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Nissan Micra five door (2017 onwards)

4pets Boxometer: £25 refundable deposit

£25.00
RRP:
Code: BGPBOXO-25

The 4pets Boxometer is a tool to help us work out what is the biggest cage that will fit behind the rear seats in your vehicle.

There's no charge for using it, but we'll want it back ASAP, so we charge a £25 deposit, refundable when the Boxometer is back here. We pay all the carriage charges.


What is a Boxometer?

The 4pets Boxometer is designed to help you work out the biggest size of PRO cage that will fit in your vehicle.

It’s designed to measure the available space from the behind the rear seat to the inside face of the tailgate.

Basically, it’s one side of a PRO cage, made from the same aluminium profiles and with the same fibreglass-reinforced plastic corners. It’s adjustable for length, and can be fixed at the Small, Medium or Large settings. It’s 66.0cm high, the same height as all the PRO cages except the PRO 1.

How to use the Boxometer?

  • Place it against the rear seat – it has a support leg so will stand upright – and then decide whether it’s worth trying to close the tailgate at the longest setting (emulates Large cages).
  • If it is obviously too long, move it to the Medium setting, maybe even to the Small setting.
  • It is usually the glass in the tailgate that hits the edge of the cage first, so close the tailgate manually, and gently; please DO NOT press any automatic tailgate closing buttons.

You may, for example, find that the tailgate closes at the Medium setting, but will not close at the Large setting.

Once you know what length of cage is suitable, you need to think about the width.

The chart attached to the Boxometer shows the widths of the 5 different PRO models. Breite (German) means Width; see also the A4 sized pdf on the “Which size is right?” tab, which shows width settings.

As a guide only:

  • The PRO size 1 is 54.5cm wide. It’s suitable for small breeds, e.g. Cocker Spaniel, Dachshund, Terrier, Beagle
  • The PRO size 2 is also 54.5cm wide, but is higher and deeper than size 1. It’s suitable for medium breeds, e.g. Spitz, Sheltie, Border Collie
  • The PRO size 3 is 68.0cm wide. It’s suitable for medium to large breeds, e.g. Retriever, Labrador, German Shepherd
  • The PRO size 4 is 81.5cm. It’s suitable for larger breeds, e.g. Bernese Mountain Dog, Rottweiler, Irish Setter
  • The PRO size 22 is 96.5cm wide. It’s suitable for two medium sized dogs or, with the dividing panel removed, two medium to large dogs or one large dog

It’s important to check that the tailgate closes across the whole of your preferred width of cage – sometimes for example there is a bulge in the internal plastic moulding of the tailgate, to accommodate a rear wiper.

It’s also important to check the top of the boot opening, to be sure that there is nothing to stop a wider cage from sliding in. Sometimes there are bulges at left and right, which cover the tailgate support strut mechanism, as shown in the pictures.

It helps us enormously if you would work out what is the deepest / longest and widest cage that will fit; this is really the whole purpose of the Boxometer test!

We will send some measuring instructions with the Boxometer, and will add your vehicle to our database if we are confident about your measurements.

Deposit

We charge a £25 deposit, really to remind you that we would like to collect the Boxometer from you ASAP. We will pay all the freight costs, out and back, as long as you are on the UK mainland. Please also choose your car from the drop down list which appears when you click ‘Buy checked items’.

When the Boxometer is back here, we will refund the deposit.

FAQ – can 4pets PRO cages be used with one or more of the rear seats laid flat?

4pets PRO cages are designed to go behind the rear seat but, because of their energy-absorbing rear panel, they can safely be placed in the boot with one or both of the rear seat backs laid flat, as long as the red rear panel is pointing towards the front of the vehicle. If any part of the rear seat is laid flat, the cage must (must!) be particularly well strapped down, using the vehicle’s strapping points.

Note that they must never be turned so the dog enters and exits through a rear side door.

Delivery charges and arrangements:

This Item
Free delivery £ 0.00 2 to 4 working days

Standard delivery information

We charge a contribution towards delivery costs, depending on what you order, where you live, and how quickly you want the goods.

These are our standard charges; there are usually surcharges for all offshore destinations and some remote postcodes - for details please see our delivery information page.

