Adventuring With Your Dog/s

[GLOCKer]

We have two dogs that I absolutely love, and I've been thinking about how my new hobby might or might not work with them. I want to get my wife involved in this hobby too, and eventually drag her out with me on a trip from where we live in Georgia out to Southern Utah. The problem is that we'd either have to board the dogs, bring the dogs with us, or my wife would have to stay home and take care of them. I'd also like to drag my wife out to weekend trips in North Georgia to get her ready for a potential trip out to Utah. But there is the question of the dogs, again.

My truck is small; a 2019 Ford Ranger 4 door. My original plan was to store my small generator and a fridge/freezer in the back seat to keep them out of a dusty environment, but I'm willing to shuffle those things to the bed of my truck to bring my dogs with me. The problem is figuring out where they're going to sleep! I'm set up with a RTT. I might be able to bring one of the dogs up there, with some struggle (they're both large), but it's not going to work with two of us and two dogs. One of the dogs is older too (she's a GSD). The only thing I can think of for sleeping arrangements for them is to buy a trailer and enclose it.

I am considering bringing my younger dog (he's a Pit Bull and Hound Dog mix, and he's my best buddy!) with me for trips I go out without my wife. My concern is getting him up into the RTT and then back down again.

Any suggestions or tips you guys with experience bringing dogs along have would be greatly appreciated!

My rig:


My dogs!


Moe, the white dog, is my buddy! The dogs like to sneak into the bedroom and lay on the bed. Moe always lays on my spot!

 

[Noble Savage]

Traveling with dogs is always interesting. I have 3 we used to travel with around the state. If you are bringing them with you it would be easier to have them ride in the back seats while the gear is stored in the bed or a small utility trailer. My wife and I are currently working on one for to house our kitchen and boards. As for where the dogs sleep I would recommend a decent sized bed in the back of the truck that would sit where the back seats lay down or an enclosure at the foot of the truck if its not too hot or cold for them. Hope you can get your wife and dogs out there with you!

 

[ThundahBeagle]

Beautiful pups!
I second moving the fridge and generator to the bed of the truck. That's half the reason for mounting an RTT on a pickup. When driving, you and your wife occupy the front seats and the dogs occupy the back, so why not let the dogs sleep in the back? Kurgo makes an excellent harness that is crash-tested for the ride. Kurgo also makes great car and truck seat covers that can create a U tunnel. They connect to the back seat headrests and to the front seat head rests. This way the seat is protected and the back of the front seat is protected, and the dogs are somewhat prevented from moving to the front. Kurgo also makes a firmer portion between front and back seat.

Obviously you will be walking the dogs periodically during the drive, so they can stretch thier legs and such, but come bedtime just put thier beds back there so they can differentiate between a long drive, vs "bed time".

So, while you two are in the RTT, the pups are comfy in the back seat of the truck.

Another option is a Leer or ARE camper shell on the bed of the truck, ut that depends how long the bed is.

 

[Sparksalot]

I had planned on an adventure trailer with rtt until my 95# overland hound came to live with us. I’m almost always solo, so she sleeps in the tent or teardrop with me.

I’ve met a couple stationed at ft Hood who have a setup like yours. they’ve trained their pair of big dogs to climb a ramp up to the hood, then up the windshield and roof to enter their rtt through a window.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

By the way, that Ranger looks to be a nice tight little package. Between that and the Colorado, Toyota should be quaking in thier boots!

 

[GLOCKer]

So the very first thing I bought for my truck, the week I brought it home, was the rear seat cover that does the u-shaped configuration! And we have the seatbelt clips for the kids too. I'm thinking that maybe I get the netting out of the wife's Ford Escape to keep the dogs from sleeping in the front seats. My only concern is that it's just not going to be enough room for them. But if it is, it'll be better than the idea of buying and fitting out a trailer! As much as I'd like to do that, my wife would divorce me, I think. LOL

 

[Noble Savage]

So the very first thing I bought for my truck, the week I brought it home, was the rear seat cover that does the u-shaped configuration! And we have the seatbelt clips for the kids too. I'm thinking that maybe I get the netting out of the wife's Ford Escape to keep the dogs from sleeping in the front seats. My only concern is that it's just not going to be enough room for them. But if it is, it'll be better than the idea of buying and fitting out a trailer! As much as I'd like to do that, my wife would divorce me, I think. LOL
View attachment 183861
View attachment 183862

You could build a platform that would go across the rear seats to the back of the front seats to give them more room. If needed the front seats could be moved up to allow more sleeping room for the dogs.

