Yeti seating - 2 dogs to accomodate

[Mence]

Hi all. I normally post under the Octy section as that is my current trusty steed however as the world moves on so do desires and needs so I am at present info gathering.

I accept I could go to the dealer at the weekend but thought I would throw this open for your comments and real world experiences before I do.

Now then, I have two largish dogs, when you look in the back of the yeti, space is obviously less than the Octy which I fully accept but doesn't the Yeti have remove able seats or something?

Can you remove some but not all of the seats?

What's left, is it an uneven floor space? If it is, can anything be done about it?

Does it have a variable boot floor? If so does that help?

Obviously the hounds need to be safe and comfortable over journeys of an hour or more and I really like the Yeti but am unsure whether it will suit.

Thoughts please, thank you.

[weasley]

Yes, the rear seats can be removed. There are three independent seats, each can be folded, rolled forward or removed independently. The outer two seats are wider and can also be slid fore and aft. When removed you are left with a relatively flat floor, although still a small drop into the passenger footwell. With no spare tyre fitted the boot floor is below bumper height; this is raised if a spare tyre and kit are fitted (with a consequent loss of boot space).

[looby]

 

 

[Paul52]

For what it's worth, I have a large Golden Retriever and she fits comfortably in the back whether sitting up or, as she is prone to do, sprawling out. I'd certainly be happy to have two of her size in the back  or a long journey with the seats in their normal position (and my dogs  are pretty spoilt hence the Jack Russell being too much of  princess to go in the "boot"!) but if you are thinking St Bernards then probably look elsewhere.

 

If you are planning to have one of the custom bootliners, it would be best to decide whether you will usually have the seats fore or aft (depending on who you like the better, your dogs o  passengers) and specify this on your order to get the best fit.

 

As you said, a try out at the local dealer is the best option - it will also let you see how helpful the sales staff are. both those i went to were more than happy for me to put the dogs in.

[Mence]

Weasley, thank you, that's made things a bit clearer, it might just fit the bill.

Been possibly looking at either an Elegance or a L & K with a few bits added.

Looby, I would but the wife would give me a beating followed by a savaging from the dogs as soon as I let them out!

Paul52, sorry buddy, sneaked in there and missed your post. I am fortunate enough to have a good dealer close by so will nip up and see them when time allows.

Thanks again guys.

[Horacecoker]

If you don't go for the spare wheel you will have no need to take the seats out, just fold them down then back and you will have a perfectly flat load space and plenty of room for two dogs. With the spare wheel, even if you take the seats out it won't suit your needs as you finish up with at least a five inch drop from the false floor of the raised boot to the floor of the removed seats. However there may be another option if you really want the spare - just fold the back of the seats once and I think you will then have a fairly flat floor but with a much reduced boot height compared to folding twice with no spare.

 

Hope some of the above makes sense!

[OldBoy]

For what's it worth, my two mid sized half breed huskies (25kgr each) have an easy travel when we take them with us to our parents home every now and then. The round-trip is about 640 kms and we usually do one or two stops for refreshments (both for us and the dogs) in either direction. Most often the male is sitting on his back and is checking out through the windows while the female is usually taking her beauty naps. It's somewhat crowded when both stand on their both feet but they only do that few times, in case they wanna change sides so it doesn't get to be much of a problem or even a nuisance for them. Mind you we keep all back seats in their upstanding normal position and we have the skoda net divider to keep our four legged family members from entering the passengers area. We also have the spare wheel option too which makes it easier for the dogs to climb in plus they are higher so they have easier access to the side and back windows.

All in all its amazing how fresh we all come out of the car after 320kms in each direction. I admit I feared that the boot space would not be adequate for such use in such long trips but now I'm happy that I was proved wrong and stand corrected while enjoying both the car and all family together in every chance we get (including the two four legged ones that is).

Life is what happens while we... make plans!

Edited 10 July, 2014 by OldBoy

[BigHusky]

Hope these photos help. Lost the ginger/white husky this time last year (have a  1 year old rescue white husky bitch now) We have done some long journeys with the dogs, and had no problems, making sure they are kept cool enough having thick winter coats. But our next car may have a larger boot as the wife wants more room for these type of holidays. The main consideration for more than one dog is do they get along? The jack russel pictured is the sister in laws and had to be tied to the side rail as she liked to crawl all over our car once we set off. Thankfully we only looked after her for just 3 weeks while they were in South America. She is a very anti-social dog and was rightly so, fearful of big Blade, who frankly wouldn't give her the time of day. The rear seats are set back as far as possible.

 

 

 

[Mence]

Ok guys, thanks to you all and the wonderful images, things are much clearer now.

I appreciate your time and advice, it has helped a great deal.

M.

