Vehicle Risers (Part 1) - Why Build a Riser?

Traveling with dogs often requires bringing along "dog gear." Some activities involve minimal equipment but participation in some sports means you must have quite a bit of additional room in your vehicle to accommodate all of your goodies. Then the trick is how to fit everything you need and transport everyone safely. Many in the agility community build "risers" for the cargo area of their vehicles. This allows one to store the dog gear under a platform and the dogs to travel in crates above. Because of the physical limitations of many vehicles, creativity is sometimes necessary.

In my 1998 Ford Explorer, I designed a 2-part riser that fit my vehicle perfectly. I constructed a series of "dividers" in the rear-most part of the cargo area to accommodate two dogs and had room in the front for one more dog in a large crate or two more dogs in smaller crates. It has worked very well for our needs but my new vehicle is a bit smaller and the existing riser will not fit which meant I had to start over. After traveling with it for several years, I had a list of improvements to make to the next one.

To Build the crating space to fit, a lot of effort would need to be made towards securing the pieces. It is a serious task to take it apart and rebuild it again so one must keep that in mind. I had visions of putting crate "panels" on hinges so they could be folded down and the cargo area used for other activities, but I still have not come up with something that is as secure for my dogs in the event of an accident.

Because I had chosen my vehicle partially based on the dimensions, I knew I could fit two dogs side-by-side in the back and a 3rd dog in front of them, just behind the front seats. I am a space planner by profession, so I have an advantage in this area. However, I think anyone can put a plan together if they can visualize 3-dimensional space. The trick is to provide adequate support for the sides and secure the structure to the vehicle in the event of an accident. I hope to never put our set-up through a "test" but my plan is to anchor the riser as best I can so it won't slip or slide around.

The first step to build a vehicle riser is, of course, to take detailed measurements of your vehicle's cargo area. Locate your cargo hooks or other vehicle parts that you can fasten to your riser to anchor it in place. Where these are located may dictate where you place legs and other connection points. I found spots that were part of the rear seat connection points. My vehicle has the rear seats that partially flip forward and then the backs fold flat. Because I knew the rear seats would not be usable with the riser in place, I decided to remove part of them and give myself additional storage space.

(Part 2 - Making the plans)