 

[Sparksalot]

My hound kept herself pretty well in the back, curled up in her bed. Over time she got more comfortable and tried to come forward. I’ve added a net to help hold her just in case.

ive also done a seat delete to give her space, give me a spot for a fridge, and I needed the seats for the other wonder twin.

 

[ChambersFamily]

We have two dogs that I absolutely love, and I've been thinking about how my new hobby might or might not work with them. I want to get my wife involved in this hobby too, and eventually drag her out with me on a trip from where we live in Georgia out to Southern Utah. The problem is that we'd either have to board the dogs, bring the dogs with us, or my wife would have to stay home and take care of them. I'd also like to drag my wife out to weekend trips in North Georgia to get her ready for a potential trip out to Utah. But there is the question of the dogs, again.

My truck is small; a 2019 Ford Ranger 4 door. My original plan was to store my small generator and a fridge/freezer in the back seat to keep them out of a dusty environment, but I'm willing to shuffle those things to the bed of my truck to bring my dogs with me. The problem is figuring out where they're going to sleep! I'm set up with a RTT. I might be able to bring one of the dogs up there, with some struggle (they're both large), but it's not going to work with two of us and two dogs. One of the dogs is older too (she's a GSD). The only thing I can think of for sleeping arrangements for them is to buy a trailer and enclose it.

I am considering bringing my younger dog (he's a Pit Bull and Hound Dog mix, and he's my best buddy!) with me for trips I go out without my wife. My concern is getting him up into the RTT and then back down again.

Any suggestions or tips you guys with experience bringing dogs along have would be greatly appreciated!

My rig:
View attachment 183859

My dogs!
View attachment 183857

Moe, the white dog, is my buddy! The dogs like to sneak into the bedroom and lay on the bed. Moe always lays on my spot!
View attachment 183858

Sweet dogs! Our GSD rides in the back of our truck, we have rails and stuff so he can't get out. He loves the wind. He also sleeps back there when we camp, or if its cold we put up our annex and he sleeps in there. Been doing it this way for over a year and it works really well. We have two kids so we cant put him in the truck with us.

 

[GLOCKer]

Sweet dogs! Our GSD rides in the back of our truck, we have rails and stuff so he can't get out. He loves the wind. He also sleeps back there when we camp, or if its cold we put up our annex and he sleeps in there. Been doing it this way for over a year and it works really well. We have two kids so we cant put him in the truck with us.

An annex might be the ticket for me then. Never thought of that. I had considered grabbing an annex for my Smittybilt tent, to use as a toilette room. :D It would be a great place for the dogs to lay on their beds. Without a toilette of course!

 

[ChambersFamily]

Ann annex might be the ticket for me then. Never thought of that. I had considered grabbing an annex for my Smittybilt tent, to use as a toilette room. :D It would be a great place for the dogs to lay on their beds. Without a toilette of course!

Yes it does work great! Then you know they're safe and secure in there.

 

[MeliMK]

Def do some test runs with your pups in the annex before the big trip! Don't want anyone slipping out during the night or exploring nighttime sounds, or just freaking out lol Though I guess you could also put them on a line in the annex too if you are concerned with anything like that. Obviously I would be! @ChambersFamily didn't your dog slip out and wander around on your last trip? I would have a heart attack.

Our dog gets the back seat of the truck. She has a nest we made back there and its her bed at night too. If you go that route filling in the space where human legs would go is key to making them more comfortable. In the beginning I just stuffed extra blankets in there but its evolved into a platform for her that sits on the seat, leaving the space below for more storage. Good luck!

 

[Outdoordog]

I do not go out without my dogs.
I got a roofrack just so they have space in my vehicle. Totally worth it if you ask me.








They'd be mad if I came home smelling like camp...

 

[GLOCKer]

My youngest dog, my buddy, isn't really trained to be off the leash. I'm thinking about it and I'm wondering how it would be sitting at camp with him attached to me via a lead all day and all evening. I bet I could get him up in my RTT without much issue. And chilling with him in the truck wouldn't be too awfully bad while driving. But cooking and doing other things may be problematic. I'm starting to rethink having them along as much as I want my buddy Moe with me. :(

 

[ThundahBeagle]

My Beagle comes from hunt stock, not pet stock. There is no way I can ever have him off leash unless I'm willing to see him later, much later, at his own pleasure.