Small items & Spare parts
Express delivery £ 6.95 1 to 2 working days
Standard delivery £ 4.95 3 to 4 working days
Standard sized items (Roof bars, bike carriers and most other items)
Express Delivery £ 9.50 1 to 2 working days
Standard Delivery £ 6.50 3 to 4 working days
Roof boxes
Express Delivery £ 19.50 1 to 2 working days
Standard Delivery £ 14.50 3 to 4 working days

Delivery times

Delivery times are calculated in working days (Monday to Friday, excluding Bank holidays).

Cut-off times for Express Delivery orders
Express Delivery orders placed before before the cut-off times shown below will usually be desptached on the date of order. Express Delivery orders placed after these cut-off times will be despatched the next working day.

Small and Standard Sized Items Order by 4pm for same day despatch
Roof Boxes, Dropracks and Roof Tents Order by 1pm for same day despatch

Delivery FAQs

When will my order arrive?
There are no deliveries on Saturdays, Sundays or Bank Holidays, except for postable items where Royal Mail has a Saturday delivery. Express Delivery orders placed on a Friday (before 1pm) should be delivered on the Monday or Tuesday, Express Delivery orders placed on a Saturday or Sunday should be delivered on the Tuesday or Wednesday. The arrangements for Very Heavy Items are different and are shown above.

What about Next Working Day delivery?
We have offered a reliable Next Working Day service for well over 20 years but, due to the pressure on the couriers caused by the coronavirus crisis and the huge increase in online shopping, we can no longer be confident about the delivery date, which is why we now call the service ‘Express delivery’. Most Express delivery orders will arrive on the next or second working day, but some will arrive on the second or third working day, or be split between these days. So-called “split deliveries” happen when the couriers do not have enough trailer space for everything that should be moved around the UK, so they will load what they can and leave the rest for the next trailer.

Is my delivery day guaranteed?
No retailer or courier company can ever "guarantee" a Next Working Day delivery. As well as split deliveries, all courier companies occasionally have the same transport problems as can happen to everyone else, including snow blocked roads, closed roads, traffic jams, mechanical breakdown, an inability to find the delivery address, or to gain access to it if, for example, it's in a block of flats. We work with some of the best couriers in the business, and overall they provide an outstanding service.

Do I need to be at home?
We are very flexible with our deliveries and will aim to deliver to an address which suits you – this does not need to be your home address. Goods can usually be left without signature - we prefer this with roof boxes. There's a "Special Delivery Instructions" box in the checkout area where we'll ask you to choose a typical instruction and then amend it to suit your particular requirements.

Payment options:

We take the following cards, and also PayPal. Please note that the entry on your card statement will be from "The Roof Box Company".

PayPal accepted

Secure payments

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These are the official TÜV SÜD crash-testing videos. The first one (the one on the left) simulates a cage mounted behind a rear seat back - you'll see that the bottom of the cage is resting against two pieces of angle-iron, bolted to the base of the test sled. The second one (the one on the right) emulates a "pickup test", with the cage strapped onto the sled at all four corners. The pickup test is not part of the official TÜV test, but shows that a PRO cage is safe for use in a pickup, or a vehicle with the rear seat back laid flat, so long as the cage is well strapped down - obviously.

The official test uses the widest cage, the PRO 4, with a 50kg dog dummy in it. At 50km/h it's exerting a force of over 1.25 tonnes on the energy-absorbing Impact Protection System - the red panel. As the rear panel is pushed forward it tightens into the cage frame - top and bottom, left and right.

You'll see that in this very severe test the dog dummy has moved back across the cage and into the door - which is burst-proof from the inside as well as the outside, and has also flexed to absorb residual energy.

You'll also see that one of the aluminium frame poles has bent as result of this crash; this can easily be replaced but, frankly, in an accident of this size the car will almost certainly be a complete write-off...

4pets PRO dog cages - TÜV official crash test 4Pets PRO TÜV pickup crash test

FAQ 1: “Why don’t 4pets PRO cages have a rear escape hatch?”

