Ticket Disney ride.

Being a native born Cali boy, I've experienced many earthquakes, but nothing like went on inside my 21' TT rolling down a smooth dirt road. IMO, the noise alone would be enough to cause a docile guard dog to become an over anxious foo foo lap dog.

I bet your wife was LOL as you got tossed around in the TT.

Wifey gleefully seeks and has immense enjoyment when, in the rarest of occasions, I actually get tossed around.

I expected a mini earthquake ride, but what surprised me was all the squeaking noise. Nash TT are well made and fabricated with wooden framing; as wood flexes and is forgiving--hence the squeaking noise that came from everywhere: walls, roof, cabinetry, and doorways.

Anyone besides me, remember the cooking scene from the Lucy movie classic, The Long, Long Trailer? LOL, it was nothing like that inside my Nash, but all the water sloshed out of the dogs' water bowls.

Maybe if the TT had shock absorbers and anti sway system (instead of WD bars), things might have been different.

[4x4ord]

^^^^ Yup and the dog would be every bit as comfortable laying on the couch in the fiver.

[RoyJ]

If 4x4 is not required, an HDT is a very comfortable way to travel for a family + dog: