Storage for day to day use - dog, bike, shopping

[Thegirlwiththeyellowcoat]

Hello, our T6 conversion is used as my everyday van as well as camping.
we have a Cocker spaniel puppy and a 6 year old. Day to day I need a dog crate, shopping and a bmx behind the front seats and between the backseats. Our seats are to the rear of the van so we have no boot space.
We have 2 options. Have the seats put on runners so we have boot space for bike and shopping and dog goes in a crate behind the drivers seat.
Or
Find suitable storage / rack / something to house them all so they don’t all slide around.
Any ideas would be greatly received.
Also any ideas for the seats sliding which don’t cost a fortune?
Thanks
Zoe

 

[JOG]

I’m keeping our dogs loose in the back of our Cali and teaching them to be aware of what’s around them. I have a cargo net between the seats

 

[Thegirlwiththeyellowcoat]

Thank you, unfortunately for us that’s not an option. Not with bikes, shopping and a child in the back too. I was also under the impression that by law they have to be suitably restrained whilst in the car. Also for his safety if we crash I’d like the dog to be safe from hitting anything or flying around, also risking hitting our son.
If we had a boot he would go in there but the seats are flush with the doors at the rear.

 

[Linoleum Bonypart]

Soft dog crate amazon... Fold flat

 

[Andysmee]

It sounds odd the your seats are flush with the back. What kind are they? Post a picture maybe

 

[JOG]

Thank you, unfortunately for us that’s not an option. Not with bikes, shopping and a child in the back too. I was also under the impression that by law they have to be suitably restrained whilst in the car. Also for his safety if we crash I’d like the dog to be safe from hitting anything or flying around, also risking hitting our son.
If we had a boot he would go in there but the seats are flush with the doors at the rear.

I completely recognise the risk of “flying dog/object” which is why I was cautious about posting! Bear in mind, I am a child of the era when being put in a box/cradle on the back seat as a baby was considered ok!
However, both my boys (aged 6 and 8) and the dogs must learn “situational awareness” not simply a reliance on safety measures!

 

[Thegirlwiththeyellowcoat]

It sounds odd the your seats are flush with the back. What kind are they? Post a picture maybe

They have the mini seat when you open the back doors, so there is a small instep where you could sit (if you had a tiny bum) / perch so I can pop a flat bag or stack coats on the seat part but as a boot it’s non existent.

 

[Andysmee]

For less than the price of rails you could remount the back seats further forwards to get more "boot". It sounds like you have inherited someone's poor choice of position

 

[Thegirlwiththeyellowcoat]

I thought that might be an option but I think with the type of seats that wouldn’t be an option and they slide down and would be in the wrong position then. Ideally they would be on runners but that’s a fortune to change.
it’s a brand new conversion, we didn’t chose the set up and up until now it’s worked ok, but definitely missing boot space! Effectively the ‘boot’ is the middle of the van, but it’s so big everything slides around. It’s needs some sort of partitioning which is easy to take out / detach.

 

[Thegirlwiththeyellowcoat]

I’ve just found out our bed is a pyramid style rock and roll bed if that helps at all. I think it might be a case of buying a new set of seats?

 

[The_Lad]

When our pups were young I had a dog crate which I drilled a hole in the bottom and bolted to one of the floor fixing points, now they are older they just have their beds in the back and will stay asleep in there while we are moving.

If you still have the floor cargo points maybe make something that will attach to these and fits your needs

 

[JOG]

I’ve just found out our bed is a pyramid style rock and roll bed if that helps at all. I think it might be a case of buying a new set of seats?

That strikes me as overkill, tbh. There are many people on here (including converters) who can help. Some pics of your seat and floor mountings would help

 

[Andysmee]

It might help to post a pic of the boot. The RIB beds have a big parcel shelf but even they can be positioned further forward and have an element of rails built-in on the upper, so you can adjust a little. If your rock'n'roll is mounted far back that's a decision they've made. Pics would help, definitely. Lots of creative solutions from members on here

 

[Thegirlwiththeyellowcoat]

It might help to post a pic of the boot. The RIB beds have a big parcel shelf but even they can be positioned further forward and have an element of rails built-in on the upper, so you can adjust a little. If your rock'n'roll is mounted far back that's a decision they've made. Pics would help, definitely. Lots of creative solutions from members on here

Please excuse the photos, if I didn’t do it now I would forget. Hope this helps (ignore the mess!) the dog crate will be a smaller one this is temporary.

 

[Stevie205]

Please excuse the photos, if I didn’t do it now I would forget. Hope this helps (ignore the mess!) the dog crate will be a smaller one this is temporary.

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What about removing the front panel from the R&R bed and adapting under the bed as an area for your dog? Cocker Spaniels aren't the biggest of dogs?

 

[JOG]

What about removing the front panel from the R&R bed and adapting under the bed as an area for your dog? Cocker Spaniels aren't the biggest of dogs?

That’s good thinking! Adapt the front panel, even if it needs replacing to give a bigger door. Fabricate a door of steel mesh. Box out behind to provide a bed. All very inexpensive

 

[Andysmee]

It certainly looks like they've mounted the bed to absolutely maximise the floorspace when camping. You must have good standing room even with the bed down, and that's not bad when you have a dog with you. That is some skinny boot you're left with! Mounting it too far forward would also be troublesome as the dog might have to sleep in the boot!

When you fold the bed flat I guess you have quite a little den under the front cantilever of the bed, which is probably quite good for dog bed space. And the enclosed space underneath the bed could be converted, as suggested, with a little cladding of the sharp metal frame perhaps?

I wouldn't rule out selling the bed and replacing with a RIB which has a more neutral base (the base is more central in the van). There's a strong demand for conversions and quite a few people going it alone this year, so you may not lose that much...it depends on the upholstery a little.

P.S If you know who converted it, why not start there?

 

[Bish]

Not sure if you'll like this idea or not. You've obviously got a nice van there and might be looking for something a bit more professional...

How about two smart wooden poles/posts cut to size which fit exactly between the edge of the dog crate and the edge of the upright board under the rear seats? To make it an exact fit, you could have screw feet (like on the bottom of kitchen cabinets) which you could extend to press it into position. This would stop the crate moving around. You could put tethering points on the poles to allow you to tie down the BMX and/or boxes of shopping. The poles could then be easily removed and placed under the van (if at a site) or in the shed/garage when not in use. I reckon this would cost about £30 max if you're able to do it yourself, or a professional could probably male a nice metal or wooden one in no time at all.

 

[Thegirlwiththeyellowcoat]

Not sure if you'll like this idea or not. You've obviously got a nice van there and might be looking for something a bit more professional...

How about two smart wooden poles/posts cut to size which fit exactly between the edge of the dog crate and the edge of the upright board under the rear seats? To make it an exact fit, you could have screw feet (like on the bottom of kitchen cabinets) which you could extend to press it into position. This would stop the crate moving around. You could put tethering points on the poles to allow you to tie down the BMX and/or boxes of shopping. The poles could then be easily removed and placed under the van (if at a site) or in the shed/garage when not in use. I reckon this would cost about £30 max if you're able to do it yourself, or a professional could probably male a nice metal or wooden one in no time at all.

Thank you so much, these are great ideas. We did some measuring up last night and the dog won’t fit under the seats, well he would if he stayed laying down but being a cocker he tends to be upright or bouncing! And to be fair we have stashed windbreakers, chairs the lot under there so that’s amazing storage.
we measured up for something we could make That slots in for when it’s a day van and can be removed when packed up for camping. I will show my hubby the ideas.
Thank you so much!

 

[Eli]