Learning Center

There’s a lot of competition when it comes to seat covers. You’ll undoubtedly see the Carhartt SeatSaver Custom Seat Cover when you google best seat covers for my truck.

Everyone loves Carhartt. You’ve got the hat, the jacket, and maybe the coveralls, so it’s natural to want to deck your truck out with it too. You’ve relied on Carhartt on the job, but can you rely on it in your vehicle?

And how do these covers compare to TigerTough seat covers? 

We’ll take an unbiased approach (no…seriously, we will) in comparing these two seat covers.

Covercraft Carhartt vs. TigerTough–who’s going to take home the gold? We’re about to find out. 

Watch the video comparison:

Packaging

We love the box the Carhartt covers arrived in. It was straightforward, said what it was, and branded so that you knew what to expect. The only thing we didn’t love was it wasn’t clear which cover went on the driver’s seat. Since these are airbag-safe, putting the correct cover on the seat is important. 

The Covercraft instructions are pretty simple and what you expect from a standard seat cover company. It’s a universal one-sheeter designed to work for any vehicle.

TigerTough covers come in a branded bag. If you’re ordering a lot of covers (like a fleet), you’ll get a box filled with these bags. Not as shelf-ready as Carhartt, but it does the job.

Unlike Carhartt, we send a detailed full-color instruction packet with our covers and a link to an install video for your specific vehicle. It might not be necessary for everyone, but we try to avoid troubleshooting by offering as much detail upfront.

Materials: What are they made of?

Carhartt SeatSaver Custom Seat Covers are made of “heavy-duty, firm-hand Carhartt® Duck Weave fabric and triple stitched main seams.” This is the same 100% cotton fabric you know from your favorite Carhartt gear. You can feel it already, can’t you? Like their apparel, the seat covers are water-resistant but not waterproof.

TigerTough seat covers are made from 1000 Denier CORDURA®️. That’s a mouthful, so what does it mean? It’s made in the U.S., waterproof, nearly indestructible, and so tough that it meets Military Specifications. It’s designed and tested to withstand some of the most brutal conditions.

Carhartt Duck Weave is tough but won’t withstand the same abuse as 1000 Denier CORDURA®️—seats in a vehicle experience more friction than an article of clothing. So if your truck’s interior will be used well, you’ll want to consider your options carefully.

Derrick had some great things to say about the durability of his TigerTough seat covers:

“These are great quality, tough, very good fitting seat covers. I have had similar covers in the past on a previous Tundra, and they lasted 16 years until I sold that truck. I expect the same from these.”

Design and Fit

The fit of the Carhartt Seat Savers is the number one complaint we hear about them. These covers are made in a single piece (plus the headrest), so you won’t get a secure fit. Covercraft's Carhartt Precision Fit comes in separate pieces and fits more like TigerTough seat covers, but they flaunt a price tag starting at $429, so we didn't use them for this comparison.

The SeatSavers look alright at first but shimmy and shift as you slide in and out of your vehicle.

TigerTough seat covers come in multiple pieces: the seat bottom, back, and headrest cover. You’ll get an accurate fit, no matter your vehicle.

More pieces = better fit

Just take a look at a recently installed Carhartt seat cover vs. a TigerTough seat cover that's been installed for eight years. The seat portion on the Carhartt cover is already shifting:

Headrest

Both headrest covers protect well. We’re happy that Carhartt covers them (because we’ve run into some covers that don’t). If you’re in any type of blue-collar line of work, chances are, you’ll want a cover protecting your headrest.

Just below the headrest, around the headrest supports, there’s a difference.

The Carhartt covers have a visible bias tape around the edge. TigerTough covers are designed to fit under the plastic mounts of the headrest supports for a cleaner look. If you have the headrest all the way down, you wouldn’t notice. None of this affects function; it’s just a difference in design.

Seat back

Covercraft’s option has the Carhartt patch in the area between your shoulder blades. TigerTough arrives bare. If you’d like, you can add embroidery, whether stock or custom, for an additional fee. As far as we can tell, you can't add custom embroidery with Covercraft.

As you move down the seat back, both covers fit well, but TigerTough fits more securely. We make our covers in multiple pieces, so there are additional points for the cover to stay secured to the seat.

