2014 Access Cab Pooch Platform - The Way I Did It

Thought I'd go ahead and throw this up here for anyone else considering doing this for their dog. There's several others on here in different threads. Let me say right off the bat that I tend to over-think and over-engineer things, so this may not be for everybody.

Basically it consists of two small tables (10" x 18") that sit in the foot wells of the access cab and a covered piece of plywood (18" x 50") that bolts to the tables. There is a 1" x 1" piece of wood, also covered, at the back of it that sits on the back of the storage bins. I used glue and countersunk screws from the top prior to covering it. This raises it above the plastic piece that houses the seat belts in the middle. Also before covering, I countersunk a couple of lag bolts in the platform to go through the holes in the tables and they are secured with some 5/16-18 repair handles that I had from a repair on a lawn mower that I didn't do because the mower wound up dying. Once it's attached to the tables it's pretty solid. I've included some photos of the components and how it looks when assembled. It goes in and out pretty easily, although I leave it in a lot. The materials list is below the photos.





I had to include a photo of Katy. She's a rescue that lived in the crawl space under a rental house that is on my property for three months. She had a tough life before, and is extremely shy so she refused to pose. I've had her for two years and she just began to bark about 3 months ago. She likes the platform much better than the front seat of the 1999 standard cab I had before.

Here's the material I used from Home Depot:

8 in. Parsons Table Leg
Model # 2658
Internet/Catalog SKU# 100576592

These were trimmed by about 1 " or so at the bottom to maintain level of the platform. They have to be ordered for store pickup.

Heavy Duty Top Plate
Model # 2755
Store SKU # 779225
Internet/Catalog SKU# 100390125

These come in a package of four. If you use 1/2" plywood you'll have to get a shorter screw or it will barely poke out of the top side.

The plywood was 1/2" Birch plywood from HD. It's barely more expensive than the good grade pine plywood and it's twice the quality. The 1" x 1" is pine trim from HD. It's in the hardwood section. Again, a little more expensive than the construction grade stuff, but it's not warped.

I almost forgot, the carpet is from Parts Express. It's good quality and is not too stiff to fold and staple. I used 3M Hi-Strength 90 Spray Adhesive and a pneumatic stapler to attach it. The stapler made it go a lot easier.

Sorry about the huge-ass post. If you have questions, feel free to post them.

 

Nice! I'm favoriting this. Plan to do something similar for my pooch.

Glad you've given Katy a good life!

 

Great looking partner there. And nice fit and finish on your platform. I went much cheaper. I found a pair of cardboard boxes that fit perfectly on the floor and were a perfect match for height. I cut a piece of commercial rubber floor covering that my wife brought home from work as a scrap. And, then I picked up one of those seat covers on a clearance rack for less than $10. Mine probably doesn't come out as easy as yours. I use the boxes to hold tie downs, a rain poncho, a small tarp, and some other supplies that might come in handy.



Scout likes it fine. I've never actually transported a person back there, so it goes months between times I disassemble. Usually, the "seat" cover is desperately due for the laundry by then.

 

Thanks for the compliments. Jere, you gave me an idea. I need to find someone who can sew some elastic to a rectangular piece of material, sort of like a fitted sheet, only heavier, for those times when it's messy out. Scout's a good looking dog!

 

Glad to see this idea spreading! Posted mine up over 4 years ago...and have seen more and more doing this! Your dog is gonna love you

 

Just made mine. It isn't quite as nice as yours but it works pretty well:







I used the cheap canvas dog hammock that was back there to cover it.