Okay, so I had the problem solved for my dog Ellie with her preferred point of entry – the back of my SUV. You can see the DIY for the trailer hitch dog step here. But what would happen when I’m pulling a trailer? An event that was imminent with our move to Florida.
As luck would have it, my Xterra is tall to step into so it has full length running boards on either side of the SUV. It hit me that I might be able to use them to create a side step if there was a way to wedge a board in between the running board and the bottom of the vehicle.
I tried a square piece of board, but the flare out of the body at the back edge wouldn’t let the board fit in. I cut a corner out of a piece of plywood to accommodate the curve in the bottom of the Xterra. In case Ellie stumbled I cut the sharp corner off so she wouldn’t hurt herself. The board fit perfectly.
I was out of carpet scraps to I ran to Lowe’s and bought 1′ of gray carpet runner — it cost about $2.50. I generously stapled the carpet to the plywood to make sure there were no loose edges.
The cool thing about how this worked out is the open door holds the board in place so it can’t spring up — I didn’t want it to act like a diving board when she landed on it and the problem solved itself once I opened the door.
Complete success. I showed Ellie the step and she put her paws on it without my asking. Of course there was a treat sitting up in the truck enticing her. I told her “Up!” the command to get in the truck and she went up without hesitation. You can’t tell by the still picture, but her tail was wagging. Of course, that too had something to do with treats and lots of praise.
The was an incredibly easy project to help a dog get into the side door of an SUV, but it will only work for those of us who have running boards. I’m so glad Ellie has an easy dog step to get in the SUV when I’m pulling a trailer.
What size is your step, and thickness of plywood? I am looking to make a step for side door of my pickup for my boys. I have running boards on the pickup. I may need to make separate one for my 4Runner. If you used vehicle door opening measurements in order to size, please advise how you measured for correct fit. Thanks!
The step was 3/8″ plywood and about 15″ x 15″. I didn’t do any measurements since I figured Ellie would refuse to use it (she surprised me by happily hopping up and into the truck) so I just used a scrap of wood I had on hand. The most important part is covering it with something non-slip.