GEAR TUNNEL & PETS -- SAFE? Why or why not??

[Friscorays]

Bummer about March 1, 2022.

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[the long way downunder]

So, for those of you that think your dogs are safer sitting in the cab with you...do you strap them in with a harness and a seat belt?? If not, you are endangering them should you need to slam on the brakes or are in an accident of any kind.

Or, how 'bout when your dog decides it needs to jump across your lap to bark at the dog next to you in the vehicle passing on the highway at 70+mph and causes an accident. Just sayin'.

Yep. A beloved family member pet is a sharp-boned projectile with a collision incident speed of 100+ mph. My doggo will thrash about when the harness goes into the seat buckle sometimes (she's still a puppy at 10 months) then eventually relax (2-3 minutes and the rest of the trip is fine. It's a chest vest, so she can't be asphyxiated by the thing and the harness is elastic.)

Dogs get motion sickness, so they need to be able to see the horizon for equilibrium (the ear and the eyes need to agree on body movement.)
I wonder about cleaning the hair and saliva. I guess the aftermarket will make a "tunnel pet cover" and a waterproof "gear tunnel liner" or whatever … I want to put gear in there that's wet with salt water or covered in mud and I want to clean the gear tunnel with a garden hose, not cabin trim detailing products.
I think in the gear tunnel (with the hatch open) is both humane and safe for the dog. But I'd rather keep it clean and full of useful gear that's safely out of sight. When there's four of us in the R1, it would be great to have doggo in the tunnel with her head through the port.
For most purposes, I'll do the same as with the F-150 – a pet "hammock" seat protector – gives them the whole rear seat to move about and look out the windows, but restrained by the chest harness so she can't get in the front seat (or fly through the windshield while we're protected by airbags.)
More than once I've stamped on the brakes when being cut off (in an F-150 with running lights visible from space …) and she's been safely lying on her lazy ass in the hammock with the chest harness stretched (it's a sort of bungee cord) and couldn't care less … : )

 

[E.S.]

Nope...the frunk is very different...totally enclosed, dark and no air circulation. I don't see them as the same. You could even put a small electric fan at the opening of the pass-through to circulate air, if necessary. Your pet can see you, you can see them and you can talk to them through the opening. I can't see my cat in her carrier strapped into the back seat any better.

You may see it that way. Your pet won't. To it, it still being put in an enclosed space. The only difference is the small access port. But won't change that it knows it is still in an enclosed area.

Back seat strapped vs. enclosed space are two very different things to an animal.

 

[Gabe1aron]

I see an aftermarket contraption in the works to sell to all the pet owners for the tunnel complete with viewing window and HVAC that can be plugged into the tunnel outlets

 

[kylealden]

While I have my pets ride in the cab with me, I know quite a few people (especially hunters) that transport their hunting dogs in crates in the bed of their truck or even pulling a "crate" trailer. Not sure how the gear tunnel is much different than that.

A properly secured (and automotive-rated) crate is a very safe solution and easily beats having them just chilling in the cabin where, as others have noticed, they become a ballistic projectile in an accident. I'm not crazy about the comfort factors of a crate in a truck bed (not climate conditioning and lots of noise) but it's not a safety issue.

The gear tunnel is not rated for human occupancy. For all we know, it's a crumple zone, or overheats from the battery pack, or any of a thousand things. And for all but the smallest dogs, it's too small to comfortably stand up and turn around in. Dogs need room to adjust so they don't get cramped and sprained (just like humans).

Just keep Spot leashed+buckled in the cabin or crated in the bed (supervised - please don't boil your pets). The gear tunnel is for gear.

 

[Longhorngirl]

Look, this is simple. Would you put your kid back there, just because they fit?

Jeez.

Actually, this mother did just that and put her kid in a trunk because he fit. Apparently, the kid was covid positive, so she got the “bright” idea to quarantine him in the trunk.

https://people.com/crime/texas-teacher-child-endangerment-covid-positive-son-trunk/

 

[DuckTruck]

Are you serious? This stuff is why every trunk has a release inside of it.

The number 1 thing is the tunnel is not crashed tested for human (or animal) life and could very well be a crumble zone. That alone should tell you enough.

Plus it doesn't get circulation/climate as it's not part of the cabin AND IT'S LITERALLY CALLED A GEAR TUNNEL.

