Jakeismydog2
Member
Well this post has been a long time coming. Here is the back story.
I live about 2 hours from where I grew up and from where my folks and just as important, my hunting buddies live. One of my hunting buddies has 2 shorthairs and a three hole box. Great! As long as its just the two of us, but once we add one other we are driving 2 gas guzzlers down the road. Waste of money. I figured that my pickup, 2004 GMC Sierra 1500 Crew cab, can comfortably hold 4 hunting. In my group thats 4-6 dogs to haul. But I still need to be able to haul luggage for the family, plus we always hunt at christmas and need to haul presents.
So, How do I haul 1 dog and lots of stuff 2 hours then unload all the stuff and switch to an efficient hunting rig hauling up to 6 dogs in a short period of time?
Thank you Google and lots of failed ideas. I finally came up with a solution. Here it is.
I ruled out a trailer since my neighborhood has rules against anything being parked outside the garage. So that was out. I thought about any number of dog box designs. The problem with dog boxes was hauling family gear back and forth in the open elements. A topper was the best way to haul our belongings out of the elements. Unfortunately the half ton crew cabs only have a 5.5? beds. A 6.5? bed would have made things exponentially easier. Beyond the obvious extra length you get, you also get extra height. Toppers for 5.5? beds only come in standard cab height. For 6.5? you can get a ?tall? topper.
The next step was many failed attempts. Then some inspiration.
http://www.abirdhuntersthoughts.com/2011/09/finally-good-solution.html
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/47516-LATEST-PROJECT-Truck-Drawers-Sleeping-Platform
So the base of the idea was formed. Raising the deck of the truck bed allowed for three dogs across instead of just 2 that you can fit in 4? between the wheel wells. Then the storage underneath would work great to haul the hunting supplies. I just need to figure out some sort of way to change the area on the platform from belongings hauling to dog hauling relatively easily. I tried many different ideas in my head. I kept coming back to a welded wire system so that I could still see out to back up. I also liked the idea of being able to look back at the dogs and check on them. Just about the time i was going to buy the metal and start welding I found these.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/product__10151_-1_10001_184495 and they were on sale for half price. They happened to be the exact size I needed.
The wire kennels were perfect I could fold them all up but 1. Fill the truck with family stuff, drive home, unload the family stuff, unfold the wire kennels, load up the dogs go hunting! Great!
Now I am sure some of you are asking how does he plan to fit six of those kennels in the truck? I am glad you asked.
too be continued...
I live about 2 hours from where I grew up and from where my folks and just as important, my hunting buddies live. One of my hunting buddies has 2 shorthairs and a three hole box. Great! As long as its just the two of us, but once we add one other we are driving 2 gas guzzlers down the road. Waste of money. I figured that my pickup, 2004 GMC Sierra 1500 Crew cab, can comfortably hold 4 hunting. In my group thats 4-6 dogs to haul. But I still need to be able to haul luggage for the family, plus we always hunt at christmas and need to haul presents.
So, How do I haul 1 dog and lots of stuff 2 hours then unload all the stuff and switch to an efficient hunting rig hauling up to 6 dogs in a short period of time?
Thank you Google and lots of failed ideas. I finally came up with a solution. Here it is.
I ruled out a trailer since my neighborhood has rules against anything being parked outside the garage. So that was out. I thought about any number of dog box designs. The problem with dog boxes was hauling family gear back and forth in the open elements. A topper was the best way to haul our belongings out of the elements. Unfortunately the half ton crew cabs only have a 5.5? beds. A 6.5? bed would have made things exponentially easier. Beyond the obvious extra length you get, you also get extra height. Toppers for 5.5? beds only come in standard cab height. For 6.5? you can get a ?tall? topper.
The next step was many failed attempts. Then some inspiration.
http://www.abirdhuntersthoughts.com/2011/09/finally-good-solution.html
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/47516-LATEST-PROJECT-Truck-Drawers-Sleeping-Platform
So the base of the idea was formed. Raising the deck of the truck bed allowed for three dogs across instead of just 2 that you can fit in 4? between the wheel wells. Then the storage underneath would work great to haul the hunting supplies. I just need to figure out some sort of way to change the area on the platform from belongings hauling to dog hauling relatively easily. I tried many different ideas in my head. I kept coming back to a welded wire system so that I could still see out to back up. I also liked the idea of being able to look back at the dogs and check on them. Just about the time i was going to buy the metal and start welding I found these.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/product__10151_-1_10001_184495 and they were on sale for half price. They happened to be the exact size I needed.
The wire kennels were perfect I could fold them all up but 1. Fill the truck with family stuff, drive home, unload the family stuff, unfold the wire kennels, load up the dogs go hunting! Great!
Now I am sure some of you are asking how does he plan to fit six of those kennels in the truck? I am glad you asked.
too be continued...
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