[Twilightzero]

BEHOLD!

My creation! It's ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!

Dogs on the top, luggage underneath, and everybody's happy! Blanket covered to make it comfy for dogs. When traveling we'll put the doggie beds up there so they're nice & comfy

Hinged at the back and the front to facilitate loading luggage and groceries. In a few days I'll be getting some plastic tubs roughly 20" long x 16" deep x whatever wide to put groceries in when shopping.

The front from the passenger side. No folded pic for the front since you have to pull the seats a bit forward to do it, but great for loading luggage for the trip!

The middle section is fastened to the front floor accessory hooks with turnbuckles and open S hooks on the bottom and a threaded hook on the top. It doesn't need to do any more than hold it from sliding forward and back at stops and starts.

I also put together a set of folding ramps partly for the dogs and partly for getting my 150 pound huge miter saw/rolling cart and air compressor in & out (only one ramp shown, I'm lazy)

So far the dogs love it - they can see out the windows GREAT now and my australian shepherd can lay down with her paws between the front seats and copilot!

Will post construction details and rough measurements in the next post. Sorry about the bad lighting, daylight's still tough to come by after work & dog park...

MANY thanks to TheTimeTravelers, Pookster, & Will_Morgan for inspiration & some rough measurements!

 

[Twilightzero]

Plans & construction details!

Here's some details and underside pics...

The top is made of 3/4" plywood and the slats on the bottom are 1x4" pine boards. I debated making it out of 1/2" plywood but decided if I make it from 3/4" I don't need any middle legs. Also I didn't fasten it to the seat U-brackets for the same luggage reasons. I was a bit worried about putting too much stress on the accessory tiedowns but then I realized that it'll basically have no force on the platform. It can't slide forward (it's already butted up against the seatbacks) and the platform itself won't tend to slide on acceleration anyway it's not like the E has a 454 in it. It certainly won't pull any harder than any bungees I've tied on there already.

And here's rough measurements for anybody interested. Sorry for the bad quality, MS Paint is my only friend...

Anybody with questions or whatever, feel free to PM or email me! I can try to get more pics if anyone wants them, but might have to wait til tomorrow.

Oh and to answer a few questions I've seen elsewhere:

1) Dog paws don't get caught, but even so on long trips, I'll put their beds up to the wall so there's no question about getting caught.

2) To remove it does take 2 people but it's pretty easy. Simply undo the turnbuckles enough to unhook, fold up the ends, pop all the legs off, and tip it a bit to get it through the back door.

3) The actual leg length is 14", plus 2 end caps, pine slat, and plywood makes for 16" from plywood to floor. I'll be sawing a new set of legs for it at roughly 40" so that it can be quickly converted into a camping/bonfire table

4) Speaking of the legs, they're 1 1/2" schedule 40 PVC (the drain & waste kind you normally find at hardware stores) with end caps. The bottom end caps are glued on the legs and the top end caps are drilled through and fastened through the plywood and slats with 3/8" carriage bolts with a fender washer and nut on the inside/underside.

5) The sizes of the sections are as follows:

Front: 16" x 47"
Middle: 25" x 47"
Back: 16" x 47"

Overall: 47" wide x 57" long​

6) The hinges used are 4.5" strap hinges. I used 2 per section and they seem to be more than strong enough to hold up an adult, let alone a dog. I might add another hinge in the middle of each one if I think it's going to be a problem later but it's fine for now.


Any other questions, feel free to ask!

 

[lwclancers]

Nice job!

Can you find some cheap utility carpet remnants to glue and staple to the top? Might finish it off a little more, especially for the dogs (should keep that blanket from sliding around)

 

[Twilightzero]

Nice job!

Can you find some cheap utility carpet remnants to glue and staple to the top? Might finish it off a little more, especially for the dogs (should keep that blanket from sliding around)

No carpet, I have to have something that I can remove easily and that's washable (i.e. in the washer). I'll be buying some spring clamps from the hardware store and clamping it on, just haven't made it there yet and none of the ones I have on hand fit right. It doesn't really need anything much anyway, the plywood grips the blanket pretty well as it is.

 

[slash]

any pics with the dogs inside?

 

[Twilightzero]

any pics with the dogs inside?

I'll see if I can get some this afternoon, been too busy otherwise

 

[ramblerdan]

Very nice! But could you secure the platform to the seat anchors instead of the side anchors?

 

[Twilightzero]

Very nice! But could you secure the platform to the seat anchors instead of the side anchors?

I could do either, but I wanted to leave the bottom as open as possible for storage of luggage. In particular, my aussie's folding wire dog crate and a giant rolling suitcase I realize the side anchors aren't really that strong but since the platform is more or less wedged in place, there will be very little stress on the anchors. The turnbuckles are just hand tightened til they're snug to hold it from wiggling around. If one had smaller pieces of luggage or whatever, you could easily just unscrew the turnbuckles more (or get longer ones) and hook them to the seat anchors.

 

[TheTimeTravelers]

No carpet, I have to have something that I can remove easily and that's washable (i.e. in the washer). I'll be buying some spring clamps from the hardware store and clamping it on, just haven't made it there yet and none of the ones I have on hand fit right. It doesn't really need anything much anyway, the plywood grips the blanket pretty well as it is.

Your platform looks great. Maybe some heavy-duty Velcro Extreme strips attached to the platform and sewn onto the blanket would work to hold it down.

 

[Twilightzero]

Your platform looks great. Maybe some heavy-duty Velcro Extreme strips attached to the platform and sewn onto the blanket would work to hold it down.

Actually I traveled with it for about 2 weeks now and the blanket doesn't shift at all. The plywood isn't nice sanded stuff, just CDX rough. It grips the blanket very well. However in the off chance I got some cheap spring clamps and I clamp the blanket onto the platform at the corners. Working great so far, only a month before the first major test trip!

 

[fcretterry]

platform

I have two crates that measure 36L 21W 26H that I would love to put on a platform like this. Is there enough head room for a 26" high crate? Would two this size fit side by side (they won't, on the floor)? I am going on a trip in June with my two dogs and this looks like a great solution.

Thanks!

Terry

 

[yoda13]

That is a nice looking creation...

 

[Twilightzero]

Thanks, what can I say, I'm its proud father

 

[slash]

any pics of your dog/s on it?

 

[Twilightzero]

Workin on that...had to take it out of the car to haul some construction stuff. I'll be putting it back in in a day or so so I'll definitely get some pics then!

 

[Twilightzero]

Ok finally got some pics of the doggies riding on the platform!

 

[Twilightzero]

The pics for this thread are back up, no thanks to my ISP :\

 

[Farther]

Good job on the plateform. Happy puppies!!

 

[Twilightzero]

Good job on the plateform. Happy puppies!!

The platform's currently resting for the winter, but it'll be brought back out in a few weeks for chainsaw season :razz:

 

[kiwir]

Half size version?

I am going to be carrying two full sized teenagers and two 40 lb dogs on a 6 hour trip - I am planning on making a half size (width wise) of the dog platform so someone could use the other back seat - I have two questions
1. do you forsee any problems that I will encounter - just making it half the width and following the rest of the dimensions
2. if it is 1/2 the width do you think I will need to include the folding sections or would it be just as easy to make it one piece.

thanks