I'm assuming that the Gear Tunnel (and Frunk) release must work whenever activated, for safety reasons, even while moving, right? If that's so, any pet (or kid/hostage) that lunges at a glowing button or pulls on a glow-in-the-dark tab will open that door. Bad enough if the Gear Tunnel opens on the highway, but if the Frunk pops open at speed, that won't be good for anyone.

"Hello, Safelite?"

 

[Cavalryscout18]

After watching videos from "Ted Actually Talks" when he's driving with his dog in the gear tunnel, I got to thinking about putting pets in the tunnel and whether or not it's a good idea. What do you think??

I'm trying to think of why it WOULDN'T be a good idea, as long as they have access to fresh air through the sliding cabin-to-gear-tunnel door. It is certainly safer than putting them in the truck bed and probably even safer than them being loose in the cabin. Even a finder bender or sudden stop can send a pet flying. I don't have a dog now, but have a cat that I may need to take with me once I get my R1T. I'm thinking about making some kind of screen insert for the cabin-to-gear-tunnel door to allow air flow while traveling, but keeping my cat confined to the tunnel. Cats often want to hide when traveling and prefer to be in a confined space. Might not be the "preferred" way to travel for a dog that loves to stick its head out the window, but probably actually safer for both you and your pet. The gear tunnel may be the safest place to be in an accident, since it's right in the middle of the vehicle. No exhaust fumes to worry about either. Hummm...l don't see a lot of difference between the gear tunnel and a crate. Tell me how I'm wrong and why.

Haha, I saw that and thought it was interesting. Dog claws can really mess up your fo-leather and yes, in an accident I imagine a 20+ pound animal flying across cabin and hitting the front (or human occupants) would cause a lot of damage to the animal and others. I can see PETA not liking it because it looks bad but it may work. I haven’t read the rest of the responses so I may be stepping into a minefield.

Edit: people make good points on the release button and the possible temperature in there.

 

[Cavalryscout18]

I never really understood the crate/cage thing. My pets just ride in the cabin with me.

Oh no. Some dogs hate it. I have two beagles and one of them loves riding out with us (your type of dog) and the other one absolutely hates it. Gets insanely anxious, starts shaking a lot. He needs to be in a crate as it creates a type of enclosure for him and he feels safe. He would for sure dig the gear tunnel: tight, small, and dark = safe. A lot of dogs have this issue. It’s tough for both owners and the dogs. I would prefer if he stuck his head out the window like a happy doggy ? but he hates it and so we have to think about his comfort.

 

[cmiller]

No it's not a place for animals. The amount of times I had to stop quickly and if my dog wasn't harnessed in he would go flying. I can't imagine it being safe in the gear tunnel

 

[Trandall]

My first thoughts when I saw the video was if there was an impact with the dog having it's head through the gear tunnel passage would be a recipe for spinal cord injury. @DuckTruck also has a great point about the emergency release. I bet we see some type of warning on this from Rivian although I don't see it as being any worse than driving with your pet unrestrained with head out the window. I'm withholding judgement as I as a very young child used to ride unrestrained standing on the seats in the cab of Dads pickup with windows fully down and I turned out fine... arguably!

 

[Lil'O Annie]

I'm withholding judgement as I as a very young child used to ride unrestrained standing on the seats in the cab of Dads pickup with windows fully down and I turned out fine... arguably!

How times change! When I was a kid my best friend's Dad would load us up in an old pickup on hot summer nights to go to Dairy Queen ?. It was a family with 7 kids, 1 Dad and me!!! Three people in the cab and the rest of us in the pickup bed. ??FRIGHTENING to think about now, but it sure was fun.

 

[epona]

Absolutely not. The gear tunnel is not a place to put any live animal while the vehicle is in motion. I see this coming as a warning in the manual or a warning label.

it's actually already in the manual!

 

[Mathme]

My pets are part of the family and get to ride in the passenger compartment with us...they are much happier. I say "they" as one is our 18 year old cat who goes to our vacation house in Lake Tahoe (4ish hours each way) with us. We always have a portable box for her and she's perfectly comfy in the car.

When we first started taking her we tried the padded carrier and all she did was howl. We quickly learned that once she was out of the crate, she was totally happy.

Here's an "action shot" of her in her natural position while waiting at a pit stop last summer...

 

[jebinc]

But what about a cat? For example, putting the travel litter box in the gear tunnel and leaving the access door open for them to come and go as they please (between gear tunnel and rear seating area. Front area would be plastic screened off so they can’t get between your feet and peddles. Seems like this would be more than fine.

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