[Indessasp]

I think it's time to build a treadmill for Baloo. Some days I just can't exercise him enough. And those are always days when I have so much to do and I just keep banging my head on a wall. I do not trust his attention span to be able to run with a bike. He's so good on leash but sometimes he catches a whiff of something and just freezes. I don't see it ending well for either of us. And it's just so dang hot. I can't take him out but mornings and evenings and that's just not enough for him. And it's Mississippi, so it won't cool down til November. Maybe December.

So anyways. I have a rough draft of what I'm going to do. But I was just wondering from those of you that have built your own or have your own self-propelled carpet(or similar) treadmill, do you have any advice? Something you didn't think about til you already finished? Good tips for materials? What works? What doesn't work? Pictures?

Thanks!

[leflyCode]

I built my own carpet mill, it cost me less than 50.00, mainly because I used some things that I already had.Best advice I can give is not to get the cheap wet 2x4's, get the dry stuff, get a can of lube to spray the bed down with. Make sure you have enough carpet, I didn't get enough on the first carpet and had two pieces put together, didn't last. Celtic Karma gave me some good advice on putting the carpet together. Be patient, the first time you build one it may not work right and fall to shit.

[Andromino]

Build it around the size of your dog. Smaller the better. Bigger= more resistance and less easy spinning.

[Nikkkola]

While I'm sure you know your dog best, I would consider looking into a special dog-bike leash called "the walky dog". http://www.thedogoutdoors.com/walkydog-dog-bike-leash.html

It's a pretty amazing device and from what I've seen, incredibly safe. There was a person who posted a video of their dog on it while biking and one point they almost get attacked by another dog but even that doesn't do anything to "throw" the bike out of balance and cause a fall.

anyway, just something I thought you may want to consider because biking with just holding a leash = totally dangerous, but this device definitely changes biking with your dog. I am buying mine next week when I get my money and I'm super excited to use it.

For the record, also, I have biked my dog with just a regular leash and when you're at a consistent pace/speed, your dog doesn't even have time to notice things, because you're constantly moving. So, yeah.

As far as treadmills go, I don't know how much different a "self-built" one is from a normal "human" one, but Dylan is absolutely terrified of my treadmill. Won't go near it, just freaked out by it... so... yeah.

[Indessasp]

I have yet to buy materials, any pointers there? And where did you get your carpet? I was thinking about hitting up lowes and seeing if they have scraps? Would anywhere else have random strips of carpet?

[medifastwoman]

I'll be watching this thread. My sister and I have both been contemplating the idea of building some mills.

[Indessasp]

I've found this company that sells their plans for carpet mills. http://evolutionbulldogges.com/carpet_mill.html Which I wouldn't buy, but the videos have good ideas. Like where supports should be and they look well built.

I'm also keeping an eye on Craigslist. People sell old treadmills for surprisingly cheap. I saw a self-propelled one for 10 bucks but it looked like someone fished it out of a lake. So if something comes up, I might just see how an e-mill would work. Because I don't have a table saw. I'd have to take all cutting to my dad. So I will have to see if a deal comes along I might put this on hold for a while.

[medifastwoman]

That's my issue. No tools or know-how!

[AndrewBoss]

I've been thinking of building a mill for my pup but I want her in a harness on it so I can generate power for my TV. LOL. As I said, just been thinking about it......

[Gooracouppy]

I got my treadmill for free out of the trash. The lady at the house told me she couldn't get it to work. I took it home and looked online, it had to have a "safety key" in the slot to operate it. I took one of those "pre-approved" fake credit cards ,bent it up and stuck it in the slot. I heard a click and hit the power button. Guess what, it worked

[medifastwoman]

You lucky bastard!

[Olphander]

You lucky bastard!

No kidding! I wish I was that lucky.

[medifastwoman]

Same here. I never score anything good like that.

[MIBgirlsXXL]

http://www.rpmillmaker.com/

I know the one who makes this mill.. sold more mills abroad than locally.

You can also check on the pics to have an idea no how he create it and the materials he used.

[Kdgjhytiy]

http://www.rpmillmaker.com/

I know the one who makes this mill.. sold more mills abroad than locally.

You can also check on the pics to have an idea no how he create it and the materials he used.

His mills appear to be well built. I was interested in purchasng one a while back, but overseas shipping is very expensive (mills are made and shipped from PI).

[Gooracouppy]

Gotta go trash pickin around tax time in the higher end neighborhoods LOL! I have a truck and was driving home from work, and on the way to the interstate I have to drive thru a really nice area They even keep their trash under overhangs to shelter it for others LOL

[leflyCode]

You can get carpet at Lowes around 30.00 for 11 ft of carpet.
RP millmaker does make a decent mill but alot of people in the u.s. are not getting their mills because of customs

[Kdgjhytiy]

You can get carpet at Lowes around 30.00 for 11 ft of carpet.RP millmaker does make a decent mill but alot of people in the u.s. are not getting their mills because of customs

Im glad customs is responsible for the hold up. Any specific reason why customs is being difficult?

[leflyCode]

Thats just the reason I heard going around. My best guess is that they know what most of them are going to be used for.
But I would rather have a Gambler mill than anything.

[Indessasp]

Saw this on CL. Think I could update it easily? Just a thought