On the actual back of the seat, Covercraft gets points for having a pocket come standard on their vehicle seat covers. This is an upgrade feature for TigerTough and will cost you extra.

Seat crease

OK, this is where the difference is most obvious. It all comes back to one-piece vs. two, and the two-piece options just look neater. 

Even if you shoved your hands into the crevice to get a neat look on the Carhartt cover, it would shift as soon as you slid into the vehicle. WeatherTech's seat covers are the same way. It makes for an imperfect fit, but you judge which look you prefer.

Seat bottom

These are pretty comparable. Both covers allow access to the seat controls and tuck in nicely on the side.

We wish there were additional contact points on the seat bottom, but overall it works.

Ease of Installation

Installation on the Carhartt covers was about seven minutes. Since their cover is one piece, it made things simpler. There are little pillows that you shove into the seat crease for the covers to stay in place. 

TigerTough took about nine minutes. That extra piece adds some complications to the installation process.

💡Helpful tip: When we installed the Carhartt seat covers, we couldn't find any indication of which cover went on which seat. In order for these to be airbag-compatible, they need to be on the correct seat. Take a look at the inside of the seat cover for a tearaway seam. That seam should be on the side of the seat closest to the door.

Warranty

Covercraft offers a three-year limited warranty on these particular seat covers. 

“Covercraft’s warranty coverage protects against defects in material and workmanship, as well as the fabric becoming unserviceable during normal use. After factory inspection, at its option, Covercraft will repair or replace the unit or specific panels or parts judged to be unusable. Warranty does not cover fading, which occurs naturally on all products used outdoors, or weather resistance of fabric.”

This is pretty good, but in the end, Covercraft can determine what they’ll cover and what they won’t. 

Our warranty is shorter at just two years, but we believe in the durability of our products, so we’ve made it an unconditional warranty. It doesn’t matter how your seat covers got wrecked (but we bet there’s an epic story there); we’ll repair or replace them for you.

Three-year limited vs. two-year unconditional warranty. Would you rather have limited love or unconditional?

Price

We want to compare apples to apples here, so we used a 2023 Ford F150 as our test model for pricing.

Covercraft Carhartt SeatSavers: $422 (this base price seems to fluctuate with their sales)
TigerTough Seat Covers: $297

The Covercraft covers cost about 44% more than the TigerTough option. However, you’ll be able to find coupon codes for Covercraft, whereas we keep things straightforward with no-fuss pricing on our site. What you see is what you get. 

Customer Reviews

With a 4.5-star rating and over 2,000 reviews when this was published, there’s no denying that people love their Carhartt seat covers. A lot of the reviews echo the same, but we liked how specific Matthew H. got:

“Exactly what I expected. Had put these in my landscape work truck three years ago and have been pleased. When I got a new-to-me CR-V, twelve years old but very clean, there was no question I wanted to invest in seat covers to keep the nearly new interior in good condition. Good fit, decent attachment, and I expect no durability issues.”

TigerTough covers don’t have as many reviews, but we average a 4.9-star rating, which is pretty great! We love what John T. has to say about his TigerTough seat covers:

“As advertised. I tried to jam a screwdriver through them with acceptable (non-extreme) pressure. They held up just fine. I’m sure the friction from my backside over the years getting in and out of the truck (2009 F150) will never wear these covers out. Wish I had bought a set when the truck was new. Would have saved the original seats from wear and increased the resale value. Pursuing ordering a set for my 2019 F250 to just prevent excessive wear.”

Summary

Seat covers are a small investment that can save you thousands of dollars, so you want to choose the right kind. 

We often say that the Carhartt covers are the second-best covers for work trucks. If TigerTough doesn’t have a cover available for your vehicle, definitely go get your Carhartt fix. And if you love the Carhartt brand but want your seat covers to fit like a glove, you might want to consider upgrading to Covercraft’s PrecisionFit Carhartt Seat Covers, with two pieces (plus the headrest); they're designed to fit better.

When it comes down to the facts (and not our paychecks), TigerTough is cheaper, more durable, and has a more forgiving warranty. 

To be direct, yes, airbag-compatible seat covers are considered safe if they allow the airbag to deploy in third-party testing.

But for those who want to know more details, this article is for you.

Airbags are relatively new in automobile history. They were heavily considered for passenger vehicles in the 1950s, according to The Rough Road to Airbags. The concept was brought to Chrystler, but they weren't interested. Ford and General Motors experimented with prototypes but couldn't mass-produce them. 

