Crates for cars

[Annette4]

My car is very much on the way out (not happy as it's been my favourite so far and has cost me the least money) so I've started the hunt for a replacement. The replacement will be an estate for numerous reasons but mostly because I want crates for the boot in a vain attempt to localise the corgi fluff but also so for safety.

I'm doing my own research but wondered if anyone could recommend any brands at all? I'm wanting the 'box' type rather than thin wire and need to be able to separate them as the old boy won't travel next to Fizz, well he will because he's a good lad but I know he'd be happier separated.

 

[Moobli]

I bought a TransK9 recently. Certainly not cheap but, I believe, one of the safest. They are independently crash tested and also feature various safety features such as rear escape doors. They also offer a ten year structural warranty. I am very happy with mine.

http://www.transk9.com/

 

[Thistle]

I had a Trans K9 B21 but I need to sell it as have changed the car, it's a great crate and I shall consider another. They are heavy so not great if you need to take the crate out of the car frequently. Retail over £500, second hand probably around £260 to £350

Lintran also have a good reputation

 

[Henbug]

www.safedog.co.uk

Amazing crates! I researched this for absolutely ages. I do agility with mine and spend a lot of weekends driving them miles on motorways and as I spend a lot of time commuting to work on the m4 I'm acutely aware of the high number of accidents I see and the potential results for my dogs in the back of the car.

Cars are designed with crush zones, a crush zone results in the car coming to a stop over an increased period of time which means that the force exerted on the car and its occupants is decreased. The boot of the car is designed to be a crush zone in order to decrease the force while the passenger area is designed not to crumple in order to protect the people inside it.

The point of crating a dog in the car for me was a) to prevent it having the opportunity to distract the driver, b) in the event of an accident to prevent the dog being able to escape the car leading to a range of bad scenarios, c) to help prevent injury to the dog in the instance of an accident either by restricting the dog so it wasn't injured by being thrown around or injured by being crushed.

By putting a dog in the boot you are putting it in the crush zone of the car. If the dog is loose or in a wire crate the boot will crush in on the dog, obviously in the worse instance that in itself could cause injury or worse death to the dog but damage to a lesser degree could still damage the crate significantly enough to allow the dog to escape it.

I considered the alternative to this, a "crush proof"/ resistant crate (there are people that market some as such) and felt that while this might help remedy the worry of the dog being crushed in the boot of the car and even of it being able to escape the crate in the event of an accident it was at a cost to the safety of the people in the car. By putting a crush proof crate in the boot of my car I felt that it would be taking away a significant safety feature from the design of the car and this wasn't something I felt comfortable doing. Putting myself and my passengers at a greater risk in order to try to lower the risk to my dog.

This crate linked above I felt was a good compromise. It is designed much the same way as the car in order to work with the safety features of the car. It has a built in crush zone. It will crush to half its size, allowing the boot of the car to crush but upon reaching half it's size it will remain rigid giving the dog a small safe zone. This allows it to absorb some of the impact of the crash, protect the dog without compromising the safety of driver or passengers and maintain it's structure so that the dog is remains contained.

I researched for ages what to buy, I've had this crate for nearly two years now and happily haven't had to test it out but have been so pleased with it. I feel so much happier driving my dogs around knowing that I feel I've done the very best that I reasonably could to keep them safe.

On a more aesthetic note with a solid base it keeps contained vast quantities of mud, water, sand, dirt and god knows what else my dogs get covered in rather than having it spread all over the car!

Not cheap but I think completely worth it and I can't recommend them highly enough. Their customer service has also been fantastic.

P.s. promise I'm nothing to do with the company!!

 

[Sprout]

I have a Barjo car crate and also an indoor crate - very sturdy, thoroughly recommend.

 

[splashgirl45]

i have an atlas, which is divided into two so dogs travel separately...its quite bulky and although a type of plastic is quite heavy to move but mine only comes out once a year for the cars MOT....

small collie cross and lurcher both had plenty of room but sadly i now only have the collie cross, am resisting getting another at the moment.....fits well in a freelander

 

[cremedemonthe]

I have a thing about crates in cars, I use a Transit van and have dog's health crates strapped down tight in the middle of the van. I use 3 door crates in case of an accident the chances are if I can't get access to the side door or rear door due to damage I can go over the seats and get them out the back door of the cages, the third door (I removed the bulkhead for this reasons to be able to get in to the back in an emergency).
When using a car I put the back seats down and strap the cages in there if room or put the dog's on the back seat with my own harnesses clipped on to the seat belt. I never put dogs in the rear of any vehicle as the most common accident I have seen is the classic rear end shunt and if the dogs are in the rear it could be messy.
I have seen an accident with dog's in the rear and it's stuck in my mind all these years.
Oz

 

[splashgirl45]

i did have the crate facing backwards (the back seats are folded down flat) as i was putting them in the back door but decided to change it round so the cage faces the front of the car and in case of an accident i could either open the cage and get them out of the side door or over the seats to the front. also i can see them in the mirror in case of illness etc...

 

[fourshiresrambler]

I know this sounds very random, but speak to your local scrap man. My friend is a scrap man and he picks up crates of all shapes and sizes every day. I have three now, one for home, one for the car and one for travelling. I just give him a bit above what he would get scrap, which is a few pounds. Worth a try and you would be surprised what people get rid of!

Saved me a fortune.