# Renewing motorhome Upholstery



## barryd

I am going through the motions of updating and overhauling Hank the Tank our 1996 Swift Kontiki 640. I Was concentrating on essentials like the engine and electrics etc but Mrs D is now going on about updating the Upholstery, cushions etc. That sounds expensive to me. Do you replace them or just get them refurbished and if so, where and how much? Personally I dont think there is anything wrong with them but who am I to argue. The rear lounge bed is extremely comfy and its clearly been made to a good standard to last this long with the amount of use its had.

I dont want to replace it with something that looks nice for just six months.

Any thoughts?


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## Imbiber

We had our's done by Regal Furnishings.

Good range of fabrics and leathers to choose from. 

They'll redo the foam if you want (choice of two types - springy and less springy).

Cushions and curtains also if you choose.

Van seats to match too.

You can park up overnight for free in their factory compound and they'll have you out the next day in your new togs!


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## barryd

Thanks. So did they just redo the old furnishings? What did you sleep on while they were doing them? 

Can I ask you how much?


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## kenny

Hi barryd, i have had my last 2 vans done the last one done in leather, good job,i can see you are from the good part of England, one near a home ,is at knottingly , dont know the name but look back a few years and you should find ,i believe it was not far from kellingly pit, was not as expensive as regal kenny


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## Pudsey_Bear

kenny said:


> Hi barryd, i have had my last 2 vans done the last one done in leather, good job,i can see you are from the good part of England, one near a home ,is at knottingly , dont know the name but look back a few years and you should find ,i believe it was not far from kellingly pit, was not as expensive as regal kenny


I think this is who you mean Kenny

https://www.yell.com/biz/a1-trimmers-knottingley-3442513/


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## rayrecrok

Don't forget leather is not leather but a look alike material, as explained when I had mine done.. How many cow hides do you get in 30 meter rolls!..:wink2:

We had ours done a couple of years back, it was a firm in Birmingham we met at one of their stalls at the motor home show, they also did new carpets including binding all the edges so they can be taken up.. Cost a couple of grand plus for everything, off the top of my head.. They were a bit cheaper and did a better job than Regal who did our last van.. Can't give any details as the receipt is in the caravan at the coast..

Found it http://careavan.org/
ray.


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## Imbiber

barryd said:


> Thanks. So did they just redo the old furnishings? What did you sleep on while they were doing them?
> 
> Can I ask you how much?


I think the way Regal like to work it is get you in to decide on fabrics, designs etc then book you in for the fitting.

You arrive the day before and stay overnight just to give them an early start the next morning.....they'll have you up at 7am!!

This then gives them a good day to finish the project.

Our's was pretty much a new make-over; new foam, new cushions etc.

We went for full leather, but it was all diamond stitched and so they ran out of hides and had to order in more for the next day; hence we stayed on for another evening.

From memory I think our van was circa £3K, but that is a big van and 18 months on it's just like new and we've had no problems whatsoever.

These are the new front cab seats....I thought the workmanship was excellent.


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## barryd

Looks great thanks.

I wouldnt want leather but wouldnt want to spend £2-3K either. Ill mention it to Mrs D and I suspect the cost will be enough to put her off. Personally I Think it just needs tidying up in few places. There are a few buttons missing, the foam on the side I sit on in the rear lounge and springs may need a bit of attention  and some of the stitching has come away underneath but thats it. Maybe a repair would be a better option. I would rather spend £3K on a trip to be honest.


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## erneboy

Baz be very careful how much you spend on an old van. I know you are attached to it but I think you had to have the sills welded for MoT two years ago?

Professional reupholstery will cost £3000 minimum, though you could do a reasonable bodge job for a few hundred yourself, loose covers and new foam etc. You will like the professional job but unless you get several years out of it you will be wasting money. Same applies to spending much on the mechanicals.

I'm not entirely saying don't do it but at least resign yourself to keeping it another five years and find out from your garage if the vehicle has another five years in it before rust eats it alive. Welding usually only staves rot off for a year or two on a rusty vehicle.

Be careful. I'm not saying don't do it.


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## Imbiber

barryd said:


> Looks great thanks.
> 
> I wouldnt want leather but wouldnt want to spend £2-3K either. Ill mention it to Mrs D and I suspect the cost will be enough to put her off. Personally I Think it just needs tidying up in few places. There are a few buttons missing, the foam on the side I sit on in the rear lounge and springs may need a bit of attention  and some of the stitching has come away underneath but thats it. Maybe a repair would be a better option. I would rather spend £3K on a trip to be honest.


I appreciate the sentiments on the expenditure and to be honest agree entirely; however, we were in the midst of looking to trade in the van for something perhaps newer / better.

In the end having looked at a lot of 'tat' we decided to stick with a van we loved and spruce it up a bit.