I have a harness for him (Kurgo TruFit, best on the market) and a seat cover for the bench seat in back of the truck. He handles that well.

In camp, I simply twist a spiral into the ground and tie him out to that with metal cable. Far enough away that he cant get into the cooking, but close enough that he still feels part of the group. Walk him around when I'm not cooking or kayaking. Sometimes he kayaks with me. I cant leave him in camp alone, after all. So if we have a big group, we take shifts staying with all the dogs vs doing other fun stuff during the day.

Sure, it is extra work to have him along. More planning and care. But I just cant imagine adventuring without him.

 

[GLOCKer]

I might grab a spiral anchor and see how my bud does with that in the back yard. HAHAHAHA He could drag my wife along the concrete if he wanted to!

 

[ThundahBeagle]

My Beagle is only 27 pounds, but theres not an ounce of fat on him, and he is all hunt. For a 27 pound dog, he can pull on the leash like a 50 pound dog. Add to that the rapid direction changes based on where his noe brings him, and it can be very difficult to keep him in check. I've taught him the basic commands like "come", "sit", "stay", and "heel" and he does very well with them unless theres a rabbit within a quarter mile, then it's a frenzy.

To see him running at a Beagle club, where there are other Beagles and the 50 or 100 acres is all fenced in, is just wonderful. Bit we cant do that at camp.

For us, the spiral anchor has worked, especially since he wants also to be part of the pack. We can keep him close while giving him a measure of autonomy, all the while monitoring him to make sure he hasn't dug the anchor up.

 

[trikebubble]

When we had a rooftop tent our dogs refused to sleep in the Xterra. I bought a simple long carpet runner from the hardware store, laid it on the hood, and up the windshield and onto the roof. One dog jumps up onto the hood (I would lift the older other one) and they had no problems just waling up the carpet runner and into the open window on the rooftop tent. Worked like a charm, and they exited in reverse with no issues.

 

[wishihada4runner]

Same issue I'm running into here and looking for guidance. The plan is to get a 4Runner and then an off-road trailer. A lot of the trailers are basically queen size bed inside and that's all the space you have. Right now it could potentially work as our dog is only 50lbs, but, at some point I plan on getting a Bernese which will be 70+ and she definitely would not fit in the camper to sleep with us. My concern would be cold weather. The reason for the trailer will be for extreme temps. We could go out in the blazes of summer and have an A/C unit to be able to sleep cool at night OR go out in winter and have a heater to keep us warm. If I put the dog outside in an annex type situation or even in the truck, those extreme temps come into play, I don't want to kill my dog. hah

I'll probably poke around on here for trailer suggestions with extra space. Obviously, I can't have it all, small compact off-road worthy trailer with TONS of sleeping space..

 

[spazegun2213]

@GLOCKer and others pretty much touched on why I have a van. We have 2 dog's (both 70+ lbs) and there is no way they would be sleeping in a truck, or a RRT with us. Our setup for sleeping is a van, so clearly not going to help your situation. But, for around camp we have a 25ft lead line we loop around a wheel and tie off our older pup. The younger one isn't going to leave our side so we don't worry about him (but we do carry a second lead line in case). For driving we have ruffware harnesses and 10,000lbs axle tie downs hooked to a D ring mounted to the chassis. Its a bit overkill, but without any rear seatbelts we got creative. We also learned after our first outing our older pup just cant hang with the amount of hiking we do, so the last trip he spent some time with friends.

Years ago I drove a dodge 2500, trailer and two 70+ lbs dogs cross country. I built a rear seat delete for them which both lowered the height, and gave them a TON more room. I tossed in some costco dog beds, belted them into the seat belts and off we went! Both had plenty of room to lay/sleep/eat/etc. It was a crazy trip and other than pee breaks there wasn't much stopping. Both did great and made it without any problems

Given your setup there looks to be a TON of things you can do. You could cut some 80/20, raise your RTT, and put a cap on the back (hard or soft) and rig that up as a larger space for the pups to sleep?

good luck!