# Show me your dog vans/car set ups



## Nataliee (Jul 25, 2011)

Planning ahead for the next addition and need to start looking at transport. The dog will be travelling around with me a lot so I want something that's going to have plenty of room for it. I can't decide whether to go with a van, estate or 4x4. I like the idea of a van because of space but then I like my cars and think I'd prefer an estate so after ideas! Also need something that won't be too expensive to run


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## cinnamontoast (Oct 24, 2010)

Nissan X Trail, with Carbox fitted to boot, fits three springers with room to spare. 









Helps that the seats are leather, easy clean. If I could, I'd have one of those minivans like a little transit, tons of room for dogs, easy clean.


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## Nicki85 (Oct 6, 2010)

Skoda yeti here! 60mpg on average and loads of room for my two mutts in thr boot. Seats can also be removed/ put back in really easily which is fab if you know the dogs are going to be in there for a while and you want to give them some space.
For me it's more about having the flexibility of those extra two seats when required and the mpg. I do a lot of driving and it's essential to keep diesel costs down....


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## Jp kp (Mar 14, 2013)

Audi A4 estate for me, my gsp can stand up, turn round and lay comfortably when in there. It has a cargo net from the back seat and attatches to the roof which acts as a dog gaurd! 
And i retain the funtionality and comfort of owning a car, which is also a kid taxi. 4 wheel drive too so i dont get stuck in muddy carparks!



Harry looks hunched here as he is sitting funny! He has a bit of carpet too.


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## tabulahrasa (Nov 4, 2012)

I don't have a picture because I've only had it a couple of months...and I have to lift him in and out, so I'm not taking one just now, lol.

But I have a diesel C-max










With that fitted.










I don't know what the MPG works out at, but I do Know that I get 350 miles for £50 of diesel, but it is 10 years old.


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## shamykebab (Jul 15, 2009)

Oh I like the look of the Boot Buddy - even with a dog box my car is still full of dog hair!


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## tabulahrasa (Nov 4, 2012)

shamykebab said:


> Oh I like the look of the Boot Buddy - even with a dog box my car is still full of dog hair!


It does a great job of keeping the dog hair in the back and the cat hair from our clothes in the front  lol.

I was looking for easy clean as he sometimes gets car sick, it's great for that.


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## 2Hounds (Jun 24, 2009)

We've a Peugeot Partner tepee same as Citroen Berlingo. My OH didn't want a van & a big estate would've been tricky for him to park & get round the multi-storey in town. Ours is a 1.6 Turbo diesel and gets about 48mpg average, it does need specific oil & regular oil changes to avoid Turbo getting blocked.
Fairly basic internally, but i don't mind that as less to break or get ruined by dog. The seats are very comfy and could get 3 adults in back, the rear seats folds over footwell to leave flat floor or can remove fully easily. The tailgate is huge great as a rain shelter but you do need to leave room to open it, very easy for dogs to jump in.










I got a secondhand Barjo cage that takes up rear of car fully (no seats) but I have 3 larger dogs (only 2 owned when bought car) its heavy but can be removed for rare occasion we have passengers or want to haul large items. I don't have proper picture of the dog cage but you can get the jist on this one. (Model available to adopt-Fagan)


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## cavmad (Jan 27, 2009)

I have a Fiat Scudo van there is a space behind the front seats up to the wheel arches so I can get my scooter in through the side doors then at the back I have a crate system with two large crates at the bottom and three at the top. The bottom crates can hold two collies each easily and the top ones two cavs I have put three in one for a short journey . I will try and get a photo if you want


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## Jadestubeau (Aug 23, 2014)

We have a vw transporter, we now have three dogs which are crated when we travel, these are latched to the interior of the van so the crates can't move incase of an accident, our rear seat also folds down into a bed, so we use it as a camper van too, spent many a weekend and fortnight away camping with the dogs 

Best vehicle we have ever owner it's so diverse and Is even being used as a removal van this week. 

Also I can run it on veg oil at 80p a litre.


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## Dogless (Feb 26, 2010)

This is mine http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-chat/359856-photos-boys-new-wheels.html I absolutely love it .

