Has anyone ever made a steel dog box, need help.

[houndcrazy93]

hey everyone, i was wondering who has made a steel dog box before. I finaly have my welding class in school and i want to make one that i can use for winter when its cold out coon huntin. i want to make it 38w45L27T. i was thinking about useing 1"x1" sq tubing for the frame. but i dont no what to do for the sides bottem and top. because i want it to be light enough for me to load and unload alone. should i drill holes in the frame and bolt wood to the sides top and bottem. or should i use like 16gauge sheet metal for the sides top and bottem, any info at all would be greatly appreciated.

[livetohunt]

I would use Alum sheet metal for the sides, the bottom as long as your going use straw or shavings you can use it there to or you can glue down one of them stall mats from Tractor Supply. For the top I would use something thick like 10 or 12 ga. Alum sheet metal then you can do yourself or have it spayed with bed liner on top if your going to rig or even glue down one of them stall mats. But for the sides and bottom us can use something 18-22 ga. or less. You can also get thin wall Sq tubing if your going to mig or tig weld it it comes in as small as .065 wall and is very light. I would also rivit all the sheet metal on just to keep from having bolt heads sticking out or if you can get them flat head allen bolts work good but make sure to use nylock nuts inside. If you wanted to go with a thicker wall tubing .120 wall you can drill and tap all your holes then you will not need nuts just make sure u use lock tight.

[Benny G]

I used 3/4" square tubing for the framework. I bolted 1/2" plywood (not wafer board) on the back, top . bottom, and 2/3 up the sides. I bolted the plywood on with 1/4" carriage bolts with teflon locking nuts. I welded 3/4" stamped expanded metal on the tops of the sides, as well as, the entire front, including the doors. I built two boxes identical. I then built a frame out of 4x1/4 flat, that was just a little bigger overall than the outside measurements of the box. I welded 2 - 3/4" square tubings across the width of the frame, and by laying this frame on top of the first box, I can stack the second box on top, and carry twice as many dogs. In order to keep the boxes from coming apart, I connect them with bungie cords, and bungie them to the headache on my pickup. I can carry 4 dogs comfortably in each box, and I can snap two more dogs to the front of the bottom box.

[Kevin D]

When I built mine, I used aluminum sheet metal as sides attached with self-tapping metal screws. For the bottom I used Trex, a composit material designed for outdoor decks that won't rot or mildew. And for the top (strike deck) I used fiberglass laminated plywood and covered it with a rubber horse trailer mat.

[KVhound]

I have built a bunch out of steel and they work pretty good for me. But im from Wis. and all the road salt can be hard on them. I use the 1 inch square tubing but i dont put bottoms on mine. Any moisture that gets in the box is trapped and will rot the bottoms fast. I prefer the style that sits on the bed rails. I use removable slides for the winter and they work for rain storms too.

[plottpappaw]

i used 3/4" for the main frame and 1/2" for the support beams and angle iron for the top for support. alum. sheet metal riveted on for the sides and a plywood bottom and a 12 gauge top. rustoleum all the steel and carpet or bed liner for the top if you plan on rigging then get small alum angle and trim out all the joints. put silicone under the alum angle to prevent leaks in the joint.