Teardrop mattress solution

SameGuy

Observer
We have a LG 6 wide and are looking for a new mattress solution. We have the stock 4" hard foam folding mattress that came with it and a 3" memory foam topper on top of that to soften it up. Neither my better half or I like the setup, generally tossing and turning and not getting the best nights sleep. The memory foam is 4 lb. if I remember correctly which is on the firmer side for memory foam. Neither of us like the 'memory' aspect of the foam, basically conforming to your body to the point where it is hard to roll over without rolling back into the hole created where you have been laying. It feels like we bottom out the memory foam laying on your side and wind up with sore hips in the morning. I don't like the fact that is is hard when it is cold and takes quite a while to warm up.

For the above reasons we are trying to stay away from foam.

The interior of the LG is 72" wide by 84 long". Anything much thicker than 8" leaves little room between knees and the shelves above. Nothing like banging your shins on the shelf in the middle night when repositioning yourself. I still have marks on my shins from a year ago doing just that.

We are considering an air mattress but worry about the durability and hassle a puncture would cause. ALPS makes what looks to be a pretty good one with a pump that can run off 120 and 12 volt.
http://www.rei.com/product/868745/alps-mountaineering-rechargeable-air-bed-twin-special-buy
Wondering if anyone has first hand experience with this model?

Most of the air mattresses out there are too thick for our use and the thinner ones seem to be of sub par construction.

In my limited experience with air mattresses I remember was feeling like I was sleeping on a trampoline that didn't breathe and waking up in a pool of sweat.

One idea was to get 2 of these, put them in left to right and add a fiber fill mattress topper for breathability. That would solve the sweating issues but not the trampoline aspect. It would also be pretty thick, as those mattress specs say they are 8.5 inches thick.

To combat the thickness issue I looked at backpacking style sleeping pads but am coming up short on anything that would fit size wise. I have read good things about Nemo Cosmo pads and it appears that a combination of sizes would get me close to 72" wide. Coming in a little short on the Large size wouldn't be much of an issue, would just put that one on my wife's side. http://www.rei.com/product/865694/nemo-cosmo-air-sleeping-pad-#specsTab
There are other pads with similar specs so any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I'd be thrilled if I could find something like the EXPED Mega mat in sizes that would fit.
http://www.rei.com/product/812005/exped-comfort-megamat-10-sleeping-pad#specsTab
At 30" wide each I would have a foot of dead space left over on one side. Maybe I could fill that space with a slice of foam but it isn't ideal.

I like the durability of these style pads, pretty sure they would hold up just fine inside the camper. With a fiber topper on top this is looking like the direction to go.

Another possibility is a standard spring mattress that isn't too thick. Only issue is getting it in the camper. Can't imagine I could get it in the tiny doors so would have to remove the galley shelf and shove it in through the back. I don't really want to do this so I haven't done too much research on that front.

The ultimate would be an RV mattress from Comfortaire.
http://www.comfortaire.com/rv-mattress
I have one of their beds at home and it is a dream but at $1600+ for cal king size it is pretty much out of the question. A similar style mattress without all the bells and whistles would be perfect but I have yet to source one.
 

Maninga

Adventurer
I've been on he lookout for a good mattress solution for a while, best I've come across sofar is the Froli setup. Basically suspension that goes under your mattress and can be adjusted to you. We're going to use a thin ikea mattress with it for something lightweight.
 
We bought our teardrop with and upgraded mattress which is about 3" of foam and 3" memory foam. We didnt like it. Definetly like it better with memory foam on the bottom but still not ideal. So added a couple 2" camp pads on top. This is much more comfortable now but the height does make it a little tighter in the foot area. So still looking for perfect solution but not bad in the mean time.
 

Waygoner

Observer
You might find a futon mattress that fits your needs. They roll up so getting it in the door won't be a problem.
 

jeep-N-montero

Expedition Leader
We run a pair of these in our off road trailer and absolutely love them http://www.rei.com/product/848570/therm-a-rest-neoair-dream-sleeping-pad Ours are its predecessor and are called the DreamTime XL but same setup using the air pad plus memory foam, kind of like having your own sleep number bed for each side because you can adjust the firmness by the amount of air you put in them. We have about 55 nights on ours and still feel like we just bought them.
 

mkitchen

Explorer
I would not recommend air mats.

Since you have a TD and the neat thing about them is the fact that you have little set up, an air mattress doesn't sound like the best bet. I would suggest investing in a custom mat that you will be happy with. No doubt, you plan on keeping the TD so the extra expense should work out over time and an air mattress is always going to be a let down (pun intended). I have a TD and love sleeping in it and have done so on three week trips without complaint, so there are mattresses out there, don't give up.
Mikey
 

doug720

Expedition Leader
Try a boat upholstery shop. They make custom cushions and bunk pads used for sleeping. We redid our boats salon and berths a couple of years ago and the pads are very comfortable.

The upholsterer used a special foam for bunks, almost like a memory foam and made covers for them for easy care. They work great and are very comfortable.
 

Dirk Diggler

New member
lovemymattress.com can make you any size mattress you want either out of high density foam, innerspring, or memory foam. I have a couple of foam mattresses from them and they've all worked great for me. And they're not too spendy.
 

matthewp

Combat Truck Monkey
I am using a memory foam mattress from Ikea. It's about 7" thick and is very comfortable. It came rolled up tight, so was easy to bring home. I unrolled it and let it "gas out" for a week in a spare room. To get it in the trailer, all I did was fold it in half and held that with a couple ratchet straps.
 

Hilldweller

SE Expedition Society
MY LG 6X10 has a 68X80 mattress --- did you measure your interior dims? Maybe you don't have the cabinet at the head of the bed...?

Cabela's used to have a 4" foam/air mattress that we put in our Conqueror. It was the bomb. Not on their website anymore but they have these: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Camp...SBC;+LNcat104186880;cat104712480;cat104484780

We're using the LG mattresses over a 2.5" memory topper, all wrapped up in the cover that came with the memory foam.
Memory foam by itself gets too cold in the winter --- like sleeping on an ice cube.

I've been considering having something custom built. I'd like 2" of sealed foam (like a gym mat) with 2" of semi-firm latex over it.
 

dvsjw

Observer
We went with a 4 inch latex foam in a vinyl bag with a 2 inch egg crate foam topper. We then have a light blanket over the top to prevent dirt from getting to the mattress. We had a recent great 2 week trip with it and it worked well. If we change anything I might add a 1 inch harder foam layer as a base as on the last night we began to be able to just begin to feel the floor on pressure points.

An air mattress would be considerably lighter setup as the latex is heavy (Guessing 30lbs) with a total of 45 to 50 lbs in bedding if it matters. For us comfort was the primary goal. Warmth was not an issue as I have heard with the memory foam.
 

SameGuy

Observer
We wound up getting rid of the rock hard foam mattress that came stock in the LG and putting 3 backpacking air mattresses in its place, then using the 3 inch memory foam on top of them. I already had the backpacking mattresses just laying around so it was a simple and inexpensive fix. I spent 5 nights in it this week and was thrilled with the comfort.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,529
Messages
2,875,557
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top