Dogs in Cap

Hey all, I just recently got my truck (first time Tundra owner!) set up with the Leer 100XR cap and planned to put my dogs back there. I've posted on another thread, but didn't get a response. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on setup for the dogs in the back, like a custom-fit bed frame maybe? While I know the kennel is preferred by many, I was thinking of some sort of frame that I could lay a bed over, and then hook their harnesses up to one of the attachment points so that they still have some mobility? I don't like the idea of taking up the entire space with 3 kennels...Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

My dog's ride in the back I just put down a bedrug and a couple beds for them I took the screens out of the windows as well so they can poke their heads out The only time I'll hook them to anything is when I park in a parking lot in the summer and leave the back window on the cap open I'll put their leash on the bed rails so they can't jump out.

 

Thanks for the input. I'll always have my working dog in a kennel, but as for the other two, that's tbd. One of them likes to try and jump in the front, or goes ballistic when she sees any animal, whereas my other dog is pretty well behaved. He'll just sit, or lay down in the seat.

Do you have any sort of temperature gauge for the back? I was unaware, but I have read that it can get hot pretty quick in the cap, so that was something else I was considering.

 

I do actually, i put a remote thermometer back there and have the display up front. When ever I have them back there in the summer I also have the back window down since I have a crew max I made a boot that goes in between the cab and the cap so AC can get back there. As long as you park in the shade and have the windows open it's usually not bad. With the windows open and the truck moving I've only had it get close to a hundred once when it was super hot out.

 

Do you have a picture of the boot? Is it something you ordered online, or you custom-fit something to work? Sorry, this is all new to me, and I'm just learning as I go!

 

You won't find anything online that really works well, I've tried everything from the boots that attached to the lip of the shell window frame to foam insulation pipes from home Depot. The best thing I have found to work is getting two of those fat tire bike tubes, cutting them, welding them together with rubber cement and sealant tape and then filling it with a bottle of slime.

 

What temp system is that and how do you run the boot to the cab?

 

Its just a wireless thermometer I got from Amazon, you put the remote in the cap and the display in the cab. The boot fits between cap and the cab through the cap window that I leave out and then inflate the boot.

 

Does that bike tube push a lot of air into the cap?

 

I put 12v fans on the backseat head rests to help circulation when its super hot out.

 

Dogs In Caps or Kennels.

So it this like the TITS thread?

 

Ok ok I’m tracking now. You’re riding with the cap and cab windows open.

 

Yes the cab window is down I do not have a window at all in my cap. The rear of the truck has a bedrug and the cap is carpeted so it's basically like having a big SUV that can be hosed out.

 

Just got my cap installed today and will try it. I’m also going to run additional power to have a 12v plug in the bed area for another fan.

 

I specifically wanted a pickup with a canopy so I could travel with my furry friend without him destroying the interior.

I thought my Crewmax with a Leer canopy was perfect. Seemed to be for the first couple of weeks. Now, my buddy HATES to ride back there and it is nearly impossible to get him in the bed without physically picking him up and placing him there.

I was driving the 15 miles to town with both side windows open, and the front slider open. I figured that would provide plenty of circulation at 60 mph. I also ordered a temp gauge for the back as well.

He is a 75 lb Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd mix. I bought a Sealy pet bed for him, as well as an area rug for the spray-in bed liner. When I am at home and working on the truck, he will jump in the bed and lay down on his doggie bed.

But when he knows we are going to town, he doesn't want to get into the back. If I open the rear cab door, he will try to jump in the cab. So it is something with that pickup bed that he hates.

I thought maybe it was some sort of resonation effect of having the front slider window open and the two side windows open. When I would let him ride in my 4Runner, I would lower the rear door windows for him and would get that awful air pressure pulsation effect above 35 mph. Maybe with the two canopy side windows open, it is causing the same effect?

I just thought of that today, and when we drove home at 10pm, I closed all of the windows. I need to have someone drive the pickup while I ride in the back and see what is going on back there.

 

Mine rode in the back of the truck for years. I had a truck that had a cap and then one without anything on it. He barked non-stop while you were moving and would only shut up once you stopped, for anything: light, stop sign etc.. I just had a rubber bed mat in the back and he didn't seem to care for much more creature comfort. I never worried about him because he always had his head out the window when I had a cap. As he got older I did get him a ramp because jumping up got to be too much for him. I had a Ford Ranger at one point and he rode in the cab with me everywhere. Dam truck interior was ruined after that and he never got into the cab again after I got rid of that truck. The interior smelled like hell. He was a Chesapeake and stunk to high heaven all the time.

 

I'm assuming it won't make much of a difference for him if he doesn't like to get back there but you could try making a gasket that seals between the cab and the cab like I did using two fat tire bicycle tubes then joining them together.

 

I find it's one of the main benefits of a pick-up with a topper is tossing the dogs in the back. They love it. The black one can jump in himself, i pick the white one up. They can be as dirty and nasty as they want after a hike or beach time.

Previous truck was a Nissan Frontier with a 5' bed. Front window open and passanger side window would open, seemed to have good airflow. I wired up a radiator fan on the front window to pull more air in for when we were moving slow. Like others, i had a thermometer in the back. Moving at all with the windows open and it stayed pretty close to ambient temp. Never had an issue, always kept a bowl of water back there for them. One thing i did notice is the dogs would rarely lay down because once they did they couldn't see outside. I ended up putting a decked system in that truck and they loved it and they stopped climbing all over anything i put in the bed (totes, boxes, etc).

When i purchased my current truck, i immedietly went the same route. Ordered the Decked system and an ARE topper with vented windoors. Tossed in a bedrug and they are good to go with even more room than before. I love the setup and would highly recommend it to anyone with dogs the can handle it. Nice thing with the topper is they can pretty much always find shade in there and the tinted windows/ fiberglass shell seem to keep it cooler than you'd expect.

Frontier setup with the fan, we have a RTT for camping, pups sleep in the truck bed.


Current setup.