New Dog Truck!

The new dog truck

Fall is just around the corner here in the Mid Atlantic and with the arrival of fall comes the beginning of a new dog sledding season for the Maryland Sled Dog Adventures sled dogs. This year, we have a great line up of dog sledding programs booked in including lots and lots of Girl Scout Programs, many Yappy Hour dog sled rides, several Run What You Brung training programs, and quite a few dog sledding Birthday Parties. New for 2011, we're offering a four day, three night women's only dog sledding adventure based out of our cabin in western Maine. Our Maine Winter Cabin Adventure is limited to just six participants and has several individuals already registered so don't delay if you are interested in registering for this very special dog-based adventure. For information on all of our programs, visit the Tours page of our website or our special Maine Winter Cabin Adventure website.

With Fall just around the corner, Eric and I are beginning to wrap up the summer's "dog projects." The biggest of these projects concerns the dogs' (and our) new transportation, our new dog truck.

The new dog truck is a 2010 5.7L 4WD Toyota Tundra, extra cab, long box (bed) pick up truck. The types of vehicles that mushers use to carry their dogs varies quite a bit based on the total number of dogs they need to carry and in what types of conditions. Some mushers use vans, some use SUVs, some use box trucks, and some use trailers. By far, however, the vast majority of mushers use pick up trucks, either with or without the bed, with dog boxes built on the back. This is the system we are now using.

The new Toyota Tundra dog truck

Until recently, we were using a Ford Expedition (SUV) to carry our five sled dogs. To transport the dogs, Eric built a system of crates in the back of the Expedition. We knew at the time we purchased it, however, that the Expedition was only a short (less than five year) solution since five dogs, plus gear, plus two people was really the limit the Expedition could carry.

As part of the conversion to the a new dog truck, summer project number one was to purchase the truck and then begin construction on the boxes. In searching for the truck, we test drove, researched and evaluated four trucks and many varieties (engine size) of those trucks including Ford 150, Dodge Ram 1500, Chevy Silverado, and the Toyota Tundra. The Toyota Tundra 5.7L won out with the Chevy Silverado a close second. While we did consider a 6.5 foot bed (the standard sized bed for a double/extended cab pick up) we ultimately decided that a long box (8 foot bed) was required and better served the truck's function as a dog truck. The Tundra was purchased from Russel Toyota in Baltimore, Maryland. The purchase went fairly smoothly.

At the end of June we purchased the Tundra. During the month of July, we built an 8-dog box with boxes large enough to double dogs should we ever need to carry up to 16 dogs! The biggest issue with the construction process was that we were under a very tight time line because we really wanted to make it to Eric's family reunion in Maine. We did miss the reunion this year but did make it to Maine, leaving only two days later than anticipated. Eric estimates that the total time spent building the boxes was approximately 250-300 hours (that's a lot of time on top of a full time job all done between July 1st and July 31st). We spent an additional 50-60 hours researching different dog box configurations, drawing up plans, and sourcing and purchasing materials. Most of the materials were not "off the shelf" components from Home Depot/Lowes. Most were specialty items that had to be ordered, purchased, and delivered. We did make several trips to Grainger and Fastenal for various components. The Southco T-Handle marine polished stainless latches were sourced through ebay and shipped from Florida. The metals and plastics came from several different places in Maryland and Delaware. Let's just say, we visited some very industrial Baltimore and Wilmington locations. We also purchased various specialized grinding wheels, drill bits, rivets, riveters, tips for the plasma cutter, and welding supplies.

Double boxing already!

The boxes Eric designed and built are framed in steel, insulated with one inch foam insulation, lined in HDPE (high density poly ethylene) plastic, outfitted with stainless steel hardware including Southco (marine grade) polished stainless T-handle latches, and finished in polished, aluminum diamond plate. The boxes rest on a frame made of welded steel that is bolted to the frame of the truck.

Day 1: Welding the box frame (this is when welding was still fun)

Grinding

Clamping the frame so it can be welded.

