For the past 5 years, my back seats have been beaten up by both myself and Shadow, my Australian Shepherd. I’ve looked at many seat cover options, and haven’t found anything that quite met my needs. That is, until, I came across Canvasback Cargo Liners.
Canvasback Cargo Liners were created to protect the interior of your car from dirty, hairy dogs and sports equipment. I have both. Shadow spreads his hair everywhere and I use my back seat as my snowboard and ski rack during the winter.
The rear cargo area of my 4Runner is consumed with drawers, a fridge, and offroad recovery gear. So, the back seat takes the brunt of everything. I throw tools in there, haul wood, camping gear, groceries, you name it. Fortunately, my seats have held up so far, but it was 100% time for me to add a layer of protection. Otherwise, I’d be looking at holes in the seats in the near future.
Find It Online:
- Second Row Bench Seat Cover: Check Price
- Door Covers: Check Price
- Front Seat Barrier: Check Price
- Front Seat Back Covers: Check Price
- 2nd Row Seat Back Covers: Check Price
- Kick Plate Covers: Check Price
- Console Cover: Check Price
- Headrest Covers: Check Price
Table Of Contents
Specs & Features
Canvasback Cargo Liners was founded by and is currently owned by outdoor enthusiasts. The company is located in Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota, where its products are also made.
They offer a wide array of products in a range of designs and colors, including accent stitching and monograms. The Mocha, Black, Graphite, and Chocolate fabrics are rugged 600 X 300 poly denier with a waterproof PVC backing. Print fabrics are a 600 x 600 poly denier with heavily sprayed urethane backing for water resistance (basically waterproof). The material is thin and light, yet super tough and can stand up to heavy use.
What makes Canvasback Cargo Liners’ products unique is the custom fit options for hundreds of vehicles. For the 4Runner, they offer a broad interior product line that includes but is not limited to, bumper flaps, seat covers, cargo liners, seat barriers, and other accessories.
They offer more products than I really needed, but it’s awesome they have all these options, and I was psyched to try them all out.
Second Row Bench Seat Cover
The bench seat cover is the crux of the Canvasback Cargo Liners’ ecosystem. In my opinion. It’s what got me interested in their products, and where the rubber (doggo) meets the road (seat).
Overall, the bench seat covers provide a clean look that holds true to the original design of the interior. I chose the black color for that reason. Some folks might want to call attention to their seat covering; I just want to protect them, not feature them.
The bench seat cover attaches securely with very few bulges or errant flaps. There are a few spots where they don’t 100% hug the contour of the seat, but I’ll make that sacrifice for the level of protection they provide. To hold the seat cover in place, Canvasback utilizes the carpeting in the 4Runner wherever possible and uses velcro tabs and strips on their liners that stick to the said carpet. Under the seat, back of the seat, etc. Super smart.
They have straps that hook around the headrests, and zippers that allow for the seats to be folded down individually.
I haven’t had any issues with zipper glitches, but they do take a second to reconnect after folding down the seat. Where the bench splits into two parts, velcro holds it together.
If I had one nitpick about the bench seat covers, it would be the time it takes to unzip and un-velcro the seat covers to put down the seats, and then line up the zipper when you put them back up. But, I have no idea how you’d do it better while maintaining this level of seamless coverage.
The fabric seems super tough and Shadow hasn’t torn it up in the month I’ve had them installed. I’ve carried a full-sized floor jack on the seat as well as a compressor, and no tears or issues.
When I posted on social media about the seat cover, a couple of folks asked if the fabric was “slippery” for the pup. I haven’t had an issue with that. I think the SofTex that Toyota uses is more slippy and if my pup slips around on it, he’s going to put a toenail through it. Luckily that hasn’t happened yet.
Here’s what the folks at Canvasback have to say about their fabric:
We’ve tested grippier fabrics and unfortunately, the same thing about our fabric that makes them slippery is what makes them so easy to clean, and the grippier fabrics also grip the dirt and hair.
A few solutions; a towel or blanket in the back, a CanvasBack dog bed, which has a grippy mesh on the bottom and won’t slide around, or a crate which is recommended by the American Kennel Club as the safest way to transport a dog.
Door Covers
These would be great for folks that leave their pup in the car for extended periods of time (not in hot weather, of course), who like to paw the doors and bark at people walking by or dogs in nearby vehicles. I don’t fit into that category, so I tried these on and took them off. They fit the doors well, however.
They have plastic tabs that fit into the window channel and hold them up from the top.
There are two adhesive velcro strips at the middle and bottom of the cover that attach to the door.
I chose not to attach these as I won’t be using the door covers on a regular basis. You can skip the velcro, just connect them to the window channel and let them hang if you’re only using them once in a while. They’re made from the same durable material as all the Canvasback liners and are tailored to the exact dimensions of the doors.
Front Seat Barrier
This was a favorite in the mix of products I tested. I don’t have a big issue with Shadow wanting to hop up in the front, but this barrier made it feel like he has his own “room” apart from us in the front seat.
Sometimes, I like him to poke his nose up over the armrest and nuzzle my arm while driving. On the highway and more technical drives, however, I’d prefer to concentrate on the road.
