Great Dane + Freelander

Hi,
before I get too far on - I AM NOT A BOY RACER!

Does anyone have any constructive ideas on how I can lower the boot access on my Freelander?

I have a Great Dane who is getting on a bit and has recently had a couple of operations which have meant he can't get in the car like he used too and I literally have to lift his back legs up to get him in.

He is nearly 15 stone...

I have tried a 'dog ramp' and when he's not terrified of it, it bends and really isn't a viable option.

I have concidered lowering springs (A swear word around here, I know!) but they only seem to lower by 30mm, which is nothing.

He only goes in the car maybe once or twice a month and I can't afford to get rid of the car as it's worth more to me than I'd get for it and apart from this issue, has served us well.

Any ideas will be much appreciated.

Don't forget that what ever I get him in with, I need to get him out with at the other end, so if it's an addition to the vehicle, it needs to be easy to transport in addition to the dog.

Many thanks.

Make a better ramp. There is no practical way to lower the car enough to be useful without serious fabrication work to fit hydraulic or pneumatic suspension.
Or change the car.
Or change the dog.

Yes build a stronger ramp, lowering it will be a lot of work! the dog ramps I've seen tend to be fairly flimsy really, when I consider the size of my Labrador on them too, there is plenty of space for improvement on them.

don't know if they can be done to freelanders, Try air suspensions maybe? or a stronger ramp

My dad had a classic range rover, we had a 11 year old greyhound who was bad on his legs.
So my dad would put to different size pouffes. ( Think he made the larger of the two himself) by the back of the classic so the dog could climb up like royalty and get out like royalty.
He even trained the dog to use it in the house before he got to put him in and out the classic with him.
Yet when my mum broke her foot he would let her struggle into the classic!
Yep, god rest his soul, he loved that dog

If you tell me what you're after, i may be able to make something up for you in terms of a stronger ramp, forum rates obviously!

Not sure how comfortable it would be for the dog but how about one of those manual/electric winches you see some people using to their wheel chair in the rear of the vehicle. They swing out when needed and back when not .

how about putting a towbar on it, but not fitting the ball. (the landie, not the dog )
Then make a step that uses the 2 towbar bolts?

Pfft you're lucky your dog used to jump in. Ive got a lifted 90 and still have to lift my 35kg dog in myself cos the lazy fecker won't jump up; and I know he can jump that high cos I've seen him

Get a better ramp made of aluminium. You could get a telescopic one made that slides open to full length to make it less steep for the dog to climb but packs away small enough. Perhaps modify a telescopic step ladder.

search taxi ramps they slide out doubling in size with the death of the black cab bet there are loads knocking around.

A ramp with sides might help as it would make the dog less nervous of falling i would have thought.

thought it was mine! said:

search taxi ramps they slide out doubling in size with the death of the black cab bet there are loads knocking around.

Click to expand...

Death of the Black Cab???

Teach him to walk on the ramp while it's on the ground and then gradually raise it a bit. That way he won't be so spooked by it. Put him on a diet so he doesn't have so much weight to carry around

I reckon the little fella just doesn't like the idea of getting into a gaylander

Black Rat JBJ said:

Hi,
before I get too far on - I AM NOT A BOY RACER!

Does anyone have any constructive ideas on how I can lower the boot access on my Freelander?

I have a Great Dane who is getting on a bit and has recently had a couple of operations which have meant he can't get in the car like he used too and I literally have to lift his back legs up to get him in.

He is nearly 15 stone...

I have tried a 'dog ramp' and when he's not terrified of it, it bends and really isn't a viable option.

I have concidered lowering springs (A swear word around here, I know!) but they only seem to lower by 30mm, which is nothing.

He only goes in the car maybe once or twice a month and I can't afford to get rid of the car as it's worth more to me than I'd get for it and apart from this issue, has served us well.

Any ideas will be much appreciated.

Don't forget that what ever I get him in with, I need to get him out with at the other end, so if it's an addition to the vehicle, it needs to be easy to transport in addition to the dog.

Many thanks.

Click to expand...

Why exactly do you need to put the dog in your vehicle subsequent to its obviously debilitating ops? Is it for the dog's benefit...or because that is what you've always done and as such haven't come to terms with a change in the ritual.
Forgive me m'friend, but I'm wondering who's truly the more needy here...you, or your faithful 'ole buddy?

Black Rat JBJ said:

Hi,
before I get too far on - I AM NOT A BOY RACER!

Does anyone have any constructive ideas on how I can lower the boot access on my Freelander?

I have a Great Dane who is getting on a bit and has recently had a couple of operations which have meant he can't get in the car like he used too and I literally have to lift his back legs up to get him in.

He is nearly 15 stone...

I have tried a 'dog ramp' and when he's not terrified of it, it bends and really isn't a viable option.

I have concidered lowering springs (A swear word around here, I know!) but they only seem to lower by 30mm, which is nothing.

He only goes in the car maybe once or twice a month and I can't afford to get rid of the car as it's worth more to me than I'd get for it and apart from this issue, has served us well.

Any ideas will be much appreciated.

Don't forget that what ever I get him in with, I need to get him out with at the other end, so if it's an addition to the vehicle, it needs to be easy to transport in addition to the dog.

Many thanks.

Click to expand...

Hi.

How about these ideas:

Options 1

I've seen a wheelchair hoist fitted in a Freelander on this very forum.
See link: http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/wheelchair-hoist-td4-186296.html

I would like this myself (for me, not a pooch), but never got around to it. It's a great idea and can lift very heavy powered external use wheelchair that are physically impossible to lift up by one person into a car, so definitely could lift a 15 stone Great Dane.

With some work you could adapt a wheelchair hoist (naturally you can't 'strap a dog up like a wheelchair as it would likely cause injury). Instead, you could maybe have a system that the straps connect to piece of material as a floor (aluminium?) for the animal to sit/stand on so it doesn't bend (stores on the boot floor when not in use) and the dog is literally lifted up like a pallet on a winch in a warehouse. Naturally this won't work alone as the dog could fall off and get hurt so you'd need sides........So.....

With further work, you could turn this temporary 'floor' into a box, (3 sides that fold up and lock in place). Meaning the finished look would be a pseudo box the dog is placed into with no front panel (dog enters into from front), and then winched into position in the back of the vehicle.

The advantage of a hoist is once everything is strapped in safely on the floor, you can stand to the side (With a wired remote control) and the package (wheelchair/dog) can be hoisted in and positioned without it bumping into your legs or risking injury.

Option 2:

This isn't contained in the vehicle and the system looks American, but appears to slot into a custom tow bar fitting. You could manually lump a ramp onto the tow bar in the driveway, dog jumps in, close the tail gate door, fold ramp up and drive off to your destination. Probably much easier to fit, but naturally a bit of an eye sore (when driving) and you'd need a tow bar fitted.

Option 1 is pretty custom, more expensive but a smoother look. Also doesn't require physical effort from yourself.

Option 2 is far easier to fit, requires no real skills to fit, likely cheaper but requires physical effort to fold ramp up and down.
Link to American product is here: http://www.marcsmobility.com/wheelchair-carrier-manual-ramp.html

Hope that helps a little bit.