Dogs, Cars And Dog Cars!

[spoilt lab lives here]

I have a lab, GSD and Beagle and my car is a Magna station wagon. Fits all 3 in there nicely and all have an anchor point to tie to which works out well.

[Cheyd]

We have a Commodore at the moment and Merlin has plenty of room

Hoping to get a Commodore wagon later this year, hopefully a second puppy too.

[badboyz]

Up until recently I had an X-trail - which I thought was perfect. I now have taken over my OH Outlander wagon, which is not quite as good as the xtrail for the dog gear as smaller boot, but I can still manage. Miss my Xtrail though. Have medium and small dogs, and show gear.

[Miss B]

Not really an option in there for ute/duel cab ute.

I have a hilux. They are not really classified as a large SUV/4wd.

Here is a photo of my set up. The drawers are courtesy of my hubby.

Love it How did you make/install the false floor? Have been thinking about doing something similar in my VZ.

[Mystiqview]

Miss B.

My hubby is a cabinet maker by trade.

The drawers go 3/4 the way back into the tray. Up the very front there is a lift out section that eventually a duel battery will go in (no room under bonnet since putting a turbo in the lux). The drawer length also had a lot to do with the drawer runners. Heavy duty runners are not cheap. Nearly $400 for the two pairs.

It has all been made out 16mm structural ply. The floor is just the ply screwed on the top of the drawer frame. He then stuck marine carpet on the top. It is sealed with Sikkens deck oil. It is not cheap stuff. But is really good. It is a decking oil but it dries hard and seals the timber. Technically it has been designed so I can still hose out the back of the ute, of if moisture does get in, will not warp the timber work.

ETA: There were originally going to be lift up sections in the side there where you see the gaps on either side of the drawers. I have a back gate/grill that I had in the vehicle before installing these drawers. It needs to be cut down in order to now fit on top of the drawers.

Edited May 10, 2010 by Mystiqview

[Just love my dogs!]

I have a Labrador and a Golden Retriever. They fit well in the back of my Rav4

[Rainy]

I ave an AU sedan falcon its ok and i get by only having 1 dog but with plans to add a second dog to the family it wont be sutible so we are on the hunt for our next car, the front runner at the moment is a Skoda Octavia RS Wagon i love it so comfortable and plent of room for dogs and luggage

http://www.skoda.com.au/octaviars/wagon.aspx

[New Age Outlaw]

Currently have a Mercedes A200 Turbo, which fits my three greyhounds comfortably and has been a fun to drive (I like my cars to have a bit of oomph ), but I am about to sell it in favour of a BMW 123d hatch, which will fit my dogs but has the added benefits of being diesel and also being rear wheel drive. I need my cars to be a combination of function and a driver's car. The Merc is a really nice car, but the BMW will have a little more power and torque, plus will be manual (the Merc I have is auto). And it's a BMW...love my Bimmers! I have to wait a couple of months for my new car to be born and delivered to me, but it will be worth the wait!

The mercedes:

The new car will look a bit like this:

Edited May 10, 2010 by New Age Outlaw

[Shelby]

My last two cars have been bought solely with the dogs in mind I loved my Honda Odyssey but it was getting too long in the tooth and costing money in repairs so downsized to a Hyundai Tucson. Just the right amount of room for the dogs and me and I can also have a passenger as well.

[poodlemum]

Currently have a Mercedes A200 Turbo, which fits my three greyhounds comfortably and has been a fun to drive (I like my cars to have a bit of oomph ;) ), but I am about to sell it in favour of a BMW 123d hatch, which will fit my dogs but has the added benefits of being diesel and also being rear wheel drive. I need my cars to be a combination of function and a driver's car. :p The Merc is a really nice car, but the BMW will have a little more power and torque, plus will be manual (the Merc I have is auto). And it's a BMW...love my Bimmers! ;) I have to wait a couple of months for my new car to be born and delivered to me, but it will be worth the wait! :D

The mercedes:

The new car will look a bit like this:

NAW - NO - don't go to the dark side!!!!!

I have a Mercedes SLK230 which will fit ONE dog in the passenger seat! Unfortunately, neither of my dogs are comfortable in a convertable (not like Niki, who thought he was King of The World)! So I also have an Audi A4 wagon, into which they both fit comfortably!

[New Age Outlaw]

NAW - NO - don't go to the dark side!!!!!

I have a Mercedes SLK230 which will fit ONE dog in the passenger seat! Unfortunately, neither of my dogs are comfortable in a convertable (not like Niki, who thought he was King of The World)! So I also have an Audi A4 wagon, into which they both fit comfortably!

