Well, a while back I did an article about my adventures in my first welding project due to wanting a place for my dogs to sleep (and stay safe!). Previous Post.

Between work and life, I didn’t have time to finish this project until recently.

I used 16ga sheet, welded (fully) to the bottom of the crate to act as a pan, for “accidents.” I also welded the same to the rear of the the crate to protect the wood behind.

Picked up a can of POR15 (#ad) to paint everything. This is really neat paint, super durable and scratch resistant – however, it pours into a cup and brushes like you are painting with cold honey. Not a fun consistency to work with, but worth it in the long run for it’s durability.

I’m very happy with the end results. I bolted it on the back panel, low into a stud on each side. I then cut a new sheet of 1/2″ plywood to make a topper – the crate is longer than the original plywood that came with the trailer, and I wanted it to have edge-to-edge coverage. Once the plywood was cut, I attached the new sheet to the original hinges and then screwed the sheet using self-tapping screws into 5 points into the crate. The end result is that it’s extremely solid and will not budge in the trailer between it’s weight and the support points.