Trying to fit dog crates in backseat- Taco is 2" too narrow door to door

Recently purchased a 2022 TRD Off-Road 4x4 double cab 6' bed. Plan was to put two dog crates end to end in the folded down backseats. Did all the measurements, thought it would fit, but the Taco doors are so incredibly thick and the armrests stick so into the cabin that the crates won't fit. The crates together are 1-2" too wide. We can't just get different crates- the dogs need a certain size for long trips.

Would welcome any potential solutions. Seems like what we need is maybe a different, thinner door panel, or to somehow remove the armrest part of the door. Is this something that anyone could do? Better ideas welcomed!

 

I personally don't have a solution for your issue. That said, I typically just get a seat cover made specifically for pets and then bring along a collapsible/foldable dog crate for each of my two dogs.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/slredirec...7344682&id=7276239199912867&widgetName=sp_atf

$24 Midwest Homes for Pets Newly Enhanced Single & Double Door iCrate Dog Crate, Includes Leak-Proof Pan, Floor Protecting Feet, Divider Panel & New Patented Features

https://www.amazon.com/MidWest-Fold...0&sr=1-1-f4ff053e-b1e8-4d31-8f95-56d755c862ba

 

Remove door panel, trace it onto a sheet of thin HDPE then put that on as the new door panel. You may need to put some cut outs for certain things, but that will give you a door panel without the thickness.

 

First thing i bought was the rear seat delete. Tons more room for a dog crate. After gettting this from goose gear, their instructions, wait, they dont have any. Well their install video, wait, no, that video is too old and didn't help. After calling, nope, calling was useless, they had no fuxking clue what the inside of my 2021 looked like in back....
Id build my own. Its cheaper and not hard after seeing what i got for my money. BUT, im still glad i have it.
My shepherd is 84 lbs, and.l can sit up, stand, and turn around in there. He actually has tons of room.

 

I would do this but I want the door to be usable (i.e. able to be opened from the inside).
Soft crates aren't an option for these expensive dogs. Need to have crates that are crash tested etc. just in case.

 

Sounds to me that a Tacoma wasnt a wise choice for you since you have very specific needs for your dogs.

 

Find a different crate that is a little shorter, done deal.

 

You could remove the back plastic buckets, that should give you enough room.
EDIT: I'm dumb, didn't read... I'm thinking of the wrong dimension...

 

This isn't helpful.

We can't just get different crates- the dogs need a certain size for long trips. Unfortunately crash-tested crates don't come in a ton of sizes. This is a solution we explored, believe me.

 

Curious on what kennel you are using? Sounds silly but I had a similar issue for my Lab's transport in my F150 SCrew. I was just running a Port-a-Pet that splits in half. I just put the parts in first and built it in the truck. Now, my boy has the back seats to himself with a great hammock from Gun Dog Supply and I have a seatbelt attachment on him with an shock cord device.

 

Wasnt trying to be rude. You are trying to dismantle your brand new truck for a couple of dog crates. Does that seem reasonable to you? You arent willing to get different crates.

If I had something that was so incredibly important to me I would be checking dimenaions before making large purchases. Not much different than taking the kids along to make sure everybody fits comfortably right?

 

Smaller dogs.

 

It would still be usable. You just would not have a speaker or a arm rest anymore. You can still mount the door handle to open the door on there. Then you use a flat strap to pull the door closed. People do this all the time with "race cars" that still need to be fully functional.

 

Right, but the dimensions of similar sized crates vary across manufacturers. Gunner is a little shorter but wider/taller than the same size crate from Ruffland for example. Your dog isn't going know the difference if the crate is one inch shorter on one side and longer on the other.

 

Truck cap. Put them in the bed and leave the rear window open between the truck and bed

 

If the taco doesn't end up working for you, my friend has really expensive show dogs and uses expensive crash tested crates as well. She went with a Toyota Sienna. It's pretty plush and gets out of it's own way when needed. You didn't state why you need a truck, but if you don't NEED a truck, maybe that's a better solution.

 

You are not helping yourself.... Crates don't fit. Not crash tested. Expensive dogs.
But your not providing any useful info. What breed? How large? What crate have you tried?
If you gotta open the crate doors on TWO crates while they're in the truck.... you're probably SOL.

 

Going out on a limb that these dogs would never be put in a lowly truck bed.

 

Man, aside from removing the arm rests back there I'm not sure what else to do. Bummer it's so close to fitting.