Cold weather mods to a shell for the dog

Planning my setup in the new Tacoma with an ARE shell with the walk-in door. I think I'm going to have half the width be a sleeping platform with storage below, the other half be dedicated space for the mutt. I want to have this be a space that can be heated when I'm working and/or skiing (in high country of Colorado) and maybe cooled during the summers but I'll cross that road next spring. Focusing on cold weather at this point. I've read thru the forums here and gotten some good info. I will be carpeting the interior of the shell and any pointers on best products and installation is much appreciated. Any other thoughts on how to keep him warm when temps drop? Electric blankets and insulated his crate with wool blankets etc seem like good cheap ways to achieve this.

 

You are probably looking at a dual battery setup.

Electric blankets pull serious amps FYI.

A few blankets in a self contained insulated portable dog house will be more then enough for your dog. The electric blanket is overkill and kinda lame. Do a little research on labs/retrievers. They have a dual coat. They are hunting dogs that are accustomed to being in the cold for LONG periods of time. ASk me how I know.

 

Don't take this the wrong way, but I never would feel comfortable leaving my dog in those situations, especially cooling situations.
I just heard a story this morning about a police dog that was killed in a hot cruiser, they have special a/c systems for this as well as emergency backup which turns down all windows and turns on fan automatically when a/c fails. Both systems failed. If those can fail, your's can as well.

Now a dog in cold situations, well they survive better, i mean there are plenty that live in a house outside, but still a car becomes a refrigerator in those situations.

Sorry to post, but I had to give my 0.02.

 

Yeah I've been reading that about electric blankets pulling lots of juice. He's definitely a hearty boy with a thick coat. How cold of temps and how long are you talking about in your experience?

 

No, not taken the wrong way at all! Appreciate the input. I'm not ignorant to that, just seeing what my options are. I'm more worried about an overheated dog than a chilly one. Thank you!

 

A bunch of blankets bundled up in a nice plastic crate works wonder for winter. Maybe even get a insulated cover for the dog crate.

For summertime I prefer to keep my dogs indoors once in gets above 75 degrees.

 

Does you ARE top have sliding windows with a screen?

If it does there no need to worry about A/C then. He’ll be fine in the heat.


What are you doing where you will be leaving your dog locked in a shell for hours unattended?
Like what circumstances would he be left alone and for how long?
I think that matters in terms of suggestions.

If this is for short periods might not have to worry as much as if it were for hours at a time

 

Yes to sliding screened windows.

My main concern is when I'm working 8-10 hours a day. I might be facing a situation where I can't leave the dog at home anymore. I would be able to go check on him, let him out, etc. He loves being in the truck and has been fine in mild temps for that long of a time.

 

Sliding windows get through hot temps as long as hes not in direct sunlight and its not incredibly humid. If its over 85, leave him at home.

Cold he will be fine with some blanets in a carrier.
Dogs can handle some cold. Like under zero outside while beingin a car.

 

insulation insulation and some more insulation

electric heater carpet and blanket will still be very drafty without plugging the open holes and insulating everything

 

My poor pit (pit) was at the humane society on a concrete floor in a 20-degree breezeway. Dogs, especially labs, can deal with cold, but the heat is an entirely different story.

I take my dog everywhere with me. She loves the truck!

 

For insulation I'm thinking about Reflectix and/or carpet. Carpet over reflectix? Wondering about best methods people have used for securing insulation to inside of shell.

 

i would use carpet as the final top layer because it is soft on the skin, I would use some sort of reflectix in between the body/panel and the carpet as the insulation barrier.

some of the reflextix stuff has a sticky side i believe similar to dynamat, and then for securing the carpet on top you can use an adhesive or maybe even better some strong snap tape

the snap tape might be a nice idea so you can remove the carpet for cleaning and the insulation barrier would just stay in place.

 

Great idea, thanks!

 

Regarding cold, dogs are quite a bit tougher than us humans. For many breeds, their thermoregulation is designed around heat retention, not mitigation like people's. Hot weather is overwhelmingly more dangerous for dogs. That being said, people in Colorado (and everywhere else) have been known to act pretty irrationally about seeing dogs in truck cabs. "Good samaritans" may feel inclined to liberate your dog from your truck if they feel it is in peril. Carpeting the topper, and thick blankets are more than plenty for any reasonable winter weather (assuming your dog has a reasonable fur coat). My dogs and I have spent many nights outside in temperatures colder than -40. Trust me, they're tougher than we are. Anthropomorphism often keeps up from recognizing that.

 

You are correct on all accounts.

 

I’m interested in what you come up with for the cold weather.

We have two golden doodles (vicious attack breed), and we travel 4-5 hours in the Michigan winters with them in the bed of the truck. I use a softopper when they’re back there. We put both dogs in one plastic travel kennel with an insulated cover on it and a down comforter inside. Last winter, it was 5 degrees outside. We stopped after an hour to check on the dogs and they were shaking. Not sure if they were cold or scared, but we stuffed them in the cab with the kids in the back seat.

I’m trying to think of how to better insulate either the softopper as a whole, or the kennel itself. Electric blanket is interesting as I assume it can run off the plug in the bed while the truck is running.

 

This is pretty drastic surgery, but it would do the job.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/vented-cab-into-bed.194300/

 

I had thought about trying to make a foam gasket around the sliding back window between the cab and the topper and doing something to direct heat into the bed that way.

 

Just get the dog a dog jacket. They make some pretty nice rugged ones that are lined and water repellent.

Also, get some of those quilted moving blankets from harbor fright for cheap.
Your dog will be as snug as a bug in a rug.