Carhartt Seat Covers vs. OEM Leather for Overlanding/Camping

New truck coming in few months. Will be Toyota leather trimmed seats.

I've always been a Wet Okole man, and would be replacing a very weathered set. Found fit great, just finicky to get adjusted properly. Unfortunately, after 3 years on the truck, the Wet Okoles also appear to have compressed some of the foam at the hinge of the seat bottoms and backs - resulting in some nasty gaps.

Been looking at Carhartts to slap on over the leather in the new Taco. After the experience with Wet Okole's, I think I'm much better off with a looser fitting cover. I presume they can't be as tight-fitting as neoprene covers.

Thoughts on how snug the Carthartts are?

The seats regularly get a dose of some dirt, water, and the occasional scratch.

Are the stock leather/leatherette trimmed seats in a TRD Sport durable in the long run? Do I even need covers?

Or does the leather not hold up well to the outdoors.

In the end, its mostly spills from the kid and rain/snow, and the build up grime from the outdoors that settles on things over time.

Thoughts on sticking with the OEM leather/leatherette or going Carhartt?

 

I have the Carhartts, they fit a little loose, but I like that, it's easy to remove and wash them.
That's said; I couldn't imagine paying for leather, and covering them, might as well enjoy them if you like leather (I don't).

 

I bought the carhartt mossy camo's. These are suppose to go on in minutes, but for some reason the driver side seat was a bitch to slip on the cover...very tight. At any rate the passenger side seat went on like butter. They were a bit wrinkly for the first few weeks, but as of now they look great. Its hard to tell they are not actually the seats. Hopefully whenever it comes time to clean them it should be as easy job.
On another note, i helped a buddy install coveking's in his truck, yeah they went on ok, but not without cursing, and some blood loss. I'd hate to be the one to pull them off to clean down the road.

 

I have no choice on the leather! Its the only upholstering option on a manual TRD Sport Premium in Canada...

Either of you have a minute to send a pic later on, I'd greatly appreciate it.

How do the Carhartts deal with water/liquid? I assume like my jacket, water beads a tiny bit but ultimately gets absorbed. How "water resistant" are these anyway?

 

A simple spill, water will roll off.

Here ya go bud

 

Hope is better than the crappy quality clothes they’ve been making the last 15 years....made in ABA. DTCFTW!!

 

I have the Carhartts and would describe the fit as a little loose. I did wash them before installation. They still have a little water repellency about as you would expect. Water will initially bead up and then soak in. I have not removed them since I installed them several years ago . I have successfully cleaned the occasional spot with a spray cleaner and a damp rag.

I still keep an Aries seat cover in the truck to throw over the seat for when I'm really wet or dirty:

https://www.autoanything.com/seat-c...RGNWZJw21E1F3GyZtJFU6ADMTMZftV1RoCrK8QAvD_BwE

My original seats are fabric.

 

I ran toyota covers for a decade and a half. Seats looked absolutely brand new underneath. Not so much as a crease in the bolster. I attribute such to good sense getting in and out and a tight fitting seat cover.

I have a front set of the Rough Country headed my way for evaluation for $100.

 

Why not enjoy your leather seats now and then cover them later if / when they start to look like shit. Unless you plan on selling the truck in a year or two, what the heck are you preserving them for?

 

Had neoprene covers before and the driver side wore out from constant sliding on and off of the seat. The seams also separated. Got the Carhartt covers and they still look brand new after a year. That’s that duck canvas for you.

 

Reason i got the carhartts is they were noted to be a tough cover not easily ripped. I've got a bad habit of forgetting to take tools out of my back pockets when getting into the truck...especially screwdrivers. So far so good.

 

Idea is to have the seats covered when needed (most of the spring through to fall) and then otherwise just enjoy the leather. In 12 months, the truck sees about 7 months of time where seat covers are useful. So I hear you - use the leather, and that's the plan when the truck doesn't see trail use for longer periods of time.

In addition to fitting loose so that the cushioning doesn't deform, I'm hoping the Carhartts come on/off fairly quick.

Can the Carhartts be treated with a DWR type spray to improve the water-repellent quality?

 

As others have said the covers fit snugly- I love them. I don’t go over landing but I own a horse farm on a river and these covers protect the seats wonderfully. I bought a seat for my son’s 2002 TRD OR Tacoma- he also does blacksmith work so we both remove the covers , wash them and put back on. We both use a water repellent spray. I have put over 100k miles on my truck in just over 2 years a lot of those in 4WD mud and muck- these covers are great.

 

Sorry for the duplicate pics- I’m on my iPad in the field and can’t figure how to delete the extras. Haha

 

A spray on or wash in product should enhance or restore the water repellency.

 

So I take it if you wash the covers, its not a half-day of cursing and skinning knuckles trying to get them on and off?

And, if they're loose I take it there is also no irregular compression of the foam seat cushion (from being bound in the seat cover)?

Thanks for the pics by the way!

 

No, not to remove and reinstall, of course to wash and dry em take a bit, I put in dryer on low for a bit then hung outside.
I didn't notice any deformation of the cushions.

 

Well to be honest...My son removes and puts the covers on....so to me it is like washing clothes, it doesn't look difficult - I've seen it done but never done it (LOL).

 

Should be only a 15 minute job removing. and reinstalling the carhartt covers. It'll take longer to wash them.

 

I feel like the leather seats should be able to wipe off easy. The factory cloth seats not so much. For not much more than the carharts you can upgrade to custom prp seat covers