Kennel Covers necessary under Topper?

C

cyclonenation10

Well-known member
What's everyone doing for kennel covers (if at all) for the kennels that are enclosed in a topper in the back of your pickup? I am debating on whether or not I need worry about a cover for my golden retrievers since the topper will effectively keep them out of the wind. At most, they would spend 3-4 hours in the kennels, but for the most part it will be 45 minutes to an hour. I've always been much more worried about them in the heat than in the cold, as in my experience the golden retrievers seem to get better the colder it gets (as far as hunting goes). I used to just have them in the backseat of my truck always until I got a topper this year so it was never something to worry about - however I don't want to risk putting them in any sort of danger either from the cold. Outside of getting covers for each of my 3 kennels, any other suggestions?

Any thoughts appreciated!
 
I bring a king size blanket and a sleeping bag unzipped. If it gets super cold both cover the dog crates. Rarely will I pull the blanket down to fully cover the front. You don’t want too much heat or condensation inside the crate can occur. The blanket and or sleeping bag act as insulation, and dogs do generate a fair amount of
heat. It’s simple & very effective. Wash them at the end of the trip and store them in one of those thick 3 mm 42-45 gallon garbage bags.
When we head home the last hotel stay doesn’t allow dogs. Using these I know the dogs are protected in even the coldest weather. We Always park using the building to block wind if need be. We also bring extra dog cushions since the snow melts on the dog coats and the cushions could get wet. Or your hunting close to water, etc
 
I live in Minnesota and kept dogs in the back of my topper in temps around zero degrees with no additional coverings.
 
Depends. Any chance the will be wet and soak the pads??) they can handle cold , or wet…. After a long day hunting , harder on them to have to face both cold and wet!
 
I never had a kennel cover for my dogs when they were inside the topper.

Now I baby the hell out of them and they get to ride in the cab haha usually still in their kennels. I started doing it for AC in the hot early season hunts and have kept it up for pretty much all travels with my dogs.
 
My dog sleeps in a covered kennel in the cab. When it’s below freezing I throw a blanket over the covered kennel. My truck has a topper and if I put the kennel in the bed I would use a cover plus depending on temp. I have a gsp so goldens or labs might not need the extra.
 
I bought a Moving Blanket (3x7ft ?) at Habor Freight. Wrap around and duct taped on bottom. Use a peice of card board box between crate and tail gate to divert any draft. Bought an indoor/outdoor temp meter at Menards ($12). Zip tie outside element to inside of crate, and sit the indoor element (2x3in) on the dash in the cab of truck. In Jan/Feb, I put the crate behind the seats in the cab. Even down to 15 degrees, my 37lbs Setter can raise the temp in the crate up to around 40 degrees after an hour ride.
 
Depends on the temp... I have an indoor/outdoor digital thermometer in mine so I always know the temp in the back.
Here's what I've noticed and followed for my lab in Minnesota and traveling the upper midwest.

And there are a lot of variables to this - do you have a front slider window or side windows that can open/close? Was the vehicle parked in shade for awhile prior to this? Were the side windows open/closed prior to traveling? Are you sitting still in the sun or going down the highway with maximum air flow?

Outside air temp is 70+ degrees and sunny - add 30-50 degrees inside the topper.
Outside air temp is 50+ degrees and sunny - add about 20-30 degrees inside the topper.
Outside air temp is 50ish and cloudy - topper temp almost matches the outside temp, maybe a bit warmer in the topper.
Outside air temp is around 32 and sunny - maybe add about 5-10 degrees under the topper.
Outside air temp is 32 and cloudy, or anything below that - it pretty much matches the outside air temp.

Once the temps are consistently around freezing then I will add the kennel cover to mine, I pretty much only zip it when in there overnight. If it happens to warm back up then I'll open up the side vents on it during the day. On overnight hunting trips that are 0-32 degrees overnight, my lab is plenty warm in the mornings when I open it up, their body heat creates a lot of heat. One time I was traveling in northern Minnesota and the overnight air temp got to -35 and the wind chill was -55. I also wrapped the kennel in a moving blanket (like others have mentioned above) overnight and when I let my dog out in the morning he was actually warm when I touched him.

For the most part though, if you can keep them dry and out of the wind, they'll be fine.
 
If the temp gets below X they’re gonna be covered, be it in a covered pickup or out in the backyard…temperature is the key. Not sure where that line is…40? 35? 30? I want them comfy…cover them 85% and allow a bit of air in…when really cold, cover 95%, etc. mine are in my cab, but I cover them when it gets below 30-35, roughly…3 dogs create some heat in a crew cab.
 
I have a kennel cover. Love it. I open the the front or a side window if its 50 or above. close them in 40's on down. I've had my Lab in it in single digits and open it up and you can feel the heat come out when I open it.
 
when I had my truck with the topper, I used the kennel covers in the dead of winter here in my State and surrounding states. Weather depended. But I felt better since the temps could drop significantly after dark while I was in a restaurant etc. They also travel in the late spring, summer and fall with me on many occasions. It was the heat that worried me so I had a portable cooler air conditioner ( works with ice and electric fan) to try and keep the inside temp at a safe level. Funny I was often stopped by estrangers or officers worried about the dogs, once I showed them the cooler/air conditioner, they were impressed. Now I have a SUV and don't need to worried about that. Air conditioning in the heat and heater in the winter. Remote started or running while car is locked has solved the issue. Here is a photo which shows the covers. On the side of the right kennel is a water hose that works on gravity from a 6 gal tank for watering the dogs. The ice cooler is on the back of the smaller plastic kennel as it was permanently stored in the truck bed.thumb_DSC02264_1024.jpg
 
botton line, toppers only go so far. when you get below 40 degrees, do your buddy a favor and start to cover to varying degree the crate. They burn alot of energy generating heat thatonly takes aways from the energy needed in the field.
 