And our car: http://www.petforums.co.uk/1063192084-post7.html


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## Maria_1986 (May 15, 2011)

I have a 1.9TDi Skoda Roomster, reasonably old (8ish years old) although I have only had it for a couple of weeks. So far though its been a great car, doing pretty good mileage (about 52mpg running around town and to and from work not taken her on the motorway yet). Although I only have 1 smallish dog I regularly look after a few bigger dogs and needed a higher car for my own mobility issues. My in laws have one, my Dad has had one and a friend has one for her 3 labs and all have loved them. The only small issue is that the boot does have a small lip - not as big as my last car (VW polo) but something to be aware of if you want one with no lip.

The back seats can be removed or folded down so that there is more space, but Chevy likes traveling on the back seats if she is by herself so I have left them alone and just have a hammock and seat belt clip for her.


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## Oenoke (Oct 17, 2009)

My van, the girls have their own cages with plenty of room and there is a spare 1 for a new puppy! There's also lots of room for transporting flyball box and jumps or agility equipment.


This was my old Freelander, dogs had to share and although could travel 4 dogs ok, was a bit squashed when I was up to 5! And no room to transport equipment.


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## Leanne77 (Oct 18, 2011)

I have a Fiat Doblo 1.9 JTD MPV, not the van, and it'a fairly cheap to run really. I get around 57mpg and thats just around town, it's a pretty solid motor, seems quite robust and cheaper than a Renault to own (which is what i've been used to for the last 15 years!)


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## Nataliee (Jul 25, 2011)

Thanks all. Been looking at some estates today & thinking maybe a van or 4x4 is going to be a better choice for the space I want, I want a big compartment for the new addition and a big compartment to make comfy for the chis but will also need room for equipment. My dad has a ford connect which I think would be about right size. How much roughly would I be looking at to get good quality secure cages built in


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## cinnamontoast (Oct 24, 2010)

Nicki85 said:


> Skoda yeti here! 60mpg on average and loads of room for my two mutts in thr boot. Seats can also be removed/ put back in really easily which is fab if you know the dogs are going to be in there for a while and you want to give them some space.
> For me it's more about having the flexibility of those extra two seats when required and the mpg. I do a lot of driving and it's essential to keep diesel costs down....


Very tempted by the look of that. :001_tt1:


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## tabulahrasa (Nov 4, 2012)

Nataliee said:


> Thanks all. Been looking at some estates today & thinking maybe a van or 4x4 is going to be a better choice for the space I want, I want a big compartment for the new addition and a big compartment to make comfy for the chis but will also need room for equipment. My dad has a ford connect which I think would be about right size. How much roughly would I be looking at to get good quality secure cages built in


No idea...but have you driven the connect? I hated it, huge compared to something like a vauxhall combi, but with not much more room in the back and it ate diesel, though that could just have been ours.

It was never kitted out for the dog though as they're company vans...I'll be selling a transit soon if you're interested, lol.


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## Nataliee (Jul 25, 2011)

tabulahrasa said:


> No idea...but have you driven the connect? I hated it, huge compared to something like a vauxhall combi, but with not much more room in the back and it ate diesel, though that could just have been ours.
> 
> It was never kitted out for the dog though as they're company vans...I'll be selling a transit soon if you're interested, lol.


No I've not driven it before, I'll have to give it a test! I think I have heard my dad complaining about how much it costs in petrol though. I'm off to google the vauxhall combi now 
Hmm how old is the transit?


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## Freyja (Jun 28, 2008)

Leanne77 said:


> I have a Fiat Doblo 1.9 JTD MPV, not the van, and it'a fairly cheap to run really. I get around 57mpg and thats just around town, it's a pretty solid motor, seems quite robust and cheaper than a Renault to own (which is what i've been used to for the last 15 years!)


I have a Doblo too.No photos though as I have just had a new one and am in between cars at the moment as although I have had it for 2 weeks and I have used it for the dogs it had to go back for some warrenty work to be done. Nothing major just minor things that needed sorting mainly the cigarette lighter not working (needed for sat nav). I got it back yesterday so will run around for a while to make sure it is ok before transfering the dogs stuff to it.

