There's a space in my roof where the bed panels could slide forward. I found something else to fit there.
Basically it's a collapsible dog kennel for large dogs that fits in this spot PERFECTLY. As we all know, space is a premium in the rig, and if you find an accessory that fits perfectly, it's worth it's weight in gold.
Here's a view of it with the top down from the inside.
It hangs down just a little lower than the bed panels, and things (blanket, towel, etc) can be stuffed in there .
*I have a door on the left which goes to the shower/toilet closet, and the kennel just needs to be pushed on a little to allow the door to open. In my layout, this also helps keep the door from rattling too much on washboards.
It is exactly the same width as the bed panels, as seen in this picture. This should work regardless of your layout.
Also it can be folded up against the front of the PH top if you're not going to 'deploy' it.
This is a picture from the open cargo doors of the kennel stowed.
This is how the folded kennel looks outside of the van.
Kennel fully deployed with my research assistant. He's an 80 lb black lab and we use this kennel at home as well as on the road. He's kennel trained and prefers to sleep in the kennel. While on our trips we can deploy the kennel inside the van (if the bed is layed out) with chew toys and we don't have to worry about him trying to chew any of the cabinets. (he's a young lab, and I'm pretty sure we're beyond that but still...)
Also, we can deploy it at a campsite if he's being a bother and the chain isn't sufficient, or when we were at my parents house we used it inside.
The kennel is a large sized Home 'N Go brand collapsible kennel.
Measures:
42"x28"x31" deployed
42"x28"x~5" folded.
It has two straps which help compress the kennel on either side and a nice carrying handle.
The large kennel weighs about 13 lbs and is more cumbersome than heavy, but not a chore for one person to stow or deploy, once they have the hang of it.
I would say the kennel is sufficient for an aggressive chewer for short periods of time if they haven't been kennel trained. It's definitely sufficient if they have. It's surprisingly durable and well made. You could also put this on top of the penthouse short panel for a small pet penthouse if you needed to.
I have other accessories I've fitted to the van which also FIT PERFECT and I'll start documenting them as a series (workload permitting).
Let me know if you have any questions.
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