Your dogs (pets) while you travel

kfp673 · 10-28-2012, 09:09 AM

Hello All,

Does anyone allow your dogs to stay in the travel trailer while you travel? When I first thought of it I was thinking that sounds mean but the more I thought about it it would give the dogs much more room to stretch out and really is not any more dangerous then riding in the truck (probably safer). My problem is I have 2 dogs, 2 kids, and a wife and even with a crew cab truck it is totally packed. I was thinking maybe I should just let them stay in the trailer and secure them someway either with a crate or tied somehow. What are your thoughts on this and have you ever done it?? Thanks

acadianbob · 10-28-2012, 10:20 AM

We've never done it while moving but it honestly doesn't seem like a horrible idea to me.

Whisky · 10-28-2012, 10:41 AM

.
I can't see any problem with having the pets ride in the trailer while traveling - sounds like a solution for you since you also travel with your 2 (human) children

we travel with 3 (canine) children so I built a pvc framework for the back seat area of our crewcab'd pickup truck - two ride on their beds atop the frame where they can "look out" as we drive along - the other, liking her solitude, rides in the "cave" below - we're all happy

(have ya thought about having the Wife ride in the trailer ? - just kidding).....Bill

handbuilder · 10-28-2012, 10:45 AM

When we had a conventional travel trailer, we never did it. We just put the dogs in their crates in the covered bed of the truck. I prefer my dogs be in the same vehicle as me...if anything were to happen to the trailer (collision, fire, other) it would make things tougher...I could lose the trailer (insurance would cover the loss) I cant replace my pets...hence, they are crated when we travel. My kid sister and her entire family (husband and 3 kids) were slammed twiceby a drunk driver whose Expedition hit their Tahoe and fishtailed and hit it again. My nephew was holding their leashed scruffy poodle pug mix in his arms in the back seat. The impact of the collision found their dog thrown out of the SUV...my nephew was left holding a broken leash. My sisyer was stuck, their car teetered.on the edge of a cliff and my.brother in law had the kids climb out the high side. Kids are screaming for their Mom...the SUV is has crunched her in. .help arrived, 2 ambulances took them to trauma wards. When my brotherin law saw that his family was safely in the care of medical professionals, he went back to look for their dog at the scene of the accident....the pup was found a short distance away, amazingly alive and in good spirit...my sister and brother in law will be dealing w/injuries for years from this...the drink driver was found a couple days later...his license plate was stuck in my sister's sidewell.

You never know...this was a hige reminder that life is unpredictable and we increase the unpredictability everytime we travel down the road...

Whisky · 10-28-2012, 11:26 AM

.
in spite of the fellow and his family (who seem to accidents looking for a place to happen), I seen nothing wrong with pets riding in the travel trailer.....Bill

nuisance · 10-28-2012, 11:40 AM

Better check with the laws where you plan to travel through. Some will not allow living passengers in a travel trailer. I know Iowa is one of those states.

handbuilder · 10-28-2012, 12:15 PM

Despite your thought, Bill, I dont "look" for accidents to happen. I advise to expect the unexpected. I show dogs and my circle of friends are dog people with expensive motorhomes, beautiful travel trailers to downsized ones like me. I've owned a couple in each class. I have have more opportunity to hear their stories of "stuff"happening to them while traveling the circuits than the average RVer. Which is why I posted what I did....for my dogs' safety and my peace of mind, mine never traveled in the trailer...
We all do what we feel is best. I dont why you felt a need to poke at my thoughts to the OP - I do speak from experience and observation of a sub culture of folks who are regularly (and professionally) on the road with pets and RVs and amongst this group, it is generally NOT acceptable to put the dogs in the trailer while it is being towed... people will do what they are comfortable with and what has always worked for them until experience dictates otherwise.

Whisky · 10-28-2012, 12:31 PM

.
as you know "an accident looking for a place to happen" is, pure and simple, an expression

oh, and about the Iowa law about no pets in a travel trailer, nuisance, could you please post your reference - I've not been able to find anything about it - thanks.....Bill

crasher · 10-28-2012, 01:39 PM

Your trailer can fill with carbon monoxide fairly easily. Even it a pet is not scared to death by the shaking around, or falls from something, or something is dropped on them, they can be gassed. As some of you state you see no reason why not, I see no compelling reason why you would want to.

