Trunk math
A harness occupies a seat belt position. Sleepypod describes the Clickit Range as a three-point design for use in the rear passenger seat, and it publishes no stowed dimensions because the harness rides on the dog.
A crate occupies volume you have to find. Hold a tape measure against these numbers:
- Gunner G1 Intermediate: 48 pounds empty, 34 by 23 by 28.5 inches, or 30 inches tall measured with the carry handles. Measure this size first, and check the taller figure against your hatch.
- Across the rest of the G1 line, Gunner lists 27 pounds at Small, 38 at Medium, and 72 at Large, with exteriors from 24.5 by 18.625 by 19 inches up to 40.25 by 28 by 33.25 inches. Handles-included heights are 20.5, 25, 30, and 34.5 inches from Small up to Large.
- Petmate Sky Kennel 36-inch: 20.75 pounds empty, 36 by 25 by 27 inches, sized for a 50 to 70 pound dog.
These have to fit into a cargo area that also holds water, food, medications, a first aid kit, and your household’s bags. Three practical rules:
- Measure the trunk opening, not just the floor. A crate that fits the floor but will not clear the hatch is a crate you cannot load. Use the height that includes the carry handles.
- Add the dog’s weight to the crate’s. A 48-pound Gunner Intermediate with a 60-pound dog inside is a lift over 100 pounds. Find that out in your driveway on a calm afternoon.
- Count the people first. Humans occupy the seats a harness would use. If every seat is taken and the cargo area is full, the answer may be a second vehicle or a smaller crate for a smaller animal.
If your household is at the edge of vehicle capacity, our how many pets fit in a car guide works through the volume and seating math, and our vehicle loading and restraints for multiple pets guide covers loading order and anchoring.
Loading speed under time pressure
Evacuation orders can arrive with little lead time, so the restraint you can deploy fastest has real safety value.
A fitted harness is two steps on the day: put it on the dog, thread the vehicle belt. Sleepypod adds quick-connection and release mechanisms to the Clickit Range. Those two steps exist only if sizing and adjustment already happened. A harness opened for the first time on evacuation morning becomes an adjustment session with a stressed dog, and a badly fitted harness is not the product CPS tested.
A crate is four steps, and the heaviest is first: lift it in, position it, strap it down, then load the dog. For a Gunner Intermediate the opening lift is 48 pounds empty. The strapping step is not optional, because Gunner’s own tie-down straps are part of the certified configuration. What you gain is the last step: loading the dog is one motion through an open door.
The crate is faster if it lives in the vehicle already anchored, and much slower if it lives in the garage. The harness is faster in nearly every scenario, provided you fitted it in advance. Both fail badly when the first time you handle them is the day you need them.
Which one still does a job after you park
The drive is the first hour or two of a situation that may run for days. ASPCA’s disaster preparedness guidance lists “A traveling bag, crate or sturdy carrier, ideally one for each pet” in the evacuation kit. It also warns that pets can become disoriented and wander away from home in a crisis, and that not all shelters accept pets, so you should decide ahead of time where you will bring them.
Wherever you end up, one of these is likely:
- A hotel room with a door that opens onto a parking lot, and a dog that has never been there.
- A shelter or fairground where animals are held in a designated area and staff need to move them without you.
- A friend’s house with its own animals, its own doors, and no fence you have checked.
In every case a crate is doing work and a harness is not. A harness restrains a dog only while a person holds the other end. A crate holds a dog while you sleep, find food, or fill out paperwork. Gunner’s G1 has a paddle-latch with a key-in-the-hole lock plus top and bottom locks as backup, which matters in a row of kennels with strangers passing all day. The Petmate Sky Kennel ships with LIVE ANIMAL stickers, a food and water cup, ID stickers, and absorbent material, all destination-side items.
A crate set down in a row of other crates is not obviously yours. Our crate and kennel emergency ID card checklist covers what helps get an animal back to you. If you do not know whether your local shelters take animals, start with do pet-friendly disaster shelters exist.
Multiple pets
Add a second and third animal and the comparison changes.
Crates do not stack in a car the way people assume. Each takes its own footprint and anchoring. Three Gunner Intermediates at 34 by 23 by 28.5 inches is not a load that fits a mid-size SUV alongside people and supplies, and three at 48 pounds empty is 144 pounds of crate before any dog gets in. Cost multiplies too, which is why a multi-pet plan often mixes tiers.
Harnesses stack after one geometry check. Sleepypod specifies the Clickit Range for the rear passenger seat as a three-point design, so count rear positions with both a lap belt and a shoulder belt. A lap-only center belt does not reproduce the configuration CPS tested. No dog belongs in a front seat with a live airbag, whatever it is wearing. For one person evacuating three medium dogs, harnesses may be the only achievable option.
The destination is the counterweight. ASPCA asks for a crate or sturdy carrier “ideally one for each pet”, so three dogs means three containers at the far end whether or not three fit in the car. The realistic multi-pet answer is a split: harnesses for the drive, lighter and cheaper containment for the wait.
This comparison is written for dogs. For cats and mixed-species loads, our vehicle loading and restraints for multiple pets guide is the place to start.
How each one fails
The harness fails on fit and on anchoring
A loose harness is not the item CPS tested. Crash performance depends on the harness staying against the body, and a harness sized by a weight guess instead of a chest measurement will not do that. Sleepypod sells the Clickit Range in five sizes across Regular and Long options because chest shape varies.
The second failure is the anchor. AVMA’s guidance: “Look for crash-tested harnesses that work with your vehicle’s seat belt and keep your dog sitting upright versus lying down.” That means the vehicle’s own seat belt through the harness’s dedicated connection. Clipping a walking leash from a D-ring to the belt is not that. Every inch between harness and belt is an inch the dog travels forward before anything catches it, and Kurgo’s harness includes a 10-inch tether.
