Pros:
- Crash tested by the company itself and in many crash scenarios. Video links here: SPCT Crash Test
- This crate's function makes the most sense for vehicle travel with dogs. Most of us have traditionally crated our dogs out of the "cargo" area of our vehicles. The Variocage is designed to "crumple" but remain structurally intact in the event of a rear end collision. Enough space is left for your dog to remain safe in the crate after it has crumpled.
- The Variocage design is made to fit most vehicles with cargo space. The VC is angled at the front and back to allow an almost perfect fit. The tubes on either side are quite adjustable in length (I prefer to call it depth). A divider allows you to crate more than one dog.
- The supplier, 4x4 North America, has outstanding customer service as well as most of the merchants who sell these crates.
- While I don't necessarily consider this a huge perk, many people do: both doors can be locked separately and 4 keys come with the VC (keys cannot be recreated by the company so hang on to them!)
- Good ventilation. There is a lot of ventilation especially for a crate designed for vehicle travel.
- It's SUPER quiet especially for a metal crate!
Cons:
- COST is probably the biggest con to the Variocage. Cost is approximately $1,000-$2,000! I feel like it's worth it given the engineering and design behind this crate but many people go for other kinds of car crates for this reason.
- Because it's made of steel, it can be heavy (approximately 80 lbs) and this can also turn off potential buyers. It cannot be easily installed and removed from the vehicle. (you wouldn't want to do it on a weekly basis but you would have to undo the 4 tie down straps and have a helper to lift the crate out of the vehicle)
- You might have trouble fitting large or giant breed dogs in the VC even with the divider removed. Large breeds might have an easier time with no divider but giants are gonna have tight quarters.
- If you aren't going to keep your second or third row seats up, you may want to find a different crate. I will go over this in more detail but the company notes that the last row of seats should always be up and that the VC is behind them.
- Recent crash tests suggest that the Variocage is not be the safest car crate on the market (more on that further down on this post)
- It's not as easy as the instructions claim to put together. I'll admit it, this was a pain in the ass to assemble. The beginning was easy as it was just connecting panels to each other BUT I ran into a few stubborn screw holes that needed rethreading and had to wait for the company to send a free tap kit to rethread. They were great and overnighted the kit but I still found the tap a bit challenging to rethread. Ultimately it worked and the crate looks great but it was harder to assemble than Ikea furniture!
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| Almost completely assembled (a couple of screws needed rethreading and the divider and rubber mat weren't installed yet)
So, I think I threw some surprises in there with the pros and cons and I'd like to discuss them. Let's talk about cost first. This is a LOT of money for most of us to spend at once but I think we dog sport competitors need to stop and think about what it is we spend monthly or even annually on our sport before we complain about the price of a crate we transport them in. A lot of agility competitors spend around $10,000-$20,000 annually on dog shows! Skip a month and make sure your dog is in one of the safest crates available for transport! Whether you choose the VC, RTK, or GK you should have something to protect your dogs. I know we all consider our canine teammates family and we must protect them first so that we can continue to run with them. That is my belief.
Now, let's discuss what I consider to be the other major con of the Variocage: crash testing. We all want to be up on the latest and greatest dog stuff and a recent crash test sponsored by Subaru has stirred things up a bit. I will let you read the result details for yourself but basically a crate called the Gunner Kennel rated #1. My problem with GK is that it is a fairly new crate and is only available in two sizes that are relatively large and would limit how many crates could fit in my vehicle. I'd like to see them refine this crate a little bit more before I buy in.
The other crate that is popular and well built, in my opinion, is the Ruff Tough Kennel. The RTK rated "poor" in this crash test because the door did not stay on in the collision which means the dog is not contained in an accident. Now, the RTK company has already designed a metal rod which should allow the door to stay on during a crash but it was not used in the test. Also, the testers observed the tie down brackets and straps breaking in the test. The crate itself stayed intact. I am planning on purchasing an RTK in a small to strap my smallest dog in when I travel with 3 dogs. My plan is to place the crate sideways in the backseat and secure the crate with either bungees or cargo straps using cargo anchors in my vehicle. My blog is not cooperating so I will caption the photo below right here. Below, are the many sizes that RTKs come in as well as a couple of accessories.
Finally, the Variocage "failed" because the straps broke and the crate compressed (as advertised). Because the test was done on a sled without using the back of the last passenger bench, the Variocage moved toward the "front" of the vehicle. The Center for Pet Safety feels that no crate should rely on the back of a seat to work. My personal argument as that the seat isn't "required" for the VC to work. The seat being up protects passengers from the moving crate and allows the VC to compress appropriately as it was designed to do. The straps are expected to break as well. They prevent any movement of the VC during travel. That being said, read the details and decide which crate you would try out. There were two other crates tested by I do not consider them to be on the same quality level as these three. Well, one was a standard wire crate which is commonly seen in sport dog vehicles and the other was what I would consider to be a "Variocage wannabe".
Other news to share!:
While I am "dogifying" my vehicle I decided to get some custom vinyl stickers. I will post a link to the Etsy shop I chose. The name of the shop is Blakdogs Designs and Lori was an awesome shopowner to work with! She provided a very cute sample sticker to practice with and gave me a few options for each dog that I sent a photo of. She also helped me decide which photo would provide the best silhouette to make the best vinyl sticker. Below are pictures of my sticker deigns and the stickers themselves (the paw print is the sample sticker).
 
Last but not least:
I have started a Facebook group for dog sport handlers to improve their speed and footwork and be better teammates for the canine partners. I have a physical trainer as a fellow admin to help give and screen for sound advice and stay on topic. I am looking forward to improving myself so I can be better for my dog. I am really hoping to trial again in October but have a lot of work to do to get myself and my dog back in shape!
That's all for now! I'll be back soon once I have had the VC for a longer period and once I've done some work towards competing in agility once again! In the meantime, enjoy the few pictures I did not share above:
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