When a conversion outgrows a Transporter, it usually lands on a Mercedes Sprinter or a VW Crafter: vans big enough for a fixed bed, a proper kitchen and a shower, and increasingly the base for the most ambitious self-builds and professional conversions in the country. The scale changes the upholstery job too. In a large van the cab seats stop being the whole story and become the front third of a much bigger interior, and getting cab, travel seats and living area to read as one design is what separates a converted van from a finished one. This page covers the Sprinter and Crafter specifics; the wider service lives on our campervan upholstery hub.
Sprinter and Crafter seating we retrim
Cab layouts on both vans are usually a single driver's seat with either a single passenger seat or a double passenger bench, and higher-spec or ex-fleet examples often carry suspension driver's seats with deeper bolsters and more adjustment. Beyond the cab, large-van conversions bring seating a Transporter never has:
- Cab seats: driver, single passenger and double bench, including folding centre sections used as worktops on ex-trade vans
- Captain and swivel seat conversions, the near-universal upgrade in Sprinter and Crafter builds, trimmed so the swivel base and new seat look like one factory piece
- Travel benches and dinette seating in the habitation area, including belted travel seats
- Fixed-bed and lounge cushions, patterned to match the cab rather than left as an off-the-shelf mismatch
- Armrests and headrests: Sprinter and Crafter cab seats often carry twin armrests that wear faster than the seats themselves
Although the first-generation Crafter shared much with the Sprinter, the current Crafter is VW's own design and the two differ in frames, foams and fixings, which is why we pattern from your seats, not from a template.
How big-van seats wear
Sprinter and Crafter cabs sit high, so every entry and exit drags across the driver's outer bolster. On ex-courier and ex-fleet vans that bolster is usually split before anything else looks tired. Armrest tops polish smooth and crack, base foam softens on the driver's side after motorway-heavy lives, and basic fleet cloth fades and wears shiny long before the van itself is worn out. None of it argues against the van as a conversion base; it argues for a retrim as part of the build.
What a retrim involves
We strip your original covers and use them as patterns, so replacements fit the exact frame and generation of your van. Damaged or softened foam is rebuilt before the new covers are fitted and hand-tensioned. Everything is cut and sewn in our Wirral workshop under lead trimmer Craig, who has 15 years' experience, and the colour, stitching and piping scheme (across cab, benches and cushions) can be planned through our design service before anything is cut. Fitting is at our unit or through nationwide onsite fitting, including at your converter's premises.
Materials for a van you live in
Large-van conversions are lived in for weeks at a time, so materials earn their keep. Leatherette is the practical default: wipe-clean, hard-wearing, and consistent across seats and cushions. Genuine leather suits Sprinters and Crafters built to a premium spec, wearing in rather than out over long ownership. Fabric, including OEM-style cloths, keeps a factory character or adds warmth to the living area, and mixing materials between cab and habitation seating is common and effective.
Worth adding while the covers are off
- Heated seat pads: fitted invisibly beneath the new covers with a discreet switch, welcome in a big, slow-to-warm cab
- Sports-foam upgrades: firmer bases and better bolster support, a real difference on vans that cover motorway miles between stops
Sprinter and Crafter retrim FAQs
They're close cousins but not identical: the current Crafter is VW's own design, and seat frames, bases and trim details differ between the two and between generations. We pattern covers from your actual seats, so the fit is right for your specific van rather than a generic large-van template.
Do you treat the Sprinter and Crafter as the same job?
Yes. Sprinter and Crafter conversions usually pair the cab with travel benches, dinette seating or fixed-bed cushions rather than a Transporter-style rock and roll bed, and we trim all of it in the same material, colour and stitch scheme so the interior reads as one build.
Can you upholster the living-area seating as well as the cab?
We offer nationwide onsite fitting and can work in with converters, trimming seats and cushions while the build progresses and fitting at their premises. Alternatively, cab seats can be removed and delivered to us at Unit 6 Carrock Road, Wirral, CH62 3RA.
My van is with a converter a long way from the Wirral, how does fitting work?
Get a quote for your Sprinter or Crafter
Tell us which van and generation you have, send a few photos of the seats and any living-area cushions, and Craig will come back with options and a written quote.
Request a quote