Gunner G1: The Certified Pick, With Its Conditions
CPS’s certified page for the Gunner G1 Intermediate records a 5-star rating and “Passed Testing: Yes”, tested in June 2015 with a 75-pound dog under protocol CPS-002-016.01, test V15572. Gunner builds the G1 from a double-walled rotomolded shell that it says gives twice the impact protection and superior thermal properties versus single-wall crates. It closes with a reversible paddle-latch door with a key-in-the-hole lock and backup safety latches at the top and bottom.
The conditions are where owners get tripped up. Gunner says its own tie-down straps are the only ones it recommends for 5-star crash-tested safety, and that the kennel’s integrated stainless-steel pins ensure 5-star safety when paired with them. The straps are a separate purchase. A Gunner sitting loose in a cargo area is not the setup the maker recommends. Buy the strap kit at the same time and treat it as part of the crate.
Then there is weight. Gunner lists empty weights of about 27 pounds for the Small, 38 for the Medium, 48 for the Intermediate, and 72 for the Large. Add a 60 or 80-pound dog and you are lifting a serious load into a vehicle, often in a hurry and alone. That mass is part of what makes the crate protective, and part of what makes it hard to move. It is the biggest reason a reasonable buyer ends up choosing Ruffland instead.
The Ruffland Intermediate earns its place on the opposite axis. It is a one-piece roto-molded kennel with no seams or joints, and at roughly 21 pounds empty it is less than half the weight of the Gunner Intermediate. For a household where one person loads every animal, or where the crate doubles as an everyday training and travel box, that difference can decide whether you take the crate or leave it behind because it is too much to wrestle.
Its exterior is near 30.5 by 20 by 23 inches, and it ventilates through patterned 1.375-inch circle openings with backside finger holes instead of large open grates.
The gap is the crash record. If you buy it, buy it for weight, durability, and price, understanding that you are giving up the one thing Gunner has that Ruffland does not: an independent crash result. That is a legitimate trade for some households. It is only a bad one if you make it without knowing you are making it.
For the material question underneath both, our wire crate vs. plastic crate for evacuation comparison covers where each material wins and the crash-test gap that standard crates of both kinds share.
Weight and Vehicle Fit: Measure the Trunk, Not the Dog
Two numbers decide whether a crate works in your vehicle: the exterior footprint and the empty weight.
- Footprint. Gunner’s exterior runs from about 24.5 inches long at the Small to 40.25 inches long and 28 inches wide at the Large. Ruffland’s Intermediate is near 30.5 by 20 inches. Measure your cargo area in all three dimensions, and remember the crate has to clear the trunk opening, not just fit on the floor once it is in.
- Weight, with a dog in it. A 48-pound Gunner Intermediate plus a 60-pound dog is a 100-plus-pound lift into a vehicle, under stress. A 21-pound Ruffland plus the same dog is meaningfully easier. If you are the person who will load the car, be honest about that lift now, not in a driveway with smoke on the horizon.
- Where it rides. AVMA’s vehicle guidance is to position a crate “as near to the center of the vehicle as possible” and to “secure it in place to prevent movement.” An unsecured hard crate is a heavy projectile of its own. Both brands are heavy enough that this rule is not optional.
Loading order, securing each crate and how many animals a vehicle holds are covered in our vehicle loading and restraints guide, including anchoring the Gunner.
Airline Realism: Buy for the Drive First
Most evacuations happen by car, so treat air travel as a branch of your plan. Neither crate is a clean flight guarantee.
Gunner says the G1 meets airline requirements “provided that you follow certain guidelines”, and adds that customers have been “turned away due to the weight of the kennel + dog.” A double-wall rotomolded crate is heavy before the dog is in it, and combined weight is a reason a crate that looks compliant on paper can be refused at the counter. Ruffland’s answer is a separate Airline 300 Series marketed as airline-approved, which tells you the standard kennel is not the flight product.
Airline-approved and crash-tested answer different questions, and neither is a guarantee. Acceptance varies by carrier, aircraft and route. If flying is a real branch of your plan, confirm the exact crate, size and policy with your airline, and read our airline carrier vs. car crate for evacuation comparison.
The Wildfire and Storm Case: Hard Shell Plus a Cover
In our reading, solid sides give a crate an advantage over open wire when wind carries grit, debris and rain across a staging area. No source cited here tests crates against embers, and no crate is fireproof. Solid sides do not protect a pet from direct flame or radiant heat. So the value is a better staging shelter after you leave, never a reason to stay put as a fire approaches. A hard crate is a small, solid shelter you can set down in a yard, a fairground or a parking lot.
The same setting is why the crate needs your name on it. Once a kennel is set down among others, or handed to staff while you park, it stops being obviously yours, and the dog inside may be wearing nothing but a collar that can slip. Our crate and kennel emergency ID card checklist covers the fields that get a pet back to you and how to attach the card so it survives the trip.
