seat covers for brunnhilde and isolde

I had used seat covers in Isolde for a long time. I had installed generic sheep skin cover from Costco in Isolde which I modified for a custom fit and these covered had kept the front seats in Isolde as if they had never been sat on even after 25 years. Over time I had realized a major drawback with sheep skin covers.


While they do feel great in both warm and cold climate, the added thickness of the plush fur is an unacceptable sacrifice of what otherwise an ergonomically sculpted seats. In an already smallish sized seat like the one in Isolde the discomfort is quite pronounced. In a long trip the seat becomes very uncomfortable very fast because of the loss of ergonomics. The seat bottom becomes too short for me for proper support. Worst is if you are wearing a jacket which further pushes you forward in winter. This consideration is not obvious until you have experience with it over a long time of use. I recently decide to remove the sheep skin cover from Isolde despite the time and money investment. I have not find a satisfactory solution until now.

Recently I have been reading on some very impressive built threads of VW Vanagon Campers (Westfalia) on Samba. I came across the thread on the discussions of good seat covers and found out about the Cabela's TrialGear. It happened to be on sale for a mere $19.99 each for the bucket seat. Sound improbable that it remotely be a possible candidate for anyone that has discernible eyes. My expectation of them was quite tempered even after reading and inspecting them all I could on the web. At the time Cabela also has a $5 shipping shipping special for any order over $99. I carefully checked the dimensions given on the site and compared against the seats in Brunnhilde and Isolde. Based on the dimensions they are too small for the exception high back of the seats in Brunnhilde. In order to reach $99 total I decided on 4 bucket seat and one bench seat (covers that is). The back is about 2 inches shy of what is needed for Brunnhilde. Still with my assessment I figured I can make them fit and ready to do some cutting and sewing if necessary.

my total order came to $107.98 plus $5 shipping for all 5 covers

i liked what i saw as soon as i unboxed the bucket seat - it looks like a sleeping bag with the all-business look of draw strings like mountainers' backpack

 the front side

 the back side with generous number of storage pockets

If I didn't tell you this cost only $19.99 you would think they are premium seat covers. The material is very strong and the straps and strings are equally beefy. The design is very tasteful and understated. You can read the details of the construction on Cabela's site.

I just wanted to do quick test fits in Isolde to assess how well they will fit. I plan to spend more time to tidy them which may involve cutting and sewing them to achieve a near-custom fit.
you can see the adjustable sides with Velcro seams for the armrests

 closeup of the Velcro seam

 rough fitted; note the adjustable opening for the seat levers - the grey and black theme works so well with the grey interior of Isolde

 the great storage pockets on the back

According to the dimensions Cabela provided on their site the seat cover is about 2 inches too short for the high back of Brunnhilde's seats. I took the risk that I can make them fit somehow (base on the fact that a lot of American trucks and SUVs have huge seats). I figured that if they don't fit Brunnhilde I can always put them in the Mini.

just a few minutes

you can see the seam between the back and the seat is about 2 inch higher instead of being at the hinge point but no doubt you can make the cover fit despite of this

 until finding seat covers that I deem satisfactory I have been using shirts to protect the seats

 the creases will go away once you start using the covers to let you body "iron" out the creases

I am so impressed with these covers and for $19.99 apiece they are a bargain. The trail gear look is very much in keeping of the spirit of the Westfalia compact campers. Judging from the feel of the fabric they should stand up quite well even with water drenched wetsuit. These covers simply kick arse for their value, quality, and aesthetics.