The front seat barrier keeps him in his place and keeps me focused on driving. It will also help keep your pup in the back seat when in the car alone. It doesn’t happen often, but I have come out to Shadow sitting in the driver’s seat.
Straps with plastic clips hold the top of the barrier to the front seats, and the velcro holds it tightly to the bottom. The center has a mesh panel, so you can see Pupper and he can see you. It also makes it feel less like a wall between you and your best friend.
There’s a slit on each side of the barrier with a velcro closure that allows folks in the back seats to access the seat storage pockets if needed.
Front Seat Back Cover
If you’re using the seat barrier, you won’t need these. It’s an “either/or”, not a “both” situation. These attach to the bottom of the front seat in a similar way as the Front Seat Barrier; a strap with clips goes around the headrest, and velcro attaches the bottom.
There’s a pocket in the middle that mimics the pocket in the back of the seat, but it’s not as deep. It would be slightly improved if that pocket reached the bottom of the seat pocket. I put the cover pocket inside the seat pocket to secure it across the middle. That extra length in the cover pocket would really help it hold better and would give you a bit deeper storage.
The covers also have a few additional pockets at the top. These are functional, but the whole seat cover could be even better for an overland application if that large pocket was deeper. Also, I wish the cover was attached to the seat back a bit more securely across the middle. I could see the potential for MOLLE bag attachments, and more tool storage if that was the case.
As for protecting the back of your front seats, these do their job and stay securely in place.
Second Row Seat Back Covers
Everyone should have these. The seat back covers attach to the seat back carpet securely with velcro at all edges and really provide a seamless layer of protection over the backs of the back seats.
I have drawers in the cargo area now, but prior to having them, Shadow spent a lot of time back there. The cargo area and backs of the seats would get covered in hair.
These covers also protect the seat backs when you fold them down and need to haul things. Again, I don’t have much use of my cargo area, so this is my go-to spot for hauling things. I don’t hesitate to throw a bag of mulch or rocks in there with the seat back covers installed.
The covers install and can be removed easily. When installed, I think they actually make the backs of the seats look better. I got the 6″ strip that goes on the flap at the base of the back seats as well.
If that area was more exposed (it’s currently hidden by my drawers), it would be more effective in preventing the buildup of dog hair. I threw it on anyways because it fits so nicely.
Kick Plate Covers
Similar to the front seat back covers, these velcro seamlessly onto the kick plates at the bottom back of the front seats. That area is carpeted, so the velcro does its job and holds them neatly in place.
I’m not sure how much damage my pup or my kids would do to this surface, but I really like how these look and will leave them on.
Note: The front seat back covers and front seat barrier utilizes the kickplate as a lower anchor when they’re attached. They can hang loose at the bottom with the kick plate covers installed but don’t fit as snugly as they would otherwise.
So, when attaching those other pieces, you’ll likely want to remove the kick plate covers. Or, if you keep one of those other pieces attached, you won’t need these. The kick plate covers are also easily removed and thrown into the seat back pockets for storage when not needed.
Console Cover
I’ve seen plenty of cracked and scratched-up consoles, so I was excited about this cover. It fits snugly over the console/armrest and allows for easy access to the console as well. Sometimes it stops the console from latching, but I just adjust it slightly and it closes fine. The console cover also attaches with a small elastic strap across the middle and bottom of the lid that’s invisible when it’s closed.
This is a location that gets a lot of wear and tear from human arms and animal paws. I also carry long pieces of wood like 2x4s through the back and onto the armrest occasionally. I wish I had this years ago when I was renovating my home in San Francisco and was hauling wood on a weekly basis.
Headrest Covers
These fell into the “bonus” category for me. I didn’t really think I needed them and thought they would bug me, to be honest. However, I’ve come to like them. I don’t think I’ll have much wear and tear on the headrests, but for those with rambunctious pups, I see how these would help.
I’m also not sure how much damage the sun will do to the headrests over time, but these are a minimally intrusive and cleanly designed option to cover them.
They fit snugly over each headrest and fasten through the middle of the metal supports with an attached and nearly invisible strip of velcro.
Final Thoughts
I spent about a month using these products pretty hard, especially the Bench Seat Cover. The kick plate and 2nd row back seat covers will also stay on indefinitely while the Front seat barrier has been used off and on with the pup. However, I don’t need the front seat back covers and door covers.
Of all the products, the Bench Seat Cover has gotten the most use and has been the most valuable to me. It has seen wear and tear from the kids, the dog, tools, camping gear, firewood, you name it. It will stay on as long as I have this vehicle. It’s taken a little scuffing, but no legitimate damage. It also fits great; you can tell that it’s an add-on, but it’s definitely not an eyesore in any way. The material looks and feels premium.
Overall, I love that Canvasback Cargo Liners takes interior protection seriously. They’ve created a full ecosystem for the 4Runner with a cover for almost every surface in the cabin and cargo area. I have a few nitpicks and suggestions as to how their products could serve me and my purposes better, but for most 4Runnin’ outdoor enthusiasts, this suite of products will give you peace of mind while throwing gear in the truck and letting your four-legged buds run roughshod over the back seat.
