# Golden Element



## TheHooch (May 9, 2007)

Man that is a nice setup. Love the back window!!!!


----------



## moverking (Feb 26, 2007)

Verrry nice....call me first when you sell :
I know you said it before but where did you get the back window pic done?


----------



## Seamus' Mom (Feb 23, 2008)

That back window is awesome!!!

By the way, I also got my Honda at Mahwah Honda...but I have the CR-V.

If I see you on the road (you'd be hard to miss with that back window art), I'll honk and wave. :wavey: You'll know it's me if it's a CR-V with a sticker on the back featuring the profile of a golden.


----------



## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

Looks like a great set up you have there.


----------



## TiffanyK (Mar 3, 2008)

That is SOOOOOO slick!!!!! Thanks for sharing the photos.

Tiffany


----------



## HovawartMom (Aug 10, 2006)

cool setup!!


----------



## Celeigh (Nov 29, 2007)

I love it! Nice job!


----------



## timm (Jan 7, 2007)

awesome setup


----------



## Gold Elyse (Jan 6, 2008)

Great setup you got there! Love the back window!!


----------



## Gold Elyse (Jan 6, 2008)

Great setup you got there! Love the back window!


----------



## Gold Elyse (Jan 6, 2008)

Sorry posted twice!


----------



## Goldendogx2 (Sep 2, 2007)

What size are your crates? Do they take up the depth of the back? or is there room to store gates, jumps etc to training locations?

Where DID you get that back photo art?


----------



## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

That is wonderful! I wish the back of my Vue were more square. I could then fit two crates in and do the same. I like that you can take one dog out at a time and know that the other is still safe. I so want the best for my two when transporting. I think the crates would make my life so much easier.


----------



## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

waaaay cool! 
My RAV is much smaller, your setup has inpsired me to squeeze out more storage space....
Do you bungee cord the crates to one another?


----------



## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

moverking said:


> Verrry nice....call me first when you sell :
> I know you said it before but where did you get the back window pic done?


Thanks!
www.glasscapes.com


----------



## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

Goldendogx2 said:


> What size are your crates? Do they take up the depth of the back? or is there room to store gates, jumps etc to training locations?
> 
> Where DID you get that back photo art?


 
The crates are 23w x27h x36l
There is about 19 inches of space between the front seats and the rear of the crates for storage. I had a third crate custom built to fit (19x27x30) that I throw in if I need to take three dogs. I also store my soft sided crates on top of the crates and secure with a bungie. And of course I have the space under the crates for storage. 

the window art is from www.glasscapes.com


----------



## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

LibertyME said:


> waaaay cool!
> My RAV is much smaller, your setup has inpsired me to squeeze out more storage space....
> Do you bungee cord the crates to one another?


No. My platform sits on the floor and my crates are on top of that. I then have a nylon strapping cumberlong that is secured to the Element's floor goes over the crates - catty-corner - and reattaches to the floor on the other side. I use two, this way nothing shifts if I should stop short or have an accident.


----------



## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

Seamus' Mom said:


> That back window is awesome!!!
> 
> By the way, I also got my Honda at Mahwah Honda...but I have the CR-V.
> 
> If I see you on the road (you'd be hard to miss with that back window art), I'll honk and wave. :wavey: You'll know it's me if it's a CR-V with a sticker on the back featuring the profile of a golden.


Thanks!! Look forward to "hearing" from you.:wavey:
I see you live in the Hudson Valley of New York. Are you by chance going to the Hudson Valley Golden Retriever Club Specialty later this month?


----------



## Seamus' Mom (Feb 23, 2008)

AmbikaGR said:


> Thanks!! Look forward to "hearing" from you.:wavey:
> I see you live in the Hudson Valley of New York. Are you by chance going to the Hudson Valley Golden Retriever Club Specialty later this month?


Actually, it was your daughter that reminded me about that show. If I can, I may stop by on Saturday to check it out . I'm not sure if "Jersey" is doing Agility or Obedience. I'd love to see him in action, but I think the Agility is during the week. Will you be there as well?


----------



## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

Who did you have custom build your crates? This might be my solution!


----------



## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

Seamus' Mom said:


> Actually, it was your daughter that reminded me about that show. If I can, I may stop by on Saturday to check it out . I'm not sure if "Jersey" is doing Agility or Obedience. I'd love to see him in action, but I think the Agility is during the week. Will you be there as well?


Yes I will be there with Julie on Saturday. Just doing obedience this year with Jersey's mom and his grandma will make her DEBUT in rally. Jersey is also just entered in obedience on Saturday.


----------



## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

Kimm said:


> Who did you have custom build your crates? This might be my solution!


Only the third crate behind the front seats is custom built. The two facing out back ar stock size.


----------



## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

AmbikaGR said:


> Only the third crate behind the front seats is custom built. The two facing out back ar stock size.


Due to the size of my car and still needing the backseats, I would love to have someone custom build me something for the back. I just don't know where to look for someone would could do this.


