# Hauling deer in a SUV?



## dogesco (Aug 11, 2012)

I recently got rid of my truck and got a small SUV (jeep patriot) to save on gas. So far it has been great and I'm getting right at 28 mpg highway instead of 16.

Since I got rid of my truck I became worried about how I would haul deer without a bed. 

I thought about getting a trailer hitch installed and using a rack on the rear like some people do but decided to hold off.

I just came across this and plan on ordering it. It looks like it'll do the job of hauling a deer and not leaking blood all over the place.

http://www.interatarp.com/index.htm 

Its really reasonable price wise (35-50 bucks depending on size).

I'm looking forward to getting it and giving it a go this fall.

What else do the guys without trucks do?

Just looking for more ideas in case this fails (which I don't think it will).

Edit: sorry i thought i posted this under 'deer hunting' and not 'bow hunting'


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## lungbuster123 (Aug 11, 2012)

I throw mine in the back of my 4-runner on a tarp and haul em' on to the processor. Mine has seen a bunch of dead animals and never had any issues.


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## cuda67bnl (Aug 11, 2012)

Just go by Harbor Freight or somewhere like that and pick up some cheap tarps.


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## fishtail (Aug 11, 2012)

You need a cargo liner for it, less than $100.
Then get a hitch for it and then a carrier.
You are gonna quickly tire from the aggravation of the smell, blood, ticks and space packing the animal into the hole amongst the hunting stuff too.


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## dogesco (Aug 11, 2012)

fishtail said:


> You need a cargo liner for it, less than $100.
> Then get a hitch for it and then a carrier.
> You are gonna quickly tire from the aggravation of the smell, blood, ticks and space packing the animal into the hole amongst the hunting stuff too.



I have a rear cargo liner. I've just been quoted really high for a trailer hitch to get installed - 300 I think. Then another 75 dollars at least for the basket. That's why I'd like to avoid getting a hitch if at all possible. I don't tow anything and besides hauling deer that's all it would be used for.


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## fishtail (Aug 11, 2012)

Less than $300 installed ain't bad. If you installed it you'd see the pitfalls and be glad to pay.
You'd find other uses for the hitch later especially with the carrier.
The cargo liner is the first consideration, any ole tarp to help out is great.
Can't help being bias. I'll get oysters or any number of nice smelly things.
The carrier is great for cleaning the animals or even fish on. Done that many times.


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## BowChilling (Aug 11, 2012)

I haul mine quartered up in a cooler!


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## stick_slinger (Aug 11, 2012)

BowChilling said:


> I haul mine quartered up in a cooler!



This, if i had a SUV and wasnt hunting so close to where i live this is what i would do.. But thankfully i have a truck and a 4wheeler and i just pick them up where they lay and bring em to the barn for surgery!!!

CJ


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## dixiecutter (Aug 11, 2012)

u right about the ticks. i hauled deer in my old k5 blazer fir a whike and it would be COVERED in ticks. something to think about.


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## Havana Dude (Aug 11, 2012)

BowChilling said:


> I haul mine quartered up in a cooler!



^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^

And I drive a truck. Deer is cleaned and quartered before I leave the woods.


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## dubblebubble (Aug 11, 2012)

just throw them across the hood


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## undertaker84 (Aug 11, 2012)

Cargo carrier 40 bucks at harbor freight it goes in your receiver of your tow package. I would post a pic but i havent figured this phone out.


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## georgia_home (Aug 11, 2012)

I used to use drive a ford escort back in the day.

Just throw down plastic painters tarps. They are somewhere on the near side to cheap. Rinse and use again.


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## satchmo (Aug 12, 2012)

Just buy a tarp and put your deer in if before you close the door. Unless you kill 30 deer a year the inconvienience of stuffing one in the back won't matter. I prefer suv's to pick up trucks for my hunting. Take a nap in the truck mid day, my stuff is more secure if we go inside somewhere to eat and they seem to ride nice. We've put 200 pounders in the Jeep Liberty too. Not that easy to do ,but do'able.


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## SC Hunter (Aug 12, 2012)

Get a x-large body bag. I got one from work and a normal size deer will fit in one and keep blood from getting everywhere. I got a strange look when I hopped out of my car in a fire department uniform and pulled a body bag out of the trunk at the processor.


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## sothunfried (Aug 12, 2012)

if ya have the extra cash you could buy a small trailor


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## hogman1 (Aug 13, 2012)

I definately think the best way to go would be just getting the hitch haul. I bought one at walmart for like 80 bucks and it was a awesome investment. Id rather spend a little money on a haul package than on new interior for my pathfinder.


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## goastinstructor (Aug 13, 2012)

Makes you a better shot my buddy put a gut shot hog in the back of his civic.... But ive used 55 gal liners gut em wash em and you can stuff a bag or two of ice in the cavity for longer hauls hunted in a Saturn SL2 for a year... And yes it will probaly take more than one 55 gal liner unless its a lil'en.


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## Gulfin (Aug 13, 2012)

I also use the hitch hauler to get em out of the woods and then they're boned out and in the cooler for the ride home. I have definitely used the tarp in the back a time or two though.


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## treehugger49 (Aug 13, 2012)

Even though I drive an F-250, I use the Hitch Haul. I hunt alone 80% of the time, and I find it pretty difficult to get even a field dressed deer in the bed by myself. The Hitch Haul is much easier to load, and I don't worry about the blood and mess - I just hose it off after dropping off my deer at the processors.

