Long Trip in Truck Cargo Area?

I live in CA AND WI and often commute the 2000 miles between the two locations. I have two 10 year old Great Danes that dont move much but are still bulky. I have been renting minivans with stow-n-go and layng a futon matress down for them to ride back-n-forth with. It works very nicely but is VERY expensive.

I am thinking of buying a Fordf150 Crew Cab with a the 5'7" box and buying a Fibrglass topper. I figure I could put a futon matress in the back and it would basically be exactly the same as the minivan. WITHOUT the $5,000 per year rental costs I paid last year!

Anyway, my concern is NOT if I make a suddent stop (the smae exact problem exists in the back of a minivan) but rather temperature. I want to make sure it isnt too COLD in the winter nor too HOT in the summer.

I was told I could buy a donut/gasket to tie the cab to the topper to get some ventilation back there....

MY QUESTION: is there anyone who regularily drives 2000 miles (or a long way) with there pets in the back with a topper?


Thank you for your time,
-Matthew

As a kid we rode hundreds of miles in the summertime in the back of a pickup with a topper, and it was never too hot, we'd have the side vents open for some breeze, and there was always the little window to the cab of the truck - sliding windows in both the topper and the truck window - that we generally referred to as the "woofle hole" as it was the right size for our Saint Bernard to stick her head through, and then later, our Great Dane mix. Rode back there in the winter, too, and it was never too too cold, particularly with a large furry critter with us! We never did thousands of miles back there, but i imagine it'd be pretty much the same!

I don't think it's a horrible idea, I was scared this was going to be something about them just in the bed of the truck, glad to hear that's not the case. They sell pick ups with back seats now, could you get one of those? Might cost a bit more, but it's a lot better then in the bed of a truck even with the cap on. If you really want them to have be in the bed, which would be a lot more room for them, I am sure there'd be a way to hook up some type of ventilation unit.

ETA: Yeah just thought about it..and saw Karen's post! If you kept the window to the cab open, I am sure it'd be fine, and you could probably get a cap with windows. In the winter, if you feel like it's extra cold, you could probably put Blankets back there.

I don't see it working. There is not enough open space for ventilation between the cab and the back - with - topper, and a donut gasket is not going to be enough. Plus, they won't have any light!

Well with something like these, it could work:

http://www.leer.com/Truck-Caps

or this one -
http://capworld.com/i-6240536-leer-dcc.html

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Freedom

I don't see it working. There is not enough open space for ventilation between the cab and the back - with - topper, and a donut gasket is not going to be enough. Plus, they won't have any light!

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The ones we had always had windows on side, front and back, with vents/screens on them. Plenty of light, and air, I promise!

He hee, OKAY I stand corrected!!!! :D