Newbie! Leather seats or fabric covers?

G

Glamper Gladys

Messages
81
Location
Leeds
Vehicle
T6 Ocean 150
Hi all! I've been lurking and browsing the forums for a little while and we had our test drive at the weekend. Just sorting our spec before placing the order and as its a 7 month wait we will hang on til end of August so we get a 2017 plate. So we have a little time to get it right!

We're going for the T6 Ocean 150 DSG and know most of the extras we want but are really undecided about leather seats versus seat covers (we were looking at the brandrup fabric ones as an add on to the spec).

Planning on keeping the Cali 5 years plus and have grandchildren aged 4 and 2 that will be travelling pals so keeping the upholstery decent is a prime concern.

Any advice please? Is the leather practical for wiping down and comfy for travel, sleep, and durable enough to take the isofix seats in and out often without scuffing? Or are fabric covers a better option?
Cheers!
 
Hi and welcome on your first post;)

Had leather in two of my previous "cars"
For me leather in a camper(van) would not work , i think covers are a must as you will certainly spill something in the end and then you just easyly can remove and wash the covers.
Leather can be wiped even with wet towels when something should happen .

I just don't like the look of leather in a camper , it's more a car thing ....

I got Brandrup covers and love them , also much good on Inka covers .

There are existing treads on seatcovers ....try to look them up:thumb
 
Last edited:
hotel california said:
Hi and welcome on your first post;)

Had leather in two of my previous "cars"
For me leather in a camper(van) would not work , i think covers are a must as you will certainly spill something in the end and then you just easyly can remove and wash the covers.
Leather can be wiped even with wet towels when something should happen .

I just don't like the look of leather in a camper , it's more a car thing ....

I got Brandrup covers and love them , also much good on Inka covers .

There are existing treads on seatcovers ....try to look them up:thumb
Click to expand...
Thank you :) I've looked through the threads and think the brandrup would suit us better than the inka - and we get a 10% discount if we order at the same time as the Cali order.
 
It's not an easy decision and is very personal to what you like, how you intend to use the vehicle etc.
Firstly I'm presuming you mean the Alcantara option. If so its not leather.
Personally I like the look of it and it's going to be just me and the wife so we've gone for it and I shall treat it with a specialist product. Gone for the Inka waterproof covers for occasional use, probably when I go on cycling trip with my sons.
We shall no doubt have a throw handy as well.




Mike
 
We had leather in ours and it was like new when we sold it at 5 years old. My suggestion would be to go with whatever is standard and then treat yourself to have the seats retrimmed in leather in 5 years or so! Win-win!
 
T6 CFO said:
It's not an easy decision and is very personal to what you like, how you intend to use the vehicle etc.
Firstly I'm presuming you mean the Alcantara option. If so its not leather.
Personally I like the look of it and it's going to be just me and the wife so we've gone for it and I shall treat it with a specialist product. Gone for the Inka waterproof covers for occasional use, probably when I go on cycling trip with my sons.
We shall no doubt have a throw handy as well.




Mike
Click to expand...
Wel well well! How naughty of the dealer not to mention that little fact! I like it too but £860 for it seems a bit steep if it's just the seat pads. The demo model just had the standard Valley fabric in moon rock so we didn't see the actual fabric sample.
 
Like I said it's a personal thing. There's no way my wife would have had leather but we saw a vehicle with the Alcantara and like it. At least you now know


Mike
 
+1 for Transcal. Very nice and cheaper than VW leather / alcantara. We ordered standard fro the factory and re-trimmed. Means I now have a spare set of clean, new standard covers.
 
On our first Cali we had the Alcantara/leather option which I loved. Most things wiped off easily but I did spill some insect repellent on the Alcantara part of the the front seat which left a mark. I ordered standard cloth on our second which I had retrimmed in grey leather. Easy to clean and I'm really happy with it but I'm a leather fan anyway.
 
Roughly what is the cost of a transcal re-trim? And how long do they need your vehicle for?
 