Steel box frame with door frames

Another side of the box frame with door frames

All framed up with cross bracing

The bed frame: the boxes rest on this frame which is bolted to the frame of the truck via the bed bolts

Mounting bracket on the box frame: The bracket connects the boxes to the bed frame

Test fitting the box frame to the back of the truck and the bed frame: A two ton hoist was used to put the frame (and the finished boxes) on the truck.

Insulating the bottom of the boxes and cutting and fitting the HDPE that lines the boxes

Dog box lined on four sides with HDPE. The hole in the bottom allows access to the mounting brackets and bolts. The holes were latter plugged with rubber stoppers.

Test fitting diamond plate for doors

Cutting door holes in the sides of the diamond plate with the plasma cutter

Riveting the sides on the dog box. Over the course of the project we used two full boxes of rivets, several different rivet sizes, and three separate riveters including an air driven riveter and the mechanical one you see Eric using in this photo.

Once holes were cut in the diamond plate for the grate and the latch, the edges were smoothed using a grinder and file.

Four doors hung: As you can see, the hinges were originally hung on the back side of the door. Although this gave a cleaner look, it also allowed the doors to gap at the side closest to the hinge. Stay tuned for how we fixed that little problem.

Another photo of the side of the box

Close up of the back side of a door and the expanded aluminum grate

Close up of the Southco T-Handle latches in polished stainless steel

Rubber Southco latch that holds up the door guards. We later added a second rubber Southco latch to each side for extra security.

Cable that holds the door guards in the down position

Re-mounting the doors with the aluminum ribbon hinges on the outside to minimize the gap. While it's not quite as clean looking, we really did not want the box doors leaking (and they don't). This is how we fixed the problem of doors that gapped on the side closest to the hinges.

Painted bed frame: This is the area where we will install the pull out drawer. It's a huge storage space.

Acadia's new dog box

Interior of one of the new dog boxes--the rubber stopper covers the hole used to access the bolts that mount the boxes to the bed frame.

Looking down the side of the truck with the door guards open: We added a second Southco rubber latch for the door guards to better secure the door guards when traveling.

We will finish off the project with a pull out drawer for the bed of the truck that will ride below the dog boxes. This "drawer" will be used to carry gear, the dogs and ours. Ultimately, should we ever need or want to remove the bed of the truck, we could build another course of dog boxes that would allow us to to have a 16 hole (box) truck. At present, we're in the process of adding outriggers for picketing the dogs and a sled rack for carrying our dog sleds. We'll also be designing and building a ramp for loading some of our heavier dogs. We'll continue to use the hitch mounted carrier that Eric designed and built to carry our Fritz Dyck rigs (dog sleds on wheels). (For information on where we purchase our rigs, please visit the resources page of our website). We were pleased to learn last night that the hitch carrier will fit into the new dog truck's hitch without any modifications.

The new dog truck has now been through its "sea trial" phase and just returned from our Up North Summer Adventures. Along the way, we made a couple of changes, adding additional hinges to the door guards to add additional support and running a protective strip of rubber tubing along the back edge of the door guards. We may also add a locking latch to the door guard on each side so that the dogs don't break curfew! We were pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the dogs were riding in their boxes and how cool the dogs were during the long ride to and from Maine. All in all, we are just thrilled with our new dog truck. To see additional photos of the new dog truck, check out our Facebook page.

At the cabin up in Maine

Looking down the side of the truck at the cabin up in Maine. The full HDPE plastic slides are used to keep dust, dirt, and rain from entering the boxes when the truck is parked. A second set of vented slides is available for use to "warm" up the boxes when traveling on particularly cold days.

The dog boxes are finished!

As many of you may know from reading my earlier blog entry, Everything But the Dogs: Mushing Equipment, Eric has been in the process of designing and building integrated dog boxes into our dog truck, which is a Ford Expedition SUV.

With a little chicken jerky the dogs were all happy to load up.

