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Since making room for a large dog crate in an RV can be difficult, these RV owners came up with creative solutions to create kennels for their canine travel buddies built into in their campers and motorhomes!
Custom RV Modification
I’ll start by showing some ways people have modified their RV’s to add a a dog kennel. First up is this cabinet, which was removed to make a place to set a dog crate which happened to be the same size as the space created. The owner says she saved the panel and cabinet door so that she can put it back if she ever decides to sell her camper to someone who wants the cabinet.
This next camper has a dog cage custom built into the area that was formerly where the dining booth was located. The owner shared this photo with me a long time ago, and unfortunately I don’t have more information about how it was built, but if you’d like to try to contact the owner to ask more about it, here is her website.
Under the Dining Booth
The owners of this motorhome rebuilt their booth dinette benches to turn the space underneath into a place their dogs could safely travel. You can see more photos and read about how they did it and the materials they used on their blog.
Here’s another style of RV dining booth converted to a dog kennel. The owners of this toy hauler also removed the original U-shaped dinette and re-built a custom booth that includes the dog kennel as well as a cat door leading to a storage area underneath the RV where their litter box is stored. To see more pictures of this incredible renovated toy hauler, follow @188sqft on Instagram.
(Click here for more ideas for storing a litter box in an RV!)
Under the Bed
The people who own this fifth wheel RV just needed a cozy place for their smaller dog to sleep that was close by but not on their bed, so they cut a hole into the side of their bed’s platform and added a dog bed in the storage area underneath.
By adding a drawer as well as a gated door to a dog enclosure, this RV owner was able to make a place for his dog to be kenneled without giving up all his storage space.
Here’s another RV bed customization project. You can see more photos of this one and read about how it was built here.
Bunks Used as a Dog Kennel
Some RV owners whose campers or motorhomes have bunks that aren’t being used by humans have turned that space into a place to set a dog crate. The owner of this RV eliminated the need for a crate by installing a door made from lattice. (A stronger material and a larger latch could be used for larger, stronger dogs who might damage a lattice gate.)
The owners of this next RV converted the space beneath the bottom bunk in their RV into a dog cage which can be accessed from both inside and outside the RV. You can see more photos and read about how the project was done in this blog post.
Dog Crates That Double As Furniture
If you don’t have a good place for a built-in dog kennel but don’t have space for a free-standing crate either, one solution might be to buy or build a dog crate that doubles as furniture.
One resourceful RV owner turned her dining table into a dog crate by dismantling a baby gate and attaching it to the legs of the table using zip ties. For the front and back, she used sides of a dog crate she took apart. She says it’s very sturdy!
A handmade curtain that opens at the same place as the door is attached with Velcro so the table looks less like a dog bed when not in use.
Amazon has some beautiful dog crate side tables, but this RVing couple decided to make their own by creating a handmade wooden top for a regular dog crate.
They also turned their dining table and put two of their chairs in storage to create space for it next to their sofa.
Do you have a photo of how you’ve added a dog kennel to your RV? If so, feel free to add it to the comments!
If you’re looking for other ideas for RVing with pets, check out my RVing with Pets Resource Page:
These are some clever ways to keep a dog crate while maximizing space! I think my favorites are when there’s enough space underneath the bed. That may also be because our pets follow us everywhere and maybe if they had their beds underneath the bed we’d actually have more space at night, haha.
So many terrific ideas! I love the ones under the bed because our dogs always liked the bedroom to sleep. If you put them there when you have to leave, I think they’d feel safe and not stressed.
We don’t have a dog yet, but I’m pretty sure wee’ll be adopting one soon! The under the booth crates are genius. We don’t really utilize that space well anyways. Thanks for sharing!
We love this idea our dog will love this
Yay! 🙂
We were looking at trailers recently and Outback is now creating a space under the bed for your dog or cat, with a swing gate made of 2″x2″ steel wire. Very nice, but we bought a Sporttrek instead.
How cool that a manufacturer would build in this feature!