I have a large German Shepherd Dog who likes to ride in the back of my car. My goal was to protect the interior of my car while giving my dog a flat and sturdy platform with support to keep him from rolling around.
I didn't find a solution to buy so I decided to make my own. My plan was fold the rear seats and then lay down a flat plywood floor with glued carpeting. Also required to be easy to install or remove and not be too heavy.
For materials, I bought 2 yards of Black outdoor marine carpeting on Ebay for about $70, a 4 x 8 sheet of 6mm Baltic Birch plywood for $15 from Menards, and a gallon of Weldwood contact cement for about $50. Also Black Gorilla tape $15.00 for the hinge and to cover screw heads and $2.50 worth of screws.
I already had the required tools and other supplies at work to make it easier: a table saw, a miter saw, a handheld jig saw, drill and power driver, scrap wood, and cardboard. Also a heavy pipe to use as a roller.
Photos below will show the steps to make it. I'm really happy with the finished product.
To install the bed, I move the front seats all the way forward, fold down the rear seats, open the rear hatch and lift the 30 pound bed into place. Then I unfold it, pull it to the rear, and bring the front seats all the way back which is my driving position. That keeps the board from moving. The carpeting gives my dog some grip and the front seat backs stop him if there was heavy braking. I could probably rig a dog seat belt to the plywood but there is none at this time.
Removing it is the reverse.
The carpeting cleans easily in a minute when out of the car with our Dyson v15.
I didn't find a solution to buy so I decided to make my own. My plan was fold the rear seats and then lay down a flat plywood floor with glued carpeting. Also required to be easy to install or remove and not be too heavy.
For materials, I bought 2 yards of Black outdoor marine carpeting on Ebay for about $70, a 4 x 8 sheet of 6mm Baltic Birch plywood for $15 from Menards, and a gallon of Weldwood contact cement for about $50. Also Black Gorilla tape $15.00 for the hinge and to cover screw heads and $2.50 worth of screws.
I already had the required tools and other supplies at work to make it easier: a table saw, a miter saw, a handheld jig saw, drill and power driver, scrap wood, and cardboard. Also a heavy pipe to use as a roller.
Photos below will show the steps to make it. I'm really happy with the finished product.
To install the bed, I move the front seats all the way forward, fold down the rear seats, open the rear hatch and lift the 30 pound bed into place. Then I unfold it, pull it to the rear, and bring the front seats all the way back which is my driving position. That keeps the board from moving. The carpeting gives my dog some grip and the front seat backs stop him if there was heavy braking. I could probably rig a dog seat belt to the plywood but there is none at this time.
Removing it is the reverse.
The carpeting cleans easily in a minute when out of the car with our Dyson v15.
