my first post. i needed a pet barrier, but since the toyota one is $120-150 or so, i came up with a DIY for around $15 in parts (the other supplies i already had on hand.)

here is the parts list:

parts list
1/2 in copper water pipe - 13 lengths
2 - 30.5 in
1 - 21 in
2 - 15 in
2 - 13.5 in
2 - 8.75 in
4 - 3.675 in
pipe fitting - 6 elbows
pipe fitting - 4 tees
screws - 4, 6 mm diameter and 25 mm long
paint - 2 cans
1 - metal primer
2 - gray paint

tools/supplies needed
sandpaper - to rough outer pipe surface for primer adhesion
tube cutter - cut pipe to specified lengths
tube wire brush - to clean and prepare solder surfaces
propane torch
solder
flux and flux brush

basically use the tube cutter to cut the copper pipe to length and rough sand all pieces. lay it out as shown in the sketch. all pipes are pushed into fittings and placed flat on something that can withstand the heat from the torch. solder all fittings so the barrier is flat EXCEPT the bottom tees which need to be angled up to match the profile of the back seat, you can see some wood blocks were used to support the angle in the picture.

if you have never soldered before, just ask for some advice at your hardware store, since this isn't plumbing, you don't have to worry about a "leak proof" solder job, just something that will hold things together.

spray primer on, and then two coats of paint.

install using the purchased 6mm diameter screws into the rails on the back seat.

notes:

the construction takes a couple of hours. painting can be applied and dry over a few hours so the whole job is a weekend project.

copper is soft, so if you don't get things exact you should be able to bend a bit to get the holes to line up with the nuts in the cargo tracks on the back seat. if you have a little dog you might want to make an extra row and the space between the bars smaller.

the montage was created with the freeware program imagemagick, from http://www.imagemagick.org and the command used to combine the five pics (with file names pic1.gif, pic2.gif ... pic5.gif) is
montage -tile 1x5 -geometry 896x600 p*.gif t.gif


Attachment: t.gif (954524 bytes, downloaded 1078 times)

Welcome to GenVibe!

Quote, originally posted by VibeDog »

my first post.

And what a post indeed! Thanks for posting the how-to and pictures - a fine resource for members with the same situation. Love the dog too!

I would need one behind the two front seats.

Yay, I am not alone in this world!

This is an awesome idea there, almost makes me wish I had a dog that would allow me to use the barrier idea.

Perhaps I could stuff one of my housemates in that space on our next outing ...

We should meet up, being in Madison and all ... I think you're the first Madison Vibe that has posted since I have, wholly sucks because I see Vibes almost every day around town!

oh ya, welcome to genvibe!

Very resourceful!

Great idea!

My friend wants me to drive with her down to Georgia to get her dog and drive him back up. Just might have to make one of these!

Thanks again, and welcome aboard!

2006 PONTIAC G6 GT COUPE (AKA the Karmic Nightmare )
3.5L 3500 V6 SFI (201 HP @ 5600 rpm, 222 lb-ft @ 3200 rpm)

A little update,
On the sketch where it says 7" above floor, it should read 6", i uploaded a new figure, but i'm not sure if it refreshes correctly. the wood blocks i used only raised it 5.5" and the vertical part isn't exactly vertical, but close enough.

I think the most important distance to get correct is the distance from rail center to rail center, i remeasured it this morning and it is between 21 5/8" and 21 3/4". so, before you sweat the solder joint at the tees, triple check the down tubes are spaced properly, and also take a tape measure to your vibe to see that my dimensions make sense. and always, "measure twice, cut once". and the through holes to attach the screws to the rail nuts, i put mine 2" and 9" from the lowest part on the down tube- and they seem secure enough.

i've used this barrier for a few weeks and it seems to work fine, however, i think i'll forego the "leave a bucket of KFC chicken in the back seat and see if the beagle can get it" test.

Makes me wish I had a use to build that just so that I could ...

I'll have to look for you around Madison when I am out. I'm currently living near the UW Campus, by the Zoo. Family's house is over on the North side of town by the Airport - I just don't recall ever seening a Neptune Vibe with any of the Injen sounds coming from it ... Just wondering where you mostly drive around. I'll have to look for ya :D

Jim

I cut one out of a sheet of 1/4" plexiglass (I think 1/8" would work just as well) just a few inches wider than the space between the seats. Cut it to the height you want and shape the bottom to cling to the hump on the floor. It's held in place by a short bungie cord that I attach to each head-rest brace and behind the plexiglass. On the bottom I use a similar strap between the inner seat bracket of one seat, behind the plexiglass, and to the other seat bracket. It's worked great for keeping my girlfriend's Golden Retriever in the back. Only takes about ten minutes. It was so easy, in fact, that I made the same thing for our other three cars.

Thanks

John

That clear barrier idea also great for keeping the kidlets in the back, a la police cruisers & taxi cabs!

Welcome to Genvibe, by the way.

it's probably not nearly as secure, but it makes removal a snap. i was worried that if i used screws and screwed them through the soft copper too many times, it'd boar the holes out and weaken the tubes.

Do you have any pictures of that?

I've got a great dane that takes up the entire rear, but I also have smaller dogs that can just go in the back. So I'm thinking about getting an adjustable off the shelf option a la - http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B...64928 - anyone got any experience with this sort?

Or building the copper one for the rear and trying to find/make something else for the front.

'05 Lava Tutone base, Pwr Grp, Moon & Tunes, 16" alloys, Auto, RAM Air
'06 Saturn Vue (Honda V6) White, Sun & Sounds, 17" alloys, chrome pkg, RAM Air
'09 Toyota Corolla XLE, red, RAM Air is work in progress

WOW, they're all HEMI's