A fitted weatherproof cover extends that shelter. Gunner’s All-Weather Kit is TPU-coated nylon that the maker describes as waterproof and wind resistant, with UV resistance. Gunner’s feature list says nothing about how the window panels open and close, and that is the detail that matters most in an evacuation, because airflow in heat is the whole question. Treat per-panel ventilation control as unpublished and work it out on the cover itself before you need it. Other kennel makers sell equivalents, and fitted versions anchor to the crate’s own hardware.
Three limits on the cover. First, no crate and no cover is fireproof, so the plan is always to evacuate before a flame front reaches you, not to shelter in place behind a shell. Second, closing every panel in warm weather traps heat, so a cover protects against wind, rain and sun, not against a heat wave. Third, and this is the one that saves lives: no crate and no cover makes it safe to leave a pet unattended in a parked car. A closed vehicle heats fast at almost any outdoor temperature, and a hard shell does not slow that down. The cover is for a supervised staging area with airflow.
Spec Comparison
|
Gunner G1 (Small/Med/Int) |
Ruffland Intermediate |
Fitted Weather Cover |
| Independent CPS crash certification |
Yes, 5-star (Small, Med, Int); Large not tested |
No; no published independent result known |
N/A, it is an accessory |
| Construction |
Double-wall rotomolded |
One-piece roto-molded, no seams |
TPU-coated nylon over the shell |
| Empty weight (comparable size) |
Intermediate about 48 lb |
Intermediate about 21 lb |
Light add-on |
| Door and latch |
Reversible paddle-latch, key lock, backup latches |
Not compared here |
N/A |
| Anchoring for the crash rating |
Gunner recommends only its own straps (sold separately) |
No certified anchoring configuration |
Anchors to existing kennel hardware |
| Airline |
Meets requirements with guidelines; weight can trigger refusal |
Separate Airline 300 Series line |
N/A |
| Price band |
Premium |
Premium |
Add-on |
Decision Framework by What You’re Solving For
| Your priority |
Best pick here |
Why |
| Strongest crash evidence on the drive |
Gunner G1 (Small/Med/Int) |
The only independent CPS 5-star crate on this page, with its Intermediate tested using a 75 lb dog |
| Lightest hard shell to load solo |
Ruffland Intermediate |
Roughly 21 lb versus Gunner’s 48 at a similar size, far easier to lift and fit |
| A big dog that needs a hard crate |
No crash-certified option here |
Gunner’s Large is not crash tested and Ruffland has no independent result; measure and see our car-loading guide |
| Everyday crate that doubles as a bug-out box |
Ruffland Intermediate |
One-piece shell, lighter for daily handling, still a solid emergency crate |
| Exposed shelter yard or storm |
Either crate plus a fitted cover |
In our reading, a hard shell blocks wind-blown debris better than open wire; a weatherproof cover adds wind and rain protection |
| Flying is a real branch of the plan |
Confirm with the airline first |
Gunner warns of weight-based refusals; Ruffland sells a separate airline series |
What Neither Crate Can Do
A crate restrains and shelters. It does not monitor your dog, and it does not cool a hot car. If your pet shows heavy panting, drooling, disorientation, vomiting, collapse, or a change in gum color during loading, the drive, or any heat exposure, call a veterinarian. That is a medical problem, not a gear decision. Never leave a dog crated and unattended in a parked vehicle during evacuation staging, at any outdoor temperature, because a parked car heats fast and no crate or cover slows that down.
If you think your pet may have swallowed something poisonous, these two lines take calls at any hour:
- ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center: (888) 426-4435, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. A consultation fee may apply.
- Pet Poison Helpline: (855) 764-7661, available 24/7, with a per-incident fee.
For a pet showing active severe symptoms, go directly to the nearest emergency vet and call on the way.
This page is the hard-crate comparison layer of a fuller evacuation plan. If a collision is your real worry and you want the anchoring detail, our vehicle loading and restraints for multiple pets guide covers how to secure the Gunner and load a full vehicle. For the material question, see wire crate vs. plastic crate for evacuation. If flying is a branch of your plan, airline carrier vs. car crate for evacuation walks that decision. For the in-seat restraint that pairs with a crate on a long bug-out drive, our crash-tested dog harness for a bug-out drive names the three harnesses that carry an independent crash result. If you are still deciding whether to buy a crate at all, our seatbelt harness vs. crash-tested crate comparison weighs the two categories.
Before you need it, take the crate you own, or are about to buy, out to the vehicle you would actually evacuate in. Check that it clears the trunk opening, secure it toward the center, and lift it once with the dog’s weight added, so the load is not a surprise on the day.