I use a hitch that folds up, so the Hitch Haul isn't sticking out except when in use. It is on my truck from the beginning of bow season until Jan. 1 here in Georgia. It also comes in handy for toting coolers and gear that needs to be handy instead of in the front of my pickup bed (I have a Leer cap that impedes my ability to easily get to the front of the bed).

I'll be using a Honda Pilot in the coming years when I don't need the hauling or towing capacity of the F-250, and plan on using the Hitch Haul for that as well.


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## NCHillbilly (Aug 13, 2012)

Get you a gambrel, a piece of rope, and a cooler. It'll take you maybe a half-hour to hang, skin and quarter it and put it in the cooler.


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## Pneumothorax (Aug 13, 2012)

I use a cargo liner similar to this in my Jeep.


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## LanceAH22 (Aug 13, 2012)

hitch haul!


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## DrewDennis (Aug 13, 2012)

Haven't used it yet, but have one of those hoists that fits into the receiver.  Like this one:
http://www.cabelas.com/gambrels-hoists-scales-foreverlast-hitch-hoist.shtml


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## oldenred (Aug 14, 2012)

I use a tarp and throw em in the back of my Corolla!


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## HuntinDawg89 (Aug 14, 2012)

Pneumothorax said:


> I use a cargo liner similar to this in my Jeep.



Back when I drove a Jeep Cherokee that is exactly what I had.  I used tarps to keep from getting blood on the back of the back seats, etc.  I think that the tarps under the deer and then wrapping over it also helped confine the ticks because I never noticed a problem there.  Also with regard to the ticks I would think that would depend on how far you have to haul the deer.  The shorter time you haul it and the less time since it died the fewer ticks are going to detach and start looking to get off the deer IMO.

I would recommend the hitch haul too, but if I had another SUV and found myself hunting out of it with no hitch I would do this without worrying.


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## dawg2 (Aug 14, 2012)

I have a fold up hitch mounted cargo carrier I use.  The cargo liners work...but you will get TICKS in your car.  You can get one on Amazon for $100 that carries 500lbs.  They work great.  I use it on vacations for coolers and such.


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## burkehunter (Aug 14, 2012)

I haul mine in a 01 ford focus.  Throw them in the trunk on some trash bags!


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## preston h (Aug 15, 2012)

dogesco said:


> I have a rear cargo liner. I've just been quoted really high for a trailer hitch to get installed - 300 I think. Then another 75 dollars at least for the basket. That's why I'd like to avoid getting a hitch if at all possible. I don't tow anything and besides hauling deer that's all it would be used for.



It is only $75 for the hitch for your jeep and it is only 4 bolts that hold it on. You can get the basket for $45 to $55 on sportsmans guide.


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## oops1 (Aug 15, 2012)

Get a small swimming pool before Walmart runs out. Friend of mines dad this back in the day and it worked like a charm.


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## chadeugene (Aug 15, 2012)

I practically gave my pickup to someone who needed it a lot more than I did.  They are family and their job depended on it.

So now I hunt out of my car.  I just slip the deer into a thick contractors bag and throw them in my trunk.


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## Silver Mallard (Aug 15, 2012)

satchmo said:


> Just buy a tarp and put your deer in if before you close the door. Unless you kill 30 deer a year the inconvienience of stuffing one in the back won't matter. I prefer suv's to pick up trucks for my hunting. Take a nap in the truck mid day, my stuff is more secure if we go inside somewhere to eat and they seem to ride nice. We've put 200 pounders in the Jeep Liberty too. Not that easy to do ,but do'able.



Love to see a cops face if you got pulled over and he/she asked to look in the back.


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## BrotherBadger (Aug 15, 2012)

dubblebubble said:


> just throw them across the hood



Some folks up here still do that(especially those with cars instead of SUVs). It works too. you also won't get pulled over by the cops, as opposed to if you had blood leaking out the back of your trunk.


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## ALL4HUNTIN (Aug 15, 2012)

Hitch Haul man, Hitch haul..... You gotta have a reciever on the back of the jeep.. Slide it in and don't mess up the back of your jeep !!


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## satchmo (Aug 15, 2012)

Silver Mallard said:


> Love to see a cops face if you got pulled over and he/she asked to look in the back.



I've gotten a few looks from people with having deer legs sticking up in the back glass. A few thumbs up and a few other fingers up too. It's a hunting truck to me, so I don't have a problem putting a deer in the back. I am very glad that last season I just bought a pick-up and shot a bear the next day-- late september. I would not have wanted to cram a bear in the back of the Jeep Liberty, or Explorer.
Just a preferance for me to use a suv over a pick up.


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## Ruger Theory (Aug 15, 2012)

I have hauled about 15 deer in teh back of my Ford Escape and I have no blood stains in it what so ever. All I do is get a $5 tarp from Harbor Freight or WalMart, I lay the tarp down behind the truck and drag the deer onto the tarp. I then bring the ends of the tarp up and roll them down (like you would a togo bag at a burger joint). The roll can be used to get a better grip for lifting the deer into the vehicle. I somethings put a plastic bag over the deers head if its flopping around a lot and had a lot of blood. 

I don't like puting the tarp in the back of my vehicle and then trying to pull the deer in on top of it. I tore my rotator cuff doing that with the first deer I loaded into it. using the tarp to help load the deer really helps  and is easier then picking up a deer that's able to flop all over the place.


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## Pneumothorax (Aug 15, 2012)

Ruger Theory said:


> using the tarp to help load the deer really helps  and is easier then picking up a deer that's able to flop all over the place.



Neat trick.  I need to try that!


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## T.P. (Aug 15, 2012)

Buy cooler, put deer inside cooler.


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