Traveling with kids and dog?

KC Cruiser

Adventurer
Hi guys,
I have a question and just looking for some options of how to travel with kids and dogs. My last dog was very old when we had kids so he did not come with us, so this a new problem. We now have a new Yellow lab and my girls are 9 & 11 we pull a 24' travel trailer with my 2012 Tundra 5.7 with a camper shell. We live in Tucson and is HOT most of the time so the thought of the dog crated in the bed of the truck is not a viable solution with any temperature above 75*.

Does anyone else have a similar set up/problem? The pup is too big for between the seats in the back seat, and my wife does not want to sit in back (can't blame her) while the dog rides up front.

The solution I am looking at is to sell my FJ40 and buy either a 100 or 200 series Landcruiser so everyone is in the vehicle.

Thanks!
 

tgreening

Expedition Leader
I travel in CC F-350 pulling a 5th wheel. My dogs are each between 65-75 lbs and my girls are 10 and 11. No one under any circumstances rides in the camper. No topper for the truck for obvious reasons. The dogs work it out. My wife made a truck wide 4" thick covered cushion that fits on the floor in the back. They generally rotate between the floor and sitting up between the back seats.

You could always putt a pass through from your cab to the topper so your pup can share some of the A/C. An insulated top would help in all cases. Add something like a Maxxfan to its roof to pull air through. Put screened windows in the topper for air flow, or sell and buy one that already has.

Maybe head to the salvage yard and pull a mini rear a/c unit out of something like a minivan, fab it into the back of your truck and plumb it into your existing system. Done right with disconnects and you could even yank it when you need the truck bed to be a truck bed. Actually there's a guy in the camper van section of this site that just pulled a rear heat/at unit out of his ambo. Relatively simple setup. Might sell?

All kinds of options, some cheaper and/or more convenient than others, just pick what works for you.
 

calicamper

Expedition Leader
Hi guys,
I have a question and just looking for some options of how to travel with kids and dogs. My last dog was very old when we had kids so he did not come with us, so this a new problem. We now have a new Yellow lab and my girls are 9 & 11 we pull a 24' travel trailer with my 2012 Tundra 5.7 with a camper shell. We live in Tucson and is HOT most of the time so the thought of the dog crated in the bed of the truck is not a viable solution with any temperature above 75*.

Does anyone else have a similar set up/problem? The pup is too big for between the seats in the back seat, and my wife does not want to sit in back (can't blame her) while the dog rides up front.

The solution I am looking at is to sell my FJ40 and buy either a 100 or 200 series Landcruiser so everyone is in the vehicle.

Thanks!

I have a 70lb Red American Doberman. 4 yrs old. Like your Lab he wants to be with the kids. In our 2010 Subaru OB I put one of the kids duffel bags on the floor center to fill the foot well. He then happily provides the back seat referee, snuggle buddy and loud snoring comic relief. In our Sequoia hes happiest doing the same thing though occasionally I crate him with half the 3rd row pulled when hauling 5+.
 

calicamper

Expedition Leader
I have a 70lb Red American Doberman. 4 yrs old. Like your Lab he wants to be with the kids. In our 2010 Subaru OB I put one of the kids duffel bags on the floor center to fill the foot well. He then happily provides the back seat referee, snuggle buddy and loud snoring comic relief. In our Sequoia hes happiest doing the same thing though occasionally I crate him with half the 3rd row pulled when hauling 5+.

The width of the back seat (2nd row) is wide plenty comfortable for 3 across.
My only thoughts are the 4.7 which I have in the Sequoia. And the short wheel base vs your 24ft RV trailer. The 4.7 is a nice engine but your limits on towing are 5000lbs and it starts working hard in the 3500-4000 range. With your passenger load plus the 24ft trailer you need the 5.7v8 but I wouldnt enjoy towing that thing with the short wheel base of the 200 series. Suburbans are king of the hauling wagons for a reason. If your trailer was smaller Id say 5.7L 200 series would be great but 24ft travel trailers are right at the size they pretty much demand the longer wheel base tow rigs for stable highway trips.
 

KC Cruiser

Adventurer
Thanks, guys. I am going to do a dry run later with my girls and dog in the back seat to see how it goes. This might be OK for shorter trips but we travel to Colorado every summer and that won't fly for 10-12 hours.

I was hoping to make the Landcruiser work as I like to wheel wherever I am camped, but I know it is not the best scenario for towing larger trailers. And we might be moving up to a bigger trailer in a couple of years.
 

Kyle Kelso

Adventurer
Does your topper have side vents and a sliding window against the cab? If not you could upgrade your canopy. We always kept our dog in the canopy and it was well ventilated...

Sent from my LG-H873 using Tapatalk
 

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