To Trim or Not to Trim?

[Deviant Tubs]

Hey gang,

Apologies if this has already been discussed elsewhere. But I was hoping for some advice about a seating retrim for my Kombi.

I'm contemplating a full leather retrim but I'm not 100% sure if it's too much of an indulgence - It's pretty darn costly and I'm worried that I'll become so obsessive about keeping it clean that I won't want anyone to sit in it haha!

I'm a bit worried about how durable it would be. I've never had leather in a vehicle before so admittedly I don't really know what I'm missing out on.
Leatherette seat covers are an option (removable to clean/swap out if damaged) but do they look naff?

My T6.1 is having a full conversion (Carpet/Insulation/Poptop/Reimo Seat Bed/Countertop/Fridge etc) but will also be my daily runaround vehicle as well so the upholstery is going to see daily usage.

The company doing my conversion are quoting me £3200 for a full Napa leather, which I think is pretty steep, but I guess you get what you pay for? The rest of the build isn't going to be cheap so part of me thinks I just bite the bullet and go Balls to the Wall.

I'm interested to hear from anyone who's got experience with getting leather retrim. If the cost really is worth it and if anyone has found leatherette covers that can hold a candle to the real deal?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated gang.

Cheers

 

[Spazpecker]

Napa isn't that durable.

 

[bytejunkie]

i dont think you need to spend all that. though you dont actually tell us how many seats that is...
depends on your requirement too. are you building a show stopper or a family holiday bus.

 

[Gavinda]

If you're having to ask I would say your hearts not really in to spending that sort of money. As far as I know nappa leather is lovely and soft but probably not so hard wearing also if you're not used to leather you might not like how it can feel on a cold morning!

 

[DXX]

If you feel compelled to eat your fish & chips outside in the rain instead of in the van then you have become a slave to the machine.

 

[Deviant Tubs]

i dont think you need to spend all that. though you dont actually tell us how many seats that is...
depends on your requirement too. are you building a show stopper or a family holiday bus.

So it would be the front two Captains seats and the rear seatbed - Which is a Reimo Variotech 3 seater.

Yes good question about the requirements - I'll be honest, the rest of the build is absolutely on the luxury/indulgent side. I'm not really holding back on anything else.. So I suppose that in some way answers my question doesn't it?

It will be my daily vehicle as well as a camper at weekends. If if don't opt for the Nappa then it would be a case of what else would suitable?

 

[Deviant Tubs]

If you're having to ask I would say your hearts not really in to spending that sort of money. As far as I know nappa leather is lovely and soft but probably not so hard wearing also if you're not used to leather you might not like how it can feel on a cold morning!

I was thinking the same thing!! It's a lot of money to be indecisive about I know. I was pretty set on the idea initially but as I've recently had time to twiddle my thumbs (still waiting on delivery from VW) I've been second guessing some of my conversion options.

Yes cold morning! You're right. Opted for heated seats for that very reason

 

[bytejunkie]

So it would be the front two Captains seats and the rear seatbed - Which is a Reimo Variotech 3 seater.

Yes good question about the requirements - I'll be honest, the rest of the build is absolutely on the luxury/indulgent side. I'm not really holding back on anything else.. So I suppose that in some way answers my question doesn't it?

It will be my daily vehicle as well as a camper at weekends. If if don't opt for the Nappa then it would be a case of what else would suitable?

you can get plenty of retrim for less than 3k. i'd argue that your best bet now that you've identified you want a good trim, a durable trim for a daily, you should be looking to speak to a couple of retrimmers.

 

[Vwpop]

Have alook at a site called commercial seat covers they do leatherette covers. Got them in mine easy to keep clean and wipe down. All for hundred pounds.

 

[bytejunkie]

Which? Best Seat Skins

I Ordered these and must say not disappointed they look good are a great fit had them a year now and they are still looking as good as the day i got them Sportline Style VW T5 Seat Covers

www.t6forum.com

some options on there.

 

[ThreeBridgeT6]

Hi @Deviant Tubs. I did the same as you and threw the kitchen sink at my conversion, on the basis that I was only going to do it once and didn't want to sit in it knowing that I'd 'spoilt the ship for a ha'porth of tar'. I have gone for the full leather trim and am using it as a daily drive, but I think that colour choice is important. One of my converter's previous jobs used cream leather throughout and it looked gorgeous - like an executive jet! However, I wouldn't want the anxiety such a colour choice would cause. As @DXX says, you don't want to become 'a slave to the machine and find yourself eating your fish and chips outside in the rain'. Actually, this reminds me of when I banned my kids (and my wife!) from eating in my Merc when it was new, until the time we were away in Devon at a friend's wedding weekend and they ended up having to take me to hospital late one evening. After two or three hours of considerable abdominal pain due to over eating/drinking/squeezing myself into an over-tight wet suit and trying to surf like Patrick Swayze in Point Break, I got back to the car to find all three of them tucking into pizza, anxiously waiting for news on my condition. That put it into perspective and I stopped being so precious about the leather and box!

Here's mine. After we'd chosen the trim colours we were a bit concerned that everything was a bit too grey, so we gave the converter a picture to work from and brightened it up with the headlining.

 

[Deviant Tubs]

Thanks, for all your input gang - it's given me some good starting points. @DXX you make a pretty solid argument! .. In fact I think that should be printed onto a bumper sticker haha!

@ThreeBridgeT6 I really appreciate you telling me that, good to get some perspective sometimes - I hope that you made a full recovery mate (and that no leather wasn't harmed in the making of your story haha)

I think, all things considered, I'm swaying towards the Leather option - after trawling the Internet for hundreds of people's opinions and actually asking 1 or 2 real life leather seat owning humans, it's becoming the obvious choice for how I'm going to use the van and how I want the entire look of the build to be.

 

[Deviant Tubs]

Napa isn't that durable.

I've heard some conflicting arguments around Napa - some saying it's overrated/not all that good. Others saying it's the best leather you can go for. Pretty polarising!

@Spazpecker have you run Napa Leather Upholstery on any of your rides before? Do you know anyone who has? Curious to know what makes you say it isn't that durable?

 

[Skyliner33]

I've heard some conflicting arguments around Napa - some saying it's overrated/not all that good. Others saying it's the best leather you can go for. Pretty polarising!

@Spazpecker have you run Napa Leather Upholstery on any of your rides before? Do you know anyone who has? Curious to know what makes you say it isn't that durable?

Even Seat Surgeons told me that the Nappa leather isn't as durable when i went there to have a look at their work.

 

[Martin Gibson]

We looked at lots of leather options before getting ours done and although the nappa looks and feels fantastic,i agree that it is not really suitable for a daily driver or kids,dogs etc. Good quality leather is probably more hardwearing than cloth seats and if you've already specced heated seats then no worries about cold. Find yourself some trimmers with good reputations(loads of advice on here) and speak to them about your needs,oh and you can definitely get it cheaper than that quote,hope this helps