Kid+Dog in back of CM?

Does anyone have experience putting a car seat age child (or older), and a relatively big dog in the back of their CM truck? My wife and I just had our first baby last month, and have a rear facing seat in the middle position of my ‘19 DC. While this is cramped on its own, we also have a 65lb golden retriever we still want to be able to take with us when we surf fish, go to parks, etc. Normally when I have just the dog with me I fold up both seats and he’s fine on the floor.

Is it feasible and comfortable to have one side of the seats in a CM folded up for the dog, and the other down for my kid and his seat? I have an opportunity to jump on a good deal for a CM truck and if it’ll make my life easier hauling my family, i planned to move forward with it.

Long story short, kids weren’t in the picture when we bought the DC, we were more concerned with how the kayak was going to fit! I use my bed pretty frequently, but almost never the entire 6.5’, so I’m not upset about losing the bed length.

Thanks!

 

Honestly, the back seat of the CM is large enough your dog could feasibly be comfortable on the floor in front of the seat with both of them down. Now, if you're 6'11" and your wife is too, this may not be the case.

In the event that there isn't enough room in front of the seats I am assuming you are not willing to give up the middle seat and move the car seat to the passengers side rear. That would leave the single seat behind the passenger folded up for the dog to be on the floor. If this is the plan you need to consider the fact that the CM rear floor is not flat. The section under the seats is raised several (5-8) inches above the foot well, and this may make it hard for your pup to get comfortable. Sitting with his rear higher than his front paws may be uncomfortable or maybe even cause back/hip issue. Same thought for him lying on an uneven floor. I'm not a vet, so I could be wrong. @Kerch71 or @jaredmillerdvm can correct me if I am up in the night.

If you are willing to put the car seat behind the passenger seat you would be able to fold up the other 2/3rds of the seat and anything shy of a Dane or Mastiff is going to be plenty happy.

 

If the car seat can sit in the small section seat, then the larger section could be lifted for the dog. I didn't get pictures, but I did put the small seat back in for a buddy recently when hunting. This left plenty of room with the large section out for gear still while he was seated safely. I made two platforms to level the back. Each platform can be removed and a seat placed back in it's spot.

If the car seat needs to be in the middle, you could still have room with the small seat for the dog. Make a small platform so the floor is level and the dog will love it. Room to lay down as well as stand and look out the window.

Here are pictures of my platforms and my pack of hooligans.

 

Will fit fine. We put 2 non car seat kids in the back with our 60lbs Spinone. She can lay on the floor or curl up between the boys with ease

 

We made a couple road trips, 4-5hrs with 2 teenage boys and a 45lb dog in the back and they had a ton of room.

You won't have any issues. As others have already pointed out....it's huge back there

 

This is one of the main reasons I bought my Tundra CM. My wife and I had our first baby and needed the space for car seat and pups. 70lb lab and 45lb doodle fit with the longer side of back seat folded up. Baby in the car seat on the small side seat. Works just fine.

 

Thanks to everyone for the feedback, I definitely a feel lot better about pulling the trigger on the bigger cab knowing that my son and the pup will fit comfortably! I kind of had a feeling that it would be fine, but still wanted to hear some real-world experiences.

 

I just did the same thing. Traded my DC for a Crewmax and my 2 month old, wife and 70 lb boxer mix fit in the back comfortably. Also have a 30 lb wild dog in the front but that’s a different story haha