Dog restraint

D

doningtonphil

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Hello.

So we are converting out T6 with Van Furniture U shaped furniture. We have 2 Border Terriers which may at times need to travel with us. Our ideal is to make the bed up with a blanket over the top and them be 'free to roam' on the bed when we are in transit. Of course, they need to be restrained. I am thinking that there could be a rope going across the van with short leads looped around this rope , then attached to their harnesses. So in theory they woudl have freedonm to move but restrained when needed and also ensure they cant fall off the front of the bed and be suspended in mid air.
Are there any strong points in the walls where lashing eyes can be secured (or indeed seat belt clips) between which we can secure the transversing 'rope'?
It would be a bit of a nightmare, spacewise, to have a crarte, plus we wold need to find a way of securing that anyway

Any ideas welcomed

Phil
 
Until they invent seatbelts for dogs they should really be crated when in a moving vehicle for their own safety, yours and the public/emegency services. Totally understand a regular cage is impractical in a small camper but a collapsible cage secured with a ratchet strap to the tie down points is probably the best alternative.
 
Well the tie down points no longer exist. So my question is really is there another location that 'tie down points' can be mounted? Of course, they wouldn't need the strength odmf the originals which might have been securing a several ton load. A collapsible cage could then be an option. Although I think I would prefer each dog to be durectly secured rather than them be restraint free inside a cage
 
doningtonphil said:
Well the tie down points no longer exist. So my question is really is there another location that 'tie down points' can be mounted? Of course, they wouldn't need the strength odmf the originals which might have been securing a several ton load. A collapsible cage could then be an option. Although I think I would prefer each dog to be durectly secured rather than them be restraint free inside a cage
Click to expand...
How small are they and do you have a 2 seat bench up front? We only have the one dog who shares the double seat with my wife. She (the dog this is) wears a harness that attaches to the seatbelt which is buckled in. I could see two small dogs cuddling up on the spare bit of the seat.
 
Border terriers. There wouldn't be enough room for them both to lie down, could be nightmarish having them sat up on a long drive, plus not much to prevent them distracting the driver.
My question, really, is towards the rear of the load space, where is an easily accessible location to bolt a tie down point(one on each side). Needs to be a double skin area, obviously. Maybe a vertical or horizontal pillar, maybe even with access behind to insert the retaining nut. The inside of my van is all carpet lined, but can still remove the 'ply' panels, just need to know where to aim for
 
I have an eylet on the base of my double passenger seat in the back which I have a 1ft tether clipped to. I attach this to my dog's body harness when we are out in the van. his bed is directly below it so he travel in comfort and seems to like it.
IMG-20200625-WA0003.jpg

Also with the added advantage that if we are parked up somewhere and want him to be able to bask outside but without being able to escape, I can substitute the 1ft tether for a 6ft one
 
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sparkzer said:
I have an eylet on the base of my double passenger seat in the back which I have a 1ft tether clipped to. I attach this to my dog's body harness when we are out in the van. his bed is directly below it so he travel in comfort and seems to like it.
View attachment 232678

Also with the added advantage that if we are parked up somewhere and want him to be able to bask outside but without being able to escape, I can substitute the 1ft tether for a 6ft one
Click to expand...
Interesting idea. Will give that one some thought
 
doningtonphil said:
Hello.

So we are converting out T6 with Van Furniture U shaped furniture. We have 2 Border Terriers which may at times need to travel with us. Our ideal is to make the bed up with a blanket over the top and them be 'free to roam' on the bed when we are in transit. Of course, they need to be restrained. I am thinking that there could be a rope going across the van with short leads looped around this rope , then attached to their harnesses. So in theory they woudl have freedonm to move but restrained when needed and also ensure they cant fall off the front of the bed and be suspended in mid air.
Are there any strong points in the walls where lashing eyes can be secured (or indeed seat belt clips) between which we can secure the transversing 'rope'?
It would be a bit of a nightmare, spacewise, to have a crarte, plus we wold need to find a way of securing that anyway

Any ideas welcomed

Phil
Click to expand...
Might be of some use
 
sparkzer said:
I have an eylet on the base of my double passenger seat in the back which I have a 1ft tether clipped to. I attach this to my dog's body harness when we are out in the van. his bed is directly below it so he travel in comfort and seems to like it.
View attachment 232678

Also with the added advantage that if we are parked up somewhere and want him to be able to bask outside but without being able to escape, I can substitute the 1ft tether for a 6ft one
Click to expand...
Loving the shades.
Also in that photo your van looks like it’s brushed stainless just like the BTTF DeLorean!
 
Could you run a strong nylon loop that is attached to the tie down points under your furniture? The dog’s harness can then be clipped to that.

