Review: Travall® Guard
As I have mentioned many times on here in the past, we have A LOT of camping gear these days. In fact, our tent alone takes up most of our boot space weighing in at a hefty 29.5kg and packing down to a rather large 45 x 90 cm. We’ve debated getting a roof box or a trailer (and probably will at some point), but for now we’ve been taking Luke’s van camping with us.
Mastering the mystic art of car tetris is vital to the whole camping experience
The main reason for this is that we’re worried about the safety aspect of loading the car up. We own a Ford C-Max and have high boot that can fit a lot in, however it only takes us to brake sharply or have a minor bump and our gear would go everywhere. Obviously, with a small child in the back seat, this is less than ideal and could cause injuries.
Our set up has grown over the last couple of years
One option is a Travall® Guard. Often used by dog owners, I’ve never considered using a guard before, but it’s actually a great idea for families with lots of camping gear to transport. Also, costing around £100-£135 depending on your make and model of car, it’s certainly a good value option.
The Travall Guard is a good option for families with a lot of gear to transport
Fitting the Travall® Guard
The guard was surprisingly easy to fit; I managed on my own with no issues at all. The first stage is to connect the end brackets, once this is done you can put your guard in place in the car.
The first job is to fit the end brackets to the guard. Everything you need for this is supplied
The second stage was to adjust and fit the universal hook attachment, this was a little trickier, mainly because you have to do it in situ, and hauling my pregnant frame in and out of a car boot on a hot day was not very dignified-or comfortable. Goodness knows what the neighbours thought!
You can see the two hook fittings (one on either side) which attach to the bottom of the back seat and hold the Travall Guard in place
I’ve made a short video that explains how the Travall® Guard is fitted and how it works.
Using the Travall® Guard
After being so impressed with how quick and easy it was to fit, I have driven around with the guard in place for a few weeks now. It is incredibly practical, allowing full vision out of the back window and is also lightweight, so it doesn’t affect your driving at all. It has been so useful when transporting lots of outdoor gear, we’ve also moved house in the last few months, so plenty of trips to the tip and lots of stuff to move around. Having the guard fitted has provided us with complete piece of mind, knowing that anything in the boot is kept securely in place.
Having the guard in place makes it so much easier to stack up our boot and drive safely with a full load.
Our Opinion
I have been immensely impressed with the Travall® Guard. When I first opened the box I was a bit daunted, but I was able to fit it single-handedly in a little under 30 minutes with no issues. It fits perfectly to our car and I was happy that you can still put the back seats down if needed. It also works just as well with or without the parcel shelf in place. It has given me so much piece of mind knowing that our stuff is now stored safely and securely in the boot. We have definitely been able to cram more gear in without having to compromise on safety or comfort.
I haven’t found any negatives as of yet. The only time I can see us having to remove the guard is if we need to transport anything particularly long. If this did happen it wouldn’t be an issue as it is so easy to take out and put back in again.
Do you have an issue transporting all of your camping equipment? What do you think of the Travall® Guard?
We were given a Travall Guard for the purposes of this review. All opinions are my own.
i always assumed it was only for dog owners, but this is a clever use of this product. thank you for sharing
#adventurecalling
That looks good. It’s somethimg I’ve been wanting for my car. I’ve used different ones in the past but they always fall over.
What a sensible idea – we had something similar when our dog was small. I have to admit when the car is piled up in the back without the dog (or guard) I have also worried about everything flying through onto the kids #adventurecalling
To me this sounds like a good idea but convincing hubby is another thing #adventurecalling
What a brilliant idea! I mentioned it to Rick and apparently, he’s already told me about it. Can’t say I remember. Ooops. 🙂
#adventurecalling
I think that’s a good idea to have a travel guard if you have lots of stuff to pack in your vehicle. Looks like it comes in handy. #AdventureCalling
We used to have one when we had the dog but haven’t used it since he passed. I might consider getting it back out for camping trips now. #adventurecalling