Thursday, May 21, 2020

Updated Review & Giveaway: How to Pet-Proof your Vehicle with 4Knines® Seat Covers

Updated Review & Giveaway: How to Pet-Proof your Vehicle with 4Knines® Seat Covers
The Chesnut Mutts were compensated in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are honest and genuine. We would not purposefully share a product that is harmful or dishonest to the customer. Post may contain affiliate links that provide a commission. Do not use any images without permission.

Dogs are man's (and definitely woman's) best friend and we take them everywhere we can. To get them to fun destinations, a vehicle is usually involved and with dogs being dogs, things can get pretty dirty. Let's say you take a trip to the dog park and your dog is completely filthy after romping around with his buddies in the mud. You look at your dog, you look at your car. A towel on the seat isn't going to cut it this time. What's a dog parent to do? Thankfully, 4Knines® has you and your car seats covered so you don't have to fret over muddy pawprints.

UPDATE: We originally reviewed 4Knines® back in December 2016, and we now have the opportunity to review them again now in 2020. Our original cover was lost during our recent move and we also have a different vehicle so what better time to try a new car cover!

4Knines Logo


4Knines® was started by Jim and Maggie with their two Dobermans, Ares and Ana. There wasn't a car liner that could stand up to their pups so they created their own! I had heard about 4Knines for a couple of years thanks to other pet bloggers and was so excited to meet them at BlogPaws 2016. I got to see their liners in person and I was impressed. Thankfully, we got to work with them and test out their Fitted Rear Bench Seat Cover.

Jada visiting 4Knines at BlogPaws
Jada ready to roll at BlogPaws 2016

4Knines Fitted Rear Bench Seat Cover


Jada with 4Knines Car Seat Covers

On the package, it states that the car seat cover has a non-slip backing with seat anchors, heavy-duty waterproof material, a lifetime warranty, and installs in less than 40 seconds. Plus, with every unit sold $1 is donated to the ASPCA.

UPDATE: Now, 4Knines donates a percentage of every sale to many different pet-based charities!

My 2003 Ford Focus. A.k.a. the Mutt Mobile

So I have a 2003 Ford Focus (also known as the Mutt Mobile) and I cleaned it really nice for this review. Cleaning it took forever, but the installation was very quick! 

UPDATE: R.I.P. Mutt Mobile! I got into an accident that totaled my car (I didn't have the girls with me). Funnily enough, the seat cover was unscathed. 

4Knines Car Seat Cover Installation Instructions

Jada wanting to help with the 4Knines car seat cover Installation
"Are we going for a ride yet, Mama?"

From the instructions I posted above, it can seem kinda confusing, but it really isn't. If you have headrests, you strap the cover onto them, but if you don't, you might have these little places on the back of your seat where you can wrap the strap around or use a carabiner. The picture below is seen from my trunk. I tightened those straps up, stuck the seat anchors (strap with the PVC pipe-looking plastic bit on it) in between the top and bottom of the seats, pulled my seat belt buckles out,  and I was done!

How I used these anchors to attach my headrest straps for my 4Knines car seat cover

4Knines Car Seat Cover in my compact car

The fabric is really nice and thick. High-quality and durable. Usually, things that are waterproof are slick, but this is a nice combination of comfortable and tough fabric. So let's test it out!

Jada wading in the lake getting dirty

Jada's footprints in the mud

Jada getting muddy at the lake

I took Jada to our local dirty place which is a lake with a lot of ducks! She had a blast smelling all the smells and wading in the water.

Closeup view of my fitted 4Knines Car Seat Cover

By the time we got to the car, Jada was mostly dried off so not a lot got on the liner. What did get on the liner was easily cleaned off. You would want to spot clean 4Knines liners and if they do get super dirty you can put them in the washing machine. 

Durable quilted fabric of 4Knines Car Seat Covers

When I didn't have dogs in the backseat and instead had people, I didn't have to take the liner off or anything and my guests actually told me how comfy it was to sit on compared to no liner! Gotta love that quilted fabric.

Split Rear Seat Cover with Hammock

So I now have an even more compact car, a Chevy Spark. I've only had it for maybe 6 months and living in an area with red clay while not having a cover with cloth seats gave me insane anxiety!

Jada with her split rear seat cover with hammock from 4Knines

I decided to get the regular size and try out the hammock to keep the girls more contained during car rides. Even though it is rare for me to do so, one of the seats does arch forward to allow more space in the trunk. I have done this a couple of times for large objects, so I chose to get the split rear seat cover so I wouldn't have to remove part of the cover.

My compact chevy spark vehicle

Again, super easy installation! I had an idea of what to do, but if you ever get confused, 4Knines has handy videos on their website. For me, the hardest part was inserting the seat anchors which go in between the top and bottom portions of the seat. Mine were very tight, but I managed it! You can see that the cover has a nice rubber backing to keep things in place in addition to the seat anchor.

installing my 4Knines seat cover on my car

The straps are easily adjustable and have clasps to quickly remove or adjust the cover. Because I have such a small car, the hammock wasn't taut enough and there was a big overlap in the middle. I talked to 4Knines about this, and they suggested attaching the cover to the outermost posts of the headrest. This worked like a charm!

4Knines car seat headrest straps

The quilted fabric is very luxurious and stylish, yet super durable. A really nice feature is the velcro openings for the seatbelts. Having velcro really helps prevent dirt and dog hair from getting to the seat underneath! The split part of the cover works really well and it has a zipper on both sides so it can work for whatever seat configuration you have. 

4Knines vehicle cover for rear seats

4Knines split rear seat cover for compact cars

I also really enjoy that the cover extends on the sides. No mud is getting on my seats! The hammock is also optional, so if you don't need it or have human guests riding along you can unbuckle the straps and have it in the floorboard.
car seat covers for dog owners


What about durability?

