Below find tips and information on Custom built or modified airline kennels & crates.
Over Sized Pets
One option for extra large dogs, like Great Danes or Mastiffs is to purchase a custom built wood airline crate or have a Giant size Sky or Vari kennel modified with wood spacers to accommodate over sized pets. Another option is to build a custom sized dog crate yourself or Convert a standard wood shipping crate into a dog airline crate.
Ventilation
Some Kennels lacked ventilation in back wall, easily modified by drilling holes with a power drill using a wood bore bit and tape measure. This is especially important for international flights where ventilation on all four sides of the pet kennel is mandatory
Plastic Pegs
Replace all Plastic Pegs with SOLID METAL NUTs & BOLTs to create a completely IATA USDA FAA Airline Compliant carrier / kennel.
ATTENTION: United Air, Delta, Northwest Airline, Alaska Air & Horizon ALL require kennels to be secure with metal nuts & bolts, kennels with plastic attachments are no longer accepted by these airlines. Modify your kennel before flying with our exclusive ONE SIZE FITS all kennel hardware kits.
Universal Hardware Kits (MORE...)
Plastic Snap Latches
Another tip sent in by a truly “handy” DryFur Client. “I found the bolts to be perfect length as I Countersunk the nut by
drilling larger hole on top portion and smaller hole on bottom portion of carrier.
IMPORTANT: I started by drilling small hole through the two halves while carrier was assembled. Then I disassembled the carrier by separating the carriers top and bottom and re-drilled larger hole in JUST the top portion. Worked perfect and very SECURE!” Thanks and please feel free to use photos and tip on site. Dan
Cable Tie holes for Securing Kennel Door
If your Kennel is older or does not have these holes for cable ties you can easily modify by drilling your own holes (slightly behind all four sides of the door) or some kennels have enough room to slip the cable ties through the existing hinge holes.
Too Few Holes for Attachments
If your Kennel is older it may only have 6 attachment holes for keeping the kennels top and bottom together. If this is the case we recommend you drill additional hardware holes especially towards the right and left front corners of the kennel. This way if an attachment fails or comes loose next to the door there is a backup. The two attachments next to the right and left side of the door are not only responsible for keeping the kennels top and bottom together but also have a secondary function of keep the door in place. One missing attachment next to the door can be detrimental to the integrity of the kennels structure.
Hi,
This year I will be traveling with my cats on an international flight and I have some of my kennels with a “dial latch” type of closure. Do you have any recommendation on how to properly install knots & bolts on this type of kennels (Petmate, Vary Kennel)? Since the roof/floor closure is different from the “snap latch” type…
Excellent site!, I just reviewed it and got a lot of important and mind-easing info.
Regards & thaks,
Patricia
Well this type of carrier is still approved by a few airlines but I would absolutely use cable ties or nuts and bolts to keep the dial latches locked in the closed position. Our kennel hardware kits will fit but not exactly made for that type of carrier. But I have had clients use them for that. But check with your airline first. Also this type of carrier does not come with holes around the door so please drill 4 holes around the door so you can cable tie the door closed during the flight. Also be sure the cable ties you use are hand releasable. Thanks for the comment and have a safe trip!
Hi, I purchased a large “N2N pet retreat” kennel for my 50lb dalmatian mix and she absolutely loves being in it…she voluntarily sleeps in it, however it has roof/floor closures that pretty much slide to lock the top and bottom together, I am flying on american airlines and used locking zip cable ties to lock the top to the bottom. I purchased the S-M accessory kit which has the nuts and bolts, should i use those (which i dont think will be long enough or will the zip ties be sufficient?
I would go to the hardware store and purchase (4) 10-24 carriage bolts that are long enough to fit this crates. I think this crate has 4 holes around the outer perimeter to accommodate nuts and bolts? Cable tie would be ok with AA I think they do not have the new rule like the other airlines have adopted about the carrier must have metal hardware, BUT it has been proven that nuts and bolts are safer. Also the bolts will only cost a few cents each and that way if you travel another airline later it will be accepted. I would also be sure you can get cable ties around the door if not be sure and look into drilling small holes to accommodate since I did see that AA does require carrier to have doors secured with cable ties to be accepted…
We are traveling to Switzerland in June with two cats in one large Vari kennel (the airline OK’d this because they only have room for one kennel per flight). The cats get along fine in the crate and are comfortable, but we notice that the grate grid holes rather large (they can stick the tips of their toes out), and the gap at the bottom curve is large enough that they can get their entire front legs out. Do you have any recommendations for this?
