DANGEROUS design flaw for dog owners

[RAM309702]

I was driving with both back seats up and hit a large dip in the road and BAM the rear bench seat comes flying down hard. Luckily my dog was on the other side of the truck and it missed her. Only the larger side came down. She is 20lbs and if she had been sitting upright and that thing flew down on her she would have been hurt. I brought it to the dealer and they "tightened" the springs but not sure it fixed the issue. All dog owners be careful, there is no lock to keep the seats up.

 

[jdmartin]

I was driving with both back seats up and hit a large dip in the road and BAM the rear bench seat comes flying down hard. Luckily my dog was on the other side of the truck and it missed her. Only the larger side came down. She is 20lbs and if she had been sitting upright and that thing flew down on her she would have been hurt. I brought it to the dealer and they "tightened" the springs but not sure it fixed the issue. All dog owners be careful, there is no lock to keep the seats up.

Thanks for that post - that's something I hadn't considered - that the seat could come down on its own. On my Titan, the seat bottom locked into place when folded up. I remember that the bottom doesn't lock but hadn't realized it could come down just from a bump in the road.

I may look at it to see if I can come up with my own locking system. Maybe a simple velcro/buckle strap that wraps all the way around the seat to keep it clipped up. Or even a large bungee hooked to itself over the seat. My dog is pretty big but she's pretty old too and I think the seat falling down might knock her over!

 

[PorBoy]

Thanks op for this as my dogs also ride back there and that would definitely be an issue.

 

[Jeff270]

Good to know! My boys would not take kindly. neither would I, to them getting one off the noggin!

 

[Jus Cruisin]

You need to be sure the seats are folded all the way up. I've had mine up over a washboard sandy road and have run over railroad crossings that jarred the truck big time and mine haven't dropped. My dog rides on the seats while they are down.

 

[Jtr]

Thanks for the heads up. I have my dogs in the back floor in a metal crate/cage with the seats up. Primarily to control dog hair, mud, dirt, etc. I think the cage would withstand a seat drop but they certainly would be rattled if it fell.

 

[jdmartin]

Good to know! My boys would not take kindly. neither would I, to them getting one off the noggin!

Man those dogs are awesome! I've had black labs all my life. Those are good looking dogs!

 

[1200GS]

Thanks for the warning! Just rode with our Golden in the back today... but I have to say that so far I haven’t experienced that issue even on bad roads...my back seats actually take some effort to pull down...

 

[ExcursionDiesel]

You need to be sure the seats are folded all the way up. I've had mine up over a washboard sandy road and have run over railroad crossings that jarred the truck big time and mine haven't dropped. My dog rides on the seats while they are down.

I've noticed this and examined how they are held in place. It's a poor design. A friction notch on the hinge holds it in place. Any quick deceleration will dislodge and drop the seats. An emergency stop would slam the seats down hard and be lethal to small pets.

The idea to strap them up is really the only option. A long strap around the entire seat back then around the folded seat bottoms then attached to itself would work. Could leave the strap in place and hide the ends under the seat bottoms when down.

I haul fragile computer gear and worry about damaging something if I brake hard.

 

[Cmerkert]

Great post I had the same thing happen. Bringing my dog back from physical therapy ironically rehabbing two blown ACLs. Lol. The larger of the two back seats ended up being down halfway through the run I didn't notice it till I turned around. Luckily she's 70 lb and just brushed it off but I'll definitely look into tightening them. I love the fact that I'd say large flat floor which makes a great for her to lay down and sit without having to be up on the seats

 

[Jus Cruisin]

Like I said, mine don't fall down. I've have them up often (at least once a week) and they have never dropped.

I'd suggest a trip to the dealership and get them checked out.

 

[SpeedyV]

I've noticed this and examined how they are held in place. It's a poor design. A friction notch on the hinge holds it in place. Any quick deceleration will dislodge and drop the seats. An emergency stop would slam the seats down hard and be lethal to small pets.

The idea to strap them up is really the only option. A long strap around the entire seat back then around the folded seat bottoms then attached to itself would work. Could leave the strap in place and hide the ends under the seat bottoms when down.

I haul fragile computer gear and worry about damaging something if I brake hard.

Mine have never fallen down, but I see this as a reasonable step to avoid any surprises. You could attach a bungee cord to the shoulder belt anchors, for example, or run one vertically that goes around the whole seat, where both ends attach to the tethers behind the headrests.

 

[Biga]

I keep the smaller driver side folded up 90% of the time and it has never dropped but good to know.

 

[AndreiV]

I think you can drop sit buckle throu the sit once sit is in the upright position and strap sitbelt around tje sit into buckle.

 

[jdmartin]

I've noticed this and examined how they are held in place. It's a poor design. A friction notch on the hinge holds it in place. Any quick deceleration will dislodge and drop the seats. An emergency stop would slam the seats down hard and be lethal to small pets.

The idea to strap them up is really the only option. A long strap around the entire seat back then around the folded seat bottoms then attached to itself would work. Could leave the strap in place and hide the ends under the seat bottoms when down.

I haul fragile computer gear and worry about damaging something if I brake hard.

I thought of doing something similar, some kind of cloth strap with a plastic buckle on the end that you can cinch up. I think that would be relatively easy to do.

 

[sergetexan]

Same thing, seat fell down with dog in back, fortunately my 100 lb fattie Golden wasn’t fazed. I will be looking for a way to secure as well.

 

[ExcursionDiesel]

I thought of doing something similar, some kind of cloth strap with a plastic buckle on the end that you can cinch up. I think that would be relatively easy to do.

The idea listed above of using the seatbelts as retainers would be brilliant if it works. Might have to buy 2 "seatbelt extenders" which have the female buckles and attach them under the seats. I'll have to explore that idea.

 

[mharringer]

Anyone found a good dog "hammock" for the back? My 95 pound elderly dude like to ride with his head out the window, so he has to sit on a seat. I thought about leaving the big half up so that it would be easier for him to get into, then he can hop up into his luxury accomodations.

 

[Rampat]

Interesting, I never thought about that since I don’t have a dog. My 2016 F150 locked in the up position but I hated it because I was always picking it up and putting it down and would forget to grab the latch. I love how my Ram is easy to lower, but would have never thought it could be harmful.

 

[392DCGC]

I was driving with both back seats up and hit a large dip in the road and BAM the rear bench seat comes flying down hard. Luckily my dog was on the other side of the truck and it missed her. Only the larger side came down. She is 20lbs and if she had been sitting upright and that thing flew down on her she would have been hurt. I brought it to the dealer and they "tightened" the springs but not sure it fixed the issue. All dog owners be careful, there is no lock to keep the seats up.

You know what's more DANGEROUS than the seat hitting your lapdog? Letting your dog ride in the truck unrestrained. Guess where she's going if you get in a bad crash? Who knows, but likely dying.

Never had my seats fall down, and it seems like you're blowing this out of proportion. Either way, if you really give a damn about your dog, belt her in with a proper safety harness or use a crate so at least she won't go flying across the cabin or get ejected in a crash.