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I don’t know if anyone but me remembers when I installed leather seats in our last RV, Lance. To put it mildly, it was not fun, and I still bear the emotional and physical scars today. The pattern the seat maker used wasn’t quite accurate, so I had to remove and “sew” parts from the old seats onto the new ones. Plus, upholstery installing in general requires specialized tools that I had to buy and learn how to use. Like I said… not fun.
Fast forward to last month. We went test camping in Winnebago’s eRV2, and both Stef and I really dug the leather seats. Those eRV2 seats were made by Katzkin, and the eRV2 is a Transit just like our own RV. That got our wheels turning. Easy as you please, we have new leather seats now. Check it out!
I can say with confidence that Katzkin’s “install included” experience beats the pants off bloodying your fingers and knuckles out in the driveway!
Even though we got these seats comped, we just wanted fairly basic, two-tone seats in Number One. But we could have gone over the top with colors, seat heaters, seat coolers (!), embroidery… the list goes on. As I’m writing this, a 2020 Ford Transit is not an option in their online configurator, but a quick call to Katzkin confirmed that they did indeed have the pattern made. From placing the order to seats arriving just took a few days, and the install itself was completed almost as quickly as you can watch the video. Seriously, Francisco at Desert Mobile Auto Accessories is a pro at this stuff.
Old seats. Insert sad trombone.
New Seats – BOOM!
So far, we’re loving the new seats. We’re glad to have them installed in time for the summer travel season, and a big thank you to Katzkin for making the whole process easy.
Hey James,
The seats look fantastic and I’m looking to do the same. I’ve called Katzkin twice and they are telling me there’s not a Ford Transit option. If you try to build it out on their website, there’s not a Transit option. Do you know what model your installer used for the install?
There is definitely a Ford Transit pattern, although we didn’t have any luck building it out on their website either. We had to speak with someone in person to get it finalized.
I’m not sure what to advise you to do. Keep calling back? Point them to our blog? It does exist. It’s too bad they still haven’t updated their website.
Thank you James, I’ll keep trying and give the name of your installer.
Hi James,
I couldn’t tell from the video if they disconnected the battery negative before they unplugged the seats. If not, did they have to reset an airbag fault? I need to remove my seats and I don’t want to have to go to the dealer just to reset the air bag fault.
Thanks in advance,
Paul
Hey Paul –
I don’t know if they disconnected the battery negative or not, but I doubt it. I’ve removed the seats several times, and never disconnected the battery to do it – and have never had to reset any air bag faults.
Come to think of it… the battery negative is located beneath the driver’s seat, so disconnecting it before removing the seat would be pretty darn difficult!
Thanks James!
Hi James, can I ask what are the two colors that you you used please? They look great!
Thank you,
Mike
I believe the colors were “Lunar Grey” and “Cement”.
Assuming you have had more travel time in these seats now. Are they more comfortable than the OEM seats? My biggest issue is the narrow armrest on the OEM seats. Our drivers side armrest feels like it’s leaning towards the passenger side and my arm rolls off. After a week of driving I tied a gel pack to it which really helped. Spoke to Katzkin today to see if they can add padding to the arm rest. The rep is going to see what the tech can do. My next call may be to Ford to see if the armrest can be replaced with one that is wider. Would like to hear your overall impression on the seats. They look great. Thanks Mike
We’ve never had a problem with the armrests – although I do wish I could adjust the angle of it. I would think any modification you make to the armrest will be either something you work out yourself, or that you work out with whomever installs your seat covers. I don’t have any suggestions for you, since I haven’t explored this myself.
As far as our Katzkin leather seats – we’ve been loving them! They seem to be holding up well, and – in the colors we chose – are not getting too hot and uncomfortable in the summer sun. (And the cat hair certainly vacuums up from them easier than it did on the cloth!)
Thanks James! Working with Katzkin to see what the could do. Ford said they are not Ford seats. They are Winnebago. Thanks again for the quick response. Your opinion is appreciated.
Does Mel has claws!!!!????!!! Asking for my wife
Yes. Mel is fully weaponized.
We’ve always had a scratching post for him in the RV, and he’s never made much trouble for us with his claws. He’s really a very compliant and good cat. He wants to get along.
We had leather seats in our last RV, and he never bothered them.
As much as I like leather seats, I like my fan cooled cloth seats better. Leather is great until the weather gets warm and I get sweaty.
Glad you’re happy with your seats.
We weren’t too concerned with them being too hot. Since we travel with a cat, the inside is always climate controlled, and the seats never bake.
If Katzkin is reading this, I hope they will consider adding some vegan options. Materials like Ultra Leather and some of the new silicone “cloths” are quite upscale and would appeal to many people.
I know people like leather seats but having lived in several very hot areas, I have found leather seats to be uncomfortable a lot of the time. Similar issues during really cold winters. A lot can depend on what the actual material is. Do you have any feeling for how well these seats “breath”?
Well, when we drove back from Vegas, it was 100 degrees outside, and neither Stef nor I felt any discomfort.
I think of leather seats in the RV differently than I do those in a car. Since we travel with Mel the Cat, the interior of the RV is always climate controlled when we’re RVing. So we never really come back to scorching hot seats. Or cold ones.
But I don’t have any feel yet for breathability. All I can say is thus far, they seem fine, and we’ve had no excessive leg or butt sweat.
What is the price point?
That depends on a lot of things, so you’re better off calling Katzkin directly.
The leather you select plays a big part. The options you select (contrasting stitching, piping, seat heaters, etc.) can also increase the price. Perhaps even the labor rates in the part of the country you live in are factored in for the install.
But seats similar to ours in the greater Las Vegas area should come in around $1800 or so.
Did you consider adding heat and ventilation while you were at it?
Not really.
When we’re out in the RV, we keep it climate controlled inside. (We RV with a cat.) So we never really come back to a really hot or cold RV with frigid or roasting seats.
Besides that… there’s wiring involved there, and I do all my own wiring! 🙂
So it looks like they re-skin the factory seats and thus you keep the integrated Air Bags, right? That might be a better solution that the other options I have seen that would completely replace the seats and you loose the integrated Air Bags. Thanks! Great overview and more options is nice….
Can they add heaters to the sets, assuming they are not there already?
You’re correct. The factory seats are left intact, with the integrated airbags. The side panels are sewn appropriately so that the airbags are still functional.
You’re also correct in that they can install seat heaters at the same time they install the leather seats.
Question: are these seats any easier to rotate? From appearances, it looks like they would have the same mechanisms and turning challenges that the factory stock seats do.
This made no change at all to the rotation mechanism or ease of rotating.
What we did was replace the cloth covering with leather – leaving all the seat innards in place.