Whisky · 10-28-2012, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wincrasher

Your trailer can fill with carbon monoxide..they can be gassed..

yeah - especially if the tow vehicle is a diesel

I really don't think that would be a problem & the OP did mention the pets possibly placed in crates.....Bill

kfp673 · 10-28-2012, 02:07 PM

Thanks to all posts. To address the last post about why I would want to , it is quite simple. I personally can think of many more potential disasters that could happen by the dogs being in the cab. God forbid we are in a bad accident the dogs will become projectiles and could injure my kids, us, or them selves. Not to mention they never sit still in the truck and push into me and I could see them causing me to loose focus or control and crash. The chances of a CO leak and all the other bad things to could happen in the trailer to me are much less likely, especially with max air vents allowing good air flow etc. Even in an accident the dogs would possible hit a wall or something which is better then decapitating a passenger or flying through the windshield. All of that said, I agree it is tough for me to decide to put them back there which is why I asked the question and I was curious to know if there were laws around it. Keep the opinions coming and thanks again for everyones posts!

**bikendan** · 10-28-2012, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whisky

.
in spite of the fellow and his family (who seem to accidents looking for a place to happen), I seen nothing wrong with pets riding in the travel trailer.....Bill

first, let's let you ride inside the trailer while someone pulls it down the road!

TT's don't have shocks and riding inside a shockless box on wheels, will be a real wakeup call.
i once drove a quarter mile, at low speeds, with the wife in the trailer.
when i stopped and opened the door, i was lucky she hadn't picked up a knife! she said not to ever do that again.

if you ride inside the trailer for an hour, while going freeway speeds, and still think it's o.k., then i have no problem with you doing it with your pets.
but, we'll never do it to our dog.

Whisky · 10-29-2012, 05:32 AM

.
come on, dan, the OP'r asked for opinions - just because you relegated your wife to the trailer please don't make this personal.....Bill

Alan JS · 10-29-2012, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by handbuilder

When we had a conventional travel trailer, we never did it. We just put the dogs in their crates in the covered bed of the truck. I prefer my dogs be in the same vehicle as me...if anything were to happen to the trailer (collision, fire, other) it would make things tougher...I could lose the trailer (insurance would cover the loss) I cant replace my pets...hence, they are crated when we travel. My kid sister and her entire family (husband and 3 kids) were slammed twiceby a drunk driver whose Expedition hit their Tahoe and fishtailed and hit it again. My nephew was holding their leashed scruffy poodle pug mix in his arms in the back seat. The impact of the collision found their dog thrown out of the SUV...my nephew was left holding a broken leash. My sisyer was stuck, their car teetered.on the edge of a cliff and my.brother in law had the kids climb out the high side. Kids are screaming for their Mom...the SUV is has crunched her in. .help arrived, 2 ambulances took them to trauma wards. When my brotherin law saw that his family was safely in the care of medical professionals, he went back to look for their dog at the scene of the accident....the pup was found a short distance away, amazingly alive and in good spirit...my sister and brother in law will be dealing w/injuries for years from this...the drink driver was found a couple days later...his license plate was stuck in my sister's sidewell.

You never know...this was a hige reminder that life is unpredictable and we increase the unpredictability everytime we travel down the road...

Whoa gave me the shivers picturing that mess of humans and pets. Fortunately we have a Georgetown and our big Labrador makes sure he always has a view of the road ahead. He has his water bowl and lays wherever he is comfortable and my DW can visit the loo and kitchen from time to time. Our parrots are in double cages secured to the sides of the MH. One big happy family. Yes we can be struck by a vehicle but we present a wide wheel base of 242" and hopefully won't roll over. Our animals are our family.We have no kids. A TT makes me nervous because of physics when traveling. Too much potential for torque and twists.
Been considering those harnesses they sell but not sure the parrots will like that

Len & Cheri · 10-29-2012, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikendan

first, let's let you ride inside the trailer while someone pulls it down the road!

TT's don't have shocks and riding inside a shockless box on wheels, will be a real wakeup call.
iif you ride inside the trailer for an hour, while going freeway speeds, and still think it's o.k., then i have no problem with you doing it with your pets.
but, we'll never do it to our dog.

I have to agree Dan. The ride in a TT or 5th wheel is way to much stress to put your pets through.

