Fiesta Dog Guard

[Alan D Segal]

Anyone fitted a genuine Ford Dog Guard to their WS/WT Fiesta?

I'm looking at buying one this weekend but at almost $300 I'd just like to know if there's anything I should be aware of in terms of fitting etc. before I take the plunge. My local dealership's parts division will supply but won't fit but I'm reasonably handy and the image I have seen of the part doesn't make it look that difficult to fit. I have a WS Fiesta LX 5 door.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Pursya]

I can only find this;
http://dogguardsandcages.com/media/pdf/TDG1215.pdf

Not the original article. But it would have to be similar you would think.

This looks good as well.
http://www.travall.co.uk/2008-hatchb...og-guard-p1276

I note the Ford one has a price of $299 "fitted" at participating dealers. Why won't your dealer fit it and are they dropping the price as the don't?

[Alan D Segal]

They're saying $272.90 to supply only. The car isn't brand new (2010 model). Maybe dealer-fit means when you're ordering the car? The guy I spoke to said it was in the same category as headlight covers, which are also dealer fit, but are easy to fit.

EDIT: I guess they're not a 'participating dealer'.

The ford one appears to have mounting points that go down to the floor in the back. I have seen the travall one, but I'm thinking Ford designed the genuine item differently for a reason - maybe they didn't want additional load on the seat latch?

[In Focus]

http://www.dogguardsrus.co.uk/prodde...p?prod=TDG1215

[Alan D Segal]

Thanks InFocus. That seems to be the travall one as well. Cheers.

[Pursya]

Not sure if there would be much stress on the seat latch. Which should be mighty strong as part of the seating/safety system.
Why Ford would design theirs to go to the floor may be simply to encourage people to have the device fitted when buying the vehicle. Sometimes it's that simple.
I really cannot see much "engineering" in the Ford version that makes it a better proposition.
Unless your mutt is a couple of hundred kilos.

[Alan D Segal]

Originally Posted by Pursya

Unless your mutt is a couple of hundred kilos.

He's about 36kg. He's like a mobile security system

You're probably right though, if you have a crash bad enough that the latch point for the seat fails altogether then the dog's probably not going to survive it.

I contacted the company and they said it is designed to restrain animals up to 50kg.

[Pursya]

Which brings you back to the latches again.

[Alan D Segal]

Yes as you have said they should be mighty strong anyway. Thanks for your interest in this thread. I've ordered one so I'll try to provide an update on what it is like once it gets here.

[Alan D Segal]

Travall item arrived and fits perfectly. Doesn't move around or rattle and the dog's happy enough in the boot. Good item, good price and it arrived in less than a week. I'm happy with it.

[Pursya]

Well done.
Always good to get a positive result.

[vhcbm]

Bit different, glad it worked out. There is a fair bit of space wit the parcel shelf removed.