Thanks, Shawn
Hi Shawn,
Well I know that I have read on some airline requirements something like “ventilation holes should be sized small enough that it does NOT permit pets paws or nose to protrude” But I really do not know of a single carrier/kennel on the market that has a metal door (which is required) that would completely restrict a cat’s paws. If you are worried about the airlines requirements I would bet you are OK. Since most airlines sell the same carrier you are describing so I am sure they are aware of this.
If you are worried about the safety of your cats paws being hurt, I would bet your cats will find the carrier a safe place and probably would not be sticking their paws out or if they did not long enough for an injury to occur.
I did noticed that the newer style Vari and Sky Kennels (w/rounded doors) have a rim around the door to help this, but still the bottom and top row of grid has larger holes than the other grid in the middle of the door, not sure who’s bright idea this was, obviously they were thinking, oh no one would use this size kennel for a cat or small dog WRONG!
PS you might want to check out the forums about SugarGliders (squirrel like pets) http://www.glidercentral.net/ they have instructions somewhere on this forum about how to modify dog airline kennels for SugarGliders to travel in. They use a mesh like screen door material and attach it to the entire outside of the kennel door with cable ties. I guess because these little guys could probably get through some of these holes and escape. Thanks for visiting DryFur.com
Hi, I just bought a Petmate kennel cab fashion intermediate and noticed that the airline now requires the metal nut and bolts. If I order the nuts and bolts from or universal hardware kit and drill the holes in the sides, will this work with this type of kennel? I noticed it said Petmate sky kennels, but what about the Petmate kennel cab fashion?
Thanks in advance,
Karen
Not the best solution but we do have instructions on our Modified Custom Airline Kennel page. You will want to follow the instructions on how to add metal hardware and how to add cable ties hoes around the door both for this kennel to be “acceptable”. So far I have not heard of airline refusing them once they are modified, but you never know depends on who is at the counter that day. But should be fine as long as you point out the modifications you have made.
Thanks for visiting DryFur.com
Hiya.
So we are planning a move from the States to France and we have two big dogs, a borzoi and a white shepard. Both of our dogs are about 34-35 inches tall and from all the information i’ve found the kennels need be 4 inches higher than their heads. Even the Giant plastic kennel is I think only 36 inches high. So we are looking into custom built kennels and wondered if anyone knows whether or not Air France accepts custom built kennels?
Hi Nate,
All airlines will accept custom wood kennels. The biggest question is size of crate? That is where you might run into problems you would need to know which flights are available that can carry over sized. Depends on the planes they use for that flight on how much cargo space they have. Can sometimes get complicated but as far as your question. Yes all airlines will accept Wood Custom built kennels, as long as they are made with the correct wood that is acceptable for import / export and they have enough ventilation etc..
Thanks for the reply. The plane is a 777, we’ll have to find out if AF accepts oversized kennels on that flight. Do you know if birch ply is acceptable for import/export? Is there a resource that you know of that lists appropriate wood types? I’ve looked over the CR1 document for the IATA requirements and it does not list particular types of ply. Thanks for the help. This is a great resource.
It is my understanding mostly from my experience of importing and exporting products not pets…That the wood must be manufactured and yes Plywood of all types are considered manufactured wood products. If the wood is solid wood like a 2×4 then it must be heat treated and stamped which gets very tricky. So always best to stay away from un-manufactured solid wood or lumber. Plywood is considered “manufactured” since it is many thin flexible veneers all adhered together in opposite directions to make it stronger. This I guess cuts down on the possibility of unseen insects that could be bored down deep in the wood.
If you find a need for a piece of wood that is shaped or structured like a 2×4 or block you can take a stack of 4-6 sheets of Plywood adhere them together with wood glue, nails or screws then cut it into the shape you need. That is what I see on the bottoms of the skids that come from overseas to our warehouse. For more information I would contact USDA-Aphis I am sure someone could clarify.
