Car Boot Liners for Dogs: The Australian SUV Buyer's Guide

Out here we run two cars. The ute cops the worst of it — fence posts, hay, the odd dead roo the boss tells us to shift — and the SUV is the one we keep half-decent for the drive into town and the run to the coast on a Saturday. Banjo rides in both. On the property he sits up front with me in the ute, but when the missus takes him to the beach or the kids drag him to the dam, he goes in the back of the SUV. That is where a proper car boot liner for dogs earns its keep.

I used to just throw an old towel down. Waste of time. It slid around, soaked through, and by the time we got home the boot carpet smelt like wet kelpie. A real liner is a different animal. It sits flat, it wipes clean, and when Banjo brings half the beach back with him, I hose it off at the servo and crack on.

Why the boot, not the back seat

For a big working dog, the cargo area is the honest choice. Banjo is a Blue Heeler, about twenty-two kilos of muscle and opinion, and he does not want to be folded into the back seat behind a child seat. He wants to sprawl. The boot gives him room, keeps the fur off the seats the kids use, and means a quick stop at the servo does not turn into a wrestling match. A car boot liner SUV owners fit properly will also protect the plastic trim and the carpet underneath from claws and water.

The thing is, not every liner fits every wagon. SUV boots are all different shapes. A small hatch has a stubby little boot; a big seven-seater has a cavern. You need to measure before you buy, and that is where most people get it wrong. They see "universal" and reckon it will do. Sometimes it does. Often it does not, and you end up with a flap curling up the back of the seat.

What the numbers actually mean

Most decent dog cargo liner products for the Australian market run somewhere between 40 inches by 70 inches and 55 inches by 91 inches when laid flat. That is roughly a metre-ish across and up to about two and a third metres long, which covers everything from a CX-5 to a tricked-out LandCruiser with the third row down. The smaller end of that range suits a compact SUV; the larger end is for the full-size wagons and the utes with a tub cover conversion.

Weight matters less in the boot than in the back seat, because the dog is on the floor, not on a suspended cover. Still, the good ones are rated and they hold their shape. The cheaper soft versions will bunch if your dog pans from one side to the other in a hard corner. Banjo does exactly that when he spots a roo.

Those figures are the flat floor measurements with the seats down. If you keep a back seat up, you only need the smaller number and the liner stops at the seat back. Measure twice. I cannot tell you how many times I have measured once and been wrong.

Materials worth paying for

The liners that hold up out here are built from 600D Oxford cloth with a PP cotton fill and an EVA backing. That EVA backing is the bit that stops the thing sliding on a sharp turn — the ute has thrown me sideways more times than I can count, and a liner without grip ends up bunched against the tailgate. The 600D Oxford takes a claw without tearing, and the whole thing wipes down with a damp rag.

If you want the fancy version, there is PU leather. Looks the part, wipes clean easier than fabric, and the dogs do not seem to care. It costs more and it can get warm in the sun, so if you leave the car at the beach, throw a towel over it. Banjo reckons the fabric one is cooler on his belly, and Banjo reckons a lot of things, but on that one he is probably right.

Price and what you get

You can pick up a serviceable soft liner for thirty to forty-five dollars. That is the towel-upgrade option: better than a towel, not built for a lifetime. The mid-range, fifty to seventy, gets you the proper 600D build with side walls and a bumper flap. The top end, eighty to a hundred and ten, is the leather and the heavy-duty cargo systems with rigid sides. For most of us, the middle band does the job.

I will say this plainly: do not cheap out on the waterproofing. If the liner lets water through, you have just moved the problem from the carpet to under the liner, and that is where mould sets in. Look for the word "waterproof" not "water-resistant" if your dog swims like mine does.

Fitting it without the fuss

Most liners use a few straps over the headrests and a non-slip backing. Unfold, lay it flat, hook the straps, tuck the edges. Five minutes, no tools. If yours needs a degree in engineering to install, send it back. The good ones just work, which is the whole point when you are loading a wet dog at the end of a long day.

A quick word on the beach: salt water and sand will find every gap. A liner with raised edges keeps the sand in one place so you can tip it out at the servo. Banjo brings half the beach back with him every time, and a liner with a lip saves me from sweeping the boot with a stick.

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