[Jami Craig]

I'm looking to getting a custom dog box style crate made for my car (2005 Hyundai Elantra GT hatchback). This is so when I go on the road to vend at conventions and shows I can bring the dogs no problem. Ideally I plan to build the crates into the back cargo area of the hatchback then installing a barrier in front of it so that I could keep the back hatch open with two "layers" of bars and cage mesh (so no one could reach my dogs or throw food at them) and no one could get in t the rest of my car. This would allow me to park on the road in the summer at rest stops and not worry about cooking my dogs when I run into a store for supplies on the road. my back window would have a cooling sheet over it (as would the side windows that would also be grated with installed fans. It would leave my back seat free for luggage for the show (or a human passenger since the crate will be in my car at all times).

The design I've drawn up is pretty solid and I've talked to a few companies about making it. I'm planning on commissioning a welded solid set-up (basically a more compact funny shaped version of the traditional hatchback 2-dog box with some extra features). My concern however is in the event I was rear ended will my dogs be safe? There seems to be a lack of information on what happens to dogs in the cargo areas of cars when the car is hit from behind. I've tried to look up crash information and pictures of my model of car (didn't find much other than from every other angle it has an okay crash test rating...) and pictures of hatchbacks totalled and it seems like the cargo areas get crushed. However with a solid welded cage the few places I've seen seems to imply that a solid made welded cage stays solid and pushes forward into the back passenger seats (which is fine as that will be rather crushable luggage).

Does anyone have any information on this or some idea where I can find some. I've been googling but clearly I'm not using the right terms. I want to make sure my dogs are safe on the road in the event of an accident.

 

[mel boschwitz]

Can't add anything as far as crash testing, unless you make some friends with DPS or municipal cops that do accident scenes, they may have some firsthand knowledge .


BUT if you plan to build something permanent into your vehicle make sure it is an area that you will never need to get to for repairs, etc. i.e. my crates are built into the back of my minivan, but I can take them apart for repairs, etc. In order to get to the rear AC if theres a problem I have to take out the crates. Also for repairs on my sliding doors. I used heavy welded wire ties together. Easy to build, easy to take apart.

 

[Peter Cavallaro]

If a hatch back gets rear ended your dogs will be most likely seriously injured or killed, depending on speed of impact etc, the hatch itself is a crumple zone designed to deform and absorb the kinetic energy of the colliding vehicle in order to protect the small reinforced shell directly around the passengers in a correct seating position.

Think about it like crushing an empty aluminium drink can with yr foot.

Thats the short answer.

 

[Jami Craig]

If a hatch back gets rear ended your dogs will be most likely seriously injured or killed, depending on speed of impact etc, the hatch itself is a crumple zone designed to deform and absorb the kinetic energy of the colliding vehicle in order to protect the small reinforced shell directly around the passengers in a correct seating position.

Think about it like crushing an empty aluminium drink can with yr foot.

Thats the short answer.

I understand the tin can part of the hatch, but would that still apply if there was a welding steel framed crate in the back?

this here (obviously not a super serious accident) with a lighter crate than the one i've designed seems to suggest that the crate would push forward into the back passenger area, which is good enough for my purposes as I don't have any passengers in the back on the long trips.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYKafWeppps

 

[Lee H Sternberg]

If a hatch back gets rear ended your dogs will be most likely seriously injured or killed, depending on speed of impact etc, the hatch itself is a crumple zone designed to deform and absorb the kinetic energy of the colliding vehicle in order to protect the small reinforced shell directly around the passengers in a correct seating position.

Think about it like crushing an empty aluminium drink can with yr foot.

Thats the short answer.

Simple solution - drive in reverse when the dogs are on board.#-o:-D

 

[Peter Cavallaro]

Simple solution - drive in reverse when the dogs are on board.#-o:-D

That would increase the protection from rear impact.

Jamie, transport dogs restrained in back seat, luggage in hatch, then when parked transfer dogs in hatch crate?

 

[Don Turnipseed]

I just put em in the back of the truck so they'll be thrown clear in case of an accident rather than rolled over on. Or, they are in the front seat with me.

 

[Lee H Sternberg]

I just put em in the back of the truck so they'll be thrown clear in case of an accident rather than rolled over on. Or, they are in the front seat with me.

I wonder if someone can calculate how far they would fly from the truck bed at 60MPH.\\/:razz:

 

[Peter Cavallaro]

Depends how pointy their head is.

 

[Joby Becker]

I wonder if someone can calculate how far they would fly from the truck bed at 60MPH.\\/:razz:

that would depend on if he was in the front of the bed, or the back..

the front would be higher trajectory but much lower distance. if the front end dipped upon impact and the dog was in the back, I'd say about 100 feet or so at least, unless his hunt drive kicked in.

 

[Peter Cavallaro]

Does the dog have a tyre in its mouth or a copper pipe at time of impact.

 

[Joby Becker]

Does the dog have a tyre in its mouth or a copper pipe at time of impact.

depends... if he was dumping tires illegally, or stealing copper from an abandoned house

 

[Peter Cavallaro]

Or it has just been evaluated for fight/retrieve drive.

 

[Marta Wajngarten]

Jamie, transport dogs restrained in back seat, luggage in hatch, then when parked transfer dogs in hatch crate?

I think that's the safest suggestion. I wouldn't count on the crate withstanding impact unless you plan on having the design crash proofed and if you have that kind of money buy a bigger vehicle that does better in crashes.

 

[Bob Scott]

I think if you built something strong enough to withstand a collision in a hatch back it would probably be to heavy to take in and out of the car. Then, if it isn't bolted down in said collision the back of your head is going to help stop it from going to far forward.:-o ;-)

 

[Christopher Smith]

If a hatch back gets rear ended your dogs will be most likely seriously injured or killed, depending on speed of impact etc, the hatch itself is a crumple zone designed to deform and absorb the kinetic energy of the colliding vehicle in order to protect the small reinforced shell directly around the passengers in a correct seating position.

Think about it like crushing an empty aluminium drink can with yr foot.

Thats the short answer.

Peter is right about the hatch absorbing the impact. And if you build something that that stops the hatch from absorbing that impact that energy will be transfered elsewhere. Maybe your crates will be pushed forward and injure the humans in the front?

Ironically I have been in a rear end collision in the same model you own. Nothing happened to the hatch area but the car buckled at the rear doors and was totaled.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

 

[Adam Wilson]

It is recommended to purchase a cover for transporting dogs in the trunk of a car, since the protective device protects the upholstery from surprises, passengers from unpredictable behavior of the animal, and the dog from injury.