There are a zillion pet-proof car seat and cargo area covers for sale at your local pet stores and online. But Canvasback is the only outfit I’ve seen claiming both high build quality and a range of interesting patterns beyond plain black or grey. The brand also has extensive custom-fitment applications, which is what really got my attention. After trying a Canvasback cover set in my BMW F31 wagon, I really like the materials and design, though it doesn’t quite live up to my dreams of perfection.
This review’s been a long time coming—I reached out to Canvasback over a year ago after seeing that the company makes a cover pattern specifically tailored to the 2014-2018 BMW 3 Series Sportwagon. In fact, since then, my former colleague Michael Febbo reviewed a Canvasback cargo liner in his VW Golf last year and really liked it.
Febbo’s cover seemed to fit the shape of his Volkswagen’s cargo area perfectly. But the one for my Bimmer is a little more ambitious, featuring pop-outs for multiple cargo tie-down points as well as both under-floor storage bins (two separate openings). That level of compatibility with the car’s OEM functionality was what got me excited about the product initially, but ultimately drove me a little nuts in practice. I kept thinking I must be doing something wrong with my installation method, but after quite a few attempts and many months of testing the material against scratches, it’s time to simply share my impressions.
Only one dog technically lives with me but I often shuttle around a half-dozen other dogs that live with my other family members. And we use our wagon as a ranch truck, hauling mulch, rocks, veggies, and dirty tools pretty much every weekend. Our Canvasback cover has gotten plenty of testing (and zero damage) in the last 12 months.
Canvasback covers are U.S.-made with impressively robust stitching, clean edges, and a fun range of patterns to pick from. The designs are thoughtful, allowing for easy access to seatbelts and tie-down points. The net between the two front seatbacks on the second-row hammock allows air conditioning to get to your dog while giving you a window to easily peek at them. The company’s customer service is responsive and helpful over the phone.
The brand’s logo, a big square with ducks, has a classy old-money feel to it, which looks great with a luxury car. I guess I’m associating it with a hunting lodge aesthetic, though I think the ducks are supposed to be a nod to the way water simply glides off these covers like it does off a duck’s back.
Water and filth resistance is excellent. Leave wet, gross things on these covers for days, and your car might stink, but the moisture won’t get through.
We’ve had six different high-energy dogs in the car, all kinds of rocks, dirt, and other landscaping stuff dragged all over these covers, and they still look brand new a year later.
I described Canvasback’s BMW wagon cargo liner as “ambitious,” and while this was the main reason I wanted it, it was also the biggest point of frustration for me.
F31 BMW 3 Series wagons have a lot going on behind the second row seats. There are two storage bins with their own hinged doors, multiple retractable cargo tie-down points on the floor, and several other cargo holsters up the sides of the back area. When you order a Canvasback cover for this car, you have the option to click if you want cut-out provisions to be able to retain access to all that stuff.
The cover I received does have provisions for the various hinges and hooks, but I cannot, for the life of me, get them all to line up satisfyingly. If the hole for the cargo ring is in the right spot, another piece of the material gets caught when the cargo bin door opens. If I align it for that door, then the tie-down slot gets out of position.
I have spent several sessions fiddling with this, suspecting user error on my end, but I’ve yet to get it positioned in a way that I’m comfortable with enough to secure the liner in place with the provided adhesive.
That brings me to my second eyebrow-raising observation: Canvasback’s cargo liners are held in position with Velcro strips. One strip is attached to the liner, while you stick the other onto your factory carpet with adhesive. When I first read that, I thought the adhesive was supposed to latch onto hard plastic points. But no, it’s supposed to get taped directly on the carpet. I’m not crazy about that idea—the chance of ripping out carpet fibers and leaving bald spots behind if and when I want to remove it seems high.
I called Canvasback’s customer service and asked about this, and was assured the company’s “never had a complaint” about damaging upholstery, but my skepticism persists.
