Dog crate / cage advice

We just bought a new Broadway FB ( said hello in the welcome section earlier) and will be using the van to travel with our two dogs. 
We already have a crate which was built to fit in the boot of our car but it is too wide to fit in the van, and another cage in the house that one of the dogs insists on sleeping in.
We need one for the van, can anybody suggest a large lightweight one that we can put up easily in the van. The one we have in the house, although the right size, is very difficult to use in the van because to open it up, I have to fold out one side almost flat to be able to pull out the other side, I need a 4ft x 3ft flat space to do this.
I need a cage at least 1 metre long and 2 ft wide to fit between the side facing seats.
Thanks in advance
Allan

I've got two crates and they both open up like that to erect and collapse. Bit of a pain I agree. Would your crate not fit through the door if you erect it outside the van?

Nora

Hi Nora and thanks for the reply.
The doorway is too narrow to take it in unless I fold it up, I just tried to open up the crate inside and if I place it across the two facing seats, I can open it up then turn it round and drop it between the seats, but at over 15 kg, its a bit heavy and there seems to be sharp bits all over it that I am sure will start to pull at seat threads if I am not careful
I will look on line to see if I can get a lighter one, but after half a day trawling t'internet, it seems that this is the standard way crates erect and collapse.
I did manage to find a collapsable plastic one, but its really expensive and the first despatch time is early August, so not ideal.

Allan

We have a collapsible crate that just fits between the two seats facing each other on the dinette side. The same crate fitted in our old rear lounge Lunar between the settees. Used only for travelling and when the dogs need to be constrained. Otherwise they sleep on beds in various places - not always where we intend them; the cocker will drag his bed to where HE wants it........

Size wise it was trial and error and careful measurement - luckily Dawn does the dog rehoming at the local rescue place and we have access to all sorts of crates to try for convenience.

the medium size collapsable crate (Overall size H61, W76, D54cm.) from Argos is a good fit between the two sets of seats  - the crate is plenty big enought for a spaniel sized dog the bigger RAC one (also from Argos) is Overall size H71, W92, D63cm. but might be a squeeze

This is the extra large Argos one - 12.5 kg. Heavy aren't they - my dog only weighs 6kg!

Nora

Edit : The word "this" is a link although it doesn't look it!

Fiamma do a fabric covered one but its quite small  75cm x 48cm x 55cm and I cant find a weight for it or there is the Easipet fabric dog carrier (Amazon) bigger at 81cm x 58cm x 58cm (32" x 23" x 23")  weighing in at only  4.8Kg.

but I just know that my dog would be out of that the first time she got bored!

I did consider the fabric ones, but we have a Beagle that would just love the challenge!.
I found a perfect sized crate, 42" x 27" but at 14.5 kg, its even heavier than the one we already have.
I think we will be using that one for a while now I have worked out how to assemble it in the van, I just need to put something either side to stop the crate snagging the seats and little paws from reaching through the sides.....

Allan

My dog started scratching at the mesh sides of the fabric cage I bought her so I had to stop using it. Obviously, when the mesh has gone, the whole thing is ruined. Shame, it's much lighter and easier to manage than the metal ones.

Nora

So, first trip out tomorrow in the new van with dogs and their old cage. I will see how they are in that cage and how it works for us. We will probably buy the 42x27" cage when we get back, even though it weighs almost 15kg. We'll just have to take a few less bottles of wine!
Allan