After approximately two weeks of planning and construction and about two hundred dollars later, those boxes are now completely constructed and ready for the dogs' use. Indeed, we took the boxes for a short "sea trial," as dear old Dad would say, yesterday when we took the dogs up to a nice little swimming hole in the Gunpowder River for a refreshing swim in the icy cold water of the river. The boxes passed, although when we returned we did make a tiny adjustment to the latches to make them more secure. The dogs were much calmer riding in the boxes than I expected. Since all of our dogs are crate trained, they all took to the boxes right away (a little chicken jerky didn't hurt none either!). T-Bone and Zoe really seem to enjoy the view they get from their "penthouse" boxes (especially when we pass horses, cows and other farm animals)!

The boxes have now received a coat of epoxy resin on the floors and the wooden thresholds to make them more waterproof. We have ordered a plastic boot tray for one of the five boxes (the center upper) and plastic sheet matting for the other four boxes to further water proof and make the bottoms of the boxes easier to clean if necessary. We have also placed a plastic barrier below the the boxes between the carpet of the truck's floor and the bottom of the dog boxes.

As built, there are five boxes, two over sized bottom boxes and three smaller upper boxes, that will hold five dogs. The boxes' framing is wood with wire shelving material between the boxes. The wiring grating, allows us to see and check on the dogs, lightens the over all weight of the boxes, and allows the rear AC vents to reach the dogs so that we can control their temperature more effectively. Because the boxes are within the confines of our SUV, they should still be plenty warm enough for our thick coated dogs to sleep in during the winter months.

Side view of the dog boxes through the lift gate

Sobo chills out in his box

There were several design goals when we built the boxes: (1) fit them within the truck but make them big enough for the dogs; (2) have them comply with Mush with Pride guidelines for the dimensions a dog box should be; (3) build the boxes as modules so they can be easily removed; (4) keep the weight being added to the truck at a minimum; (5) preserve as much rear window visibility as we could; (5) build well ventilated boxes but with floors that are easy to clean should a pup get sick or have an accident; (6) build dog boxes that are secure; (7) because we use a hitch mounted carrier to carry our rigs, the dog boxes must be able to be loaded from the rear doors and the lift gate which is not able to be raised or lowered with the rig in place on the hitch carrier; and (8) we wanted to still be able to raise and lower our back seat so that we could carry dogs and passengers. Adding insult to injury on this long list of "wants," there isn't a straight line to be had in the back of our Ford Expedition which made designing and building the boxes a lesson in patience and perseverance. Particularly difficult to deal with was the irregularly sloping nature of the ceiling of the truck (it has AC/Heat conduits in it) and the curved exterior edges on the two outer top boxes.

No straight lines! A fishy view (taken with a fish eye lens)

From the inside of the truck with one third of the rear seat up

Another interior view of the boxes (this one is kind of dark)

With a lot of patience, a lot of cutting, a lot of designing, re-designing, and a fair dash of creativity, Eric managed to build boxes that met just about all of our criteria.

Close up of Zoe, an Alaskan Husky

"Unless you have more chicken jerky, I think I'm going to nap," says Okemo

Everything But the Dogs: Mushing Equipment

Anyone who dog sleds or dryland dog sleds with their dogs knows that mushing is a gear intensive sport. There are lines, sleds, harnesses, dog bowls, sled bags, shock absorbers, assorted hardware, rigs, dog sled carriers, rig carriers and trailers, electronic devices, dog trucks, ATVs, snowmobiles, etc. It takes a lot of work to keep all of the equipment used for mushing in good repair and good working order.

Our Fritz Dyck (TOM) Rig

Side shot of our Fritz Dyck TOM

Our custom designed hitch mounted rig carrier

Hitch mounted carrier shown loaded with our Fritz Dyck TOM

Our Fritz Dyck SAM rig

The rack for our dog sled which makes loading the sled a breeze

Four dog picket line

Once on the trail, dog sledding is an adventure shared by the musher and the dogs. In large part, the equipment used once you get out on the trail is the same equipment that has been used by mushers for the past hundred years. Getting to the trail is a different story...

