My Nissan has died (frozen up and exploded, lots of black smoke).
I wasn't happy as the police insisted on towing me off and charged 150 quid on the spot although I have AA relay, they said the AA would take too long to get there.
Anyway when it was looked at and it's terminal.
Any suggestions for a car where I can fit 10 Beardies to take them to the beach or three people, plus all the dog gear, crates, tables and sometimes a tent and camping gear and several dogs?
Plus it has to be cheap and I mean really cheap.
Gill Burfitt, Anglesey
What's the best dog vehicle you have ever owned? Nominate your favourite doggie vehicle here. I am very happy with my diesel Mercedes estate (the smallest size) - lots of room for doggies, not too big to park and very economical for fuel. I've got ultra dark tinted windows that keeps it cooler in the summer when we're stuck in traffic jams! (However it is a little bit too attractive to mice for my liking! Although I've not seen any evidence of inhabitation since the chewed KitKat incident - long story!). Why is your car the best? We're looking for nominations for small, budget, kids and dog, best multiple dog vehicle and best professional vehicle for dog walkers and groomers.
Beverley Cuddy, Editor
I would love a Mercedes Vito - it's my dream vehicle, but it's pricey. I drive a diesel Citroen Berlingo and on my second one so I must like them, they are very good value for money! They are very roomy. With the back seats removed I can comfortably fit in three large crates and still have loads of storage space. It has a huge sun roof too which is good for ventilation. The Renault Kango and the Peugeot Partner are both worth a look.
Christine Bailey, Dogs Today accounts department
We have two beardies that we show occasionally.
ReplyDeleteWe own a Toyota Yaris Verso automatic (sadly no longer produced) which is a super dog car.
It looks like a van and has the dependability for which Toyota's are legendary.It can take two beardies in the boot and two more when the rear seat is folded away in the floor. It has a flat rear floor and side hinged rear door with a low floor for easy access for the dogs. We have a dog grille between boot and rear but if you remove it you have a van size space which would probably take five beardies. Luckily Toyota sell a luggage retaining screen that fits behind the front seats and can keep the dogs safely in the rear.
When we used the Verso for show trips we put a metal dog crate on top of the rear seat so one dog travelled in the boot and one in the crate. Our cases and other bits fitted on top of the crate as the car has a high roof and plenty of room.
When we decided to try and stay overnight instead of travelling both ways to shows in a day we invested in a Ford Transit based campervan, the Horizons Unlimited Innovation 1. It's the shortest Transit but with a replacement high roof. Inside there are two belted rear seats that fold down and combine with the front seats to make two single beds. These can be joined to make a massive double. Behind the offside seat there is worktop with a fridge under and some drawers plus an inset sink and 3 hob combo. Behind the nearside seat is a toilet room and a half height wardrobe. Between the rear wheelarches under the worktop across the back of the van is a full width space that's 2ft deep. We had a specially made Barjo dog crate fitted in this space. It had a removable middle divider and two doors that opened out the back of the van. It also had a single cental door opening inside the van. There was a 2ft space between the top of the crate and the worktop and our folded dog crate, grooming trolley, chairs and grooming bag fitted exactly. There were also four overhead lockers in the roof of the van and a large overhead cupboard above the cab. It was a brilliant dog camper and we only changed it because we found we liked motorhoming so much that we needed something a bit bigger for longer trips. If you'd like to see more on the Innovation and it's sister conversions go to http://www.roywoodtransits.co.uk/ who are the only dealer for Horizons products.
One important consideration with a car is the gap and access between the front seats. When the dog has done it's first 170 mile plus journey and had got fed up with asking, "Are we there yet", it can jump onto the back seat and fall asleep.
ReplyDeleteThe gap and access needs to be so it can jump diagonally from the back seat behind the driver and make a perfect landing on the front passenger seat, and vice versa.
Another consideration is the size and comfort of the passenger footwell. When left alone in the car this is where it can get it's head down, unseen and undisturbed. Again the gap between the front seats and access are important for it to move about the car.
