We have a 9 month old GSP male who is house trained but still persistently pees in his crate.  He doesn't do this when crated at night or if we crate him while we are still at home (e.g., to get him to stop chasing the vacuum!).  His crate is the correct size, we make sure he has peed before he's crated, and he's never crated for more than four hours.  It does seem that it might be an excitement thing related to hearing us arrive home as sometimes the puddles are still warm when I go to clean them up.

We have crated him without any bedding thinking that he would not want to sit or lie in his urine but he really seems to be indifferent to this.  This is his only vice (but it's a nasty one) and otherwise he's a wonderful dog.  Any advice, especially from anyone who has had a similar experience, would be really appreciated.

Yes, we do go right to the crate when we get home (I'm eternally optimistic each time that he won't have peed in his crate and so I want to let him out right away). 

Your suggestion is much appreciated and we'll  follow your advice starting today and see how it goes.