[the1bam]

Hi

I started off with the spare wheel, raised floor etc and the dealer fitted dog guard/luggage restraint. I have two golden retrievers which we take to dog shows all over the country. Personally I think there is plenty of room for two large dogs to travel in comfort in the existing floor space in the back of the car, without a cage, but as my older dog travels everywhere sitting up I found his head and upper body a bit obtrusive when under way, and also he looked slightly vulnerable sitting high. The factory dog guard as fitted curves into existing “head space” and restricts it quite markedly with the high floor, so I bought the parts to lower the floor (about £70 from memory, different floor cover and foam insert) This lost me the facility to keep the spare in the boot, but as there are only the two of us now I was happy to take out the middle and left seat and keep them out. This allows me to have the spare on the floor (secured with tie-downs) and you can keep the jack etc within the wheel. We still have plenty of room to carry all the show paraphernalia, a mobile cage and overnight kit etc.
I threw away the guard and went to a small company in Fife and had a custom full length guard fitted with an escape door in the middle.  This I leave in place all the time, and it’s rigid, mainly because I was able to have the dealer fitted (dog guard) fixing points used to secure it all in place, without them the fitter will have more trouble getting secure fixing points, but it could be overcome, eg use the fixing points for the horizontal bars half way up the boot walls. (I had a second guard made  which extends forward into the back seat space to give the dogs more room, but unless you have a LARGE breed, or >3 dogs, I don’t think it’s necessary).
I got a tail gate made at the same time, but to be honest I’m not a great fan of them as we tend to take dogs with us rather than leave them in the car,  however it’s only 10 minutes to fit, otherwise it stays in the garage.

A couple of other thing I’ve found invaluable is to fit factory sun shades on the rear door and boot windows (not the tailgate), this increases security, keeps the sun’s rays out and allows travel with the windows cracked open and cuts down a lot on wind noise, and also fit wind deflectors on the rear door windows, another aid to cut the noise and buffeting down. Any other questions feel free to ask

See pictures (I hope!!)
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Paul52]

Second the1bam on the sunscreens and wind deflectors. I've also fitted both for the same reason - gives the dog some shade and cuts down wind noise with the windows down - but I also have the sunscreen in the rear window. I find the visibility to the rear is still OK, even when reversing at night, which i thought might be a problem. Sunscreens pop in and out in about a minute for all five at the beginning and end of winter.

[Mence]

Ok guys, additional info and pics gratefully received, thank you.

[weasley]

I know you're full to the brim with helpful advice, but here is just a little bit more. Take it... it is, after all, only waffer thin...

Since I had some seats out/stowed today for some junk moving, I took a couple of pictures. The centre seat has been removed (it is a bit of a faff to roll forward and easy to remove, so I did). Both outer seats are rolled forward and held upright by the built-in bungee hooks, that attached to the front seat headrest posts. As you can see, the floor is pretty flat (excuse the kid-induced mess).

Edited 12 July, 2014 by weasley

[Mence]

Thank you Weasley, the images are very helpful.

I didn't get a chance to go to the dealers the other day but am now satisfied that there is enough flexibility in the seating to suit my needs.

Appreciate it.

[adarajames]

I have 2 dogs - collie x / pointer x , both fit nicely in the boot, have raised floor with spare, large crate in there (as can't afford a tailgate guard as yet - anyone sees a cheap second hand one, please shout in my direction?! ) and even though the younger one (pointer cross - slightly smaller than full pointer) likes to lounge and take up loads of room, there is still plenty for both of them, in fact she looks like a puppy again in there the space around her is so big compared to in our previous skoda felicia!

[RedYetiMobile]

Hi

I started off with the spare wheel, raised floor etc and the dealer fitted dog guard/luggage restraint. I have two golden retrievers which we take to dog shows all over the country. Personally I think there is plenty of room for two large dogs to travel in comfort in the existing floor space in the back of the car, without a cage, but as my older dog travels everywhere sitting up I found his head and upper body a bit obtrusive when under way, and also he looked slightly vulnerable sitting high. The factory dog guard as fitted curves into existing “head space” and restricts it quite markedly with the high floor, so I bought the parts to lower the floor (about £70 from memory, different floor cover and foam insert) This lost me the facility to keep the spare in the boot, but as there are only the two of us now I was happy to take out the middle and left seat and keep them out. This allows me to have the spare on the floor (secured with tie-downs) and you can keep the jack etc within the wheel. We still have plenty of room to carry all the show paraphernalia, a mobile cage and overnight kit etc.

I threw away the guard and went to a small company in Fife and had a custom full length guard fitted with an escape door in the middle.  This I leave in place all the time, and it’s rigid, mainly because I was able to have the dealer fitted (dog guard) fixing points used to secure it all in place, without them the fitter will have more trouble getting secure fixing points, but it could be overcome, eg use the fixing points for the horizontal bars half way up the boot walls. (I had a second guard made  which extends forward into the back seat space to give the dogs more room, but unless you have a LARGE breed, or >3 dogs, I don’t think it’s necessary).

I got a tail gate made at the same time, but to be honest I’m not a great fan of them as we tend to take dogs with us rather than leave them in the car,  however it’s only 10 minutes to fit, otherwise it stays in the garage.

A couple of other thing I’ve found invaluable is to fit factory sun shades on the rear door and boot windows (not the tailgate), this increases security, keeps the sun’s rays out and allows travel with the windows cracked open and cuts down a lot on wind noise, and also fit wind deflectors on the rear door windows, another aid to cut the noise and buffeting down. Any other questions feel free to ask

See pictures (I hope!!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi.  I have a Yeti 4x4 and I'm looking to get a tail guard made to contain my dog on hot days while leaving the boot lid open.  Can  you tell me where in Fife you got your tailgaurd made and how much it cost, please?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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