I have the car version and had to go to a garage 50 miles away as you can't get them local to us even the Fiat dealer says he can't get them. My old one is a 1.9 diesel and would do around 55mpg on a run the new one is 1.6 diesel and I don't know what I can get out of that at the moment.


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## tabulahrasa (Nov 4, 2012)

Nataliee said:


> No I've not driven it before, I'll have to give it a test! I think I have heard my dad complaining about how much it costs in petrol though. I'm off to google the vauxhall combi now
> Hmm how old is the transit?


It's ok, I wasn't seriously trying to sell you the transit...we're getting rid of it because it's too expensive to keep running, lol.

I just really didn't like the connect to drive, but I'm a car driver and only drove it occasionally, my OH didn't mind it the same...it was terrible on fuel though.


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## Oenoke (Oct 17, 2009)

Nataliee said:


> Thanks all. Been looking at some estates today & thinking maybe a van or 4x4 is going to be a better choice for the space I want, I want a big compartment for the new addition and a big compartment to make comfy for the chis but will also need room for equipment. My dad has a ford connect which I think would be about right size. How much roughly would I be looking at to get good quality secure cages built in


It depends where you go, was quoted £1500 from K9 cages for 2 up, 2 down cages in my Vauxhall Vivaro last year, then I heard about Moonfrost, my cages were £776 with pull out jump board. I did order them last September, was told then they would be ready in January, they were eventually ready and fitted in March, luckily I was in no hurry, just strapped a couple of crates in the back over the winter for travelling the dogs, but any longer and I would have been a bit more desperate as it's the summer I go to shows and the dogs stay in their cages most of the day. I'm really happy with my cages from Moonfrost. You can sometimes get 2nd hand cages if you look on ebay, https://www.facebook.com/groups/170537816408009/?fref=ts or agilitynet fleamarket.


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## Leanne77 (Oct 18, 2011)

tabulahrasa said:


> No idea...but have you driven the connect? I hated it, huge compared to something like a vauxhall combi, but with not much more room in the back and it ate diesel, though that could just have been ours.
> 
> It was never kitted out for the dog though as they're company vans...I'll be selling a transit soon if you're interested, lol.


I agree, the Connects are awful. I have been driving vans for years, of all shapes and sizes but the Connects are one of the worse i've driven (next in line only to a LDV Convoy!) We have Connects at work (they are slowly replacing them with Peugeots though) but they are horrible. They are expensive to run and drive like a bag of nails IMO. The seats are uncomfortable too.


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## Nataliee (Jul 25, 2011)

Think I'll need to get saving for the crates, might have a look if there are any offers on at Crufts. 
Our work van is a Citroen dispatch & I don't like driving it, feels like I'm driving a lorry


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## tabulahrasa (Nov 4, 2012)

We've got an astra van, a combo and a transit, and we did have the connect...the only one I don't complain about driving is the astra, lol, because it's basically an estate with no back seats or windows.

I even prefer the transit to the connect, at least it's big because it's actually big and not just bigger than it needs to be, and it accelerates...the connect was actually just rubbish, though I can't remember what engine size it was to be fair.


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## Nataliee (Jul 25, 2011)

Ok so had a quick look through autotrader as I think I'm going to go with a second hand one instead of going down the finance route again, although not completely decided, I like the idea of a brand new van &#128513;. The following are probably in my price range if I'm going down the financially sensible route
Peugeot partner
Citroen berlingo
Citroen nemo
Vauxhall combo (not keen on that one though)
Peugeot bipper
Fiat doblo
Renault kangoo

Any opinions on any these?


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## Oenoke (Oct 17, 2009)

Nataliee said:


> Ok so had a quick look through autotrader as I think I'm going to go with a second hand one instead of going down the finance route again, although not completely decided, I like the idea of a brand new van 😁. The following are probably in my price range if I'm going down the financially sensible route
> Peugeot partner
> Citroen berlingo
> Citroen nemo
> ...


