Biggest upgrade of them all!

[German Shepherd Guy]

:nonono:OK so maybe it isn't that big, BUT it is to me.
After spending this last week-end at the State Park in Ridgway CO. I declared I could not stand it anymore. :soapbox:

Man deserves a better rest than the Mattress that comes with his RV purchase!:D
I called my neighbor(who lives two miles down the county road) and he graciously agreed to come up and help me wrestle a mattress out of my basement and into the RV.
We are leaving for a week long camping trip next Tuesday to the German Shepherd National Dog Show and I could not bear the idea of spending that much time on THAT mattress. :angel:

This is a win for ALL Mankind! :hide:
Well maybe that IS overstating it but I sure will sleep better!
This upgrade should be on everyone's list. Might even be better if the RV came with no mattress so that you could start fresh.
Thanks for letting me vent
Oak

[wiredgeorge]

:nonono:OK so maybe it isn't that big, BUT it is to me.
After spending this last week-end at the State Park in Ridgway CO. I declared I could not stand it anymore. :soapbox:

Man deserves a better rest than the Mattress that comes with his RV purchase!:D
I called my neighbor(who lives two miles down the county road) and he graciously agreed to come up and help me wrestle a mattress out of my basement and into the RV.
We are leaving for a week long camping trip next Tuesday to the German Shepherd National Dog Show and I could not bear the idea of spending that much time on THAT mattress. :angel:

This is a win for ALL Mankind! :hide:
Well maybe that IS overstating it but I sure will sleep better!
This upgrade should be on everyone's list. Might even be better if the RV came with no mattress so that you could start fresh.
Thanks for letting me vent
Oak

The RV mattress was invented during the Spanish Inquisition as a means of torture. It is the second most important mod to a trailer IF your trailer was equipped with the original Thetford Aqua Magic bucket installed on older Cougars. Actually I replace our RV mattress and the Aqua Magic on day one of owning the trailer. Long live the 312 porcelin throne!

[German Shepherd Guy]

The RV mattress was invented during the Spanish Inquisition as a means of torture. It is the second most important mod to a trailer IF your trailer was equipped with the original Thetford Aqua Magic bucket installed on older Cougars. Actually I replace our RV mattress and the Aqua Magic on day one of owning the trailer. Long live the 312 porcelin throne!
:lol::lol::lol:


Oak

[Gegrad]

Yeah, we pulled our RV mattress out after the first trip or two we made and replaced it with an extra pillow top queen from out house. What a difference.

[NH_Bulldog]

We added a 4” gel infused memory foam topper to our mattress.....it actually is more comfortable than our sleep number bed at home.

[BulletOwner1]

Absolutely one of the best things to upgrade in any RV. We bought a 32' motor home we intended to full time in and upgraded it. What a difference. If you spend more than just a weekend here and there it's a must. Upgraded our current TT as we spend several months a year in it.

If you don't have a spare in the house I think all mattress stores can at least get a short (RV) size mattress and some even have them in stock for fairly reasonable prices.

We also upgraded the phony couch that pulls out into a torture device loosely called hide a bed. Went straight to a love seat from a real furniture store. Another great upgrade.

[atkinsb3]

Absolutely one of the best things to upgrade in any RV. We bought a 32' motor home we intended to full time in and upgraded it. What a difference. If you spend more than just a weekend here and there it's a must. Upgraded our current TT as we spend several months a year in it.

If you don't have a spare in the house I think all mattress stores can at least get a short (RV) size mattress and some even have them in stock for fairly reasonable prices.

We also upgraded the phony couch that pulls out into a torture device loosely called hide a bed. Went straight to a love seat from a real furniture store. Another great upgrade.

Already took care of the mattress (it went very quickly) but now looking at changing out the couch/hide a bed and wrap around dinette. Was thinking a futon for the couch but now thinking about a reclining love seat and going with a free standing dinette in place of the wrap around dinette. Just need to do some measuring. Neither of the original pieces are anywhere near comfortable.

[Steve's 70-5]

Took a mattress out of the guest bed room and put it in the TT. Put the TT mattress in the guest bedroom. I feel sorry for the guest that will sleep on it

[newemptynester]

First thing we did when we got our new TT home was pull the old mattress out and went and bought the same mattress that is on our bed at home and replaced it. Our old TT we bought a topper and used that but we wanted our new Cabin On Wheels to have a great mattress.

[vando45]

I must be the exception. The residential queen mattress on our 2015 Sprinter Campfire Edition is a little firm, but pretty comfortable. I sleep really well on it.