To that end, we are frequently asked, "how do you transport your dogs?" Most mushers use a dog truck to transport their dogs. Dog trucks can range quite a bit. Some are pick up trucks with dog boxes built into the bed. Others are pick up trucks with the beds removed and boxes built where the bed used to be. Yet other mushers use a flat bed truck, with boxes built on the flat bed. Generally speaking, dog trucks can carry anywhere from 2-3 dogs to 20-30+ dogs depending on the truck's configuration and the musher's needs. To see photos of various types of dog trucks, visit the dog truck pages on Sled Dog Central. Dog boxes can be constructed from a variety of materials including fiberglass, wood, and metal. Dog trucks don't even have to be trucks. Some mushers like to use a van with built in boxes.

A full size van with dog boxes and gear

A mini van being used as a dog "truck" with standard dog crates in lieu of boxes

Dog Truck at Mushing Boot Camp

Another musher's dog truck

A small set of four dog boxes on the back of a diesel dually pick up
Double decker dog boxes for carrying 20 plus dogs

A van being used to transport sled dogs

Fiberglass dog boxes on the back of a pick up truck

Close up of wooden dog box door (with nose)

Yet another style of dog box door

Close up of wooden dog box (with dog)

Our dog truck is a Ford Expedition SUV and when our dog boxes are finished, we will have five separate dog boxes (two large and three small) with the option of adding a third box to the lower level. Even with these boxes in place, we will be able to raise and lower our back seat and thus carry (albeit snugly) up to five people.

Our dog truck parked in Corinth, Maine at Mushing Boot Camp

As some of you know, Eric handles most of our dog sledding gear and is our resident Dog Truck Engineer and Dog Truck Mechanic. In addition to his regular full time job as an Associate Professor of Bioresources Engineering at the University of Delaware, Eric enjoys making, fixing and sometimes breaking our dog sledding gear. His current project is designing and building dog boxes for our dog truck. Past projects have included refinishing our wooden dog sled, building a hitch mounted carrier to carry our three and four wheel rigs, installing a new exhaust manifold on the dog truck, installing two new starters on the dog truck within six months of each other (don't purchase starters from Autozone), making gang lines, and making drop lines.

Building the dog boxes within the snug confines of the back of our Expedition has been a tall order. First, the dog boxes need to be modular so they can be removed easily as we do occasionally use the truck to carry other items besides the dogs. Second, the dog boxes need to be relatively light as we do not want to add any more weight than necessary to the back of the truck as it decreases fuel economy and with the hitch carrier in place there is already extra weight on the rear of the truck. Third, the dogs boxes need to be large enough to hold our four dogs but still fit within the confines of our truck. Fourth, there are virtually no straight lines within the back of our truck and that poses a challenge when trying to construct dog boxes to maximize the size of the boxes. Fifth, we would like to maintain some rear window visibility. Sixth, the dog boxes need to be well ventilated yet they need to have floors that are easily cleaned should a pup get sick or have an accident. Sixth, the boxes must be secure. And last but definitely not least, we need to be able to load the dogs into the dog boxes even when the hitch carrier and rig are in place (i.e., the dog boxes need be fully accessible through both the rear doors and the lift gate).

Framing up the dog boxes

To determine what size our boxes should be, we consulted and followed Mush with Pride guidelines for the sizing of dog boxes. After weighing our options, we elected to construct two large boxes on the bottom level that will exceed the Mush with Pride width and depth dimensions and will meet the height requirements. Our upper level of boxes consist of two larger boxes and one smaller center box where our smallest, 35 lb sled dog, T-Bone, will ride. This box will give T-Bone a bird's eye view of the passing scenery including horses, cows, dogs, children in strollers, bicyclists, joggers, etc. all of which T-Bone seems to vastly enjoy barking at. Our top level of boxes are deeper than the guidelines suggest, and, with the exception of the center box, as wide as suggested by the guidelines. The center box is approximately one inch narrower than suggested by the guidelines. The height of all of the boxes meets or exceeds the height suggested in the guidelines.

After drawing up plans and pricing out materials, Eric came up with a design that satisfied the majority of our design requirements, purchased approximately $200 in materials, and has begun work on the construction of the boxes.

Framing for one of the two larger lower boxes

The center box (aka T-Bone's House)

The other dog "truck"