Pacer

Got my RDX (Black/Black Tech) on Saturday; in a word, it's AWESOME. I have a serious case of the dogs, so I ordered the rear cargo liner which looks like it'll be great for those times when Teddy, Punky, Wally and Hanna will also enjoy the RDX. But I'd also like to protect the uppers of the interior rear doors from claws, greetings to other dogs, etc. I don't think anyone makes a "top of rear door protector" so it looks like I'll have to roll my own.

I know we have some ingenious folks to draw from here, so please speak up if you have a way to improve on this: what I'm thinking is I'll source some durable vinyl/nlyon material (mat material I guess), and trim to fit the rear doors where they meet the folded-down seat. And then somehow find and attach a set of "lips" that can simply slide into the window sill channels as they anchor the protectors...so the whole thing will drape over those rear doors.

I'd like to make this an open-source project; I figure there have to be a few other dog owners among us here who can benefit as well. So dog person or not, if you have any ideas on improving this design/materials, or where to find the right materials, chime in! I'll post step-by-step pix when I'm done. Thanks.

Tripp11

Congrats!!!

Hope you enjoy every mile driven and it gives you great joy when driven!!

Would love to hear how you solve the rear doors/dog issue as we have an Airedale Terrier arriving, hopefully, in May/June of this year.

Pacer

Thanks, 130 miles or so, and thus far that is indeed the case! I will post back after I receive the rear mat and figure this out.

c_hunter

Take a 8.5x11" piece of paper. Fold into three sections like folding a letter, with the two outer panels going inward on top of the middle panel. That's the stowed position. Open up the letter so that you have a bottom (middle) and two sides standing vertical-ish. How about scaling this up to RDX proportions using some outdoor carpet (the 1/8" thick felt stuff, often used on subwoofer boxes etc -- I have seen it in black) or other durable material. I do something similar with a tarp when carrying plants, trees, mulch, etc in my wagon. I like having one continuous sheet of protection for the bottom and sides, from front to back.

I don't get too fancy with fasteners since it's temporary use, but have found that clothespins will work to hold it up if there are places to clip them on. For more frequent dog-use, I might look into suction cups on the windows or even velcro. It just depends on the window situation with the dogs, which is obviously important!

Pacer

Good idea, c_hunter. Maybe I will give that a shot...and yeah, they insist on sticking their heads out the windows from time to time. This was a drawback with the Element as the rear windows were just poppers.

Where does one buy that type of material?

c_hunter

I have bought it at Lowes / Home Depot in the past. Fairly inexpensive.

Pacer

Cool, thanks.

mickie

Wow! I can't wait to see what you come up with! When I bought this car, I had my PWD in mind too (he has to be comfortable). But OMG how to protect the doors from claws!. I'd like to keep him out of the front seat too. I know at least for now, I won't let him in the car without the back seat folded down. Haven't taken that maiden voyage yet, as I might tear my hair out worrying.
I'm thinking to stop and buy several yards of thick fleece material (anyone has this...target, walmart, material store) and drape it over the back, up the sides and maybe one for the front seat (he hops up there whenever I get out of the car)
I need to figure out how to fasten it on the doors.

Pacer

Mickie, fwiw, my rear cargo mat arrived. I haven't "installed" it properly yet, but I'll try to do so today here and post some pix in this thread.

I thought it would be A LOT thicker than it is (I may send it back, it's kinda' pricey for what you get...although it covers the entire sides of the rear as well -- and has speaker mesh so you don't lose your tunes) but it does seem to cover the rear area completely except for those exposed rear door tops.

You could sew or safety pin some velcro straps onto whatever material you find so you can hook it onto the metal bars that are on the sides of the rear interior...to give you complete coverage. (That's what this Acura mat has.) Between us we should also be able to figure out a way to protect the doors.

Pacer

UPDATE: I properly installed the Acura Rear Cargo Mat. I am sending it back. It is too thin (probably 100 denier if that) to be of any real worth unless you have tiny dogs which I don't. You're better off with tossing a horse blanket or fleece or whatever back there. I'm still gonna try and make something for the doors in the near future. I'll post again to this thread with pix of that.

sasair

I've had my lab on my rear cargo liner since sept and not a scratch on it. it has held up very well to the dog nails. Still looks good as new. It wasn't what I expected either when I ordered it. Somehow it "looked" thicker in the pictures... But it is just what it says, a liner and not a pad.

On a side note, my lab also climbs onto the back seats if I have the backrest split folded and she has been on the leather at least 10 times, and not a scratch on the leather. Very impressed by that. Either with my dog for being gentle or the seats for being durable.

Pacer

Hmm, good to hear, sasair. Food for thought.

My lab got onto my wife's '99 TL seats and put a hole in them with her claw. I was really bummed. She is not overweight, but at about 80 lbs, not a small dog.

mickie

Thanks for posting that. I won't be looking into the rear cargo liner to solve my problems. In my old car, with the velour seats, I covered them cause Boe often has dirty paws. This is a different situation, and I'd love to aviod permenent scratches and tears. Do you both have black?
I'll be crossing this path soon enough, as we both want to take a long trip in the car (Saratoga, NY to Maine) to exchange our tent @ LL bean. I think doggie will have to come too.
He's not a lab though...he's a little less subdued * This guy doesn't "venture" into the seat, he throws his hopping 60#-crazy self full throttle into the back, but quickly ends up the the front to wrestle me, and won't stop jumping till he's scolded. God love 'em.

Pacer

Yeah, I've got black interior, too. The other thing I don't like about the Acura mat is that it leaves the tops of the rear seats and the headrests exposed, even when the seats are down. I do like that it's lightweight and easily stashed, though. But my dogs are insane as well, so back to the drawing board.

Here are potential mat solutions "off the rack." Both are rubberized material and about 1/4" thick, so it seems they would hold up relatively well to claws.

One of them you'd have to measure before ordering, then trim yourself. I'd trim mine with a cut for the 60/40 seat fold, and maybe add some velcro so it sticks to the floor even when the seat is up:
https://2694224993.monstercommercesi...ATS&Category=9

It comes in 48" width and is $13.70/ft. So it will likely be around $90-$130 in the proper size, shipped.

This other one looks like it comes cut to fit the RDX, $75+ship: http://www.autoanything.com/cargo-li...customerReview

I haven't looked at Home Depot, etc. yet. They may have something maybe cheaper and maybe the same type of stuff. Or that speaker case liner as Craig suggested.