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Ruff Tough Crates


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These crates were mentioned about a year ago in a discussion of crates. Is anyone using them? Or know of a friend who uses them? And how do they like them? Ruff & Tough as the name indicates? Pluses and minuses please.

 

I want to fit two crates into the back of my crossover (Ford Flex) which is 41" wide. Most wire crates are too wide (22" W) to fit two crates or if narrow enough, are too small, IMO.

 

I checked out the Rolls-Royce of crates - the Variocage, which will fit - but the prices -- Yikes!

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I've ordered some from Patrick - they were the only options I could find where I was sure I could fit two of them side-by-side in the back of my Passat wagon (one medium size, one intermediate size with two doors). I'm still anxiously awaiting their delivery. Patrick's prices were better than from the manufacturer.

 

Yeah, the Variocage - pricey, and given the age of my car (~ 9 years), not gonna happen...

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I have heard rave reviews from people I know - as in, their cars have been in accidents, and the Ruff Tough kennels (and dogs) came through unscathed. The portable wire crate I have starts to disassemble itself every time I take it in our out of the car. I've got nightmare visions of a dog getting impaled on bits of wire if, god forbid, I ever get rear-ended. I know people with older wire crates that they feel are safe in a car but I can no longer find these for sale - certainly not two of them narrow enough to fit in the back of my car.

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Slightly off-topic, but another advantage to the plastic kennels vs wire crates in vehicles is that not only do they keep dog "ick" in, but also dangerous stuff like shards of glass out. I was recently in an accident where a rear window was blown out and luckily the dog riding in that spot was protected from the bits of glass that rained down on his kennel. I hadn't thought about this prior to the accident!

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Dear Doggers,

 

A couple air travel minuses: Ruff/tough don't say on their website if they're airline approved and it looks to me that absent some extra holes drilled in back of the one gated model they wouldn't meet IATA (international flight) regs. Would the ticket agent at your airport notice or care? Probably not.

 

Wheels can be had for several of the Italian designed crates and if you fly your dogs can be handy getting you and your gear to the rental car. While a one piece crate should be sturdier in an accident, breaking a crate down is sometimes the only way to cram you and your dog(s) into a taxi or rental car. (The Marchioro's can be bolted or snapped together.)

 

The airlines have some more-or-less enforced guidelines for crate size which are, in my opinion, bigger than wiser. I do a lot of car dog travel and the Marchioro Cayman 4 is big enough for most Border Collies and yes 2 will fit side by side in a Flex.

 

Donald McCaig

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I have heard rave reviews from people I know - as in, their cars have been in accidents, and the Ruff Tough kennels (and dogs) came through unscathed. The portable wire crate I have starts to disassemble itself every time I take it in our out of the car. I've got nightmare visions of a dog getting impaled on bits of wire if, god forbid, I ever get rear-ended. I know people with older wire crates that they feel are safe in a car but I can no longer find these for sale - certainly not two of them narrow enough to fit in the back of my car.

 

I wish someone would make a better designed wire crate (with wider gauge wires, better welding and not collapsible) for car travel. I can't see out of the back window with a solid crate.

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I have them. They are in my travel trailer and I will be getting some for my truck. Nice but the gates are plastic and if you have a chewer, I don't know how they would fare. One of the slot holes where the gate slips into is not deep enough and the gate fall out so I had to switch gates around until I got one that worked BUT I use it for storage or for a dog that wont push. If you push on it hard enough it will fall down. The hole was not deep enough. Those are my only concerns. They are nice and sturdy. Easy to rinse out if a dog gets sick. Solid as well. You can set it up so you have a row and fasten them with latches so they are very secure. I have two rows, and on the second row, I have a holder tray. I put my gear in that. I fastened it all down with straps. After we did all of that we found we used less room than the Furrai Crates. I am slowing getting rid of my other crates that I travel with and using these. I like mine and one of the best crates out there. I wish they would offer a metal gate though.

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One of the slot holes where the gate slips into is not deep enough and the gate fall out so I had to switch gates around until I got one that worked BUT I use it for storage or for a dog that wont push. If you push on it hard enough it will fall down. The hole was not deep enough.

 

That could be problematic if there were an accident and the dog was thrown into the door, couldn't it?

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I've heard a few people say their dogs can break the door. Wouldn't work for me since I leave my dogs crated with he hatch of my SUV open for ventilation. I've seen other crates I liked more, but they cost a whole lot ($500 plus per crate).

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Thanks to everyone for the input.

 

I have decided to try the Ruff Tough crate. I need two crates, but will order one to start with since one of the dogs will be a puppy, and I have a smaller, plastic crate for now that will accommodate him for a few months. If I decide I don't like the RuffTough (although I can't imagine why), I can find another option in the future.

 

Here are a few comments on what I discovered:

The RuffTough has a new composite door (as of 2013) that is purportedly stronger/better/whatever. (I talked to 'salesman' at the company -- i.e. whoever answered the contact # listed on the website.) I asked him why they don't use metal doors. "Because they bend." was the answer. Hmmm. Maybe that is better than breaking?? He also suggested that the it shouldn't be a problem if the dog was used to the crate. My dog is fine in the crate. I have never had a problem except for one time at an agility trial when I was keeping him in the car with the hatchback raised. I didn't realize that some kids had come to play basketball on the court about 100' away. I came back to a very shredded dog bed, but the wire crate was fine.

 

I like the Variocage (LOVE the safety features and the space-agey aesthetic is very cool), but at over $900 for a single crate (~$1100-1200 for a double), the budget is not there. Obviously a double seems more economical, but that means that I would always have 2 crates in the back of the car. To move it out would be a major operation (quite heavy). I prefer to have more flexibility to move the crates in or out as needed. (although to tell the truth, it seldom happens.)

 

The aluminum dog boxes - a little less pricey, but still heavy and cumbersome. Also, I thought they were a bit shorter (height) than the RuffTough.

 

SUV crates - I posted a similar query on another forum, and had several people suggest SUV crates. When I checked the sizes of those, they were 21" wide. Again, 2 will not fit in a 41" space. Also, I have been a bit uneasy using the wire crates in cars for a while since I have heard about the risk of impalement (is that a word?) in an accident - which hopefully would be a very low risk.

 

I appreciated Emily Falk's comment about protection from exterior flying objects in a plastic crate.

 

By no means was my research exhaustive, but I did check out 6-8 different options. I wish there was one clear answer (high safety, correct measurement, not too heavy, not a budget-buster), but there isn't.

 

If I am dissatisfied with my RuffTough, I will post here again. If I am satisfied - no news is good news.

 

Thanks again,

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