Stoofpilot

I use to have a 96 SL500 that had the flat back shelf. Well, the minute I had the top down the dog always was ready to jump in and go for a ride.

So, how do I fix that in my 2004? I built a removable shelf for the rear area. Now, not only does the dog get to go yet I find myself leaving it in as a great place to throw my tennis bag, etc.

What did it take:
1. With the seats back including the Exit mode, I created a cardboard template
2. My wife and I went to a fabric outlet and got gray vinyl and cotton batting.
3. Went to Lowe's and got 3/8 inch plywood.
4. Cut the plywood as per the template
5. Created a template of two legs to support the shelf. Cut them from a piece of 3/4 inch pine.
6. Glued the batting on to the template and then using a shop stapler, stapled the vinyl to the underside of the shelf while stretching the vinyl tight over the betting.
7. Painted the support legs gray-screwed them in and ready to go.

The end results works great.

Late

Looks like a factory accessory! Nice work...
I would put something on the bottom of those legs though to prevent them from gouging a chunk of carpet out.

the head

OK - need pic of said pooch on the SL 'porch'

Stoofpilot

Here two pictures of my Golden. Her favorite ride is to the ice cream shop!!

the head

way cool.

WLP624

Thanks again for the project specs, Stoofpilot, me and Jake here will get right on it!

DreamingOfSL55

Hi everyone,

I realize this thread is several years old. Nevertheless: great craftsmanship and engineering work with that dog shelf. Bravo!

Now, I am looking to buy an R230, but only under the condition that my sheltie (Yoshi, 2 years old) can ride with us in the back and is comfortable and secured while on the road.

So, could the builder or someone else kindly provide me with the measurements for this cool device?

Or, if not, could someone please indicate whether it would be possible to have enough room to fabricate a dog bed
between 12 and 18 inches wide/deep and still make for a comfortable ride for the two humans up front?

Oh, and one last question: how would you recommend securing our dog in the back shelf area? Would it be possible to use the "luggage belt" that is built into the back area?

Thank you!

Best, Marius

NiceMerc

Hi Marius,

I thought about something like this when I owned an R230. Before fabricating anything I stuffed a couple of pillows behind the seats, put a stiff mat across the top and took the dog for a ride. He's about the same size as the Golden in the pictures already posted.

After a short spin around the block I decided this was a really bad idea for several reasons.

First and most importantly, the space isn't very deep or wide, the dog would be very exposed and it would compromise comfort for driver and passenger.
Secondly, dog's head is right in line with the automatic roll bar. If that thing deploys with a dog in the way, I think bad things will happen.
Third it was difficult for the dog to get in and out and even one trip saw a couple of scratches on the seat backs.
Finally, the dog sheds and makes an almighty mess in the other car and after thinking for a while I decided I didn't want that happening in the SL

I've seen dogs riding very happily in the back of 70/80's R107's, but for me the R230 isn't the right car to buy if you're planning on putting anything bigger than a chihuahua in the back

Gary

DreamingOfSL55

Hi Gary,

thank you for sharing your insights and thoughts from your ownership. These are without doubt important points to consider, particularly the rollover bar and exposing a dog to injury, which I most definitely wouldn't want to do.

My sheltie is nowhere near as tall (or wide) as a Golden, measuring about 22 inches at shoulder height when standing. So he isn't a chihuahua either, but at first glance seems a better fit (or: fitable) to a custom-made back shelf like @Stoofpilot's. Also, I can comfortably lift him up and position him inside the car, which is a benefit of his lightweight. I am also thinking about covering up the rear area and seatback entirely, as we are currently doing in the wife's BMW 128i convertible, so that any surfaces will only be minimally exposed to scratching.

Really the most important questions to me are: would he fit and how could I secure him in order to prevent any injuries? As stated above, I am calculating with a depth of 12 to 18 inches between the seatback and the rear "wall" to allow for him to rest comfortably.

As you might already sense, I am not yet ready to give up on the idea to get such a great car like the R230 - especially in its SL55 AMG form - and still being able to do my dog and my passengers justice in riding comfortably. :-)

Are there any other experiences or measurements that fellow R230 owners could share with me?

Thanks and best regards,

BlownV8

If you are concerned about the roll bar activation, put it up before driving the car. Yeah, not much room behind the seats unless you are really short.