Truck Recommendations For Two Labradors

[barry581]

I have two crates in the back of my RAV4. I can't say I believe the dogs being in a crate will protect them in every type of potential accident, however, it does give me some peace of mind that in the event of an accident, they will be secured and can't just run loose. I'm looking to get something a bit bigger and if/when I do, I will most likely outfit it with the Gunner Kennels.

I'm a pretty defensive driver in general (probably from my motorcycle experiences) but I'm much more cautious when the dog are in the car.

[Jeff]

As of 2017 model they did not offer those doors.

Mine is a 2017 your seeing in the pic, the red one. They are there. My 2013 the gray one opened that way as well. The 2018s I know do too.

[windycanyon]

Somehow I bet that wasn't at 70mph or maybe more???

Yea it's always a risk. I've read studies where both crates and seat belt harnesses have failed crash tests. The jury is out as to which is really safer since cars are designed to protect people in crashes and not dogs.

I do tend to favor the seat belt harnesses myself because it is really hard to secure a crate inside a vehicle if you can even get one to fit. Most cars/trucks just don't have the tie down places inside the car to keep the crate secure in the event of a crash.

When I had my Ranger I had my crate secured in the bed but had a really bad experience coming home from training one day. I had to swerve on the freeway to avoid a crash my boy Hunter was in the crate which was secured in the bed. The crate didn't move but it basically flipped him over several times as the truck swerved. We were lucky he did not break any ribs but he was pretty shook up after that. He rode in the cab from then on out. I had always been told the crate secured in the open bed was safer then him free in the extended cab but after that experience I disagreed.

The last time I researched dogs/car safety was several years back and at that time the only crash test proven crate was not sold in the USA and was only available in Europe. It was basically a custom made dog box can't even remember the name now but it had passed several crash tests. Vari Kennels do offer some protection but not the best.

Just have to pray there is never a bad accident. Heck I used to ride in a lawn chair in the bed of my Dad's pick up as a kid way before seat belt laws so there is a part of me that realizes that we can go a bit overboard when it comes to safety. I do seat belt my dogs in with harnesses though just as a precaution even though I'm not sure it helps much.

[Jeff]

Somehow I bet that wasn't at 70mph or maybe more???

Not sure what that has to do with anything, even human child car seats aren't crash rated above 35 mph in the US, or above 65 mph in Europe.

[awackywabbit]

Speed limit out here is 65 so my guess is I was doing 75 I usually go about 5-10 over. Just glad we both were fine but sure scared the crap out of us both. That was well over 15 years ago now but still remember it like it was yesterday.

Here's a good site for checking out crate safety: 2015 Crate Study Results - Center for Pet Safety

I like those Gunner Kennels I may need to invest in some!

[windycanyon]

Our freeway speed limits in most of the US is 70 mph (80 if in parts of ID and MT). What part don't you get?

Not sure what that has to do with anything, even human child car seats aren't crash rated above 35 mph in the US, or above 65 mph in Europe.

[Shelley]

Yea it's always a risk. I've read studies where both crates and seat belt harnesses have failed crash tests. The jury is out as to which is really safer since cars are designed to protect people in crashes and not dogs.

I do tend to favor the seat belt harnesses myself because it is really hard to secure a crate inside a vehicle if you can even get one to fit. Most cars/trucks just don't have the tie down places inside the car to keep the crate secure in the event of a crash.

When I had my Ranger I had my crate secured in the bed but had a really bad experience coming home from training one day. I had to swerve on the freeway to avoid a crash my boy Hunter was in the crate which was secured in the bed. The crate didn't move but it basically flipped him over several times as the truck swerved. We were lucky he did not break any ribs but he was pretty shook up after that. He rode in the cab from then on out. I had always been told the crate secured in the open bed was safer then him free in the extended cab but after that experience I disagreed.

The last time I researched dogs/car safety was several years back and at that time the only crash test proven crate was not sold in the USA and was only available in Europe. It was basically a custom made dog box can't even remember the name now but it had passed several crash tests. Vari Kennels do offer some protection but not the best.

Just have to pray there is never a bad accident. Heck I used to ride in a lawn chair in the bed of my Dad's pick up as a kid way before seat belt laws so there is a part of me that realizes that we can go a bit overboard when it comes to safety. I do seat belt my dogs in with harnesses though just as a precaution even though I'm not sure it helps much.

I worry less over the dogs getting killed, (yes I love them!) than them becoming projectiles and killing me in the event of an accident. Mine ride crated to confine them, and keep them off my lap, so I can drive safely too. If we crash going fast enough, or in a bad enough accident, we are all going to die.

[windycanyon]

Not sure what that has to do with anything, even human child car seats aren't crash rated above 35 mph in the US, or above 65 mph in Europe.

I was joking back about the lawn chair in the back of the truck.

[awackywabbit]

It's so crazy how times change. People would call child services today if they saw that.

I remember when my Dad would stop too fast the lawn chairs would fold up on us and we'd slide down towards the tail gate lol! We were both under 10 years old. When we were real little we sat in the cab (no car seats/boosters) or seat belts! His arm was our seatbelt when he stopped too fast.

Was an old early 1970's full size Chevy manual. Miss that truck!

[Shelley]

I remember riding in my uncle's GTO that didn't have seat belts, we used to stand on the floor in the back and hang on to the seat in front of us. I remember falling quite a few times! It's a miracle I am alive! LOL Gah, I realize I just told you all i am older than dirt! Hehehe