Answer 1:

  • A rear escape hatch would be wholly incompatible with the 4pets Impact Protection System, the patented rear panel which is designed to absorb the energy created when a dog is thrown forward in the event of an accident, or under heavy braking. Wherever the dog was located in the cage at the moment of impact, it will very soon be hitting the rear panel, which is really the most important part of any safety cage.
  • There is evidence that, if an accident is severe enough to require the use of the type of escape hatch fitted to several brands of steel cage, it is not always possible to lower the rear seat to get to the escape hatch, because of the pressure being exerted on the rear seat release catches.
  • If the rear seat can be lowered, then the cage can usually be swung around far enough to open the door.
  • In any event, and especially if using one of the widest PRO 22 cages which would be hard to turn, the rear panel can be removed by undoing 4 Allen bolts; an Allen key can be taped to the back of the cage for emergency use.

FAQ 2: “Why is fibreboard used in the construction of 4pets PRO cages?”

Answer 2: 4pets PRO cages use a specially formulated laminated fibreboard in their roof and side panels; note that there are no toxic ingredients in either the fibreboard or the laminating material – in fact all components of a PRO cage are REACH compliant. In line with the whole 4pets PRO design brief, the main reason that this material has been chosen is because it absorbs kinetic energy in the event of a crash; the aim is to do the best for the dog as well as for the humans.

Fibreboard is also much lighter than steel and stays at a relatively even temperature, regardless of the seasons and weather – steel cages will get very hot in a hot car, and very cold in a cold car.

FAQ 3: “What happens to a PRO cage in the event of a rear-end collision?”

Answer 3: 4pets PRO cages are designed to retain their basic shape in the event of a crash, which we think is a good thing. Evidence from both testing and crashes (including at speeds greater than 50 km/h) shows that aluminium poles have distorted, in a controlled way, and fibreboard panels have cracked – which shows that they have absorbed considerable force, and done their job. All parts of PRO cages are available as DIY replacements but, if necessary, any repairs could be done in our workshop.

Our understanding of vehicle crumple zones is that most of the energy is absorbed at the front of the vehicle; in a rear-end crash it’s the front of the car that hits yours that should absorb the majority of the energy – if it’s modern, and it’s a car or a light commercial vehicle.

FAQ 4: “Why are the PRO cages only 66cm high?”

Answer 4: This is to do with value for money - it means that they will fit in a much larger range of cars. The shape of car tailgates is changing, and even a few millimetres difference in height is significant. In fact the PRO cages are 2cm lower than the ProLine cages they have replaced, allowing the most popular cage sizes to fit in some of the most popular SUVs and estate cars for the first time.

Taller dogs will not be able to stand up, or even sit up staight, in PRO cages - but there is a good argument that this is a positive thing. You want your dog to settle down and doze, not wander about. In any event they can look through the front of the cage and check that you're there, even if they are not fully standing to do this. A dog should only be in a cage for a short time anyway - when you stop every 2 or 3 hours for a leg stretch, that's also the time for your dog to have a short walk.

Looking around the market for dog cages, we see very few where a larger breed would be able to stand fully upright, and all these are bespoke cages, made to measure for a specific car.

FAQ 5: “Where should the cage tie-down straps be placed?”

Answer 5: This is not really an FAQ, but a note to remind you to tie the straps around the top horizontal side poles, as shown in the instructions, and definitely not around the rear vertical poles that form the door frame, in other words the supports for the door hinges and the door lock.

The reason for this is that, if you tie the straps around the door frame then it’s possible in theory, depending of course on the angle of the straps, the strength of the tie-down points in the vehicle, and the speed of the collision, that the door frame could be flexed enough for the door to open inwards – which is as good as impossible in normal use.

If you have any questions about anything to do with 4pets PRO cages, please don’t hesitate to ask. You can phone us, or e-mail [email protected]

Which size PRO cage is right?

There are 5 different PRO models, each being a different Width. Apart from the smallest size, the Height is the same across the range. There are different options for Length (Small, Medium, Large), reflecting the Length (or depth) of the car boot from the bottom of the rear seat to the tailgate.

PRO 1Small

PRO 2Medium / Large

PRO 3Small / Medium / Large

PRO 4Small / Medium / Large

PRO 22Medium / Large


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Item: Description: Our price (each): RRP:
4pets PRO dog cage: £25.00 (rrp. )

All our prices include VAT at 20% Total: £25
 Description 
 Delivery charges and Payment options 
 TÜV test videos 
 FAQs 
 Which size is right?