This information is in a thread over in accessories but I decided to start a new thread here where more people will see it.
Dodbrat posted:
"Just a side comment from one who put in the cargo tray and also crates dogs all over creation. If the crates are "tight" already, the cargo tray adds just enough room to make them tighter. The cargo tray also doesn't allow for them to slide into place that easy, I use Vari-kennels. Love the cargo tray as makes cleaning up easy, but it was an adjustment with the crates."
So my answer and question was this:
*****
When we were car shopping, the most important thing to the wife is that we had >42" of space between the rear wheel wheels. That's because they make full size wire dog crates that are 21" wide. They call them SUV crates since they are designed for this job. Two side by side, 42". Several models of cars I looked at just couldn't meet that standard. It finally came down to the Toyota RAV4 and the CX-9. The RAV4 was over 42" but not by much. The CX-9 was something like 46.5"! So I was thrilled and so was she. She thought she might even be able to use her standard size crates and not buy the SUV ones. (If the non-dog people are confused, just think of two rectangular boxes that are 21" wide. Doors open at the end toward the rear of the vehicle. So I need enough room to slide two crates in side by side.)
We bought the car, I drove it home. All was right with the world. Until I tried to actually put two standard size crates in the back. At the bottom, they did fit. But I had only measured between the wheel wells at floor level. I hadn't considered that the vehicle might be smaller further up. Turns out the rear seat belt things stick in further than that and so does the power lift gate bar on the left. It's more like 38" up there!!!!!! Holy, crap. She told me and told me that this was the number one thing and that if I couldn't find a vehicle that would do this, she would buy a Honda Odyssey van and be good.
I haven't told her yet. I've delayed her by saying we don't have the cargo tray and floor mats, etc, so don't want dogs in yet. But sooner or later, she is going to find out. What I'm hoping to find out from somebody like dodbrat is what crates will fit back there? We are talking about big crates since the Belgian Malinois that she shows are 50-70 pounds. Sure, we could shove them way forward so that they hit the front seats. But that just introduces more problems. The second row seats don't fold down totally flat. So pushing the crates up there causes them to sit at an angle with a gap under them. And it also means that the doors of the crates are way far forward and all the other cargo room is taken up. So tables and suitcases and everything else would have to go at the rear of the vehicle. In front of the doors. So then you are on a 500 mile drive and you need to stop and walk the dogs. You've got to unload everything in the rear in order to get them out and put them back!
I'm hoping that somebody makes some crates that are smaller at the top than the bottom? Maybe 21" wide but with an angle top or something? That will still leave me with door issues but what are my choices?
Thanks,
Gregg
Dodbrat posted:
"Just a side comment from one who put in the cargo tray and also crates dogs all over creation. If the crates are "tight" already, the cargo tray adds just enough room to make them tighter. The cargo tray also doesn't allow for them to slide into place that easy, I use Vari-kennels. Love the cargo tray as makes cleaning up easy, but it was an adjustment with the crates."
So my answer and question was this:
*****
When we were car shopping, the most important thing to the wife is that we had >42" of space between the rear wheel wheels. That's because they make full size wire dog crates that are 21" wide. They call them SUV crates since they are designed for this job. Two side by side, 42". Several models of cars I looked at just couldn't meet that standard. It finally came down to the Toyota RAV4 and the CX-9. The RAV4 was over 42" but not by much. The CX-9 was something like 46.5"! So I was thrilled and so was she. She thought she might even be able to use her standard size crates and not buy the SUV ones. (If the non-dog people are confused, just think of two rectangular boxes that are 21" wide. Doors open at the end toward the rear of the vehicle. So I need enough room to slide two crates in side by side.)
We bought the car, I drove it home. All was right with the world. Until I tried to actually put two standard size crates in the back. At the bottom, they did fit. But I had only measured between the wheel wells at floor level. I hadn't considered that the vehicle might be smaller further up. Turns out the rear seat belt things stick in further than that and so does the power lift gate bar on the left. It's more like 38" up there!!!!!! Holy, crap. She told me and told me that this was the number one thing and that if I couldn't find a vehicle that would do this, she would buy a Honda Odyssey van and be good.
I haven't told her yet. I've delayed her by saying we don't have the cargo tray and floor mats, etc, so don't want dogs in yet. But sooner or later, she is going to find out. What I'm hoping to find out from somebody like dodbrat is what crates will fit back there? We are talking about big crates since the Belgian Malinois that she shows are 50-70 pounds. Sure, we could shove them way forward so that they hit the front seats. But that just introduces more problems. The second row seats don't fold down totally flat. So pushing the crates up there causes them to sit at an angle with a gap under them. And it also means that the doors of the crates are way far forward and all the other cargo room is taken up. So tables and suitcases and everything else would have to go at the rear of the vehicle. In front of the doors. So then you are on a 500 mile drive and you need to stop and walk the dogs. You've got to unload everything in the rear in order to get them out and put them back!
I'm hoping that somebody makes some crates that are smaller at the top than the bottom? Maybe 21" wide but with an angle top or something? That will still leave me with door issues but what are my choices?
Thanks,
Gregg
