Welcome to the sixth entry in July’s Medium Mod-Ster Contest. One engaging Medium Mod will be published in every Email Alert in July. At the end of the month we’ll hold a reader vote to determine July’s winner. For information about the Mod-Ster Contest, including how to enter, click here.
Mike and Nancy Pohl, Plymouth, Minnesota
Pet Paw Protection
2015 Ford F250
2015 Lance 855
It all started with our second truck camper. It was a 1999 Ford F-150 and a 1985 American Pilgrim 8.5 hard side. That’s when we acquired Oliver the cat (aka Bubba). He travels everywhere with us.
On our first trip we arrived back at the truck to find that the front cab was unlocked. I know that I had locked it. When we were traveling down the road Oliver crawled into my lap, put his paws on the armrest, and down come the windows. Ah-ha! So, that is how the truck got unlocked.
When we got home I made covers to go over the armrest window and put lock switches on both doors. Last year I upgraded to a 2015 Ford F-250 that also had armrest window and door lock switches. So, I made a set for our new truck.
To make the cover I made a template of the armrest area. Then, I transferred it to a 1/2-inch thick piece of wood then cut out the center to allow room for the raised switches.
A solid piece of the 1/2-inch wood was used to make a cover. It was sanded and painted to match the interior.
A strip of velcro was added to make it stay in place. It’s easy to lift when we unlock the doors or run the windows down.
This mod has worked out great. We lock up the truck and be sure that it is still locked when we get back. Also, while traveling, we don’t have the windows going down from the cat looking out the window or moving around the cab. I do lock all the windows with the driver’s side main switch.
This mod will work for any truck that has switches for a cat or dog can put a paw on.
It took me two to three-hours (including one-hour to watch the paint dry) hours to complete this modification and cost me about $3 for the paint since the 1/2-inch Baltic Birch was leftover. In my opinion, the skill level of this modification is medium.
Disclaimer: The modifications above are submitted by Truck Camper Magazine readers. It is your responsibility to make sure that any do-it-yourself modification project you undertake is safe, effective, and legal for your situation.
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