**Herk7769** · 10-29-2012, 07:34 AM

Our Bella has Chronic Fear Syndrome (among other genetic malfunctions - she was a rescue) and was a bear to have in the truck. On our initial camping trip with her riding in her doggy seat belt in the crew cab's rear seat area (seat tied up), but every time a tractor trailer drove by she tried to burrow under my seat and was destroying the carpet.

When we had to leave for Florida I put her crate in the rear seat area next and she tried to dig through the plastic carrier to accomplish hiding under my seat.

We tried to use drugs for her to travel, but she had adverse reactions and that caused us a great deal of angst. While in Florida we had a long discussion about here and decided when we got her home we would find out what to do next.

We took her to the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital for her to be evaluated by a team of doctors and their students (Ryan-VHUP) and they let us have the "bad news" about her chronic condition. They put her on Buspirone (Buspirone - PubMed Health) and she is a totally different dog now. She travels alert and safe. She is "does not like" truck and loud noises (gun fire for example) but no longer goes ballistic.

Additionally, at the team's recommendation I built a "safe house" with a floor that covers the rear seat area. I now use it when we travel and she has the run of the back seat area with her doggie seat belt can can sleep "secure" or hide when startled. I made the prototype (shown) in 4 pieces and are held together with 8 screws making it totally removable when we are not traveling with the camper (or dog) and need the truck to haul people back there.

As to the poster's question regards traveling in the camper we tried that and used a wireless battery "Nanny Cam" to watch her and we did not get 2 miles before we stopped and put her back in the truck. She was being bounced around too much and it frightened her even more because we were not there.

While there is almost no "sway" (per se) with a 5th wheel, the nanny cam made it obvious she was in distress from the bouncy ride.

(PS - the photos

dogwood36322 · 10-29-2012, 08:37 AM

Crates are the solution when traveling with pets. In case of an accident they are normally restrained and do not get out into traffic or run away scared. Putting them in the trailer could cause them to get motion sickness so try to pick the place in the trailer with the least amount of movement.

kfp673 · 10-29-2012, 09:24 AM

Thanks again all! Lou, how ironic. As stated we have 2 dogs but the one is a small maltese mix and is easy enough to work around. The other is our chocolate lab, also named Bella, and also scared to death to ride in any car (note to self, Bella = pain in the butt in the car :-) ) She is the most athletic, scared of nothing, dog I have ever owned with everything accept vehicles and she just shakes, drools, and gets in one spot and will not move. We had a situation a few months back where she got scared and jumped back landing on my 4 yr old daughter in her car seat scratching her all up. It blows me away because most labs I have seen and owned loved the truck and wanted to stick there head out the window. Not this one, and she is 8 so she is not going to change. The crazy part is we have a seasonal site and it is 2 hrs + away from home and we head up there at least 3 weekends per month over the summer and she gets no better. Anyway, the bouncing is a good point. I used to do a lot of hunting and back then I used to put crates in the bed of the truck but I had a hard cap. I am looking to get a 5th wheel so a cap is out. Sounds like we are going to have to deal with her be a pain in the *****! My thought was she would hop on the couch in the RV like she always does and stay put and the couch would provide extra cushion but if she starts getting sick or bounced around that would not be a good thing. My other thought was she does much better in my wife's mini van then a truck seat so I was thinking the camper would give her room to spread out. I will keep thinking of a solution on this one because 4 of us in the truck plus2 dogs (one scared to death of driving) is just not working.

Vern · 10-29-2012, 09:31 AM

Having come upon a couple of TT highway rollover accidents where the trailer and contents looked as if they'd been hit by a tornado (trailer contents strewn over an area the size of a football field in both cases), it appears the structure of most (or all) TT's and 5'ers is in no sense engineered to survive a crash or rollover (or provide passenger protection) the way a TV is. Therefore, we would never consider hauling our dog in the TT. Crating him in the back seat of the TV minimizes his stress/anxiety while giving him a chance to survive an accident. Just my opinion.

donanddona · 10-29-2012, 09:32 AM

I had a friend in my late teens that had many dogs. The trainer all way had one or more with him. Several times I personally saw him open his trunk (Monte Carlo) and let them out. They never never never got to ride in the peoples compartment. This seamed ok, but still I wouldn't want to ride there either........

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