I got the Pet Gear Travel Lite 36" crate a year ago to meet the requirements of my training site and have been taking it to weekly classes. It's about as sturdy as my other dog's traditional 2-door, 36x24x27" folding wire crate, but at 38 lbs it's 7 lbs heavier and only folds down to a 5" depth instead of 2". The garage-style door is nicely out of the way if you're leaving the door open all the time, but it does take more room to open in tight quarters than a regular door, and it also takes an inch or so off the headroom in the crate when open. (And I don't know if this is particular to my crate or not, but one side of the door is a little tight near the hinge side and it often catches while I'm opening it.) A regular door in one of the narrow sides of the crate would have been a more useful option than the door at the top, especially at the size I got. I was initially disappointed that the latches were just plastic, but I haven't yet had a problem with them breaking, though they tend to slide down while unlatched during travel. Likewise, the wheels are small and plastic and don't seem sturdy enough for outdoor use, but I haven't had a problem just using them indoors. Overall, this crate works, but unless you want the garage-style door or the plastic bottom, you'd do just as well with a traditional folding wire crate.
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We bought this crate after our 80 pound GSD escaped from a soft-sided crate. One of the reasons we liked this one was the side-entry door, which is perfect for our RV layout. We travel in our RV fulltime and needed something that fit, was collapsible, relatively lightweight yet durable enough for our 1 year old pup who suffers from separation anxiety. The Pet Gear Crate is as good as they get, and fits the bill.
Re: Collabsiblity: It collapses down into a manageable size for our 24' trailer, but you'll need to use velcro straps to keep it contained, otherwise it just kinda flops around when you maneuver it.
Re: Durability: Our GSD is a wild rescue who knows how to get out of a crate. While this one is durable, the plastic door latches seem flimsy. He hasn't broken them yet, but we also zip tie him in when he's alone. Once he was so stressed he actually pulled the gate into the crate and bent it (but it was easy to gently straighten out again). He also bent the sides around the door. If you have a wild dog, use zip ties to avoid this.
We've set up and torn down the crate at least 50 times since we got it last November, and so far it's stood up to all of our moving around. We're pretty happy with this Pet Gear crate, and our dog seems to prefer the side entry over the narrow doors that other crates have because the open feel allows him to stretch out and hang out with us. Overall, a great product!
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I have been searching high and low for a wire/collapsible, 27inch crate. When I came across this one, I was thrilled.
My dog is okay in it, only had it a day, the noise of the door going up and down scares her a little, but lots of cookies will get her past that.
Reason for 4 stars, not 5: I bought this crate for a road trip in a sedan. 27 inch is the smallest size my dog will fit comfortably in, and the biggest size that is easy to get in and out of the car... Unfortunately, while the crate fits nicely in the backseat, I can't open the "garage style" door. (And I have short legs, so it's not like the drivers seat is very far back!) Looks like I'm going to have to unload the entire crate everytime I want to get the dog out. Top door is great, but again, not very useful while in the back seat of the car. Top door is also on the smaller side, not sure how easily I'll be able to get my dog in and out of it, if necessary. She's about 25 lbs, and I wouldnt put anything bigger than her in here.
Would love if it had a little door on one end as well, or a way of opening the garage style door that didn't require so much extra space.
The wheels on the bottom are great, and I've added a pair of black handles to the top for ease of carrying and manuevering while it is assembled. Easy to set up and take apart again. Also, if you have a taller dog, the door, when in the "up" position, does take about 2 inches away from the height of the crate, making for less head room.
No complaints about the worksmanship or construction of this crate. Seems sturdy, well put together, and looks like it will hold up for many road trips to come!
Honest reviews on Pet Gear Travel Lite Steel Crate for cats and dogs up to 30-pounds
Echo, my Doberman, loves her new "house" and so do I. The garage door-type opening is the main feature I wanted it for. She loves it because the one piece molded heavy duty plastic bottom is more comfortable and WAY quieter than the regular wire crate plastic or metal "trays" were. The tray from her old crate scare her with the clacking noise it made every time she moved and it was wobbly when she stood up. I finally had to put some foam rubber between the tray and the bottom of the crate to stabilize it and muffle it, but then she lost some of the height of the crate. Not good. This crate solves ALL of those problems. As soon as I set it up (about 1 min to do so!), she was in it, sniffed around, and laid down like "I approve, Mom!" It is her safe haven to get away from the other 2 dogs and the 3 cats when she has had enough. I would recommend this to anyone!!
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Pet Gear Travel Lite Steel Crate for cats and dogs up to 30-pounds
The crate is a good size, fairly sturdy. It will need zip ties at the edges when our dog is fully grown. However, the plastic locking mechanism is very flimsy, breaks easily. Customer service is non-existent. Mine arrived with broken locking clips. I was sent the wrong replacement parts and have had NO RESPONSE from them since. The from door does not open as smoothly and quietly as you might like, needs a good shove to get it open.
Fairly good product, but Pet Gear is not a good vendor. Would not do business with them again.
