When I adopted my Golden he was 130 lbs and knew I would need something to help him get in. I thought of a milk crate too, but even the wide ones are small for him to fit both front and back paws on, and if it tipped over on a dismount he'd never go near it again. sooo. I got an oval trough and turned it upside down. Super strong plastic and since its as wide as the X, he's always been happy using it. It's only used in my garage. He has since lost about 40 lbs and can hop in and out. I would still recomend getting a step to anyone just to cut down on the stress of jumping out of the truck. I thought the trough would be handy for bath time, but have never used it for that.