Animal Welfare Professionals

I am a proponent of bungee cords for securing plastic crates in a cargo van, especially when stacking them; but some people prefer using the strapping method.  Regardless, the most important factor is – what are your options with the vehicle?  We check out the Best Friends' vans (as a BF Network Partner) but they do not have standard cargo interior wall supports or D Rings in the floor to use for attaching the cords or straps to the floor.  So we have gotten creative with ways to provide support.  Attached are some pictures to illustrate:

Shelves added to provide stability between stacks of carriers, made of plywood sheets, doubled/duct taped cardboard and wooden shelving with a lip and open sections for bungee cords.  We even created a shelving unit using metal bars attached to PVC pipe that sits (wedged in) the cupholders.

The tiered/bunge method – learned this from Best Friends Houston transports.  Bunge cords in a X pattern (same length!) on both sides of carriers, 2 to 3 carriers stacked.  The animals are already in the carriers when the tiered unit is moved into the van (2 people sharing the load).  This requires that the van be full of carriers so the stacked tiered carriers support each other; otherwise the tier will topple during driving.  You can then bungee tiered carrier groups together.

Of course, if you don't stack carriers in a van, you just need to put enough items on the floor to use up all the space so the carriers don't shift around.

And dog transports may use wire kennels which are easier to stack and secure. But again, if the space beside the stacked kennels is empty, you risk the kennels toppling during the drive.

#TransfersandTransport