But it wasn't until 1990 that the first collision with two cars deploying airbags was recorded. Since then, airbags have saved over 50,000 lives.

So what are airbag-compatible seat covers, and why are they important?

What are airbag-compatible seat covers?

Seat covers are considered compatible airbags when holes or flaps allow the seat airbag to deploy. They're considered safe for installation.

When you install seat covers on a newer (2012+) vehicle, you're almost guaranteed to cover up an airbag in the side of your seat. If your seat cover doesn't allow the airbag to deploy, you will likely be smashing your head and upper body into the side of the vehicle in the event of a crash. That's not something fun to think about, but it's true.

Watch this video and see how the torso airbag in the seat works with the ceiling airbag to protect the driver from hitting the side of the vehicle:

That doesn't mean you shouldn't install seat covers on your vehicle. Just don't install cheap, universal-fit covers. But watch out; even well-known manufacturers don't always have airbag-safe covers.

If the seat cover doesn't mention anything about compatibility, and you see straps or anything covering the side airbag, it's probably best not to install it in your car, truck, van, or SUV.

Which brands of seat covers are compatible with airbags?

In our research, we've found the following top brands to be considered safe:

• Covercraft
• Wet Okole
• Canvasback
• ShearComfort
• TigerTough

We haven't looked to see if these brands (other than TigerTough) have been independently tested, but according to their websites, they're considered safe with airbags. We suggest you only install seat covers that are independently tested and verified for airbag compatibility by a qualified third-party laboratory.

So TigerTough seat covers are airbag-safe?

Yes.

TigerTough seat covers have been independently tested and verified by MGA Research Corporation in Troy, MI. Watch the airbag deploy in under 30 milliseconds in the testing video below:

Whether you're installing truck seat covers or if they're for your car or van, check and make sure that the cover will allow your airbag to deploy. You owe it to yourself and your passengers.

Why are they important?

When adding aftermarket parts to your vehicle, you need to ensure that you don't hinder any of the safety features of your truck, van, car, police vehicle, etc.

All vehicles today have airbags in the steering wheel and passenger side dash. Most vehicles come with them in the side of the seat back. Some cars have airbags in the A-pillar (by the dash), the B-pillar (by your head when you're in the seat), the ceiling, and other locations in the vehicle.

We HIGHLY recommend checking your owner's manual before modifying your vehicle's interior to ensure you aren't compromising your and your passengers' safety. And when you're ready to install seat covers, be sure they're compatible with your airbags.

Seat covers for your truck are an investment. How much you spend varies. They can cost you under $100 for a one-size-fits-most option (if you don’t mind a sloppy fit) and up to $500 for a name-brand custom fit.

There’s no shame in our game, so we’re upfront about our prices. The average TigerTough set of bucket seat covers for trucks costs $287. 

Here are some of the prices we found in our research:

Why do prices vary so much?

Like anything in manufacturing, the cost of all goods is determined by factors like where the item is made (do they outsource it or is it made in the U.S.A.), what materials are used, and how much work goes into making it.

Some of the cheaper options you see on the market aren’t made in America, or they’re made from inferior materials that’ll crap out before your next oil change.

Do you get what you pay for?

Sometimes. But sometimes, you’re paying for a name. 

We reviewed the best work truck seat covers and found that some lesser-known names were some of the better options. 

When you’re looking for seat covers for your truck, we suggest keeping these qualities in mind:

• Two-piece covers
• Waterproof
• Custom fit
• Made in the U.S.A.
• A strong warranty

Are seat covers worth the investment?

Absolutely. Even if you choose an option that’s $500+ per pair, you’ll come out ahead in the long run, especially when it comes to resale value. 

Don’t believe us? Learn the four ways seat covers save you money, and hit us up if you’re still in disbelief. 

Seat covers cost money upfront. But are they worth the investment? We think so, but instead of telling you our opinion, we'll shoot it straight to you with the facts.

We'll use $297 for a set of bucket seat covers since that's what the average TigerTough bucket seat covers cost.

1. Repairs and replacements

If you keep your trucks for a while, you'll need to repair ripped-up and damaged seats to improve conditions for the driver/operator (we're looking at you, blue collar folks). It also helps with your brand image. If your crew rolls up in a truck with foam spewing out of the seat, how does that speak to your work?

