MidWest Homes for Pets Replacement Pan 42 Inch 24PAN

I ordered two of the 42″ X 21″ X 30″ crates. The first one out of the box was 3/4″ higher on one side than the other so neither door will close. It wasn’t bent, it was made that way. We are waiting for the replacement to arrive now. The second one, the one we kept is all scratched up and bowed out at the bottom. The doors don’t close well but they do close so thats at least better than the one we sent back. However this one I left outside yesterday and when I got home the cheap plastic pan in the bottom had warped up like a peice of bacon in a frying pan! It was in the high 60s here so it’s not like I left it out in Phoenix in July. These things are cheap Chinese trash. But to their credit Midway is smart,they have cornered the market leaving us no choice. As near as I can find these are the ONLY 21″ wide crates on the market. I have been buying and using crates in my business for 20 years and the deterioration of quality in crates is amazing. I guess our only alternative is to start buying $600.00 custom aluminium crates. I guess if you are going to set one of these in the corner and not move it you might be ok but these things are never going to stand up to the use someone who shows or has sporting/working dogs will put them to. Oh by the way they do NOT fold down as shown in the picture. They are shown folding down to about 4″ thick, No, they fold down to 1 foot thick. Good luck.

The product came damaged with all of the corners and edges broken off in the box and with a big crack down the center. Put it in the crate anyways, and my puppy had it absolutely destroyed in two hours.

This tray was the perfect fit for a plastic Home Depot shelving unit that houses a hydroponics garden. I’m not using it in a dog crate. Works perfectly for what I needed and the material is a good quality. Very light weight.

The plastic is quite thin. I expected something more thick and sturdy. The tray is a little warped so it doesn’t sit flush to the floor.

Midwest Side-by-Side Double Door crates (42Lx21Wx30H) solved the problem of crating several large dogs in my van and with doors front and back allows more versatile access to the dog. However the door latches on one of the crates are welded slightly out of line and I have to pull down hard with one hand while latching with the other hand. After following instructions for set-up (top side panels inside bottom side panels and roof panel lies inside one side panel and outside the other side panel) the crate is very stable. The wire is lightweight and easily bent by our big dogs if they throw a tantrum but brings the overall weight down to something more easily managed than my old crates. The crate pan is made of rather thin and brittle plastic instead of metal or heavier plastic and I don’t expect it to last long under regular use by large dogs.

Construction is consistent with current Midwest regular crates. Labeled heavy duty I think it is at best a medium duty crate for a large dog. The addition of clips to reinforce the stability for the front and back door panels will give one more latitude to use the crate with dogs that would rather not be confined. The lighter weight wire I suspect contributes to keeping the cost down and is sufficient for most dogs.

Because the crates are 30″ tall but only 21″ wide the minimum height they can fold down to is 9″. So storage takes similar room as 2-3 standard suitcase crates (depending on the model.)

My biggest gripe at the moment is that there is no floor grid or divider panel, both of which I think are logical additions that should be available for this crate. I rigged a floor grid with two floor grids of the correct width using bolt cutters, a dremmel, some Plasti-dip and then zip tied them in place. Not ideal as it is harder to remove and clean, but it works. This is designed to be a travel crate after all and many dogs get car sick. A floor grid results in a cleaner dog, nothing helps travel drool, and easy clean up. Instead of having to haul out a queasy hound through its ick one can pull over, slide the crate pan out, rinse it off and be back on the road in minutes with no drama. This also sidesteps the additional danger of trying to tie up the dog while performing clean-up. Though I do recommend a tarp, dust pan and squeegee plus a spray bottle of bleach water and paper towels to deal with the results from the dogs who insist on barfing over the side of the crate! Nausea proof dogs get a crate pad over the grid but in warm weather are likely to kick it to one end and lie on the bare grid. A divider panel would improve the versatility of this 42″ crate by allowing the owner to turn it into an 2 compartment puppy or small dog travel crate. Ideal for taking 8-16 week old puppies to classes or the park.

I have some old (1996?) discontinued Kennal-Aire? Van crates that are the same L & H but 24 inches wide that I am comparing the new crates too. These old crates are extremely durable and thwart even our most upset or bored traveler, however they scrape the insides of the new van and are too heavy to easily take in & out on a regular basis. The plastic crates are easy to take in and out of the van, contain barf, and are harder for the dog to suck nearby items into the crate but provide less airflow and two plastic XL crates will not fit in the rear of the van no matter how much I shove or twist. The 21″ width is the same floor width as their plastic crates but -of course- don’t angle out for a comfortable leaning wall, however the dogs don’t seem to mind. They use the extra length to stretch out flat or end up upside down which is their favorite sleeping position in their plastic crates also. So they only seem to miss the extra width when turning around. No one has had a problem with turning they just turn slowly instead of whirling.

Pro- can fit two XL size crates in L size space
Pro- only crate currently available in this width/length at an affordable price.
Pro- lighter to get in and out of vehicle, approx 40lbs? I’d guess half the weight of my old crates. I can do this by myself. (I have to get help with my old crates if I am tired.) Which means I don’t procrastinate putting the crates back in the van and the dogs go out more.
Pro- doors front and back. Improvements would include having the doors open to the left on one end and the right on the other end to give a choice in crate placement that would allow the crate door to open towards a van’s side door instead of the middle of the van on one side.
Pro- wire crates provide better ventilation and I can check the dog easily.

Con- can’t be used with a destructive dog and will not hold up as well as the heavier crates in an accident. Hooks that keep the end panels in place aren’t as large or lock like my old crates and again limit the use to dogs that will not try to pull the crate apart.
Con- have to devise ones own floor grid or divider if you want to use these items.
Con- poor crate pan quality. I’d recommend a foam pad under it to prevent pan from cracking over floor wire or making a floor grid and using the pan to catch ick only. If used ‘as is’ I suspect you will soon be looking for a replacement or using heavy duty contact paper to make repairs.
Con- wire allows dog to barf over side of crate and/or allows dog to pull items through bars.

Overall I am pleased with this purchase and would recommend them to someone needing this style of affordable crate with the warning that they might have to send the crate back for poor workmanship and try again.