Will my dogs sufficate in the bed of the truck with a tonneau?

[Limeybastard]

Easily tested. Try it out yourself first.

 

[bryan28]

Can you cover the bed with the tonneau cover and have the tailgate down? If so, you could put leashes on them, strap them to the front tie downs in the bed and ride with the tailgate open for ventilation.

 

[bmcfiv]

Can you cover the bed with the tonneau cover and have the tailgate down? If so, you could put leashes on them, strap them to the front tie downs in the bed and ride with the tailgate open for ventilation.

good idea and i can definitely do that, the question is how much exhaust gets in there. all my luggage etc. will be back there which is why i need the tonneau closed in case it rains.

 

[Cheyenne14]

here is a very basic rule of thumb:

If you are planning on doing something and there is a question of that action killing your dogs - DONT DO THAT THING.

I am not a animal rights guy but this is crazy.

 

[CMil527]

Wow a thread asking an opinion turns into a lesson... it appears the consensus is NO because the dog needs some air it's that simple, no one needs to be spoken down too. That being said my 100lb Pit/Cane Corso mix doesnt dare try to get into the cab of my rig, the bed is fine for a local jaunt or she gets crated and goes into wifey's Acadia enuff said!

 

[SilverStreak88]

wow, didn't realize there were so many sensitive Ram Truck owners... imo this would be plush compared to some of the other exterior options... my grandfather has used one of these setups for over 30 years without issue.

Whoever has a pet and considers them an extension of their immediate family and puts them in hitch mounted carrier has to be on some serious SSRI's. I would never put my dog anywhere like that, get rear ended, the pet dies, put them in the bed, they live maybe a lil roughed up.

 

[SilverStreak88]

Have a 2015 1500 with 5'7" bed. I bought a Solid Fold 2.0 tonneau. I have lined the trunk walls and front of bed with weather seal to keep water out. The bottom of the gate does not have seal since i'm assuming gravity will continue to work while i own this truck to keep the water out.

Can i huck my dogs in the back with the top and gate closed for a 2 hour drive? Will they die? Any experience or advice?

Honest, even hot days in SC the temperature hasn't been too bad as the Solid Fold has great insulation.

I may experiment by jumping in there tonight with the dogs in and the truck on, bring my book and read for a couple hours... will let you know, but curious to see if anyone else has done this.

I'm very disappointed in the fact that you would even make a post this absurd. If the Animal Rights folks got wind of this post they would be looking to put your ass under the jail. When you think about this kind of thing you should think about putting your kids in the back, hot, no air flow, YOU WOULDN'T DO IT! If you don't love your dogs enough to buy them a nice crate to put in the bed so they are not thrown around and have good ventilation to breath then I feel that you don't deserve to have them.

 

[SlowRoller]

Pretty sure no one is getting too upset about dogs just 'riding in the bed'.

In the bed with tonneau closed is quite different.

In the bed with tonneau closed sharing the ride with luggage is different still.

There are plenty of articles online about how to safely haul dogs in the bed of a truck.

Several of the individuals here have touched upon those same methods.

I do not see the OP's method, or any variant of that method, listed in any of those articles.

And that's about as nice as I can put it.

 

[SilverStreak88]

Pretty sure no one is getting too upset about dogs just 'riding in the bed'.

In the bed with tonneau closed is quite different.

In the bed with tonneau closed sharing the ride with luggage is different still.

There are plenty of articles online about how to safely haul dogs in the bed of a truck.

Several of the individuals here have touched upon those same methods.

I do not see the OP's method, or any variant of that method, listed in any of those articles.

And that's about as nice as I can put it.

Riding in the "open bed" is totally different than in a fully enclosed bed. I have no problem with them in an open bed because our dogs did it all the time up in the country. I have a problem when the dog can breath because of no air flow and basically in an oven with the cover fully closed, if it's folded open a bit for good air flow then that's also fine, but no full enclosure.

 

[Sillygoose]

even an open bed isn't a good idea, unless maybe if the dog was tied.
ask my fiance how many dogs have come into the vet hospital she works at from dogs jumping out of pickups or out of open car windows.

 

[Revo]

If the dogs die then you'll know not to do it next time with the new dogs.

I sincerely hope you're not serious.

 

[Beauregard7765]

They can't be much safer riding in a car without a seat belt, What if you crashed, the dog is just going to go flying inside the cab. So really if you love your dog you should just keep them at home.

 

[Cheyenne14]

They may not be much safer in the cab but there is comfortable air flow and light. I doubt they would be sliding around and/or scared up front.

My dog rides in the bed sometimes but she has a tie-down that won't let her jump or hang herself trying.

 

[bmcfiv]

does anyone know of a tailgate guard that's easy to install / uninstall that will work with tailgate down and tonneau closed?

damn, would really like to know how much exhaust get sucked up there as well.