We asked some customers how much they've paid to repair or replace seats. The average cost to repair or replace seats was $632.50 per seat.

Not only do you have to pay for the seat to be repaired, but there's also truck downtime you need to factor into the cost. 

If a pair of TigerTough seat covers cost you around $297 ($148.50 per cover) and an average of $632.50 to repair or replace a seat, you've saved $479 per seat.

Money saved: $479/seat

2. Increased resale value

There comes a time in every truck's life when it's ready for the next journey. And when it comes time to sell, we want you to walk away with the most money you can.

If your seats look like they lost a bar fight, and someone opens the door of that vehicle (whether it's the dealership or the next potential owner), they're greeted with an interior that looks like trash. That gives them the instant impression that the truck's had a rough life, and that's how you've taken care of the rest of the vehicle maintenance for the whole time you've owned it.

According to Kelley Blue Book, a vehicle can be in perfect condition mechanically and physically on the exterior, but if the seats are torn and busted, it drops to good.

At a minimum, having seats in excellent condition can save you hundreds of dollars when it comes time to sell.

Money saved: $285-$1457

3. Lease chargebacks

Maybe you lease your vehicles. Check into the charges you get after turning it in; it's normal for leasing companies to work in charges for seat damages.

On average, we see leasing companies charge $1,000-$1,200 for damaged seats. They'll allow some light wear, but if they deem a seat damaged, they'll charge you for the whole dang thing.

Money saved: $703

4. Detailing

We realize work trucks might not get detailed very often, but if you drive around a personal vehicle and spill a coffee inside, you'll probably want to get those seats cleaned.

So how much will a nice detail cost you?

An interior detail with deep cleaning can cost around $279. That's not terrible, but do it once and you've paid for a set of seat covers.

Check it out; we've taken a cup of coffee to a TigerTough seat cover to show you what happens:

Spoiler alert: The seat under the cover was totally unscathed. Your lap, on the other hand, might be a different story.

Money saved: $270 after two details

How much money will seat covers save you?

Depending on your situation, seat covers can save you anywhere from $270 to $1457 or more, depending on your vehicle (we based that $1457 number off 2012 Ford F150.)

But if you put them on when you first get your vehicle, they'll help you get more money for it whenever you decide to sell it.

Are seat covers worth it?

Do seat covers cost money? Yes.
Is there a range of prices? Yes.
Are they worth it? Yes. Especially if your vehicle's interior sees equipment, debris, dogs, or kids (like 90% of you reading this).

Do the research and find the best seat cover for your truck, and you'll walk away, saving money in the long run.

So, we just got our hands on a 2011 F550 that was a heavy equipment service truck.

The truck had belonged to a heavy equipment dealer. This company installs TigerTough seat covers on their trucks when they're brand new, so we were pretty excited to see how everything looked.

It was pretty clear this thing wasn't somebody's grocery-getter. Even if you ignored the service body and the crane.

But what do you expect from a service truck that's eight years old? Broken equipment is never clean and rarely easy to get to!

This truck had over 235,000+ miles on it and hadn't been touched since it was decommissioned.

But what does it look like under the covers? Are they worth the money?

We peeled the covers off to see how everything had fared over 235,000 miles of being on the road, eight years of bouncing across construction sites, and countless dirty mechanic entries and exits.

Those pictures pretty much speak for themselves, don't they?

The buyer of this truck technically could have spent a ton of time and money getting the seats shampooed. That would have taken out some of the stains.

The shampooing wouldn't have touched the wear on the edge of the seat from eight years of getting in and out, though. You don't see any because the seat covers prevented it from happening. The original owner invested a little bit in preventing a costly problem

Seems like a good idea, doesn't it?

If you operate a service truck (or a bunch of them), seat covers are a pretty cheap way to keep the inside of your truck in good shape. They're inexpensive and often overlooked, but you just see what they'll do.

Save Your Service Truck.

We get it a lot; people looking for seat covers for vehicles that we don’t cover, crazy colors, or other really custom stuff that we don’t do.

So here’s who we’re right for and who we’re not

First off, let’s start off with who we’re not right for. That way, if you’re in that category, you don’t have to waste any time.