Ultimately, I elected to ignore the adhesive element and just let the rear seats essentially pin the cargo cover in place. The rear cargo liner is one long piece running from the rear headrests all the way to the edge of the rear hatch. With the seats up, I can tuck a bit of the liner in and have it held in place pretty well. That doesn’t get me the maximum tautness that a fully installed Canvasback cover advertises, but it provides adequate protection without committing long strips of tape to my mint factory carpet.
The cargo liner also comes with liners to protect the sides of the cargo area, which I test-fitted but decided to ditch altogether. They cover up access to my OEM medical kit and the little hook I use to hang a canine first-aid bag. Also, I realized the plaid sides and plaid floor are visually a little … much. Yes, I am dorky enough to care about the appearance of my wagon’s cargo bay, and to me, it looks better with plain black sides.
Our dog Bramble rides in the second row of seats, anyway, where I have the matching Canvasback hammock.
These come sized three ways, as measured across the rear bench seat: Small (48”-52” wide), Medium (53”-57” wide), and Large (58”-60” wide). The company recommended a Medium for the BMW F31, and while it does technically fit the seat bench, the headrest loops are a little too far apart, which causes the hammock to scrunch in the middle a little. Unfortunately, that’s a huge deal because it tugs the outer edges of the hammock away from the seat’s materials, which is where paws and claws tend to land when exiting or entering the vehicle. You can add optional side flaps for about $70, which might alleviate that—if you’re on the fence, definitely get the flaps.
I also think I can rectify this by simply removing and re-sewing the headrest loops in such a way that better fits my Bimmer. That’s not exceptionally challenging, but it’s not the perfect-as-shipped fitment I was hoping for after seeing Canvasback’s Instagram ads.
The Canvasback cargo liner and rear seat hammock look awesome, feel great, and provide great protection while still feeling lightweight. Plus, they’re American-made, which is nice. Broadly speaking, I think the company makes some good stuff. But I’d recommend just skipping the extra cutouts for every little OE luggage attachment and having one big, unbroken cover for the rear liner. Partially because it’ll be a lot easier to make the final product look nice, and partially because the slots somewhat diminish the cover’s dirt-retention ability by nature.
Just this week, I was hauling 300 pounds of drainage rock in the BMW, and noticed that dust was able to get to the factory carpet through the accessory access gaps in the Canvasback liner. As for the hammocks, don’t skip the side flap if your rear bench is on the edge of sizing needs.
You can also order rear door covers and a flap that extends down over your rear bumper for dog or dirty-cargo loading. Our dog doesn’t claw at the doors, and she never rides in the back, so I skipped these, but they’d be great for animals that might get a little rowdier on car rides.
If you like the Canvasback style and have money to burn, these can be a fun way to go. But if you’re on a tighter budget, frankly, I’m not seeing a major practical advantage of my $249 Canvasback dog hammock over the $29 Dickies brand one I got at Walmart when we first brought Bramble the dog home. The form-fitting nature of the trunk liner is nice, but again, it’s a splurge for style.
The cargo liner you see here starts at $199. Cutouts brought the total to $269, priced like this:
Access to Cargo Mounting System (4) + $20.00
Access to D-Rings (2) + $10.00
Access to Seatback Net Holders (2) + $10.00
Access to Storage Areas (2) + $30.00
The wagon cargo area side pieces are $70, plus $5 to have a cutout for the 12-volt plug.
The medium-sized hammock is $179, plus $25 for the mesh window (which I think is essential). Side flaps add another $70.
To recap, if you’re thinking about getting your own setup, I recommend skipping cutouts on the rear liner, but springing for the mesh and side flaps on the hammock.
Canvasback’s own website is great, and its customer support team is very helpful. The company’s already added several fun patterns since I received my set.
Got any more tips on how to best equip a dog taxi? Drop me a line at andrew.collins@thedrive.com!
Automotive journalist since 2013, Andrew primarily coordinates features, sponsored content, and multi-departmental initiatives at The Drive.
