How to Make the back seat more dog friendly (and less slippery) in general

The backseat of the Tacoma, particularly when folded down, is not the most grippy surface. Even if you don't have a dog, putting anything on the backs of the seats means they just slide around a lot. Not very useful, really.

So we kayak a lot and we love to do it with our dogs, and there is this awesome product we've used called "JetSports Sheets" that uses a 3M adhesive to stick to most any surface.


It is mostly used on Jet-Ski's and whatnot as a grip tape that is friendly to bare feet, yet also very grippy, getting more grippy when it gets wet.

There are many name-brand versions of this stuff, but it is silly expensive, but an off-brand (store-brand?) alternative is about half the price and every bit as good as the name brand stuff.

$80 BlackTip Jetsports Sheet Goods Gray Wishbone traction mat/Sea-Doo Carpet/Pads/Mat/Footwell

BlackTip JetSports Sheets. It comes is an array of patterns and colors. We just happened to have grey on hand, but we really like the wishbone pattern because it gives the dogs plenty to hold onto. One roll is about $60, but it'll easily do two pickups (or whatever else you may need it to do).

But this stuff doesn't have to be used on a watercraft. Because it's 3M backed, it can be used anywhere. Including on the backs of back seat.

Simply measure and cut to with just any decent pair of scissors, clean the surface with a paint-prep product and stick the JetSport Sheets into place.


How good it looks comes down to how much time you want to spend cutting and measuring. Incidentally, the wishbone pattern gives plenty of symmetrical points to work from to ensure nice straight lines for those with a moderate amount of patience.



And the final result is a happy dog who doesn't go skittering about every time you make a turn.



Cheers,
dp

 

Excellent!! Subd.

 

I've been looking for something like this for my dog for "his" kayak. He has to stand at the very front, with his paws just barely perched at the tip.
This would probably reduce the number of times I have to fish him out of the water.

On the truck - what's the advantage of folding down the seats? Seems like there's actually less room. We just put a waterproof cover over the seats as is and let him hang out there. Keeps him a bit lower also.

 

To be honest - when I first bought my truck I did all these things to make the back more comfortable for my dogs. In the end I don't even fold the seats down and I just use a fleece blanket to cover the seats. No more continually folding the seats up & down and the dogs ride just fine and get the benefits of the cushioned seats.

Now during bird & duck hunting season (Oct-Dec), I do fold the seats down so the crates sit nice & flat on the back. And I use a non-slip material to keep them from moving around.