Petmate Ultra Wheel Kit for Plastic Kennels Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a great product idea; but in practice, it broke the first time I used it.
I have an 85-pound dog. Obviously he has to travel in a very large crate, so this wheel kit seemed to be a great idea. Instead of wrestling with trying to carry (or slide) a heavy crate, I could just wheel the whole thing along. When I got to the airline counter, I could simply take the wheels off. Perfect! Or so I thought....
The kit installation was fairly straightforward, although the bolts included with the kit weren't long enough. The bolt has to go through the crate, through a brace included with the kit, then a lock washer, then a nut holding everything in place. I had to leave the lock washers off - the bolt was too short to engage the nut with the lock washer in place.
I didn't regard that as a big deal, though. Crates undoubtedly come in different thicknesses, and you wouldn't want the bolts protruding too far into the crate for the dog to step on. Still, it was a small warning sign.
When I put the kit to actual use, the big problem was the wheels. They're small, of relatively soft plastic, and mounted in a rather flimsy way to the bracket that attaches them to the crate. On a perfectly smooth surface, the wheels worked fine. However, on any bump, it was very easy for the whole wheel assembly to come off. In theory, there's a locking mechanism that holds the wheels attached to the crate. In practice, the lock is too flimsy - the wheels fairly easily get knocked off. The soft plastic also gets chewed up by any rough surface like concrete or asphalt. Finally, the worst part was that the spindle that attached the wheel to the bracket simply broke off. Once that happened, there was no way to reattach the wheel to the crate. It was permanently broken.
All of this falling out, roughening up, and breaking off was the result of the first trip I took using this system. Given that my dog is so large, I can understand that the kit may have been overwhelmed. If that was the case, though, the kit should've been weight-rated. Regardless, I can't see how this product would last more than a few uses even for a small dog - the design and construction is just too flimsy.
The product should really be redesigned with larger wheels and a more-sturdy attachment system. It's a great idea to have removable wheels for a kennel, but this product doesn't deliver what's needed to make the idea successful. I really wish it did.

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The Petmate Ultra Wheel Kit makes it easy to add wheels to Petmate's plastic pet kennels. The kit includes an easy-to-use template for quick assembly. Two stationary and two rotating wheels roll smoothly for versatile portability. The purchase includes a tough nylon tug strap for towing Fido through busy airports. The wheels install quickly and detach easily with the included brackets. The brackets then act as stable feet when the wheels are not on. The wheels are smartly designed to work with most large-breed kennels.

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