Where to put the dog…..

[scubes13]

Ok, so we have a 2022 RAM 1500 Limited with crew cab and 6’4” bed with multifunction gate…..

Thus far, we have not taken our 10yo Vizsla with us anywhere in the truck….

Issue with putting the dog in the cab…
- Two children in rear with car seats
- Longer rides, wife or I jump into middle of rear seat to hang out with them.
- He’s still high strung/hyper and I am scared to death he’ll ruin our leather.

So, I am trying to figure out what options are out there for having him ride in the bed of the truck.

Right now, we have a BakFlip hard tonneau cover. We don’t have a camper shell.

I’m interested in seeing what sort of dog crates or boxes or ______ exist where he could ride comfortably in the bed while we could also use the remainder of the bed for dry storage on trips.

Not opposed to a shell, but hoping there may be some amazing thing out there that I just didn’t know existed that would do the trick for us.

Thoughts? Ideas?

 

[djevox]

if you let him drive, he will be less hyper because he’s focusing on the road.

 

[jent]

Based off what you described a bed shell sounds like the only way.

I would never put a kennel under a tonneau cover. Not enough air flow, in theory you could make some hvac and monitoring setup, but it seems scary to me. I wouldn't want my dog back there knowing how quickly and how hot it can get under the cover.

Even with a shell I would try to find one that can enable good air flow and then add in some temperature monitoring.

 

[scubes13]

Based off what you described a bed shell sounds like the only way.

I would never put a kennel under a tonneau cover. Not enough air flow, in theory you could make some hvac and monitoring setup, but it seems scary to me. I wouldn't want my dog back there knowing how quickly and how hot it can get under the cover.

Even with a shell I would try to find one that can enable good air flow and then add in some temperature monitoring.

Yeah, I didn’t know if there might be some sort of half tonneau / half crate sort of thing out there, etc.

Definitely not suggesting I would put him under tonneau.

 

[Belvedere]

We bought a back seat cover made for dogs. It can cover just the back seat or be attached to the front seat head rests and cover the back of the front seats. They also make covers for door panels, but not sure how they work. I'm still too afraid to let my dog ride in the Ram. She went camping with us this weekend, but only because my wife drove her Jeep too.

 

[scubes13]

We bought a back seat cover made for dogs. It can cover just the back seat or be attached to the front seat head rests and cover the back of the front seats. They also make covers for door panels, but not sure how they work. I'm still too afraid to let my dog ride in the Ram. She went camping with us this weekend, but only because my wife drove her Jeep too.

Thanks. Yeah, we had back seat covers for our previous two cars. Still have the cover. We just have zero room for him back there unless he rides in the floorboard. But on our 20hr road trip a few weeks ago, we had all sorts of things taking up that space. So I just don’t see how we could fit him in the cab of the truck.

 

[MileHi Guy]

I have two large (85 lb) dogs. I went the topper route. I didn’t want them in the cab for reasons you stated and with the topper, I can open the topper’s windows and if I want to, I can open a window from the cab to the topper. It’s the best solution I could come up with. I hunt with them and take them to the field regularly so this is the thing that works for me.

 

[Dustin_Tarditi]

How about a bed crate like they use for hunting dogs? Like these designs 11 Perfect Dog Crates and Kennels - Gun Dog

 

[Threesuns1]

My son has one if those canvas toppers, quick on quick off, for his 2020 Ram. When we go to hunt tests the dog rides in a plastic kennel that straps to the rails inside the bed. When we get to the site the sides and back roll up and the pup is sitting in shade.

 

[Threesuns1]

How about a bed crate like they use for hunting dogs? Like these designs 11 Perfect Dog Crates and Kennels - Gun Dog

My son uses plastic crates like those, and they work great. However, could you imagine riding in this trailer for any length of time.

 

[lmike6453]

How about a bed crate like they use for hunting dogs? Like these designs 11 Perfect Dog Crates and Kennels - Gun Dog

For how much those cost, might as well buy the topper if price is the main concern trying to figure out another option.

 

[scubes13]

Unfortunately our dog passed away last week. Thanks for all the helpful replies here. Truly appreciate it.

 

[2020GraniteBH]

Unfortunately our dog passed away last week. Thanks for all the helpful replies here. Truly appreciate it.

So sorry for your loss

 

[GP-TEK]

Sorry for your loss OP. I will still post this for other folks. I hate loosing a Dog. AreA Topper with bed rug and rug on ceiling. Aluminum dog guards on both windows. Led lights and USB 12 V DC for accessories like fans to circulate the air. I run full AC and have the window open from cab to topper. Looking at routing back AC into topper a different way.

All dogs go to heaven.

 

[Oldphart]

I used to breed Weimaraners, so I know about dogs that are a bit on the hyper side. Just get a wire crate of sufficient size and tie it down in the bed. If you are worried about airflow, a small 12v fan should work.

 

[834k3r]

Ok, so we have a 2022 RAM 1500 Limited with crew cab and 6’4” bed with multifunction gate…..

Thus far, we have not taken our 10yo Vizsla with us anywhere in the truck….

Issue with putting the dog in the cab…
- Two children in rear with car seats
- Longer rides, wife or I jump into middle of rear seat to hang out with them.
- He’s still high strung/hyper and I am scared to death he’ll ruin our leather.

So, I am trying to figure out what options are out there for having him ride in the bed of the truck.

Right now, we have a BakFlip hard tonneau cover. We don’t have a camper shell.

I’m interested in seeing what sort of dog crates or boxes or ______ exist where he could ride comfortably in the bed while we could also use the remainder of the bed for dry storage on trips.

Not opposed to a shell, but hoping there may be some amazing thing out there that I just didn’t know existed that would do the trick for us.

Thoughts? Ideas?

We have a 7-year old Vizsla and an 18-month old golden retriever--so I feel your pain. When we knew we needed the rear seating, we did was put a blanket down and she sat (as best we could manage, anyway) on the back seat. Once our kids got cars of their own and didn't join my wife and I on so many outings, we now use the Duluth Trading Co rear seat cover (forget the name of it, but there's a thread here about it) or put them in the back (we have a canopy shell; one of the few times where we thought ahead correctly).

 

[834k3r]

Based off what you described a bed shell sounds like the only way.

I would never put a kennel under a tonneau cover. Not enough air flow, in theory you could make some hvac and monitoring setup, but it seems scary to me. I wouldn't want my dog back there knowing how quickly and how hot it can get under the cover.

Even with a shell I would try to find one that can enable good air flow and then add in some temperature monitoring.

When my dogs are in the bed, we open the cab rear window, the "front" window of the canopy and the side windows of the canopy. Adds quite a bit of road noise into the cab, but the airflow through the bed is more than adequate.