Motorhome Re-Upholstery Project

In 2015 I contemplated replacing our Eura Mobil motorhome for a marque slightly newer and perhaps dare I say it....better!

However, having spent time touring round the usual suspect dealers looking at several Carthago's, Hymers and Niesmann & Bischoff vans we failed to see anything worthy of our investment that would advance us up the perceived motorhome 'quality ladder'.

Considering, we would normally expect to add £20k in the cost to exchange there was precious little in the market place that could hold a candle to our existing van, let alone improve upon it.

So after some careful consideration we elected to invest in 'upgrading' our Eura Mobil to the ideal van for us rather than compromising in trying to buy one off the shelf as it were.

First on our list was the interior upholstery. Whilst still in very good condition - neither of us smoke, no pets...just kids - it was beginning to show its age and as such we felt some investment in this area would indeed be like having a new van.


The original front lounge / dinette seating area

A view to the rear lounge
The rear lounge layout 


So, with this in mind we departed to the premises of Regal Furnishings to take a look at what they could offer.

Now, I don't know if any of you who might read this agree, but the majority of motorhome lounges and seating areas are in my opinion not that comfortable to lounge in. The reason being is that so many of them rely upon the thick uncomfortable back cushions as a method of infill for making up beds and the like.

For us, we were happy to dismiss these thick, sturdy backing cushions in our new design and instead revert back to just the condensation boards and a number of scatter cushions to provide for a more relaxed and lounge like feel. Once you remove the rear-most cushions it's amazing how much more seating space you have and how much more enjoyable the lounging area becomes with a number of scatter cushions in place.

Regal Furnishings are one of the leading motorhome and caravan re-upholsters in the UK and I had the utmost confidence in them being able to shed a new lease of life into our van. We visited their premises one Saturday morning to take a look at their fabrics, discuss our ideas and ultimately get a quote for the work.

After spending a good hour or so contemplating the numerous fabric rolls as options it was decided that really the best option was to go for full leather throughout and then have a selection of scatter cushions made up in complementing fabrics for use throughout the van. When we said we'd like the upholstery diamond stitched, Barry at Regal said we could have anything we wanted, a price was agreed and a date set for the work to start. Great we're off!

Regal Furnishings have the facility to allow you to overnight in their car park area prior to work commencing early the next day, so we duly arrived on our agreed Wednesday evening in preparation for an early start the following morning.

We were met by the factory manager at 7:00am in the van to re-cap our requirements, discuss designs and confirm the leather swatch and fabric choices for the cushions. We also selected the density of foam we wanted in all the new seating. Having gone over the design to hide the seat-belts in the lounge area and convinced them that we did want diamond stitching throughout, (this was to prove an interesting exchange!) the team set about the task of stripping the interior of the van out and commencing on the re-model.

Cab Seat Removal
Passenger Seat Gone!

First to go were the two front cab seats. These are taken off to their own part of the factory where they are worked upon independently to the rest of the vans interior.

Additional seat created in front lounge

We wanted to add additional seating to the front lounge to create an even greater wrap-around effect so this board was added under the window as the starting point.

Stripping the back cushions off makes for a wider seating area

Once the rear cushions are removed it's amazing how much more seating space there is for our fat arses!

Stripped right back to basics

All cushions are now removed to allow for measuring up for the new foam.

Front lounge taking shape

Our front lounge stripped back to basics and ready for foam to create the full wrap-around seating plan.

Stripping the rear lounge out

The rear lounge back to basics. Here the condensation boards have been removed to give an idea of how much seating space there is.




The beauty of the Eura Mobil rear lounge is that it is a big lounge....unlike the variants offered in the Dethleffs and Frankia's, it provides a perfect opportunity to utilise it as two single beds (as opposed to making one double bed) which is ideal for our two boy's.

New Foam cut to shape

Fitted and measured ready for new covers!

Once the van was stripped of all the old cushions measurements are taken and new foam is cut, shaped and fitted to size. This then provides  the template for the new leather covers.

New Cab Seats taking shape in the factory

Diamond quilted stitched seats
Even the arm rests get the quilted look.

You're welcome to take a trip through the factory to see the team hard at work, marking out and cutting leather up stairs and busy sewing downstairs. A trip into the factory gives an idea as to how things are progressing.

At this stage I must stress that Regal Furnishings aim to get you in and out in one day; hence the early start. However, in our case due to the large amount of leather required and the fact that it was all being diamond stitched we were required to stay over for a further night and allow them to complete the task on the Friday morning.

In our opinion the results were well worth the wait....

New Cab seats fully fitted

Front lounge with new infill seating under the window

Rear lounge with excessive amount of scatter cushions

Attention to detail includes coat hooks.

So, overall we were delighted with the final results. We got new curtains and tie-backs for the over-cab bed as part of our deal and considering the work involved in the leather cutting and stitching we could not be happier with the workmanship and finish.

It's made a big difference to the lounging experience and given the interior a new lease of life. A big thumbs up to Regal Furnishings and thoroughly recommended!
  

Popular posts from this blog

Interlaken and a trip to Harder Kulm

Image
The town of Interlaken is easily accessible from Camping Manor Farm with several transit options available to visitors of the campsite. For cyclists there is a very easy and mostly flat cycle route into the town of approximately 3 miles. There are a couple of variations to the route, a scenic tour through the forest and alongside the river, or the more direct route along the main road. For those without bikes there is a very efficient and regular bus service that departs from outside of the campsite which will have you into Interlaken West (or alternate destinations if you choose) in no time at all. Bus timetables are readily available in the campsite information room, which in my view betters many a tourist office! There is also the boat option, which is provided free to guests of Camping Manor Farm, that departs from the boat launch area of Hotel Neuhaus just a short walk from the campsite. This is a return service (if you wish to utilise it) that takes you directly into Int
Read more

Good Morning Jungfraujoch!

Image
The weather in Interlaken was fantastic, Camping Manor Farm was excellent and we were enjoying ourselves far too much in our lake-side setting to consider moving on to pastures new. With a new found sense of commitment it was decided that we should venture out and take in some more of the wonderful Bernese Oberland region. Undoubtedly, the destination highlight of the region is the 'Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe' the highest railway station in Europe located 3,454 metres above sea level. However, at 204CHF per person for a return journey this is clearly not a cheap day out on the trains.....particularly if you have a family in tow! Thankfully, those thoughtful Swiss folk have presented visitors with a 'less-expensive' option to visit this unique destination that really does provide great value for money....and it is called the 'Good Morning Ticket' (GMT). On the face of it, the GMT (priced at 145CHF per person) is still an expensive purchase, especia
Read more

5 Star Camping in Switzerland - Stop Three of our Summer Tour 2016

Image
5 Star Camping on the shores of Lake Thun, Switzerland Our 2015 Summer vacation was the first year in over a decade of motorhome touring we had ever experienced lakeside camping; taking in campsites on the shores of Lake Lugano in Switzerland and the north Italian lakes of Iseo and Garda. This was something of a revelation and as we enjoyed ourselves so much the plan for our Summer 2016 tour was more of the same.....just hopefully in different places! Moving on from Kaysersberg and intending, (as we were) to make for Venice, the route was planned via Switzerland and into northern Italy via the Gothard Tunnel. Our intended route seemed totally plausible in three weeks Last year's expedition had us stopping off in Switzerland at the eye-wateringly expensive Camping International Lido Luzern and then onto the marvellous TCS Camping Lake Lugano - Muzzano , before entering into northern Italy. This year we wanted something similar and decided there's more of
Read more