Hi all,
I recently purchased a new car, as my old car was too small. Not only was the back seat bucket-style, but its small size really became a problem when Dieter became a tripawd. Also, I could not take both dogs and all my camping gear in the smaller car, and since camping is a priority, there you go.
As part of my new car purchase, I made two other purchases with the dogs in mind. One was a seat cover, which I will review in another post, and the other was this inflatable seat extender platform. There are a lot of back seat car solutions for dogs, but each of my boys are 100lbs, so it needed to be sturdy. Hammocks were out, as were the flat boards that hang from the back of the front seats. Just looked too unstable. I wanted to give the boys as much square footage of flat, supportive and comfortable space, so I bought this inflatable extender and tried it out.
Bottom line? Highly recommended. Since it’s inflatable, it can be customized to the space in the back seat area. I have a pretty big car (Ford Flex) and fully inflated it fits perfectly. There are three air chambers, configured like a short pi symbol. The two “legs” fit in the footwells of the back seat, and the top part extends all the way across the back of the car. Inflated, this creates a huge back seat area for the dogs. They’ve stretched out, curled up, laid side-by-side, and the platform does a great job supporting them both. It has the standard pvc-coated plastic sides and bottom, but the top surface is a textured material. I still thought it was too slick, so I’ve put dog blankets (from LL Bean, these are awesome, too) across the platform to create a cushion that has a little more traction for them. This also keeps the dogs’ claws from possibly damaging the top, although it doesn’t seem like that would be a problem, the top material is thick and sturdy.
It comes with it’s own inflating pump that runs off a 12V outlet, so you can inflate / deflate on the go if you want. It was $68 on amazon (you can use the Tripawds.com link to buy it!), but well worth it if you ask me. The plastic is thick, so I feel pretty good about it not ripping, and it doesn’t move once it’s in. The only downside, and this is *minor* is that the little plugs are hard to get in their holes once you’re done inflating. You gotta move quicker than with other things (like my air mattress) and you really have to push them in. The good side to this is that they’ll stay in and you won’t have to worry about random deflation. If anyone has any questions about this, please feel free to ask me. The dogs have been on a few 2+ hour trips with it now and it’s been fantastic. Jennifer
Here are some photos:
See more at: http://tripawds.com/forums/hopping-around/review-of-petego-car-seat-extender-inflatable-platform/#sthash.fNH9MZoJ.dpuf
Those look pretty nice. Does it come in the package with 2 of them or did you have to buy 2 to make it that high?
Michelle & Angel Sassy
Hi Michelle, it’s all one piece. It’s kinda hard to explain, but the long piece that you see at the top has two smaller pieces that are attached and extend below it (one of which you can see in the picture) to fill the footwells. Hope that helps!
Update: 3 months on and this is still a great purchase. It doesn’t provide as much support as I’d hoped, but we’re dealing with two 100lb + dogs here, so I really can’t complain. Dieter is the only one who really lays on it (Otto and car riding is a long story) and he’s learned to keep the bulk of his weight on the seats since they are a firmer surface. I would also definitely recommend blankets or something else to bridge the gap between the seat and extender. A couple of times the blankets have been shifted, and a leg or two have sunk in between the seat and extender. I just tuck the blankets in between the extender and the backs of the seats and that helps to prevent issues. Still highly recommended and money well spent!
Does anyone know of a front bucket seat extender for a 2-seater sports car? If I could fill the floor well I’d be able to take my 90-pound dog for a ride!
I am not aware of a seat extender for a front bucket seat, but I wonder if a bean bag chair would work? The child-size ones may be small enough and they’re not expensive. I used to have a car that had front and rear bucket seats, and it was uncomfortable for both my big guys. If I’d have thought of the bean bag idea before just now, I would have tried it (instead of buying a new car – ha!).
We purchased this same extender and after two trips I have to say it was great. I too could use some extra help at either side but we use this with the hammock we already have in the back. Lucy our dog can’t sit still so this keeps her from falling down more often. It stayed inflated and even slow deflate when I sat in the back with her on the 2nd trip. Iwe deflated one of the bottom sections and it went down enough that I was comfortable.
Hi
My extender has just collapsed can anybody tell me where I can buy a new one please?
Hi Debi, I’m pretty sure I got mine through amazon.com, although it was a long time ago. Maybe start there?
??? If I have back seats down, will it fill the space between back and front?
Well, it fills in the footwells, so yes. However depending on how your back seats fold, you may or may not still have a level area from front to back. My back seats (now) have a headrest that meets up with the back of the front seats, so while the footwell is still full, the headrests mean that at the area at the back of the front seats, it’s not a totally level surface. The back seats and headrest are above the level of the seat extender. Hope that makes sense. Still love it after 5 years, though.