Have dog, will travel.

erond

Member
Our dogs are part of our family so when we get a chance to go places where dogs are allowed we take them with us. The question is what you do with 3x ~70lb dogs.

Individual kennel panels are carried on the truck topper and dogs travel in the back (of the truck). We then setup at camp and let them have their own back yard.

The pictures don't show the full-size of the kennel, I just put enough together to show the idea. We have a total of 8 panels which would give an area about three times as large as what is shown.
 

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Freckles

Founding New York Chapter Leader-Retired
Erond : Great job and what a great idea !! waiting to see the "mod" for the screen door dog flap !!
 

erond

Member
I haven't decided how I'm going to deal with a doggy-door, yet. I don't want to modify the main door, and the screen door doesn't help much if we are running the A/C... For now, if weather is nice we can leave it wide open. If it gets too hot/cold/wet, they dogs are happy enough to stay inside and we can close the door.

I may remove the screen door and replace it with something lightweight with a closeable screen on top and doggy door on the bottom.
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
Thanks for sharing, sure would solve some of my problems with 2 Labs.

Me I'd prolly buy a spare door to cut up for the doggy door and put the original back on when it was time to trade.

Finding a used door to chop up isn't too hard.
 

erond

Member
Maiden voyage and shake-out cruise today. A KOA about 100 miles away from home and fairly close to civilization "just in case".

Posted with our Sprint 3G Aircard/Wireless-Router.
 

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LOUP

i am loup
That is great!! It gives me hope! Right now we just have the 2 girls and they are relative small (albeit plump) but since we lost our Rottie last year I have been really missing a BIG DOG but worried about always have a 100lbs+ at the end of the leash constantly.

Great job!
 

erond

Member
Me I'd prolly buy a spare door to cut up for the doggy door and put the original back on when it was time to trade.

It looks like I should be able to take some 1/2" plywood and aluminum channel to build a new "screen" door that has a dog-door in it. The outside door remains intact/secure. That's another weekend or so away, though.
 

erond

Member
I've made enough progress on the doggy door to show the first picture.

The radius corners were quite... fun.. to make. I'm surrounding the door with 1/2" aluminum channel to give a little rigidity and a place for the hinges to attach without the screws pulling out.

I was thinking about putting some laminate over the plywood to make it slick and shiny, but that would have added almost $100 to the price of the project. I'll just do some light sanding and prime/paint instead.

I haven't decided if I'm going to put a window/screen in the top. If the weather is nice enough, the door will probably be all the way open in any case. If it's nasty, then I need something beyond just a screen and would some glass to seal it, too. For visibility, you can't see through the frosted glass in the outside door anyway, and the "dining room" window is right next to it.
 

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jbeletti

Well-known member
erond,

Your project is ambitious and looks like it's coming along nicely. Do those 2 fasteners hold the whole pen to the trailer or are there others?

Jim
 

erond

Member
erond,

Your project is ambitious and looks like it's coming along nicely. Do those 2 fasteners hold the whole pen to the trailer or are there others?

Jim

The kennel is attached with a total of two saddle straps to the Kendorf (slotted channel steel) and it, in turn, is held to the steps with the two 3/8" bolts with knurled handles. I used steel rivets to hold the brackets onto the steps (even pan-head bolts would have caused too much interference with the steps).

I rely on the weight of the kennel itself (~300lbs with 8 panels) to prevent the dogs from walking away with it. The attachment to the trailer definitely adds some strength but is more to anchor the panels a fixed distance away from the trailer. Close enough for the dogs to not push through, far enough away that I'm not scraping the kennel against the trailer. Using the trailer as one side of the kennel also effectively gives me an extra panel width and makes the kennel bigger.
 

erond

Member
Dog door mostly done. There are a couple of "would have done differently" items, mainly that the hinges for the screen door take up more room than I measured for, so the door is a little bit tight. It will take a little extra work to fix since the aluminum is silicon-sealed to the wood, but "it works".
 

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pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
If it works it's worth it. Thank you so much for sharing your ideas and taking the time to post pictures
 
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