Rivian Mom
Member
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2024
- Messages
- 148
- Reaction score
- 24
- Rivian
- R1S
It's no secret that I'm an avid dog lover and I always love carrying my dogs in my vehicle. I've met a couple of owners who have come up with different ways of carrying their dogs in their vehicle and the recent one I met, was an owner who completely turned the back cargo area of her R1S for dog transport. She said it was mostly due to safety concerns as she came across an article which said that the safest solutions are to use either a crash-tested harness + seat belt, OR a crash-tested crate + straps in the cargo area. Personally I don't fancy using a crate as it akes up too much space. Also, the crash-tested ones seem to be very expensive, and our current dog has never been crated.
I think using the third row seat with a harness + seat belt seems like the best solution. Easier to load in (via back side doors) compared to the very tall rear gate. Leaves some cargo space open (although not as much as when the third row is folded down). She has a seat cover, a couple of foam Orvis seat extenders, and a "waterboy" water bowl that should work just fine back there. Maybe in the future, I could test this out on my own, even tho it's quite expensive.
The dogs are primary passengers for her, as they move around with them everyday. The ability to have the crate and still have enough room for cargo in the front trunk while still having a 2nd row available for human passengers was enough motivation for her to purchase the R1S. Everybody's needs are very different and for her, it's to be able to carry her dogs around with ease and comfort.
I do think that tethering in the 3rd row is going to be a PIA. I seriously considered that for a while after taking delivery of the Rivian but didn't want that hassle on a regular basis. It might be tolerable for infrequent trips with the dog. If you haven't already, I would encourage you to load the dog back there to see for yourself, probably to give you an idea of what it would look like.
Whatever you decide, I would highly encourage you to complete your mission to find some way to secure your dog in the vehicle. The dog on the left in the picture, survived the crash pictured below unscathed as a result of being secured in the Volvo's 2nd row seat with a Sleepypod Clickit Sport harness. If she had not been strapped in, the outcome would likely have been very different for both the dog and one or both of her 2 humans in the front row.
I think using the third row seat with a harness + seat belt seems like the best solution. Easier to load in (via back side doors) compared to the very tall rear gate. Leaves some cargo space open (although not as much as when the third row is folded down). She has a seat cover, a couple of foam Orvis seat extenders, and a "waterboy" water bowl that should work just fine back there. Maybe in the future, I could test this out on my own, even tho it's quite expensive.
The dogs are primary passengers for her, as they move around with them everyday. The ability to have the crate and still have enough room for cargo in the front trunk while still having a 2nd row available for human passengers was enough motivation for her to purchase the R1S. Everybody's needs are very different and for her, it's to be able to carry her dogs around with ease and comfort.
I do think that tethering in the 3rd row is going to be a PIA. I seriously considered that for a while after taking delivery of the Rivian but didn't want that hassle on a regular basis. It might be tolerable for infrequent trips with the dog. If you haven't already, I would encourage you to load the dog back there to see for yourself, probably to give you an idea of what it would look like.
Whatever you decide, I would highly encourage you to complete your mission to find some way to secure your dog in the vehicle. The dog on the left in the picture, survived the crash pictured below unscathed as a result of being secured in the Volvo's 2nd row seat with a Sleepypod Clickit Sport harness. If she had not been strapped in, the outcome would likely have been very different for both the dog and one or both of her 2 humans in the front row.
