Who opted for fabric seats?

[grenadierboy]

Started with fabric, talked to plenty of people, changed to leather.

Why?

Nicer to sit on, more comfortable when driving longer distances, longer wearing, makes the cabin look more stylish, better for future resale, Australian govt (tax exemption) gave me some "free" money

In all black as grey leather will show marks/wear more and I think it makes the cabin look too much grey.

 

[Tazzieman]

If you wear jeans or rugged clothes the leather bolster will wear. It's not saddle leather. To ensure the leather is good long term you would need seat covers which kinda defeats the purpose.
That said , I reckon city and non commercial users will go for leather.

 

[SoLu]

Full-seat sheep skin covers is the way to go, to complement my ‘leather’ covered BMW gear knob.

 

[Disco Dave]

I live 16 deg from the equator. Have been running leather seats for 15 years, they are awesome. Never had a problem with them getting hot. Definitely getting leather.

 

[DaveB]

If you wear jeans or rugged clothes the leather bolster will wear. It's not saddle leather. To ensure the leather is good long term you would need seat covers which kinda defeats the purpose.
That said , I reckon city and non commercial users will go for leather.

I have specially prepared padding which sticks out past my belt and protects the seats from damage.

 

[Manuel4x4]

Hello, my mercedes gl has black leather spread everywhere and after 15 years the seats are in perfect condition and nothing hot happened in summer.
My fiat panda 4x4 has a kind of synthetic leather and fabric that is theoretically very resistant, it is only four years old and it is full of stains that do not come out.
In definitive leather that I hope is as good as the one from Mercedes

 

[ECrider]

my mother's car in the 70/80's had 'leatherette' - that stuff was hotter than the sun during summer.

 

[G-Man]

my mother's car in the 70/80's had 'leatherette' - that stuff was hotter than the sun during summer.

My dad's Austin Maxi in the late 70's/early 80's had vinyl seats too: Not only blisteringly hot but also stunk when it was warm, just the thought of it brings brings back vivid memories of childhood car sickness

 

[G-Man]

I started off with fabric in a rufty tufty no-frills form-follows-function won't-care-if-it gets-dirty attitude, but once I'd considered it being a long term keeper I caved and switched to leather. I figured that you lose your ass on depreciation if you change vehicles regularly, but if you plan on keeping it longer than 3 years then it's worth splashing out on a few luxuries as it'll balance out in the long run.

 

[ECrider]

My dad's Austin Maxi in the late 70's/early 80's had vinyl seats too: Not only blisteringly hot but also stunk when it was warm, just the thought of it brings brings back vivid memories of childhood car sickness

ours was an Austin 1100 with beige interior....she was called Dirty Girty. I would google it but not sure my work firewall will cope!!

 

[Spjnr]

my current 20 year old hilux has cloth seats with covers on. I removed the covers for a long trip and they're in showroom condition still.

I plan to do the same with my grenadier

 

[DaveB]

When I purchased my Mazda BT50 I wanted leather but there was a long delivery time of 4 months.
The dealer had the clothe seats in the front changed to leather for me and I had the rear seat covered in a neoprene seat cover.
On the day that I sold the car the new owner pealed back the neoprene seat cover and it was the first time I had seen the cloth seats.
They were immaculate..................and ugly

 

[ChasingOurTrunks]

I see Leather is being considered the "luxury" option where cloth is considered the "utility" option, but I worked with a few people whose main focus is in the Oil and Gas industry here in Canada, and each of them had a different view on this subject -- leather was super quick and easy to wipe off if you got grease or oil on it, whereas that stuff tends to stick to cloth, and so if the rig is meant to spend all day working and then get a quick clean so your Sunday-go-to-meeting-clothes stay fresh, leather might be a better choice. I hasten to add this is not my personal experience, just the experience of folks who have talked about this with a different perspective.

I plan on doing cloth, heated, with seat covers. I've not yet decided on which seat covers -- Catskin make a great leather-like option, and for a few extra bucks you can get features like heating, cooling, and lumbar supports in the seat covers themselves. Grenadier seats are pretty good and with the heated option I don't think I'll go that fancy. I also quite like the canvas Duck seat covers I've seen on Australian Youtube channels, and there are similar ones from South Africa.

There's also the american 'saddle blanket' style seat covers, which can add quite a bit of comfort and protection while also adding a bit of 'flair' to the interior if one likes the aesthetic. https://coverking.com/products/seat-cover-saddleblanket?variant=40326656786594

These are the front runners for me though I've not seen them in person:

High Quality Seat Covers | TigerTough

www.tigertough.com

I like that they are 1000D ripstop nylon, and I like that I can get some custom embroidery to really make it "mine".

 

[emax]

Leather last for decades even with very little care. It doesn't get ugly but gets some patina. Not everybody likes this, but for me it's ok as the leather in some way tells a story.

 

[painter]

Dust !

Maybe I missed it but I don't think it's been mentioned.

Last truck, we had the new cloth seats reupholstered with leather. Main reason was easier wipe down of dust, which is very common off highway.. Previous truck the cloth seats developed a musty,dusty smell over time, and needed to be vacuumed to clean. The newer tech cloths are probably better than old but operating in a dust environment is why I'd go leather (or vinyl).

That said I think the IG up charge is too much for me so prob settle for cloth with covers.

 

[Msnow22]

When I have water coming into the cab up to the steering wheel which will be better cloth or leather?

 

[DaveB]

When I have water coming into the cab up to the steering wheel which will be better cloth or leather?

A plastic bucket or a bilge pump

 

[painter]

When I have water coming into the cab up to the steering wheel which will be better cloth or leather?

Trick question ?

The correct answer is of course, Neoprene

 

[emax]

Well-maintained leather holds up well to the water. Fabric absorbs the water, and if you don't dry it thoroughly, it can get pretty ugly. And if the water is dirty, it will be even worse, because the dirt can not be "dried away".

But even leather is often perforated for better ventilation. And thus water can get into substructure. You always pay a price.

 

[DedkovCZE]

Well-maintained leather holds up well to the water. Fabric absorbs the water, and if you don't dry it thoroughly, it can get pretty ugly. And if the water is dirty, it will be even worse, because the dirt can not be "dried away".

But even leather is often perforated for better ventilation. And thus water can get into substructure. You always pay a price.

I don't think IG will have perforated leather.