So last time, we took the girls to the lake and tested out how easy it was to clean by using lake mud. It didn't get as dirty as I'd like and since we are reviewing 4Knines again I wanted to up the difficulty a bit. 

car seat cover with hammock for dogs

For our first test, I took some planting soil and mixed it with warm water to make some nice mud. You should have seen my fiance's face when I came into the office with a plastic container filled with mud! Fun stuff. I took the 4Knines cover off my vehicle (it literally took only a minute) and laid it out in our backyard with my fresh mud. Jada happily paw-painted the mud onto the cover for the sake of science and we let it dry.

easy to clean rear seat cover for cars

I was so hesitant to do this, but like I said, we are cursed with red clay. This stuff does not come out of clothing or carpet very well and it is the worst part of our house, especially when you live in Georgia and it rains so much. I took some freshly dug-up clay (thanks, Jada) and mixed it with water being very careful not to spill a drop. Jada, being the artist she is, made an abstract mud painting on our 4Knines cover. I held my breath and waited for it to dry.

durable hammock rear liner for cars and trucks

After sitting in the hot sun for a bit, you can see that the planting soil mud on the bottom is barely noticeable. 4Knines says that you can use a wet cloth to clean the majority of messes, but you can also machine wash it on gentle (hang to dry) if needed. 

quilted and durable split rear seat liner

I took a wet kitchen towel and went to work. The planting soil was gone, but then the dreaded red clay was next. I did a little bit at a time and I was seriously impressed!

Easy to clean car liner for dogs

Using only the wet towel, I was able to get 98% of the icky mud and the only parts that were really difficult were where Jada really dug into the quilted fabric. I was SO shocked! It cleaned up so well that I didn't need to put it in the washer.

car seat liner for pets
Before

easy to clean vehicle liner for pets
After


In a nutshell...
  • 4Knines® was created by Jim and Maggie because they couldn't find a durable car liner for their two Dobermans
  • The material is waterproof, durable, and washable
  • Installation is very quick and easy
  • There are many styles of liners to choose from to fit any size vehicle. From your front seats to your back-they can cover it!
  • You can find 4Knines car seat covers online on their website or at Amazon.com

I really love the quality 4Knines® car liners! The fabric is durable, yet comfortable, and super easy to clean. Since I started using it, I haven't had any problems and my car is finally protected. I can see this being in my car for a very very long time and through many adventures. It is so nice to not have to worry about getting my car covered in dirt and dog hair because all I have to do now is wipe it all away! 

perfect car liner for dogs
"Again, again!"

Do you go on adventures with your pet?
Let us know in the comments!

durable and comfortable vehicle cover
"Ready to go!"


32 comments:

  1. We take Beauregard with us just about everyplace we go.He loves going and finding new things to do.

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  2. Sadie always goes with us on roadtrips to visit family. She always gets excited about going!

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  3. we are always going on road trips...this would be awesome!

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  4. Yup! Kenji loves going for long rides in the car!

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  5. Since our dog Shunta got old we don't do much but now we have a pup also now so would like to go places more. It would also be good for Shunta too.

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  6. my little girl lovessss car rides! we would love to have this!

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  7. The only adventure we currently go are our daily walks around the farm

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  8. i used to with my oldest gal but she is elderly, has dementia, almost blind, deaf and has terminal cancer. so the traveling is with my 2 younger girls. we dont go for overnite adventures b/c i cant leave my oldest dog alone for very long.

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  9. We take our 2 dogs (German Shepard and Yorkie) hiking in the woods and also we go to The great south bay, Atlantic ocean and Long Island Sound. The Yorkie is the more adventurous (fearless) of the two.

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  10. I have three very unruly rescued Treeing Walker Coonhounds. I try to take them on adventures, but sometimes have to take only one or two at a time. I also am a volunteer rescue transport driver, so I often have dogs other than my own in my vehicle, so protecting my seats with something that can be washed is always a good idea.

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  11. We take our 2 Boston's on short city trips to the park or else where for walks. I used to travel with my baby girl all the time, she grew up in a semi truck!

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  12. We try to take our pups on trips as often as possible. Getting fresh air and going on adventures helps to make our souls happy.

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  13. We love taking the dogs down to the river, hiking and up to the mountains.

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  14. My dogs love car rides especially when we are going hiking or to the dog park

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  15. We go camping and on hikes with our two dogs. Our cats adventures are purely indoor! :)

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  16. I take my dog to the dog park all the time and we go on runs together.

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  17. My buddy is not very adventurous but nevertheless he travels with us whenever we go.

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  18. I take my dog on all sorts of adventures.. the park, the beach, visiting my sister who lives on a campground, she's spoiled.

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  19. The post like very impressive design and make more like this...click this site

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  20. We take our dog, Jasper, most everywhere with us. He loves to ride in the car and explore everything like us!
    Carol Ezovski

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  21. No, my dog does not go on adventures with us.

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  22. My dog is small so he can't go far, but when we go hiking we bring a bag he can sit in when he gets too tired.

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  23. We love to take our dogs on adventures! Someone tried to buy our great dane on the last little adventure... we said, uh, no thanks.

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  24. We love taking him on road trips visiting people.

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  25. My dog loves to ride in the car with me.

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  26. I wouldn't call them adventures, but the dogs are in the car a lot. In addition to the normal groomer/vet/pet store, we go to a lot of training classes and agility trials.

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  27. Yes! Our furbabies love going with us! Camping and geocaching mostly!

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  28. Beau and Tucker go everywhere we go - except work!

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  29. We think adventures with our pets are always fun.

    Nancy
    allibrary (at) aol (dot) com

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  30. I love that last photo...such a happy dog!

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