Considering what we budgeted for in the 'cost-to-change' the price of re-upholstery was a bargain!


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## erneboy

Yes, we did our two years ago. Very nice too, on an eight year old van that we plan keep for a few more years. 

I'd do Barry's if I was in his position, proving the van will last another few years.


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## barryd

Well that was the debate going on over on FC at the moment. Seeing as I have so far failed to replace the van I may as well keep it and spend a bit making it sound for the next few years but yes, I think I don't want to spend a fortune.


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## jo662

We had some of the cushions on our last motorhome repaired by a lady who
ran a small upholstery business locally.I would of thought there could be a 
similar sort of business in your area,worth a look.:smile2:


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## barryd

Yes there is a bloke in Darlington who did a load of boat cushions for me. A few years ago now but its another option.


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## patp

We took our Hymer to a local upholsterer. He did it in two stages so we could pick it up at night due to the fact that we were living in it at the time! Drop down bed did not need doing. We were, and are, very pleased with it. From memory it was in the hundreds rather than thousands.


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## Pudsey_Bear

I got a quote from the linked one yesterday, £850 for the lot inc cab seats, no new foam.


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## Devonboy

Imbiber said:


> We had our's done by Regal Furnishings.
> 
> Good range of fabrics and leathers to choose from.
> 
> They'll redo the foam if you want (choice of two types - springy and less springy).
> 
> Cushions and curtains also if you choose.
> 
> Van seats to match too.
> 
> You can park up overnight for free in their factory compound and they'll have you out the next day in your new togs!


We had our Rapido reupholstered a couple of years ago at Regal. We chose white leather as the original covers were dark red & with the darker wood made the interior of the van dark. The white leather brightened up the interior a treat. Regal completed in one day including new foam & van seats. Looking at some of the finish I think I would have preferred them to take a little more time.


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## HermanHymer

Thinking over the same conundrum myself. My upholstery (well my van's actually) is in good nick but dated. I'd also like to do something a bit more reasonable than Regal. I've looked at Tockfield in Alfreton (CC discount). In Dunnet Bay last year, I met my van's alter ego, it had been reupholstered and looked really nice. It had been done by a 'lady' in Scotland and very reasonably too. No website but I've got her contact details tucked up in the van. Might even get new cushions and attempt it myself, with end of roll fabric I could buy in SA for about £10 a metre. Keep us posted Barry!!!


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## barryd

I think the cost of doing it properly will put Mrs D off. Its really not that bad and just needs a few repairs here and there. Im not fussed myself about doing it and will be concentrating on sorting out the few niggles in the hab area and making sure the engine and running gear is tip top. That has to take priority. I dont mind spending a bit of money but it would be daft to go mad on an old van. I even considered a paint job for a brief moment but it would cost thousands I imagine. I still may part with it if the right van comes along anyway. If.


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## cabby

Can you not make do with a few throw overs, you know as soon as you spend money the van of your dreams will turn up.


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## Devonboy

barryd said:


> I think the cost of doing it properly will put Mrs D off. Its really not that bad and just needs a few repairs here and there. Im not fussed myself about doing it and will be concentrating on sorting out the few niggles in the hab area and making sure the engine and running gear is tip top. That has to take priority. I dont mind spending a bit of money but it would be daft to go mad on an old van. I even considered a paint job for a brief moment but it would cost thousands I imagine. I still may part with it if the right van comes along anyway. If.


Might be worth having a conversation with Regal or similar companies or their customers. Because we had new foam & covers we ended up with a complete set of interior cushions spare. Tried selling on eBay but had to be collect only due to size. Ended up giving them away to a local guy who was refurbishing an old pvc.


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## kenny

Kev_n_Liz said:


> I think this is who you mean Kenny
> 
> https://www.yell.com/biz/a1-trimmers-knottingley-3442513/


Hi JUST LOG IN. YES THIS IS THE ONE,THE ONLY PROBLEM I HAD WITH THEM, THEY NEVER PHONED YOU BACK,KENNY


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## SteveRallye1

We had our done 2 years ago with Relux and for an A clas Rapido inc. new matress it was approx. 2k in half leather and we stayed night before, it took full day and courtesy car thrown in and they did all the little touches like pockets for mags and extra cushions and trim all in price .Excellent job can thouroghly recommend them.


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## Matchlock

SteveRallye1 said:


> We had our done 2 years ago with Relux and for an A clas Rapido inc. new matress it was approx. 2k in half leather and we stayed night before, it took full day and courtesy car thrown in and they did all the little touches like pockets for mags and extra cushions and trim all in price .Excellent job can thouroghly recommend them.


Had our Swift done there a few years ago and they where very helpful and did a good job, gave us an Audi estate so we buggered of to Buxton for the day while they worked on it.
We where given a tour of the factory and as we had not settled on what we wanted their designer was very good in recommending colours to suit the van.


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