Looking for direction: dog transportation

[Ceejaay]

Hello there new to the forum, and looking for some sort of T6.... but i just don't know which path to take !!

We have a few requirements which we need to meet

• The primary reason is dog transportation (not just holidays). My current A6 Avant is starting to get a little bit low in the boot for our Bernese Mountain Dog, who at 6 months old has already filled his space. We've also got a Cocker Spaniel, so they are both in the boot at the moment with a separator between them. We need something that can fit a dog crate at about 1.2m length and 1m height/width.
• This initial took me down an SUV/pickup route, but access to them is always high, so a side sliding door access would be perfect...
• Something like a Caddy would do the job for space, but then we would lose out the back seats... so we thought a van with space for us up front, a huge crate in the middle, and seats behind, plus boot space sounds a good layout..
• Man maths has taken us all the way to a camper of some sort. At 6'3 I don't think I'm ever going to fit in pop top bed, and the wife gets a bit claustrophobic in tight spaces. Not sure whether we'd have space downstairs with our huge dog, possibly in a LWB. Not opposed to getting an awning and sleeping out there.
• Seen the various kitchen pods that go in the boot. Are they a bit impractical in that you can't use them from inside the vehicle ??

Ultimately I can see a van entering our lives soon, but its how we go about it. What starting point do we go for. Base van and get it converted, a shuttle bus with a few seats removed, a Caravelle, or a ready converted camper... I can't imagine we're going to get anywhere near a full on California on our budget. Long winded explanation up there

So in summary... What campers have you got that take dogs over 50kg, and how did you get there ??

Cheeeers

 

[Spazpecker]

Kombi with a dig cage fitted in the rear

 

[R8N XX]

Something like this perhaps
the rear seats on mine can be used in a few positions

 

[dubber36]

My money went on a Caravelle and I've not regreted it one bit.

First off I was looking at Kombi's, but I figured I'd want to make it less van like and add some spec to it. By the time I'd added it all up, that plan was getting towards Velle money anyway.

I wanted my 'van' to still feel like a car and the comfort dash, full carpet, added sound proofing and full internal panelling do that. The floor rail system is so simple to use. Granted the rear bench weighs about 5 tons, so you don't want to be taking that in and out every weekend. But the way the seats slide backwards and forwards makes it a properly useful MPV.