The American Beagler Forum

Ok, I am about to pull the trigger on a Tacoma with a hard cover on the bed of the truck. This cover has a VERY tight seal all the way around it (see picture). Anyhow, if traveling say 3 to 6 hours at a time...Is there any chance of the dogs not getting enough air? What about heat and traveling with them under it in the summertime? My dad has one of the soft covers on his truck but it has plenty of gaps around it and his dog is never under the tarp for more than 30-40 min at a time. I would hate to buy the thing and then take the cover off right away...plus the cover will serve the family well traveling with luggage to and from gymnastics meets.

I dunno kelly i would be leary bout it . Remember Blue Ninja? ....Nice looking piece though V8?

Naw...it has the 4.0 V6 in it....2011 with 13k miles. The Jeep flavor wore off really quick with me for some reason....I tried it and I am ready to not be blown around like a cornflake on the freeway anymore. That, and between the Harley and the Jeep my arm is sore from waving. Some people are die-hard Jeep fans but they obviously don't go too far from home.

I am thinking the cover probably isn't the best idea for hauling dogs around though, was looking for anyone who is doing it and still has all their beagles to prove it.....It does have a 110v outlet in the bed so you could probably design some sort of air rotation fan but then it isn't waterproof anymore.

Jeeps are for 4 wheeling and crawling rocks and chicks.Out on everyday commute. Thats a nice looking piece toyota makes a nice truck with decent resale, you would be proud of me i been drining a hemi 300c plate in color with a 8 speed tranny getting bout 25 mpg. Was driving a srt hemi short bed truck but after a few beams and severley long burnouts figured i better get out of it.

Those hard covers make the inside of the bed hot as hell! I went with a guy to a hunt one time and we had to leave the tail gate down and the dogs still got hot. In the winter the heat thing wouldnt be a issue but I would probably still leave the tail gate down for air. Since that one is white it might not be as bad. The one I had the experience with was dark green. Most of them hard tops come off and on pretty easy though.

Just my opinion ,but i would not haul dogs under that hard cap.

After the overwhelming pm's basically saying "DON'T DO IT!!!"....well, I am moving off the Toyota. Wife thinks I am nuts for picking a vehicle to suit my beagling needs....I say I am just fine.

Went nosing around other lots at lunchtime and found a 2008 GMC Denali with the 6.2 V8 in it and LOADED to the hilt. Funny, the fuel mileage comparison from the Toyota to the Denali is not that far off. I think the Toyota claimed 16-20 and the Denali claims 12-18. The GMC is less money and has everything except a butt wiper onboard. Hmmm....wife says pick something and get it overwith cause she is tired of hearing about it.

Here is the GMC...What do you guys know about the 6.2L?

Those rims are to shiny, I'd be afraid to go off the beaten and get a scratch on that perty truck.

I work with one of those hard tops. I constructed an insert for the back,(leave tailgate down) when transporting my hounds. I found an old aluminum frame from a sliding glass door and made the gate from it. It has a smaller gate in it to allow dogs access. I put dead bolt slide latches in it to lock into tailgate and love it.

I know gmc historically has one of the absolute worst reliability ratings in the nation. Toyota on the other hand has one of the best. Enough said.

Kelly my wifes denali has a 6.2 its actually one of the nicest rides i have ever saddled. To me i always ck the rear of a deal as far as resale, without a doubt gmc wins the battle and pretty much the war. But i am a gm man.

I was floored when I pulled up the trade on my 2007 jeep....hot dang I am not upside down. The dang thing is worth more than my wife's 2011 Camry with the TRD package.

The car lots I have checked are slobbering at the mouth to get ahold of my jeep but I just gotta find the "one". Don't think she has visited my table yet, thus the search continues.

I am fearful of driving the Denali cause I know I will want it (for the beagles of course)....never had so many gadgets to fiddle with except when I ride in Dugans truck.

I have a Toyota Tundra with a hard cover on it and I use it from time to time to haul the dogs in winter and summer with no problem but in the summer months I leave the tailgate down for air. I have hauled my dogs in there for as long as 4 hours in hot weather and they were ok and my truck and cover is black.

If I had to pick between the GMC and Toyota I would go with the Toyota! Its a much better built truck than the GMC and the one your looking at is a much sharper looking truck compared to the GMC.. I would push a Ford or Toyota before I bought a GM product!

My 96 GMC has over 450,000 on it and I drive it everyday.
It is still sharp looking as folks want to buy it all the time.