I have a Hyundia Santa Fe, it is a 4 wheel drive estate car and also tows a caravan.
ReplyDeleteIn the boot I have a 36in crate with a Collie/Lab and a Greyhound/GSD in. At the side of the crate I have box with collars, leads, poo bags, water dish, water bottle etc in as well as anything else I can fit in. At one time it also had a dog ramp.
On the back seat I have a Greyhound, JRT/Whippet and a Staffy. The footwell has a porch awning, 6kg and 3kg gas bottles, fold up chair in a bag and a solar panel. The back seat does go down to give more room if necessary.
Passenger seat I have a Staffy/Cairn Terrier and in the footwell I have a gas barbecue and a 16kg bag of dog food.
When hubby was alive the boot had big gas barbecue, I don't need such a big one now, wastemaster, aqua roll and 2 handles, box of doggy things bag of dog food and a wheelchair.
We drive a Toyota Rav4 - 5 Dr. We have 3 dogs but find it easy to fit them all in.. in different parts of the car! My collie isn't too keen on travelling, but hates being in the boot so she sits on the backseat with a harness and is happy to keep an eye on us as we drive whilst she dribbles. My Lab is often sick in the car (travel sick when eaten too soon to travelling not as she doesn't like being in the car) She tends to just fall asleep and jumps in the boot when we're getting ready for somewhere. My eldest is small and ikes to curl up. She will sit on the backseat with harness, but often finds the back seat too high to jump up on now, and when she gets fed up with being dribbled on she has been known to jump up into the passenger footwell!
ReplyDeleteSo, even packed up with 3 dog beds, 3 sets of towels, 3 sets of bowls/food and luggage for the 2 of us, and 3 dogs all in seperate parts of the car.. the Rav does the job!
I have a Toyota Granvia Japanese Import. It has 8 seats but the back ones can be folded to fit crates in and your left with a 5 seats and loads of space. There is sperarate front and rear air conditioning for hot days, 2 sun roofs. Curtains (electric)that you can open and close with a button to keep the sun out and amuse you.Its like a mini coach with luxury driving and fits everything and everybody in.
ReplyDeleteLoves diesel though.
10 dogs? You don't want a car, you want a van. I have 5 large Samoyeds and drive an LDV Convoy, which is like a Transit on steroids. They have plenty of space to spread out, and there's room for all their paraphanalia, including the rebuilt push-chair for the disabled one. Like all the best vans this one is white, which is the best colour for reflecting the heat in summer. I removed the bulkhead and put in just 2 opening windows to let in air and light without turning it into a greenhouse. It has heavy mesh gates inside the doors so I can leave them open when parked up in hot weather (remember hot weather?), this includes a big side door. And those plastic concertina grills fit really well in the square front windows.
ReplyDeleteYou said you wanted cheap, real cheap. A Convoy will cost about £1500 with only 50,000 in the clock, a similar age Transit will be £6000 plus. And as an LDV uses the Transit engine & gearbox you're getting pretty much the same vehicle for a fraction of the price. OK, you'll get about 25-30 mpg on diesel, but there's a lot of LDVs also running on LPG. Insuring a van? If you go to your car insurer, they tend to be suspicious of van drivers so will charge a fortune - assuming they'll even insure you at all. Go to a commercial vehicle insurer - I'm with NFU and pay less than £200 fully comp.
To drive, it's quite an experience. When you first get in it's like sitting in an armchair looking out of a bay window. And to stretch the analogy further, it feels like driving a house as well. But it drives well, stops in it's own length and turns on a sixpence. And even if it's not the fastest thing on the road, other cars stay out of your way and you do have the satisfaction of looking down on those double-cab pick-up trucks.
The biggest drawback is the height of the floor. Only one of my dogs is fit enough to jump straight in, so I use a ramp for the rest, or just pick them up - always fun with a 35kg dog covered in mud.