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Ok, so I will be moving cross country (24-hour drive not including pit stops) driving a Penske truck and pulling my car on a trailer (whole car on a trailer, not the dolly thing). I will have another person in the cab with me (which was not the original plan). The cab has two seats. I'm not entirely sure how much room I'll have up there for the dogs - the original plan was one dog in the seat and one in the floorboard, or maybe both in the seat if they wanted to snuggle. I think there is a space between the seats where one could ride but not entirely sure. Would it be inappropriate or illegal if the dogs rode in the back seat of my car on the trailer with the windows down about half-way? This is how they normally travel and I feel like that would be much more comfortable for both of them. They could sleep like they normally sleep in the car and the weather will be such that open windows will keep them comfortable temp wise. Is this ok or is this like a Mitt Romney situation? To be honest, I never understood what the big deal was with that - he blocked the wind in the front of the airline crate and it was a long time ago. Dogs ride in crates in the back of pickups and strapped on trailer hitch carriers. Back in the 90's, I knew several people that transported their dogs in airline crates on the hitch mount shelves and no one thought a thing about it. But "fur mommies" weren't too much of a thing back then; most people still had common sense when it came to dogs. Anyway, I digress... I know the dogs would be fine but I have no desire to become internet famous!
Ok, so I will be moving cross country (24-hour drive not including pit stops)
driving a Penske truck and pulling my car on a trailer (whole car on a trailer, not the dolly thing).
They'll want to be in the truck cab with you. Well, Cheech would.
Have the pad from a crate or their dogbeds and some gnawing toys.
Quote:
Would it be inappropriate or illegal if the dogs rode in the back seat of my car on the trailer...
You know your dogs better than anyone here.
as to 24hrs... NO. Plan at least one full overnight in a dog friendly motel.
They'll want to be in the truck cab with you. Well, Cheech would.
Have the pad from a crate or their dogbeds and some gnawing toys.
You know your dogs better than anyone here.
as to 24hrs... NO. Plan at least one full overnight in a dog friendly motel.
Yeah, I'm definitely not driving straight through! We'll do it in two days. The dogs will be absolutely fine. I know they will curl up and sleep the whole way. I'm mainly planning for if there isn't enough room for them to be comfortable in the cab. I'm pretty sure they'd both be happier sleeping on the back seat of the car than on the floorboard of the truck, and it occurred to me that the floorboard may heat up in those box trucks, although I'm not sure. They do the same thing regardless of if it's a 15-minute trip across town or an 8-hour road trip. I made the trip down here in one but I just had the one dog and he had his Pupsaver carseat in the passenger seat because I did it alone.
I'm just wondering about the legality (I've not been able to find anything) of it and if it's the sort of thing that would cause people to freak TF out and call the police or something. I mentioned above how it used to not be uncommon to transport dogs in airlines crates strapped down to a hitch mount shelf, but only 3 or 4 years ago, there was a viral video going around of someone doing that and the whole internet was freaking out and the vehicle got the cops called on them. I don't recall if they got a ticket or just told to maybe put it in the cab, but regardless, a video of their car going down the road was spread all over FB, Youtube, and everywhere else and people were making threats of harm against them, demanding their dogs be taken away, etc. The whole thing was utterly ridiculous but so many animal people are just whack jobs nowadays.
My dogs always ride in the vehicle with me, where I can keep an eye on them.
Absolutely not in the box truck. Loads shift, plus it can get like an oven in there. Undocumented aliens die of heat when they are transported that way and dogs are much more sensitive to heat than a human is.
I'd be worried about having them in the towed car. You won't know what is going on with them and in a towed car, the air conditioner won't be running.
I would worry about exhaust from the truck getting sucked into the towed car.
This other person, could they drive the car instead of being passenger in the truck?
Legal? Well, it's legal to carry livestock in trailers and legally, dogs are just animals, so it should be legal... except in Florida where it is against the law to leave a dog unattended in a car.
HEAT would concern me they being in the car being Towed so No A/C Even with windows open it be ALL Hot Air. In cab of Truck with a/c that works.... don't assume it will till you test it Before you take it off the lot.