• If you’re looking for seat covers for a passenger car, minivan, or a custom dog hammock, we’re probably not your best option.
• We’re not the right fit if you’re after seat covers featuring the logos of your favorite sports team, vehicle manufacturer, or motorcycle. While we do offer stock and custom embroidery, we don’t license copyrighted logos (it’s too expensive, and we prefer to invest that money in high-quality materials).
• If you want seat covers that are two-tone, alligator skin, or come in wild colors, we’re not the right company. Same goes if you’re looking for extra foam padding, heated covers, or similar extras.
• If you need a seat cover that can be quickly installed to take the dog to the vet or haul landscaping equipment in the backseat of your family truck, we might not be the best fit. Our seat covers take 15 minutes to install per seat and about half that time to remove. So, this one’s up to you.
• Lastly, we’re not cheap—and there are three key reasons why:
• Made in the USA: We don’t outsource our manufacturing. While we could cut labor costs by sending production elsewhere, we choose to support American workers and pay fair wages.
• Top-notch materials: We use the toughest, highest-quality materials available to ensure you get the best seat covers out there.
• Custom-fit designs: Every seat cover is designed specifically for your vehicle. That means we bring trucks to our factory and spend hours making sure each cover fits perfectly.

If we’re not right for you, no hard feelings. We’d rather you find out now than after you spent your hard-earned dough and ended up disappointed.

Now, who we ARE right for

We make seat covers for work. And by work, we’re talking blue-collar, hard work. Contractors, pest control, last-mile delivery, service trucks, and law enforcement, just to name a few industries. 

The people who use our seat covers are typically doing some of the following:

• Multiple entry/exits every day
• Getting dirty
• Wearing tools and/or weapons on their belts
• And, most often, a combination of all three

TigerTough Ironweave seat covers are made from 1000-denier CORDURA, some of the toughest material we can find to wrap around your seats. In fact, it has a higher abrasion rating than Kevlar. We use it because while it’s almost impossible to tear, it’s easy to work with, it’s water-resistant, and it’s made in the USA.

You’ll probably notice that our covers have no decorative stitching (aside from the optional embroidery, if you choose that) and very few seams. That’s because seams and stitching are the weakest points in anything sewn together. Since our customers use their vehicles as tools in their toolboxes, we’re doing everything possible to eliminate weak points.

Actually, a customer who goes by the name R00ster said it best. He’s a farmer from Virginia and says

R00ster goes on to say he throws grease guns, screwdrivers, and fencing tools (even his chain saw) on his seats and doesn’t worry about it anymore.

We build seat covers for people like R00ster. The people whose day-to-day jobs are the ones that make the lights come on, the food hit your plate, the gas come out of the pumps, and the packages show up on time. Ours are some of the best work truck seat covers on the market, and we're darn proud of that.

If you’re looking for a seat cover that isn’t luxury but most definitely is built for work, TigerTough is the best choice. 

Both. How's that for an answer?

What Are You Doing?

If you're slapping some purple, fuzzy, Tweetie Bird covers on your Camry, they're probably an accessory. Even if you're the kind of person that gets bored with a plain, boring, gray interior like everyone else has and wants to spice things up with an epic camo pattern, they're still an accessory.

When your seat covers become a part of your work truck, that's when the story changes. When your truck's covers are in place to prevent your day-to-day from tearing up the seats in your vehicle, then you can start calling them a necessity.

Construction workers, linemen, roustabouts, and roughnecks know what we're talking about. They've got work to do, they don't have time to worry about keeping their truck sparkly clean. Not when you've got some of the dirtiest, toughest jobs out there. Those fleet managers know that quality seat covers are a necessity if they want to get anything for their trucks when they're done with them.

Travis from Black Hawk Energy Services talked about it here: An Extra $3000 In Resale Value

Bryan from Anderson & Wood Construction has proved they're a necessity here: North Dakota Construction Trucks Look Like New

And Dan from the Hollis, NH Police Department would tell you they're a necessity: Here Is Why

So often, fleet managers and owners look at work truck seat covers as an accessory. They're right if they're just trying to make their trucks look cooler, but if they're committed to making their fleet as efficient and cost-effective as possible, seat covers for their work trucks are necessity

Interested in seeing if they'd help you have better equipment, happier drivers, and more money? Grab a sample and let us know what you think.

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