----------



## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

Kimm said:


> Due to the size of my car and still needing the backseats, I would love to have someone custom build me something for the back. I just don't know where to look for someone would could do this.


This is who I found and used,
http://www.cageworks.com/

The price was steep, a little over $200 including shipping, and tha quality is not as good as the stock crates in my opinion. But it was worth it to get a third crate, used only occasionally, in the Element. I would not hesitate to do it again if needed.


----------



## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

Love it, great setup







 



 It's a Girl, *Cheyenne Opal










*


----------



## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

Thank you!


----------



## GardenPaws (Nov 28, 2007)

GardenPaws here..... you were kind enough to post those great pics for me and I'm just now getting back to you. But it looks like folks here really enjoyed your setup and it got the wheels to turning on tricking out our vehicles for our golden kids. We shopped more yesterday and looked at the new Subaru Forester. NICE car, but not very big. We had thought that the TOYOTA RAV4 was out of our price range but checked it out anyway. I LOVED it and the base model is nicely equipped at about the same price as the Honda ELEMENT. We were totally set on the Element until yesterday. I'm quite certain we could do what you did with the Element with the Rav4 if we get those Midwest SUV crates that are 21wx 26hx 36l. Or we may just get a Ultimate Pet Liner from cargoliner. com, not as safe but Fire and Flame (AKA The Bad Boys:FIREdevil) need to have windows. We keep our vehicles forever and this will be my car so I just wanted something with a little more versatility for passengers. Mileage seems a bit better on the Rav4 too. Since gas hit $3.25 a gal. yesterday I think that's going to become more important.
Thanks so much for showing me your setup. And good luck at the trial!:wavey:


----------



## LOVEisGOLDEN (Jan 4, 2008)

GardenPaws said:


> GardenPaws here..... you were kind enough to post those great pics for me and I'm just now getting back to you. But it looks like folks here really enjoyed your setup and it got the wheels to turning on tricking out our vehicles for our golden kids. We shopped more yesterday and looked at the new Subaru Forester. NICE car, but not very big. We had thought that the TOYOTA RAV4 was out of our price range but checked it out anyway. I LOVED it and the base model is nicely equipped at about the same price as the Honda ELEMENT. We were totally set on the Element until yesterday. I'm quite certain we could do what you did with the Element with the Rav4 if we get those Midwest SUV crates that are 21wx 26hx 36l. Or we may just get a Ultimate Pet Liner from cargoliner. com, not as safe but Fire and Flame (AKA The Bad Boys:FIREdevil) need to have windows. We keep our vehicles forever and this will be my car so I just wanted something with a little more versatility for passengers. Mileage seems a bit better on the Rav4 too. Since gas hit $3.25 a gal. yesterday I think that's going to become more important.
> Thanks so much for showing me your setup. And good luck at the trial!:wavey:


We took my friends Rav4 to the last llama show in the fall. It is so nice, I love that it sits lower than my Explorer & the cargo space is amazing. We had an issue with my herdsire being a butt in the trailer so we swapped him with our tack & let him ride in the car. He is over 400 pounds & was perfectly comfortable. She has one of those Ultimate liners & we took the barred pet barrier out of my car, even with his weight & sharp nails the liner still looks great. When I finally decide my car has had it-I will definitely be looking at the Rav4, it is very nice!


----------



## EddieME (Nov 25, 2007)

LOVEisGOLDEN said:


> We took my friends Rav4 to the last llama show in the fall. It is so nice, I love that it sits lower than my Explorer & the cargo space is amazing. We had an issue with my herdsire being a butt in the trailer so we swapped him with our tack & let him ride in the car. He is over 400 pounds & was perfectly comfortable. She has one of those Ultimate liners & we took the barred pet barrier out of my car, even with his weight & sharp nails the liner still looks great. When I finally decide my car has had it-I will definitely be looking at the Rav4, it is very nice!


Ha Ha - you had a 400lb llama in the backseat of a Rav4? That would be a great Honda Ad!


----------



## GardenPaws (Nov 28, 2007)

EddieME said:


> Ha Ha - you had a 400lb llama in the backseat of a Rav4? That would be a great Ad!


I was thinking the same thing!!


----------



## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

I have another question. I was looking at the side by side crates and they are only 21 inches wide. Can a Golden turn around with only 21 inches of space? I think Tucker may be able to, but Shadow is very, very long. Hmmm...


----------



## LOVEisGOLDEN (Jan 4, 2008)

EddieME said:


> Ha Ha - you had a 400lb llama in the backseat of a Rav4? That would be a great Honda Ad!


Llamas naturally "kush" (lay down) when they travel, they just step or jump in & settle down for the ride! I have also taken one of my 300 pound females on an emergency run to the vet in the back seat of my moms Taurus! 'Bitta Honey, kept trying to stick her head out the window-talk about making a scene! Many trailers you see traveling on the interstates that appear to be empty are actually carrying llamas or alpacas, wait for them to stop-you just might see some long ears pop up!


