Mud Terrain Dogbed/Shoprag storage Project!

Not really Jeep related specifically, but it involves previous Jeep tires, so I'm counting it!

Saw something on pinterest about upcycling an old tire into a dog bed by painting it and shoving some rags in.

....I decided to up the ante.

We've got the JK's old 32' Mud Terrains lying around and I've been looking for a better storage solution for my shop rags, so this was my solution!



Super simple to make!

Marked about 1/4 of the tire for cutting



Utility knife took care of the sidewall, but I needed a sawzall for cutting through the steel belts in the tread



I cut the sidewall both top and bottom.  Top for a larger bed size, and bottom for a flatter surface.  Also made it weigh a little less.



Next I took measurements and put my 8th grade math to good use calculating the circumference needed so I could figure out how much cloth to buy.  I ended up buying a faux-leather material that should be durable enough for abuse as a dog bed, but synthetic so the being outside in the shop/barn won't ruin it.  Also bought heavy-duty plastic thread and needles and chunky plastic zippers.



I was also looking for a place to store my rags in the new shop and hated the ugly pile I had in the corner, so I decided to put zippers on the back portion and stuff it with rags for padding!  Need a rag? Just unzip and grab one!

I decided to stuff the bottom with foam (my hound is a bit of a princess and the pea and is a sucker for soft surfaces, so if I wanted her to love it, I'd need to make it durably comfy and not just filled with random cloth or stuffing.  You may decide to go a different direction because foam is f*cking expensive!)

My 80 year-old sewing machine (literally) wasn't up to the task of sewing multiple layers of faux-leather, so I brought the material while visiting my mother and mother-in-law.

I did the majority of the sewing (Shame home ec isn't taught much anymore.  It's super useful!) but I did need their assistance on the zippers, as I'd never done them before.



For the bottom, there was a 2' zipper for stuffing.  I took an old military camping mat for the bottom two layers and foam for the softer two upper layers (again, foam is f-ing expensive, so I didn't want to do the full thing with it)



For a final touch (and to keep the bits of steel belt from poking out, even though I took a grinder to the edges to smooth them out), I took the extra material and lined the opening.  I just stapled it on inside out, then flipped it over the staple and stapled it again inside the tire.



Came out pretty well, I think!



I did the bottom and back in separate pieces to make it easier to stuff and get out shop rags. So to secure the back piece to the tire, I drilled holes through a bunch of 30-30 casings, drilled a hole through the tire, and secured them by looping the wire through the casing and twisting the ends inside the tire.



Voila!  The red towel is a shop rag for demonstration.



She's a 60lb dog with plenty of room to spare, so it's a pretty decent size!

Very cool use of things you already have.

Haha, that looks great!

Geoff,, that is a great idea! a bit big for my cat, but if i had a dog i would make one.