Eight points. The second is the one you discover on the first summer night, when it is too late to settle it.
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A converted vehicle raises problems that no fixed accommodation does: the temperature swings fast, water is rationed, and the animal is sometimes left alone in an enclosed space. These eight points are settled before departure, not on the road.
This is the decision that governs all the others. A trip where the animal is never alone in the vehicle calls for almost no equipment; a trip where it will be calls for everything that follows.
Taking that decision in advance avoids improvising on the day you want to visit a site that does not accept dogs.
The order is counter-intuitive and it is physical: an uninsulated window lets in solar gain that the air conditioning then has to offset, and offsetting it draws power. Parked with no hook-up, the energy runs out before the heat does.
Window and rooflight insulation treats the problem at source and draws nothing. This is the point you discover on the first summer night, when it is too late to fit it.
An animal in an enclosed space uses oxygen and produces moisture. Renewed air counts as much as cold air, and the two are not handled by the same equipment.
A rooflight extractor running continuously is worth more than air conditioning that stops when the battery drops. The rule from the previous guide stands in full: in hot weather, an animal is not left alone in a parked vehicle, whatever the equipment.
A thermometer inside, readable remotely if possible, turns worry into information. It is the cheapest piece of equipment in this guide and the one that changes decisions the most.
Without a reading, you are reasoning from the outside temperature — which bears only a distant relation to the one in the cabin.
An unrestrained animal becomes a projectile when you brake, and the French highway code forbids it. In a converted vehicle the temptation to let it roam is stronger, because the space is there.
A secured crate or a fitted safety harness are the only two solutions. The soft mat laid on the bench seat is not one.
A 30 kg dog drinks 1 to 2 litres a day, more when it is very hot. Over a week with no refill point, that is not a negligible share of a vehicle tank.
Do the sums before departure, at the same time as the ones for the humans' water. On-board water equipment is sized accordingly, and a jerrycan set aside for the animal avoids dipping into the shared reserve.
A bed that slides on every bend teaches the animal that the spot is not safe, and it will end up sleeping somewhere else — often the worst place in the vehicle.
A non-slip base and soft sides are worth more than thick padding. It is the same criterion as for a car boot, with the added constraint of bulk.
Stopover areas, campsites and natural sites apply widely varying rules: lead compulsory, off-limits zones, number of animals. Discovering the rule on arrival costs you a leg of the trip.
For outdoor sites, listings of natural sites open to dogs give the conditions, which lets you build an itinerary rather than put up with one.