Cats Traveling inside 5th Wheel

[butchiiii]

Hi Folks,
We are doing our research on 5th wheels. Question is does anyone travel with their
cats inside the 5th wheel while under way? If so do you put them in carriers or do
you let them roam freely? We are trying to figure out if we need a crew cab truck
or not when we get the 1 ton. TIA
Thank you!

 

[kdbgoat]

Best suggestion I can give is pretend you're a cat and have someone drive your rig with you riding in the fiver for about 50 miles.

 

[MN Blue Skies]

We travel with a dog and a cat.  They ride in the back of the crew cab.  The cat has a large soft-sided pop-up kennel that we bought at Fleet Farm.  We open up the kennel once we are on the road and she has settled down. The four of us travel well together.  We wouldn't them in the 5th wheel while we are on the road.  I don't know if there are laws governing that. 

 

[Roy M]

Best suggestion I can give is pretend you're a cat and have someone drive your rig with you riding in the fiver for about 50 miles.

X2 They would be terrified. If allowed to roam free they would get hurt in a sudden stop or crash. Don't do it.

 

[Mmwtdh]

I just think about the times we've landed after a full day of driving and when I go in the trailer I find cabinet doors open, towels bounced off the bars and light globes broken on the floor.

I wouldn't......

 

[butchiiii]

Best suggestion I can give is pretend you're a cat and have someone drive your rig with you riding in the fiver for about 50 miles.

I would take you up on the suggestion Mr goat but the cats refuse to drive the truck for some reason 

 

[butchiiii]

Thanks everyone for the input. That's why I ask questions before hand to
gain the insight from all of you experienced pros. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

 

[joelmyer]

The first time we took Max in the 5er he rode the first leg in the truck in his carrier.  Then when we started preparing to move he disappeared.  We later figured out that he his inside the sleeper sofa.  But every time we travel with him, he "votes" by disappearing.

 

[SeilerBird]

I full timed it all over the country with three cats in my class A. No problems at all. They just curl up and sleep when the rig starts moving. Never see them at all.

 

[DearMissMermaid]

The problem with having them in the 5th wheel is one the temperature could soar and harm them.

Two is having things flail around.

If they are crying and in distress how would you know?

I would be far too worried to let mine ride in a 5th wheel.

Years back I had 3 cats and used to move between two residences. One was my apartment home and two was a beach house I managed that I lived in when tourists weren't renting it.

My cats got used to traveling back and forth. Since they loved the beach house, getting them packed to ride over there was easy. One rode in a wicker picnic hamper and loved it. Plenty of air with privacy too.

 

[UTTransplant]

We don?t have a fifth wheel, but we do have a trailer. Our cats have always ridden with us in the truck. Luckily they have all been good travelers. The one we still have (the others have cross the bridge) screams a bit for the first 5-10 minutes, then goes to sleep. Kevin has made a kitty tower that is strapped in the back seat. A small litter box goes on the floor on one side of the back seat, food and water go on the other side.

 

[CassandraS]

Our dogs are always in the back of the TV. They get let out once we get out trailer set up at our new destination.

 

[Debra17]

When I first started traveling Misty rode on the front passenger seat in her carrier secured by seat belt. After about 2 months she decided she didn?t want to do that. She could tell when I was preparing to travel and would go into one of her hiding places. I would have to drag her out to get her into the carrier and she would cry the whole time. Since we travel full time my theory is that she had accepted the trailer as her new home and that?s where she wanted to stay. After awhile of making her ride in the truck I finally relented and let her stay in the trailer. My travel days are usually very short - usually 4 hours max. And I generally make a couple stops for groceries etc and go inside the trailer. She is always curled up sleeping in her spot. I would rather that she ride in the truck but it just makes her miserable. Also I don?t have things flying around or drawers coming open etc. But my concern is if an accident occurred. I do think about whether I should let her stay back there when we are traveling. I would be devastated if something were to happen to her.

 

[jje1960]

We traveled with Lenard (he passed away last August) for years in the 5th wheel.  It was the only place he was happy!  Started out in the truck years ago, however he would freak out completely, drool, shake, scream, puke, poop, completely miserable.  Tried him in the 5th wheel with his water and food on the floor, presto, happy cat.  We would stop and check on him, there he'd be on the couch half asleep or sitting on a chair looking out the bay window under the table.  A few years ago we installed a maxxair fan in the unit, that dropped the temp significantly without leaving a window open.  Just our way, not combating anyone else's perspective.

 

[StephenShort]

My wife and I often travel and we do not have the opportunity to leave animals with friends for this period, so we always take them with us. I try to create the best conditions for comfortable movement for myself and for my cats. We use special convenient containers for transporting animals and allow them to run around in the car a little while on the road. I also use the cat litter disposal system for fast and efficient cleaning of cats. This smell quickly spreads through the car, so I paid special attention to the choice of this system. Animals feel great on the road and it seems to me that it is much more fun to travel.

 

[Great Horned Owl]

Our two travel in the truck with us. One of them seems to like it. She moves back and forth between her kitty bed and DW's lap. The other one screams for the first ten minutes or so, then settles down and goes to sleep in the litter box, spending the entire drive there. She only moves (briefly) when the other one needs to use the box.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

When we had a trailer the cat rode with us in the truck, usually on the wife's lap. Once we got a motorhome, it rode there in a place of its choosing. Often on the seat with my wife, but sometimes hunkered down under the recliner or dining table. Cats are pretty good at figuring out a protected place for themselves. The only reason we would use a cage was if it got too insistent on climbing into the driver area, but that was rarely a problem. We did always have a portable (and collapsible) cage available, though.

I think you could leave the cat in a trailer for travel but I suspect it would rather have familiar people close by while enduring a situation that most cats don't like at all.

 

[TheBar]

It depends on the length of your trip too. We had to transport our cats blocked off in the back of our club cab truck 600 miles when we moved to another state. They were all setup with a litter box, food, and water. They cried for the first few miles then settled down. But after 400 miles they were threatening my life. All the howling made me a nervous wreck too. When we got there we had to leave them in the truck for an hour to settle down.