Ok, so I will be moving cross country (24-hour drive not including pit stops) driving a Penske truck and pulling my car on a trailer (whole car on a trailer, not the dolly thing). I will have another person in the cab with me (which was not the original plan). The cab has two seats. I'm not entirely sure how much room I'll have up there for the dogs - the original plan was one dog in the seat and one in the floorboard, or maybe both in the seat if they wanted to snuggle. I think there is a space between the seats where one could ride but not entirely sure. Would it be inappropriate or illegal if the dogs rode in the back seat of my car on the trailer with the windows down about half-way? This is how they normally travel and I feel like that would be much more comfortable for both of them. They could sleep like they normally sleep in the car and the weather will be such that open windows will keep them comfortable temp wise. Is this ok or is this like a Mitt Romney situation? To be honest, I never understood what the big deal was with that - he blocked the wind in the front of the airline crate and it was a long time ago. Dogs ride in crates in the back of pickups and strapped on trailer hitch carriers. Back in the 90's, I knew several people that transported their dogs in airline crates on the hitch mount shelves and no one thought a thing about it. But "fur mommies" weren't too much of a thing back then; most people still had common sense when it came to dogs. Anyway, I digress... I know the dogs would be fine but I have no desire to become internet famous!
Otto, I seem to recall that you currently live in the east - or midwest. You say cross-country. 24 hours of driving - so let's say 1500 miles. Cross country, in my mind, would be more like 2-3k, but whatever.
If you are going across the plains states, the mountain states, or the Pac coast states, anywhere but the cab of the truck you are driving is a bad idea this time of year. Inside the truck cargo area - absolutely no - but I don't think you are considering that.
So, the towed car. Yeah, you've got the windows down in the towed car. Yeah, so the temp in that car should be no worse than inside the truck cab if you don't run the truck AC. So, DON'T run the truck AC. If you feel hot, check the dogs every hour. The heat crossing anywhere from Ohio west can be absolutely deadly. You shouldn't stop for even ten minutes and leave the dogs in the car if it's hot out. And it likely will be. Not even with the windows wide open - and you shouldn't leave the windows wide enough open for the dogs to get out.
Of course, a lot depends on your dogs. With my old hounds, I wouldn't have worried too much - some - but not too much. With my current two? No way. The male definitely suffers in the heat, and I keep a close eye on his activity. I even worry a bit sometimes when they are just riding around running errands with me.
I've driven cross-country plenty of times. Whether you take the northern routes, or the southern, this time of year its gonna be hot hot hot. If you need to put the dogs in the towed car, consider driving at night, and taking your rest break during the heat of the day. AMOF - I don't think I'd want to make it a 2 day affair in your situation. I really might go for 3.
Oh, and if your biggest worry is this becoming a "Mitt Romney" thing, then you really need to consider that you have a serious blind spot.
Yeah, I'm definitely not driving straight through! We'll do it in two days. The dogs will be absolutely fine. I know they will curl up and sleep the whole way. I'm mainly planning for if there isn't enough room for them to be comfortable in the cab. I'm pretty sure they'd both be happier sleeping on the back seat of the car than on the floorboard of the truck, and it occurred to me that the floorboard may heat up in those box trucks, although I'm not sure. They do the same thing regardless of if it's a 15-minute trip across town or an 8-hour road trip. I made the trip down here in one but I just had the one dog and he had his Pupsaver carseat in the passenger seat because I did it alone.
I'm just wondering about the legality (I've not been able to find anything) of it and if it's the sort of thing that would cause people to freak TF out and call the police or something. I mentioned above how it used to not be uncommon to transport dogs in airlines crates strapped down to a hitch mount shelf, but only 3 or 4 years ago, there was a viral video going around of someone doing that and the whole internet was freaking out and the vehicle got the cops called on them. I don't recall if they got a ticket or just told to maybe put it in the cab, but regardless, a video of their car going down the road was spread all over FB, Youtube, and everywhere else and people were making threats of harm against them, demanding their dogs be taken away, etc. The whole thing was utterly ridiculous but so many animal people are just whack jobs nowadays.
I agree with Oregon, if your passenger can drive the car that’s the best way for the dogs to get to their destination. I can just see someone freaking out if they drive alongside you and see the dogs on back of the truck sticking their heads out the half open car window! Then, they may decide to live stream it or take pictures and your dogs could end up on Facebook with five hundred people wanting to form a mob and come after you for mistreating your dogs.
Better to drive them if possible. There is little common sense out there and your perceived mistreated dogs could cause you more trouble than it’s worth.
You'd be irresponsible to put them in the towed vehicle, unless you are driving only at night. Its hot out. And I'm not one to tell other people how to care for their dogs, but this is a no-brainer. They need to be where you can keep an eye on them. I'd put the passenger in the towed vehicle before the dogs. That probably is illegal, or should be, which is a hint about whether you should keep your dogs back there.
Keep your dogs with you in the cab and be prepared for an extra day on the road if things don't go well.
Good luck with your move!
I just finished my latest move two weeks ago. I swear, my multi-state move out here was tons easier than this in-state move.
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