Best budget car crate for camping with a Goldendoodle

Travel crates have very specific requirements depending on how your dog is travelling — car setups prioritise crash safety and ventilation, cabin crates must meet strict airline size limits, and hold crates need IATA-compliant rigid construction. Airline rules vary significantly between carriers, so getting the wrong crate can mean your dog simply can't board. To point you in the right direction: what breed and size is your dog, how are you travelling (car, cabin, or hold), and if flying, which airline?

Good — car-only means we're not constrained by airline specs, which opens up the options considerably. A 7-month-old Goldendoodle is likely still growing, so it's worth knowing roughly what size they are now and what the expected adult weight is. Standard Goldendoodles typically finish between 20–30kg. Is yours a standard or mini, and how big are they currently?

At 25kg and leggy, she'll need a 42-inch crate to be comfortable standing and turning — a 36-inch will be too cramped once she's full-grown. For camping trips in a car boot, I'd go with the MidWest Homes for Pets iCrate in the 42-inch size. It's a double-door folding wire crate, comes with a divider panel so it can grow with her, and folds flat which is genuinely useful when you're packing camping gear. Wire construction means it handles damp and muddy conditions far better than fabric — wipe it down and it's done. It's around £55–65 on Amazon UK depending on timing, which is hard to beat for this size. The main thing to add is a non-slip mat or liner inside, as the metal tray gets slippery. That's it.

It should be secured. An unsecured crate becomes a projectile in a sudden stop — even at low speeds. The iCrate doesn't have built-in seatbelt slots, so the simplest fix is a cargo net or boot barrier to stop it shifting. Some people use ratchet straps looped through the wire — that works too. It's not a crash-tested crate, but securing it properly reduces the risk significantly for everyday driving. If you were doing motorway miles daily I'd push you towards a Gundog Crate or similar reinforced option, but for weekend camping runs this is a sensible and practical choice.

Good choice. Grab the divider panel version so you can partition it down now while she's still filling out — it helps with settling and reduces anxiety in a too-large space. Add a liner or rubber mat for grip, secure it in the boot, and you're set for camping season. She'll do well in it.