The third condition is which belt. Sleepypod specifies a three-point design for the rear passenger seat. A harnessed dog belongs in a rear seat, never in a front passenger seat with a live airbag.
The crate fails when nothing holds it down
An unsecured crate does not just fail to protect the dog. It becomes a heavy object moving through the cabin. AVMA’s rule: “Position the crate/carrier as near to the center of the vehicle as possible, and secure it in place to prevent movement.” Gunner’s certification carries the same condition, naming its own straps as the only ones it recommends for the 5-star certified configuration.
A certified crate sitting loose in a cargo area is not a certified crash system. The badge describes the crate plus its anchoring, and buying only the first half is a common way to pay premium money for an uncertified setup.
The third crate failure is sizing. AVMA says to choose a crate big enough for your pet to stand up, turn around, and lie down comfortably. That is a comfort minimum, and a crate far larger than the animal gives the dog room to be thrown around inside it. Size to the animal first.
For the hard shell versus folding wire question, see our wire crate vs. plastic crate for evacuation comparison.
Spec comparison
|
Sleepypod Clickit Range |
Gunner G1 (S/M/Int) |
Petmate Sky Kennel 36” |
Kurgo Tru-Fit |
| Independent CPS certification |
Yes, 5 Star, Nov 2024 |
Yes, 5 Star, June 2015 (Intermediate) |
No, not on the list |
No, not on the list |
| Who ran the crash test |
Center for Pet Safety |
Center for Pet Safety |
No published crash test |
Kurgo reports testing at Calspan |
| Tested weight |
110 lb test dog |
75 lb test dog (Intermediate) |
Not crash tested |
25, 50, and 75 lb dogs |
| Cargo volume cost |
A rear seat belt position |
34 x 23 x 28.5 in at Intermediate, 30 in tall with handles |
36 x 25 x 27 in |
A rear seat belt position |
| Empty weight |
Not published as a figure |
27 / 38 / 48 lb by size |
20.75 lb at 36 in (6.27 to 51.5 lb by size) |
Not published as a figure |
| Anchoring requirement |
Threads a rear lap-and-shoulder belt |
Gunner’s own straps, sold separately |
No certified anchoring configuration |
10-inch tether to the belt |
| Contains the pet after you park |
No |
Yes, locking latch with backups |
Yes |
No |
| Size range |
S to XL on CPS’s record; 2XL sold but not CPS-listed |
Small, Medium, Intermediate certified |
21” to 48”, up to 125 lb dogs |
Tested to 75 lb |
| Price band |
Premium |
Premium |
Mid |
Budget |
Decision framework
| Your situation |
Take this |
Why |
| Car is already full of people and supplies |
Certified harness |
Costs a rear belt position rather than cargo volume |
| You have cargo room and are ending at a shelter or hotel |
Certified crate |
Crash restraint on the drive plus a lockable pen at the destination |
| One person evacuating three dogs |
Harnesses for the drive |
Crates do not stack; rear three-point belt positions do |
| Dog over 110 lbs |
Nothing on the certified list has been tested at that weight |
No published CPS crash record covers a dog over 110 lbs. CPS tested Cabela’s GunDog Large with a 90 lb test dog (May 2024) and Lucky Duck Lucky Kennel Large with a 110 lb test dog (July 2022). Gunner’s Large is not certified, and Sleepypod rates the Clickit Range to 110 lbs. Buy on interior dimensions and anchoring, and treat the certification as untested at your dog’s weight |
| A collision is your single top fear |
Either certified model, anchored exactly as its maker specifies |
Compare the two specific records, not the categories. The Gunner G1 Intermediate passed at 5 Star with a 75 lb test dog (June 2015) only with its own strength-rated anchor straps; the Clickit Range passed at 5 Star with a 110 lb test dog (November 2024). Neither result predicts the other’s, and an unstrapped crate has no result at all |
| Budget will not stretch to certified |
Kurgo Tru-Fit plus a non-certified crate |
A self-tested restraint plus real containment beats a loose dog and no pen |
| The crate would live in the garage, not the car |
Harness |
An unanchored crate you have to fetch and strap is the slowest option on evacuation morning |
| Flying is a branch of the plan |
Crate, and confirm with the carrier |
IATA compliance is a separate standard; see airline carrier vs. car crate for evacuation |
What neither one can do
A restraint holds an animal in place. It does not monitor one, and it does not cool a 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. Do not treat it as a gear decision.
AVMA’s rule applies whichever product you bought: “Never leave your pet alone in a parked vehicle, no matter what the outdoor temperature or how long you think you’ll be gone.” A certified crate does not change that, and neither does a certified harness.
- 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.
For the harness side, our crash-tested dog harness for a bug-out drive page has the certification record. For the crate side, our Gunner vs. Ruffland kennel comparison puts two premium hard shells against each other. Wire crate vs. plastic crate for evacuation covers the material question. If your evacuation includes a flight, read airline carrier vs. car crate for evacuation, because IATA compliance and crash certification answer different questions. For the short walk from the car to the shelter door, where a scared dog can twist free of what it is wearing, see escape-proof harness for a panicked evacuation.
Load the car this weekend, before anything is on fire. Put the people in their seats and the water bins in the cargo area first, because a full car is the condition this comparison turns on. Then bring out the restraint you own and see whether it still has somewhere to go. A harness needs a free rear belt position and a chest measurement you have taken. A crate needs to clear the opening with the load already in, and to strap down toward the center once it is through.