Or attach something like an Unwin rail through the floor behind or under the furniture and have load loops attached to that? They do short ones that could even be attached to the side wall in the rear corner.
 
sparkzer said:
I have an eylet on the base of my double passenger seat in the back which I have a 1ft tether clipped to. I attach this to my dog's body harness when we are out in the van. his bed is directly below it so he travel in comfort and seems to like it.
Click to expand...

Same here but as we have 3 dogs we have a hitch point flat D ring on either side of the double passenger seat. I used the outer bolts that fix the swivel base for the Kiravans.
 
ginkster said:
Could you run a strong nylon loop that is attached to the tie down points under your furniture? The dog’s harness can then be clipped to that.

Or attach something like an Unwin rail through the floor behind or under the furniture and have load loops attached to that? They do short ones that could even be attached to the side wall in the rear corner.
Click to expand...
The floor is a no-go now due to ply and flooring already down. Attaching to the side wall sounds good, but I suppose 'where is strong enough to attach?' is my question
 
doningtonphil said:
The floor is a no-go now due to ply and flooring already down. Attaching to the side wall sounds good, but I suppose 'where is strong enough to attach?' is my question
Click to expand...
I haven’t got a picture but the rear corners are double skinned so you could bolt a short unwin rail to that. Rivnuts or bolts with a spreader plate. Done 30-40cm from top or bottom you can access behind the skin if you remove the side panel.
 
We already had those belts for clipping into seat belts so a locking carabiner connects them and can be easily unclipped by a person (twist and push).
 
Whatever you have it needs to be capable of decelerating your dogs from 60mph to a stop in about 2 van lengths should the worst happen, ideally without seriously injuring them but more importantly not allowing them to fly across the van and compromise the seats that are keeping you safe from the intense forces at work.

As a (sadly ex) pupster owner I know that's a hard thing to think about but it's an important one.

As well as a point strong enough to cope with the load they should also not have too much freedom. They have the mass of a toddler so consider that any child you carried the seat and belts hold them in place during a crash so they decelerate with the vehicle rather than being free to move and then impacting the vehicle and/or the restraints suddenly go tight with a snatch load.

I hope you are considering a full harness to spread any load across the body, I'd favour keeping any connecting strap short and from a material with a small amount of stretch in it to limit peak forces. The forces involved are way beyond what you'd build a walking harness/lead for so try to find vehicle specific ones or at least ones that look and feel over engineered.


And yes I am the sort of person that looks at my van loading and thinks "if that was suddenly at 60mph where would it go, what would it break and who could it injure" - thankfully I've never needed it but it gives me peace of mind.
 
What about the lower rear kombi seat belt mount position on the C pillar? that should be above the floor level and there may already be a threaded insert there? admittedly if the van is carpeted it may be behind that?
 
roadtripper said:
Whatever you have it needs to be capable of decelerating your dogs from 60mph to a stop in about 2 van lengths should the worst happen, ideally without seriously injuring them but more importantly not allowing them to fly across the van and compromise the seats that are keeping you safe from the intense forces at work.

As a (sadly ex) pupster owner I know that's a hard thing to think about but it's an important one.

As well as a point strong enough to cope with the load they should also not have too much freedom. They have the mass of a toddler so consider that any child you carried the seat and belts hold them in place during a crash so they decelerate with the vehicle rather than being free to move and then impacting the vehicle and/or the restraints suddenly go tight with a snatch load.

I hope you are considering a full harness to spread any load across the body, I'd favour keeping any connecting strap short and from a material with a small amount of stretch in it to limit peak forces. The forces involved are way beyond what you'd build a walking harness/lead for so try to find vehicle specific ones or at least ones that look and feel over engineered.


And yes I am the sort of person that looks at my van loading and thinks "if that was suddenly at 60mph where would it go, what would it break and who could it injure" - thankfully I've never needed it but it gives me peace of mind.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your comments roadtripper. Yes, that is exactly what i want to get right.
1. Secure mounting point on either side of body
2. climbimg rope or similar between them
3. Carabiners on that to attach dog leads to, to allow free 'side to side' movement
2. Short 'leads; max 45cm, designed for car use- with stretch/recoil
3. Full body harness, again for transport use
david173 said:
What about the lower rear kombi seat belt mount position on the C pillar? that should be above the floor level and there may already be a threaded insert there? admittedly if the van is carpeted it may be behind that?
Click to expand...
I will need to look at where the c pillar is, in relation to the front edge of the bed. As described above, want to make shue that the short leads arent 'too long' that using the C pillar' means they could fall off the front edge of the bed. Is there naywhere that would show a diagram of where I need to be looking on the C Pillar (you are right, it is covered in carpet)

I really appreciate all of the feedback
 
Bit late to this but my medium sized dog travels in a soft crate which is collapsible, and it’s ratchet strapped to the front seats to stop it sliding around.
IMG_6661.jpeg
 
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