Best vehicle to take rabbits to show?

[BC Belgians]

Might sound like a dumb question, but I have a real dilemma. My daily driver is a older pickup truck with bench seat and no extra or crew cab. This means that I can fit only two adult rabbits or a large kennel with a bunch of youngsters.

I am really not liking the idea of buying a different vehicle just to go to the rabbit shows. Does anyone transport their rabbits in the bed/box of their pickup? Lots of room there, but I worry they will be terrified with all the noise, exhaust, and getting bounced around. Has anyone built a special canopy/kennel for transporting rabbits in the bed of a pickup ... similar like gun dogs or hounds?

 

[PSFAngoras]

I used to pack into my old corolla (believe it or not I could comfortably fit two sheep and my husband in the back seat at the same time, wish I had pics to prove it!) or use my mom's bronco, but Now that my corollas dead I have a Tacoma. (Small pick up)

I plan on getting a camper shell for it so there will be less stress for the rabbits, but in the mean time so long as he weather holds fair I'll jus tuck them up next to the back of the cab where there's next to no air movement (if you've ever sat In the bed or watched a tarp near the cab, you'll know what I mean). I don't prefer to transport rabbits like this since they're such shy critters usually, but I have done it before in our old dodge and it worked out all right. I find they don't stress as much if they're already pretty well used to show stress and being handled. I usually cover them with a well secured tarp or blanket too, to keep off the sun or weather, leaving it open on the sides for plenty of air.

Like I said, most certainly not my preferred method, and I probably won't show again until I do get a camper shell to better transport them, but I have brought several rabbits home from the breeder I first bought my angoras from this way, and they all did fine over a twenty five mile drive with highway time. My angoras are very socialized though, so I'm sure it helped. I do transport grow outs to my mom's place out of town to process this way too (illegal to process in city limits...) but it's only five miles away, so that's no big deal.

 

[luvabunny]

I just stuffed 14 regular sized carriers (42 rabbits) and all of our stuff for a 5 day show in a 99 Ford Explorer. There wasn't a ton of room left over, and I did quite a bit of practicing prior to the show to see how it all fit best, but it was all in there. No worries about cold, noise, wind or rain, everybunny was inside and temperature controlled.
My sister has an open bed truck as you described. She and hubby have made an easy top for it that she only uses on show days. It is simply a piece of outdoor plywood that has been cut to fit on top. She secures it with straps. It's very easy to put on, and when she's not using it, it's just a piece of plywood sitting to the side somewhere. It keeps the carriers in a nice quiet, dark, rain free place while she travels. Very easy and very inexpensive.

 

[ilovehome]

I have a pick up with a shell on it. The rabbits are in there most of the year for traveling, but when it is over 80, they ride in the crew cab. The problem with a pick up is getting the rabbits in and out of the back of a truck. I'm too old for that, so we installed a bedslide. Much easier when traveling with rabbits and when buying lots of feed and hay.

 

[Homer]

I used to pack into my old corolla (believe it or not I could comfortably fit two sheep and my husband in the back seat at the same time, wish I had pics to prove it!)...

I wish you did too! :lol: I'd have to razz the daylights out of him.

 

[skysthelimit]

l've been getting vans since I started showing dogs 9 years ago. I can't live without one.

That aside, when my breeder emptied out the rabbitry in April, she brought all the buns to me on a hitched trailer, a 40 mile ride. None seemed worse for the wear, but I don't think that would be standard rabbit show traveling. I've seen people who do have air conditioned trailers or horse trailers for their buns.

 

[BC Belgians]

Oh, I had never heard of a "bedslider" before . I love the idea! That might just be the answer combined with the home-made "easy top". I guess the bed and top could be furnished with some sort of noise and vibration absorbing material.

I was already looking at building something like this (see photo below). This is a home-built truck dog box made for sled dogs. The materials are PVC covered plywood trimmed with aluminum trim and the individual kennel floors are painted with roll on truck bed liner. The area under the kennels is storage (where the bedslider would come in handy).

Problem with this would be that you still need to bring display/carry cages and transfer the rabbits from the "truck rabbit box".

 

[Zass]

I used to pack into my old corolla (believe it or not I could comfortably fit two sheep and my husband in the back seat at the same time, wish I had pics to prove it!)...

I wish you did too! :lol: I'd have to razz the daylights out of him.

Wow, the most I ever put in the back of mine was two goats, and I even allowed my husband to sit in the front with me