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04-05-2008, 06:46 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Trailer: 1970 Campster
Posts: 253
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Until I find the FGRV of my dreams, I'm actively searching out ways to lighten my typical camping load so my little 4 cylinder Highlander will be happier when it eventually has something neat to tow. Here's my latest inspiration. . .
Whenever I camp with my collie and two shelties I inevitably pack more gear for the dogs than I do for myself. Even my tent choice is designed around puppy comfort. But toting two 36" high xpens totalling over 30 feet in length has become a real chore as they are quite heavy. So, in searching for a light-weight alternative, I stumbled upon plastic diamond mesh fencing, which is more commonly used for snow-breaks and as temporary, reusable fencing. For $25.50 (US) you get 4' x 50' of rollable fencing that can be rolled up and reused. I invision using this around my 10' EZ-up canopy and using the canopy legs to provide support for the flexible fencing. Usually I attach the xpens to the tent poles and create a door at the attachment point. One could probably weave bamboo tomato stakes into the mesh to provide additional support between the legs of the canopy if needed. My dogs need a visual barrier more than anything as they are not jumpers. Hopefully this will work!
(And Bobbie, I was thinking of you when I posted this!)
Check it out at: http://www.tuffrhino.com/ProductDetails.as...;source=froogle
Happy trails!
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04-05-2008, 07:33 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Trailer: Trails West Campster 1970
Posts: 3,366
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LOL... we use that at our corgi picnics and have quite a few breakouts. At the SoCal corgi picnic they back it up with two foot wire fencing to prevent the breakouts. The corgis would go under, go over, or go through. It would have worked for my Labs, though.
I'm going to try figuring out a rack for the front of the trailer for the X-pens, though, thinking that the added weight there might be helpful, and it would get the rattling out of the car.
Bobbie
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04-05-2008, 08:20 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Trailer: 1970 Campster
Posts: 253
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You are absolutely right. . . there are definitely breeds that would not find this kind of fencing much of a barrier to anything. It occurred to me that if you cut some PVC and added some corners and elbows you could make a frame around the bottom with a few upright supports placed in strategic locations. This might prevent the dogs from going under the fence if the PVC was woven through the fence. And the PVC is still a lot less heavy and easy to carry than a bunch of x-pens. Oh well, I'll let you know what happens with my little experiment the next time I go camping.
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04-05-2008, 08:24 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Trailer: Trails West Campster 1970
Posts: 3,366
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Quote:
You are absolutely right. . . there are definitely breeds that would not find this kind of fencing much of a barrier to anything. It occurred to me that if you cut some PVC and added some corners and elbows you could make a frame around the bottom with a few upright supports placed in strategic locations. This might prevent the dogs from going under the fence if the PVC was woven through the fence. And the PVC is still a lot less heavy and easy to carry than a bunch of x-pens. Oh well, I'll let you know what happens with my little experiment the next time I go camping.
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Yes, keep me posted. I've thought of making a PVC fence but worried about the bulk. You can buy a plastic fence that is 26-30 inches high, but its bulkier. Same goes for the soft fences like Its A Breeze.
Bobbie
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04-05-2008, 09:49 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Trailer: 1975 13 ft Trillium
Posts: 2,535
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...when our Shepherd was alive and when we took her camping with us we ALWAYS used 'Invisable Fence". It worked super well but the pets must FIRST be trained to the fence and its visible (small vey portable) flags on thin metal supports (VISIBLE barriers). She became so well adjusted to the fence that the last few years she was around (and camped with us) we left the controls and associated wires at home and only planted the flags around the site. This was enough for her to 'see' the visable barrier we had plotted for her for that weekend. This worked well for us but remains to be seen how it would work with a 'herd' that sometimes would tend to follow the lead dog!
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04-05-2008, 10:18 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Trailer: Former Burro owner and fan!
Posts: 9,015
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I have one of these things.. not cheap, but easily available at any box pet store. Very light as well.
I had to quit using it as one of my rottens discovered how to jump over it.
I think he was embarrassed to be seen in a baby pen
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04-06-2008, 02:02 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Trailer: 2005 19 ft Scamp 19 ft 5th Wheel
Posts: 1,555
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Quote:
I have one of these things.. not cheap, but easily available at any box pet store. Very light as well.
I had to quit using it as one of my rottens discovered how to jump over it.
I think he was embarrassed to be seen in a baby pen
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You could make something very much like that with some of the temporary construction fence stuff, some 36" x 48" rectangles of 1/2" PVC piping, and some zip ties to clamp the construction fence to the frame. If you made a chain of the rectangles with 1-1/2" of slack in the construction fence between each panel you could have a long, lightweight, easy to setup, fold and store fence.
--Peter
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04-06-2008, 08:07 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Trailer: Trails West Campster 1970
Posts: 3,366
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Quote:
I have one of these things.. not cheap, but easily available at any box pet store. Very light as well.
I had to quit using it as one of my rottens discovered how to jump over it.
I think he was embarrassed to be seen in a baby pen
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Doesn't that fold to about 8 inches thick, though? They make them a bit taller but two at 8 inches thick would take a ton of room. Same problem with the PVC. The metal Ex-pens are about 3 inches thick folded.
Bobbie
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04-06-2008, 09:15 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Trailer: Former Burro owner and fan!
Posts: 9,015
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Yes, they are thick, but they virtually weigh nothing, so it isn't that big a deal. They go just about anywhere and toss aside easily.
The also DON'T have a really good gate mechanism.. well, they have none at all. You have to pull one section from another to open it, or lift the dogs in and out.
As you can see, neither one of them is in the featherweight category.
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04-06-2008, 10:38 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Trailer: Trails West Campster 1970
Posts: 3,366
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Quote:
Yes, they are thick, but they virtually weigh nothing, so it isn't that big a deal. They go just about anywhere and toss aside easily.
The also DON'T have a really good gate mechanism.. well, they have none at all. You have to pull one section from another to open it, or lift the dogs in and out.
As you can see, neither one of them is in the featherweight category.
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Lack of a gate would be a problem.
There is a company that makes very lightweight metal ex-pens but they aren't very tall.
http://www.seabreezepetitepens.com/
Bobbie
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