I had a quote from Transcal about 3 years ago think it was about £1800?

Sent from my Galaxy S6
 
IMG_0996.JPG
Stuart said:
Roughly what is the cost of a transcal re-trim? And how long do they need your vehicle for?
Click to expand...
The cost depends on the amount of detail in the design. Mine was around £1800. I dropped my cali off at Transcal in Bristol for half a day for fitting. The design is discussed and agreed over the phone an email, everything is premade without the need to have your van.
 
I did transcal too. No regrets. Fabric was trashed after 2 years use. Leather is brilliant and fine to sleep on especially with duvalays. Stains are a thing of the past.
 
Glamper Gladys said:
Hi all! I've been lurking and browsing the forums for a little while and we had our test drive at the weekend. Just sorting our spec before placing the order and as its a 7 month wait we will hang on til end of August so we get a 2017 plate. So we have a little time to get it right!

We're going for the T6 Ocean 150 DSG and know most of the extras we want but are really undecided about leather seats versus seat covers (we were looking at the brandrup fabric ones as an add on to the spec).

Planning on keeping the Cali 5 years plus and have grandchildren aged 4 and 2 that will be travelling pals so keeping the upholstery decent is a prime concern.

Any advice please? Is the leather practical for wiping down and comfy for travel, sleep, and durable enough to take the isofix seats in and out often without scuffing? Or are fabric covers a better option?
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Hi Gladys,
We have the factory alcantara/leather in our SE. Whilst we have only had the vehicle since last October and its only my wife and I that use it, we have so far found this option very easy to keep clean. We don't sleep directly on the leather seats as we have the VW comfort mattress.

What ever option you decide to go for, I would advise having your seats treated. There are several companies that provide an after market coating. The dealer had already treated our ex demo van both inside and out with Autoglym Lifeshine. If anything is spilt, then rather than soaking into the seat it just goes into globules and is easy to clean up with paper towel.

We also recently purchased a new Beach for carting our young grand children around in. As leather isn't an option on the Beach, it has fabric seats. Because we wished to protect the inside of the vehicle from what the little ones might throw at it we purchased a full set of Inka waterproof seat covers from Nick at Comfortz Leisure. They are truely excellent. They are a very good fit and any muck can be wiped off with a wet wipe. They can also be taken off and washed if they become really manky.
image.jpeg

Why VW don't offer full leather I will never know. IMO it is a much more practical option in a vehicle that will spend most of its life on often muddy campsites with kids and dogs flying in and out. We have had leather in previous cars and it is so easy to keep clean. All you need is a packet of wet wipes and the job is done.

You could of course have your new vehicle retrimmed in leather or wait until the factory covers are looking tired and then have it done. Compared to the VW alcantara/leather option I believe the cost can be very reasonable and you usually get the entire cover made in leather unlike the usual factory practice of only employing leather on the surfaces that you come in contact with. However my only minor reservation would be how a non standard leather interior would effect your vehicles resale value. Still if you are going to keep it long term then that shouldn'd be a worry.

Any way good luck and I hope that you have many happy adventures.
 
I wasn't keen on the Alcantara option - too close to suede, which seemed bonkers in a camper to me! - so had cloth for 2 years, but have just had a beautiful re-trim in leather. I can't seem to currently upload a photo but it is two-tone dark and light greys, simpler than Raggedroy's (which looks lovely by the way!) but gorgeous quality Bentley leather. Having had the same car for 13 years with light grey leather which is still wearing incredibly well, it was a no-brainer for me to get leather in the Cali at some point. It was done by B-Trim in Enfield (North London) and cost almost £2k but very, very happy with the end result.
 
Raggedroy said:
View attachment 15472
The cost depends on the amount of detail in the design. Mine was around £1800. I dropped my cali off at Transcal in Bristol for half a day for fitting. The design is discussed and agreed over the phone an email, everything is premade without the need to have your van.
Click to expand...
Looks great!
 
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