----------



## GardenPaws (Nov 28, 2007)

Kimm said:


> I have another question. I was looking at the side by side crates and they are only 21 inches wide. Can a Golden turn around with only 21 inches of space? I think Tucker may be able to, but Shadow is very, very long. Hmmm...


We we're checking out Fire in the 23w x 35L x27h and we felt it might be a bit tougher to turn around but not impossible. Are boys wouldn't be in them for long drives, that might be really cramped if Tucker is a big boy,
Fire is long and tall and thin but he's going to be a big boy when he's full grown (85 - 90lbs. my best guess) Check out http://www.cargoliner.com/products.php?did=10001

I think this is what we'll do instead of crates. I think this is what the llama was on that was really durable.


----------



## GardenPaws (Nov 28, 2007)

GardenPaws said:


> that might be really cramped if Tucker is a big boy,
> http://www.cargoliner.com/products.php?did=10001


Sorry, I mean Shadow


----------



## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

Kimm said:


> I have another question. I was looking at the side by side crates and they are only 21 inches wide. Can a Golden turn around with only 21 inches of space? I think Tucker may be able to, but Shadow is very, very long. Hmmm...


This is one of the reasons my crates are elevated. It lifts the crates over the indentations on the sides of the cargo area and you pick up over 6 inches or so of width, thus I can fit two 23 inch crates side by side.


----------



## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

AmbikaGR said:


> This is one of the reasons my crates are elevated. It lifts the crates over the indentations on the sides of the cargo area and you pick up over 6 inches or so of width, thus I can fit two 23 inch crates side by side.


Ah, I see. I can't lift the crates higher. They wouldn't have enough head room. I'll have to get the tape measure out. I swear Shadow is 36 inches long...LOL He's very tall, too.


----------



## arcane (Sep 18, 2007)

beautiful window design!!!! I love it


----------



## GoldenBoys (Apr 23, 2005)

Hank, that's a great set up! How did you do the tailgate? My Adam slips and slides jumping out of the back of my E. He's already scratched it up. 

Are you a member of the EOC forum?


----------



## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

GoldenBoys said:


> Hank, that's a great set up! How did you do the tailgate? My Adam slips and slides jumping out of the back of my E. He's already scratched it up.
> 
> Are you a member of the EOC forum?


Good to see you...:wave:


----------



## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

GoldenBoys said:


> Hank, that's a great set up! How did you do the tailgate? My Adam slips and slides jumping out of the back of my E. He's already scratched it up.
> 
> Are you a member of the EOC forum?


Yes I am a member of the EOC forum, but now that I have added most of the modifications to the E, I do not frequent there often - although yesterday I was able to download a Tangerine E to my Garmin GPS from someone that posted there. 
As for the tailgate I went to a boat supply store for a 3M product that is used on boats to prevent slipping. It goes on easy, peel off back, and has held up so far very nicely. If memory is correct it cost me a little over $50. If you look at the photo of the tailgate closely you can see three strips on the main tailgat and one on the flap that cover the hinge area. My girls were very unsure of getting in and out of the crates due to how slippery it was.


----------



## GoldenBoys (Apr 23, 2005)

Ahh, well I have only had my E about a month, so the only mod I have done is newbie grill guard. LOL. I bought the mirrors to be faux foglights but one of them fell off.  So I need to find some super sticky adhesive to stick it back on.

I may have to look into that 3M stuff. Adam can jump in fine, but jumping out sounds terrible with all the scritch-scratch!


----------



## GoldenBoys (Apr 23, 2005)

Kimm said:


> Good to see you...:wave:


Hi Kimm!! How have you been?


----------



## jcasks (Oct 14, 2007)

Very nice set up!!


----------



## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

Here is the set up I'd love to have, or something like it!


----------



## jennifer_rachel_2004 (Jul 7, 2008)

OMG Hank, I love that set up. I wish we had that in the back of my SUV. I love the back window. Where did you have that done at?


----------



## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

jennifer_rachel_2004 said:


> OMG Hank, I love that set up. I wish we had that in the back of my SUV. I love the back window. Where did you have that done at?


 
Thanks!
www.glasscapes.com


----------



## Bogey's Mom (Dec 23, 2008)

That is ridiculously awesome.

Someone should really start a business of outfitting cars for dogs. I would pay for it!


----------



## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

Bogey's Mom said:


> That is ridiculously awesome.
> 
> Someone should really start a business of outfitting cars for dogs. I would pay for it!


Might be worth the trip to New Jersey! Hank, do you need another job?


----------



## LucyD (Nov 20, 2008)

All I can say is WOW!!!!!!!! I wish I can do that with my Honda Civic (that'll never happen) =( Great pictures.


----------



## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

Hank, 

Can you go to the other thread and tell members how wide your crates are?


----------

