We have two dogs and both are rescues. We got Baileys first and she was our only dog. Never crated her amd didn't worry about it. She sleeps gated in the laundry room on her pillow every night. Never had an issue aside from digging by the neighbors fence trying to play with their dog.
9 months later we got JD, a hound/rott mix. We decided to treat him just as we did Baileys but we would come home after 2-3 hrs to find stuff trashed. Books taken off a shelf and torne to pieces and displayed in front of the door as if to say they were not happy we left.
Our strategy was to get a crate for JD. He had a few accidents in it for the first few weeks but was always rewarded when he went in. Now I do not even have to say a word. I grab a treat and he opens the crate and goes in and waits. It is meant for a large dog and he is medium sized so he has room to move. We always include a bone or toy to occupy him. Nothing has been tore up since.
What I am trying to say is that maybe the dog just needs some more space and structure. As it was stated before, dogs love to please us. If you get him used to the crate and show that its a good thing for both of you he should be fine. Also maybe a step up in crate size.