Hunthemup said:
It was the heat that worried me so I had a portable cooler air conditioner ( works with ice and electric fan) to try and keep the inside temp at a safe level. Funny I was often stopped by estrangers or officers worried about the dogs, once I showed them the cooler/air conditioner, they were impressed.
Click to expand...
How did you make the homemade AC Unit? I agree, the heat is far more what worries me under the topper. I just added a 12V plug in and a 120W converter in the back of mine, and am looking for something I can do to keep it cooler. Early season this fall I just put a small fan on the front of the crate with a bungee cord. But I know there's some ways to do some cheap homemade solutions like you've mentioned. I have put frozen milk jugs filled with water in the crate in the summer so they can lay next to them - probably doesn't do much but better than nothing. I think if there's a way to circulate the cold air off those though, would be ideal.
Hunthemup said:
On the side of the right kennel is a water hose that works on gravity from a 6 gal tank for watering the dogs. The ice cooler is on the back of the smaller plastic kennel as it was permanently stored in the truck bed.
Click to expand...
Do you just simply have a tank strapped up higher somewhere and let it flow out the bottom? I have a 5 gallon gas can that I carry water in, but a simple set up like that would be really nice, quick and easy.
 
jackrabbit said:
Depends on the temp... I have an indoor/outdoor digital thermometer in mine so I always know the temp in the back.
Here's what I've noticed and followed for my lab in Minnesota and traveling the upper midwest.

And there are a lot of variables to this - do you have a front slider window or side windows that can open/close? Was the vehicle parked in shade for awhile prior to this? Were the side windows open/closed prior to traveling? Are you sitting still in the sun or going down the highway with maximum air flow?

Outside air temp is 70+ degrees and sunny - add 30-50 degrees inside the topper.
Outside air temp is 50+ degrees and sunny - add about 20-30 degrees inside the topper.
Outside air temp is 50ish and cloudy - topper temp almost matches the outside temp, maybe a bit warmer in the topper.
Outside air temp is around 32 and sunny - maybe add about 5-10 degrees under the topper.
Outside air temp is 32 and cloudy, or anything below that - it pretty much matches the outside air temp.

Once the temps are consistently around freezing then I will add the kennel cover to mine, I pretty much only zip it when in there overnight. If it happens to warm back up then I'll open up the side vents on it during the day. On overnight hunting trips that are 0-32 degrees overnight, my lab is plenty warm in the mornings when I open it up, their body heat creates a lot of heat. One time I was traveling in northern Minnesota and the overnight air temp got to -35 and the wind chill was -55. I also wrapped the kennel in a moving blanket (like others have mentioned above) overnight and when I let my dog out in the morning he was actually warm when I touched him.

For the most part though, if you can keep them dry and out of the wind, they'll be fine.
Click to expand...
Good info jackrabbit.
I have a 2 hole dog box that pretty much fills my truck bed and a topper. It easily carries 4 dogs but I'm now down to 3 that make the trip to SD.
I also use the furniture blankets and when its really cold I also use a full size electric blanket on top of the box making sure there is no way the dogs could get to it to chew. It heats the walls of the box pretty good. Plug it in at the motel or truck outlet when driving. Not sure what the temperature drops to, but water in 5 gallon doesn't freeze. Guess I need to get an indoor/outdoor thermometer.
 
Jackrabbit - I bought my setup but there are DYI system in the web. Its is in my basement and I will take a photo of it when I can to forward to you. However, the principal is based on using a basic cooler and modify the lid with a fanon top of it which pulls the cool air from a hole on the lid through the blowing fan pointed at the kennels. The drawback is one must keep refilling the ice particularly when very hot temp. In my experience under high heat temps it would take about 3+/- hrs before the blowing air did not reduce the inside temp. My fix was to stop at gas station and refill it.
I will get back with a photo.
 
jackrabbit said:
https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/la-crosse-technology-wireless-temperature-station-100357320?ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=Shop|Generic|AllProducts|High|SSCCatchAll&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIz-XkoKqx9AIV9uzjBx3auAcQEAQYAiABEgKHy_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

This is the one I've got but I'm sure there's a million like it. I just keep the main unit in the truck and my topper is carpet lined, so I put velcro on the backside of the outside reader and stuck it in the topper. The winter I'm really not worried much, it's the summer that you have to worry.
Click to expand...
That's the Indoor/outdoor gauge I bought at Menards for $12.
 
I have a 3/4 inch 4x6 rubber stall mat in the bed of my pickup. I think it makes a difference I know if I leave water in a bowl by the wheel wells under a soft topper it’ll freeze but if it’s on the mat it doesn’t. Plus I think it’s more comfortable for the dog in the kennel cruising around on dirt roads. Before putting it in I would occasionally hear the dog box bouncing and getting air
 
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