Rav 4 Dog Guard

[DebbieW]

I have just exchanged my 7 year old Rav 4 XT4 for a 2006 Rav 4 T180. I am very pleased with it (except the fact that 2 hours after I picked it up on Christmas eve someone reversed into the front of it caving in the bumper while I was parked in town!)

I was wondering if someone could help me by recommending a dog guard. I like the look of the full height toyota one but would like to know where is the best place to buy from?

Or if someone thinks they can suggest a better one? I have a 9 month old doberman puppy who is great in the car, but HUGE! So looking for a good fit one thats pretty strong.

Many thanks and Merry Christmas all

[MarsKy]

Right - I have 332 posts, so waaaay behind Guru Kev. Need to post more.

So...

There are quite a few dog guards on eBay just now, for example:

Dog Guard 1

Dog Guard 2

I have the full sized dog guard from Toyota for my T180. It's all metal, even the mesh bit. I have a 3 year old long haired German Shepherd, but he's too muddy to go in the back, so I use the guard with bungee chords to restrain whatever's in the back. The dog travels in the back of my dad's 2010 Honda CRV instead

Toyota also do a half size (top half). This was initially fitted wrongly after I ordered the guard. It's not bad - but if you're dog is prone to chewing leather seats or you have the back seats down, then going full size is best.

What might not be apparent from the first dog guard (which is upside down in the photo) is that the two thickish bits at the top of the photo (which would be at the base when in use) screw into two separate plastic bits which are stuck to the base of the RAV behind the seats. I don't see these advertised in the first dog guard advert. They're not essential, but you're guard would swing slightly without them (maybe the dog would get its head/ paws trapped under it?)

Edit: the seller says as much. At the price, it's worth seeing if you can get the parts from Toyota. But even if you can't, it's just two strips of plastic, with bolt hole drilled through each and heavy duty tape to fix them. You could make it up yourself.

The two arms at the bottom fit into the built-in recess in the top of the RAV's ceiling. They are spring mounted. Mine were already fitted for me; but I'm darned if I know how they did it, as trying to undo them doesn't happen for me, as they don't spring back far enough. Might need some twisting at angles to get them fitted/ unfitted (it was -10'C when I tried, so didn't persist).

There are other general dog guards available and considerably cheaper than the Toyota ones.

Edit 2: There have been problems with 2006 T180s posted on this forum (coolant and gaskets). You should check with your dealer that yours has been rectified.

[three5]

I have just exchanged my 7 year old Rav 4 XT4 for a 2006 Rav 4 T180. I am very pleased with it (except the fact that 2 hours after I picked it up on Christmas eve someone reversed into the front of it caving in the bumper while I was parked in town!)

I was wondering if someone could help me by recommending a dog guard. I like the look of the full height toyota one but would like to know where is the best place to buy from?

Or if someone thinks they can suggest a better one? I have a 9 month old doberman puppy who is great in the car, but HUGE! So looking for a good fit one thats pretty strong.

Many thanks and Merry Christmas all

Hi Debbie, and welcome to TOC! One of our members is called Parts King and he will no doubt give you a good discount on a genuine Toyota one. Send him a PM ( Private Message ) and tell him what you want - he will email you a quote. It is worth doing a search on this forum as the issue has been raised previously if I remember correctly ( not guaranteed!!! ). What sort of liner are you using in the boot? My brother had a Labrador and a RAV4 and he fitted a protector strip on the rear bumper to avoid paintwork damage as the dog got in and out. It came from a company called Richard Grant Mouldings in Leighton Buzzard and cost less than £50 all in.

[Panders]

Hi Debbie and welcome

I took the rear seats out of my 3dr and got a boot liner and car guard from this company

http://www.formula4.co.uk

The guard is not secured any way other than by pressure so I guess its suitability will depend how the god behaves in the car.

They seem to have some items on sale at the moment so not a huge outlay!

Pamela

[Big Kev]

Hi Debbie and welcome

I took the rear seats out of my 3dr and got a boot liner and car guard from this company

http://www.formula4.co.uk

The guard is not secured any way other than by pressure so I guess its suitability will depend how the god behaves in the car.

They seem to have some items on sale at the moment so not a huge outlay!

Pamela

Classic Pamela....one presumes you mean how the dog behaves in the car.....?

Big Kev.

[Big Kev]

I have just exchanged my 7 year old Rav 4 XT4 for a 2006 Rav 4 T180. I am very pleased with it (except the fact that 2 hours after I picked it up on Christmas eve someone reversed into the front of it caving in the bumper while I was parked in town!)

I was wondering if someone could help me by recommending a dog guard. I like the look of the full height toyota one but would like to know where is the best place to buy from?

Or if someone thinks they can suggest a better one? I have a 9 month old doberman puppy who is great in the car, but HUGE! So looking for a good fit one thats pretty strong.

Many thanks and Merry Christmas all

Also look on eBay, Debbie....230543833104 (Black) and also 380283376762 (Silver) for anti-scratch gadgetry for bumped bumper? Would also like to assure you that Marsky herewith is NOT restraining his dug with the bungie chords

Fastest returning retriever in the world, eh?

Warm welcomnity,

Big Kev

[Panders]

[

Classic Pamela....one presumes you mean how the dog behaves in the car.....?

Big Kev.

Haha, I suspect he thinks he is God judging by the RAV4 being the most expensive dog accessory acquired for him...but yes of course it was dog I meant!!!

[bothwell_buyer]

I'm confused. I thought trailers were built to carry livestock :wacko:

[DebbieW]

Chris,

Many thanks for this, can you let me know how to get in touch with parts king? I have tried searching the members list but couldnt find him.

I have already been looking on eBay for the bumper protectors as with a large flat ledge like that its only a matter of time before the dog scratches it.

Many thanks Debbie

[three5]

Chris,

Many thanks for this, can you let me know how to get in touch with parts king? I have tried searching the members list but couldnt find him.

I have already been looking on ebay for the bumper protectors as with a large flat ledge like that its only a matter of time before the dog scratches it.

Many thanks Debbie

Morning Debbie,

Parts-King can be contacted by using the Personal Message option in his "profile". see Parts-King

The bumper guard is almost a necessity if you want to keep the RAV rear bumper looking anything like. Toyota ( according to Parts-King who will know if anyone does ) don't do a "tough protective film coating" for my model so you really have to look at other options.

I think it was either Boilerman or DaveM ( apologies if I have this wrong fellas ) who came up with a 3M's product ( Google "3m ventureshield protective film" )that is used to protect helicopter rotor blades in desert operations. My brother had this fitted to his latest motor and his god ( a brown Labrador ) causes it no problems or damage at all. Apparently not all our members have not come across the Agnostic, Dyslexic, Insomniac......... ;)

The other option is the sort of moulding that I described in my previous post. This is likely to be less expensive than the film and works very well. See attached photo.

[MarsKy]

For the T180 there was an optional protection pack, which includes a moulded plastic cover for the rear bumper.

There appears to be the rear bumper protector on ebay: Bumper Protection Plate

They also seem to do a boot liner too: Boot Liner

And the full sized dog guard: Full Sized Dog Guard

The OEM stuff are all very robust.

[Chud]

FYI for people around the Dorset area I'm selling a 2nd hand full height 4.2 Toyota dog guard on eBay - item number 190485440495