If you get a van it's worth going to a dealer and see if they have any pre-registered ones, I got mine for £7000 cheaper than a brand new van, just been registered in the June and I got it in the October, only had 6.8 miles on the clock (delivery mileage). I just didn't want an older van that had been used as vans aren't like cars and people may not look after them as well (unless you get an ex dog van) and most of my friends with 2nd hand vans have spent alot of time on the motorways waiting for recovery!


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## Nataliee (Jul 25, 2011)

Oenoke said:


> If you get a van it's worth going to a dealer and see if they have any pre-registered ones, I got mine for £7000 cheaper than a brand new van, just been registered in the June and I got it in the October, only had 6.8 miles on the clock (delivery mileage). I just didn't want an older van that had been used as vans aren't like cars and people may not look after them as well (unless you get an ex dog van) and most of my friends with 2nd hand vans have spent alot of time on the motorways waiting for recovery!


Good idea, this is probably what I'll do, I am a bit worried about how a second hand one will have been driven.
My dad thinks I'm making a big mistake & should stick with my current car as I'll regret it 😕


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## xxJudexx (Sep 21, 2013)

If it is going to be your only vehicle remember that you can't transfer your no claims from your car to your van, and your no claims for your car will become void after 1 to 2 years. 

If I had my time again I would have gone for a large car (probably a 4x4) and had removable cages made so I could still take passengers when I wanted. As it is I have a Kangoo van with two very large cages in the back but I can only ever have one passenger


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## Leanne77 (Oct 18, 2011)

Nataliee said:


> Ok so had a quick look through autotrader as I think I'm going to go with a second hand one instead of going down the finance route again, although not completely decided, I like the idea of a brand new van 😁. The following are probably in my price range if I'm going down the financially sensible route
> Peugeot partner
> Citroen berlingo
> Citroen nemo
> ...


I have driven the Berlingo, the Kangoo and I have the Bipper and the Doblo. I must admit though that only the Bipper is the current model, the others were older ones so the new versions are no doubt different. We have the new Partners at work and they appear to be superior to the old ones.

The Bipper is very nippy for a small diesel engine but it's basic and doesnt even have central locking but no doubt models exist that do have it. It's quite economical, nice enough to drive once you get used to it but not very roomy.


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## DollyGirl08 (Dec 1, 2012)

I've got a doblo and love it. So easy to drive, very roomy and doesn't cost me much.


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## 2Hounds (Jun 24, 2009)

We test drove the car versions fiat Qubo (same as bipper & nemo) it was noiser and not as comfortable as partner tepee and just wasn't going to big enough for our 3 though the low tax & MPG was appealing . The new shape doblo was a disappointment it looked better externally but little improvement internally, my OH didn't like how it handled & was also surprisingly noiser than partner (the Scudo was much better).


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## Nataliee (Jul 25, 2011)

I didn't realise that with the no claims bonus, I'll have to do some quotes as my insurance is still fairly high on my current car due to my age. Might be back to looking at estates in that case, I really want as much room as possible for the dogs though &#128543;


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## babycham2002 (Oct 18, 2009)

I have a Xsara picasso
Its bloody marvellous, so versatile 
I dont think I have ny pics handy 

The three seats in the back fold forward or remove easily independently of each other. 
You have height as well as space. I have had five cages behind the front seats, three on bottom two on top, all lovely and secure. still with huge amounts of boot space for willow. 

Because of the rescue I have to move random amounts of dogs all the time. 
It's absolutely perfect for what I need. Lovely comfy driving position too.


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## Oenoke (Oct 17, 2009)

I kept my no claims, had my Freelander insured with Direct Line and insured the van with them and they kept my no claims, but I had heard that alot of companies don't.


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## Nataliee (Jul 25, 2011)

Just found out our neighbours are selling their van, it's a peugeot not sure if it's a bipper or partner, it's bigger than what I was after but it's really nice, not sure on rest of info yet but I'm excited anyway &#128556;


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## Nataliee (Jul 25, 2011)

I was set on getting a peugeot expert but I've seen some nice estates with cage set ups recently so not sure again now, still like the idea of a 4x4 as well


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