 

[BigA]

The dog would likely die of carbon monoxide poisoning if you have rear exhaust and no tailgate seal at the bottom. The luggage carrier on the hitch looks pretty lame as well. I guess if you don't get rear ended the dog made out well sitting back their in the exhaust and road spray.

 

[Zeak]

I really don't understand how the OP got so confused and offended on the fact that people are concerned with hauling the dogs under a closed tonneau cover in the back of the truck and not about the dogs riding in the bed itself, but that has been covered. Some seem to still be taking it the wrong way though.

I think you could easily build an enclosure out of pvc that you could attach in some way on the tail gate rather quickly as well as cheap. This would allow the dogs to ride under the tonneau in the shade with some air as well as venture out if they see fit. It could be done cheap and easy and although I don't have and recommendation at the moment for attaching, if I were to go look at my truck for a moment I'm sure I could figure it out pretty quickly. You should be able too as well. Just make sure your luggage is secured in the front so it's not trying to slide toward the back.

If you get creative and do something that works well let us know and post the pictures. Also, don't be so quick to get offended especially when people were honestly answering the question you asked which was whether or not it is a good idea to haul your dogs in your ENCLOSED BED. Which I think we can all agree should not be done.

 

[Rzrman328]

I don't have either of these products but it sounds like it would work....tonneau or tailgate/net thing.

If your gonna use the tonneau and keep it closed and you insist on sticking your dogs in there....maybe you could swap the tailgate out with those net tailgates?

I think it'd be a lot better than them in there with closed tonneau and tailgate.

 

[SlowRoller]

Tailgate nets are available from one of our Sponsors,, Auto Anything: Tailgate Net - Best Truck Tailgate Nets & Gatornets for Pickup Trucks - Ford, Toyota, Chevy, Nissan, Dodge, GMC & More

From what I've read,,,,

Inside the cab secured with a body harness is about the safest way to carry.

In the bed, several ways:

In an appropriate crate that's secured to your vehicle.
Using a body harness, secured in the bed in a manner that will not allow the dog to exit the bed / go 'overboard'.

Years ago, I used to haul 'em 'loose' at lows speeds in the bed. Now, I have 2 crates for the RAM or we drive the wifes Ford Edge with dogs in the back. (Not perfect, I know, but better than before by a huge margin.)

So many critters have met an early demise by jumping or being thrown from pickup beds, or by 'hanging' from the bed / being drug behind the vehicle,,, The Law is really cracking down on this type of unnecessary activity. (That's a GOOD thing!)

I'm pretty sure Critters, Kids, and the Elderly are at the top of most all of our "Don't you dare F**k with them!" list. Lets keep 'em all as safe as possible.

 

[bmcfiv]

Tailgate nets are available from one of our Sponsors,, Auto Anything: Tailgate Net - Best Truck Tailgate Nets & Gatornets for Pickup Trucks - Ford, Toyota, Chevy, Nissan, Dodge, GMC & More

From what I've read,,,,

Inside the cab secured with a body harness is about the safest way to carry.

In the bed, several ways:

In an appropriate crate that's secured to your vehicle.
Using a body harness, secured in the bed in a manner that will not allow the dog to exit the bed / go 'overboard'.

Years ago, I used to haul 'em 'loose' at lows speeds in the bed. Now, I have 2 crates for the RAM or we drive the wifes Ford Edge with dogs in the back. (Not perfect, I know, but better than before by a huge margin.)

So many critters have met an early demise by jumping or being thrown from pickup beds, or by 'hanging' from the bed / being drug behind the vehicle,,, The Law is really cracking down on this type of unnecessary activity. (That's a GOOD thing!)

I'm pretty sure Critters, Kids, and the Elderly are at the top of most all of our "Don't you dare F**k with them!" list. Lets keep 'em all as safe as possible.

very helpful and insightful comments, thank you. my dogs chase so definitely need to be tethered or contained.

i guess my last question is if i have tailgate down and tonneau closed with some type of barrier to the actual bed, will the exhaust be dangerous? i already have extang weather sealant between gate and truck, but this truck spits out a lot of fossil fuels.

any aerodynamic engineers out there? one of my brothers is a chemist, the other an environmental scientist... not that helpful but maybe they can point me in right direction. honestly, only way to really know is create the situation and rig up some type of co2 / carbon monixide detector than can can record time phased readings.

 

[bmcfiv]

I don't have either of these products but it sounds like it would work....tonneau or tailgate/net thing.

If your gonna use the tonneau and keep it closed and you insist on sticking your dogs in there....maybe you could swap the tailgate out with those net tailgates?

I think it'd be a lot better than them in there with closed tonneau and tailgate.

good idea but i'm concerned about the exhaust coming back into the bed... if the gate and sealant is there, that much more distance and dilution for the exhaust