Hi. I am traveling back home with my two new dogs in April. I already have travel kennels that I purchased at a local hardware store here, but they don’t have ventilation in the back. If I were to use a wood bore drill, how far apart and how many holes, and what size drill bit would I need? These kennels are fairly stable as they are, would putting holes in the back weaken the structure?
Hi Haylee
I usually use about a 1″ or 1.5″ . As far as how many holes..really depend on what size kennel you have. But you are right make them about 3″ apart do not over do it, that will keep the crate nice and strong and still provide the extra ventilation required for international travel.
Thanks for visiting DryFur.com
Hi I Just found in my grandmothers garage the original “vintage wood sky kennel”. The one you have pictured on your website when its talking about the history of airline kennels. Its six pieces of wood with only four bolts at the top. the back has a smaller metal grate for a vent and the front is a larger piece of metal that latches and its the door. i was wondering if you knew what year this was from and if there are many around. I tried to find info on them and your website is the only one I could find that mentioned them and had a picture. Do I have a rare find or are they everywhere. I like older stuff and actually they always seem to do it the right way unlike today where they dont put as much thought into their product like the back vent. Todays models some of them dont come with a back vent and some people are actually drilling holes in their new crates to meet airline standards. the older stuff is built right ans not to mention lasts soooo much longer.
Hi Dustin,
Yes Somewhat rare but still a few around. I own a Cat Boarding Kennel and we see maybe 1 every few years come in and we board thousands of cats for owners who travel. A large fraction of our clients are elderly and retired so we see a lot of older pet carriers. Some of my favorites are the ones that look like an old Pentagon shapes suit case with vents, usually brick red in color also the WOOD S&H Green Stamps cat carrier that was only available by redeeming Your STAMPS. I want to some day start another page and show all the old carriers but I keep forgetting to photograph them as I see them come in with clients. I think your Find is worth quite a bit if it is in good shape I have seen them sell for maybe $160-$300. Maybe a bit more for the right buyer. They were built by hand in a garage and sold out of the pickup truck to airlines when they first came out I think in the 60′s. Petmate.com would have the history… but they have never included the history on their site??? Kind of a shame.
how big do you need to make the extra ventilation holes in the back panel of the kennel, what size wood drill bit?
Thanks Tommy C
Hi Thomas,
I prefer a 3/4″ to 1″ wood bore bit… This is the same size bit Petmate uses when they add holes in the back wall of the SKY Kennel 100 and 700. Both these kennels were never re-designed when the ventilation rule took effect so they still modify those 2 sizes after the molding process. The 200-500 sizes were re-designed to include the extra ventilation in the back wall so those come out of the molding process with back wall ventilation. Just a little history…Thanks for visiting DryFur.com!
Hi!
We’re military and may be moving to Hawaii (from CA) in Jully. We have 2 great danes, have started the checklist to avoid them going to quarantine there and our biggest obstacle is now the kennels. The airlines we have spoke with (Continental and United) accommodate a 700 series kennel but they need to be taller. I realize this is where extenders come in, BUT….the 700 series is only 48″ long and our dogs about 49″ from tail to tip of the nose (as per usda pet traveling guidelines). We’re concerned we may need to have a wooden create built for both (one each) and are afraid this may cost a fortune and weigh a ton. Can you help with any suggestions? Can they be built so that they are easily disassembled like a plastic one to fit in a car once you leave the airport? I’m nearly panicking picturing renting a massive van and all the extra costs we’d incur for this…but they are worth it! Thanks
You should see this page on our site, Building a Custom Wood Kennel and be sure to watch the video it will be highlighted in blue text about mid way down the page. That will show you a wood shipping crate that can be broke down and assembled in minutes and then follow our instructions on how to make that crate a dog crate…Pretty straight forward. Please call them to see if they can build the size you need a bit more since it is not really stock size. But the idea they are broken down is awesome. If you do this please please send us some photos we would love to post them for others in your situation. Good luck and thanks for visiting DryFur.com
I am having trouble finding Sky Kennel expansion kit.
Could you kindly suggest where to look / which company to call?
Many thanks in advance.
You can contact Lee Atwood in Seattle Area 253-862-9454