You have an Audi and you talk about me going to the dark side? :D :p

Seriously, I've been a BMW fan for a long time (we've had a few of them over the years), but I do agree the SLK is an awesome car. OH would seriously love one of them one day (well, that or a 911 Porsche). The only thing that bugs me about the A class is the front wheel drive. BMW has the only car in that class that is rear wheel drive. Plus twin turbo diesel, 150KW & 400NM torque...no contest really. ;)

Edited May 10, 2010 by New Age Outlaw

[furballs]

I have an AH Astra, quite a bit bigger than most hatches. It easily fits my two large dogs with the back seats down. Always full of dog hair though :D

[mackiemad]

i have two cars. i have a VW golf where the dog goes in the boot (with the panel thingy down) and the Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel is for the horse float or when we are going long distance or have luggage and dog... oh and vet visits is the jeep too.

i love both of my cars but if i could only have one it would be the jeep. power, decent size, hasn't broken down much/at all (is 2003/4) and has heaps of goodies in it that were in the pretty basic pack - heated bum seats are somethign i could not do without now in winter!

my mum has a merc B-class 2litre turbo which she loves, plenty of room in the boot, a little higher than the golf but not a big or truck-like as the jeep. nice medium car. i've driven it and it has such a nice balance and gravity on the road, much better than the jeep in that regard...

[Miss B]

Miss B.

My hubby is a cabinet maker by trade.

The drawers go 3/4 the way back into the tray. Up the very front there is a lift out section that eventually a duel battery will go in (no room under bonnet since putting a turbo in the lux). The drawer length also had a lot to do with the drawer runners. Heavy duty runners are not cheap. Nearly $400 for the two pairs.

It has all been made out 16mm structural ply. The floor is just the ply screwed on the top of the drawer frame. He then stuck marine carpet on the top. It is sealed with Sikkens deck oil. It is not cheap stuff. But is really good. It is a decking oil but it dries hard and seals the timber. Technically it has been designed so I can still hose out the back of the ute, of if moisture does get in, will not warp the timber work.

ETA: There were originally going to be lift up sections in the side there where you see the gaps on either side of the drawers. I have a back gate/grill that I had in the vehicle before installing these drawers. It needs to be cut down in order to now fit on top of the drawers.

Cool... it is a great setup.

[Black Bronson]

I've got a small-medium breed and my current car is perfect:

There is loads of room in the back and the lockable canopy is perfect for keeping all my show stuff secure. I can carry enough stuff in there for a whole weekend away - two show trolleys, a deluxe oztrail gazebo, a compact oztrail gazebo, my tent inner kit, a couple of camping chairs, two PP40 crates, a gazebo floor, my grooming bag, a queen size camping bed, plus my own bags (clothes etc).

The only negative is that the canopy does not have any ventilation, so it's not really suitable for transporting the dogs in the back during the heat of the day (they ride up front in the air con ;)). Overall though I absolutely love it

I like that Miss B very nice We had a VY SS ute back in '04 and my wife wanted a sedan and traded it in for a VZ SS sedan. With 2 GSD's the rear door trims are completely destroyed She said only yesterday now having 3 GSD's, one's a puppy, if we still had the ute, we could have put a canopy on the back like yours and it would have been perfect now

Edited May 10, 2010 by Black Bronson

[Mystiqview]

Miss B

look at getting scoops installed in the front of the canopy. As you drive air is pushed in

found the whirlybirds in the back of canopies a pain in the butt and pretty worthless.

I have sat under neath while some span the bird and the airdraw out is pretty crap. When you need them to

work the most is when you are stopped in traffic. Uncortunately unless there is a gale forced wind blowing, the birds don't really spin.

The draws are great. I leave most of my camping/show gear in the car. Throw trollies in. And away we go.

Down side I found out yesterday was when you go to buy a clothesdryer. It won't fit.

Had to get a friend to pick it up in his old Nissan pulsar. It had more room in the back with the seats folded down

than I did in the lux.

[kimzy]

We have a Pajero named Frankie. The dogs have seatbelts and are pretty good in the backseat but we can put them in the back or still fit a large crate in the back if necessary. We were really tempted to go Troopy but loved the comfort of the Pajero. We got the Pajero to take the dogs beach camping and on daytrips and surftrips. I wasnt sure we would use it much but we use it heaps.

[Grace1979]

We have a toyota prado which has heaps of room for grace if we dont use the back seats but i have four kids so im constantly putting them up and back down which is a pain.

[mita]

I'm glad you asked this question. After I got my new Mazda, I received a long survey from the Mazda Co, asking for feedack on how satisfied I was with the car. All the questions revolved around things like camping, off-road driving....as if every car owner was into the great outdoors, driving trials & rally driving..

So I sent an email to Mazda, pointing out the survey had nothing to do with women's lives....like transporting children & shopping AND restraining pets & their crates (like getting puss's carry crate into the back seat). I told them I'd heard that Honda was responding to the needs of pet owners by incorporating things into the design of a Honda, that would make pet transport, safety & comfort better.

Got a very nice email back from Mazda (signed by a woman!) saying she thought they were valid & necessary issues. And that they'd be taken to the meeting where feedback about design is considered.

Edited May 10, 2010 by mita

[SBT101]

We have staffords,

We only have 1 car, a Toyota Landcruiser,but it has a cargo barrier which is ideal for the dogs. And we go down the beach at least every weekend so the 4wd comes in handy. We have a dog trailer aswell which is for travelling to dog shows, etc.