[Crookedread]

I remember the first night in my new trailer many years ago. I was so excited I could hardly wait. That was one long and painful night that I won’t soon forget! Passing kidney stones is a breeze compared to sleeping on that mattress!! The next day I drove to a Costco, bought a mattress and love sleeping in the trailer every night.

So here’s my theory. I’m sure you have been to a baseball game and seen the umpire call for the ball. He looks it over and decides the ball is beyond further use in the game and puts it in his bag on his hip. That’s not really what is happening at all. Umpires do not like to be booed and they are fairly vindictive!! When you boo him he inspects the ball, chuckles to himself and thinks “Here’s another ball to sew into some poor schmucks mattress!”

[Hideout Queen]

First thing we did when we got our new TT home was pull the old mattress out and went and bought the same mattress that is on our bed at home and replaced it. Our old TT we bought a topper and used that but we wanted our new Cabin On Wheels to have a great mattress.

Our mattress is awful! So is the pull out sofa's in the living area. Does a regular queen size fit in the camper? I would be afraid that it would be too long. We have a tight size bedroom (no slide outs).

Cindy

[JRTJH]

Our mattress is awful! So is the pull out sofa's in the living area. Does a regular queen size fit in the camper? I would be afraid that it would be too long. We have a tight size bedroom (no slide outs).

Cindy

One "consistent rule" about RV mattresses is that "They are never consistent"... There are two "most popular" sizes of queen mattresses in RV's. They are "home size 60x80" and "RV size 60x72-74-75". Then there's RV queen size mattresses with "curved ends" some with "curved on one side only" and now the move to "RV King Size beds"... Really? Are they California King, Standard King, RV king or some other "king size" ???

With all the "consistently inconsistent sizes" your only means to know is to measure your mattress, Length, Width AND Thickness. Don't forget to consider weight, especially if you have gas or spring loaded "helpers" to access any underbed storage areas....

[daveinaz]

I agree. If you spend any time in your RV, upgrading the mattress is the best thing you can do! Every stock mattress I’ve seen is junk.

[sourdough]

Our mattress is awful! So is the pull out sofa's in the living area. Does a regular queen size fit in the camper? I would be afraid that it would be too long. We have a tight size bedroom (no slide outs).

Cindy


As John noted you need to measure the mattress simply because the RV world seemingly dreams up "new sized" of mattresses on a whim.

We've got members that have had custom foam mattresses made, sleep by number and any number of other things based on just how creative you get and what you want in a mattress. A search would bring up lots of different solutions. Some like toppers; we don't.

If you have struts to support your current mattress keep that in mind when looking for a new one because the struts are designed to support a specific weight. If you overload it they won't hold it up or you will have to replace them. Most have the rating stamped/printed on the side.

Our mattress was a normal residential queen (measured) on this trailer so mattress replacement was a breeze. Weight was a consideration and I was willing to replace the struts but happened to find a really nice mattress that sleeps wonderfully and the struts still work (not as well as before but they work). Others before had oddball sizes, cut corners etc. Now THEY were fun to deal with.

[cag]

First rule I had when buying an RV was that it HAD TO HAVE A NORMAL bed. Some RV Makers only make short bed models, I didn't even look at them. I left the RV mattress with the dealer and put in a sleep number bed that I had from my truck camper (full size queen). Next I went and found a zero clearance adjustable bed frame. Now I still need to install the frame but it should fit fine. Only weighs about 100 lbs, it is a slide so watch the weight.

Next is to change the storage under the bed to a pullout drawer so I can still access it. When looking for the RV (Montana HC 320MK) I did run across another make with a pullout storage on the bed that you could sit on. Now to find that so I can duplicate it...

[LewisB]

I guess we are lucky. Our 2018 Raptor with "King" bed is actually quite comfortable...NOW.

It is roughly 72"W x 76"L. It appears they just used a larger mattress on a queen sized base. When we purchased it, I sat on the edge of the bed and proceeded to immediately slide down to the floor. The base was nearly 10" shorter all the way around than the mattress. Both the DW and I felt like we were constantly "about to fall out of bed"! So I glued/screwed some plywood extensions on to the base making it only 2" shorter than the mattress. Now it is quite comfortable. We like firm - the mattress wasn't bad, just the base. As John pointed out, this makes the hydraulic lift rams a bit undersized, but we don't often get under the bed. I figure I'll just cut a 1" prop stick for it some day.

Anyway, comfy is good - whatever it takes!

[German Shepherd Guy]

:lol: "Don't forget to consider weight, especially if you have gas or spring loaded "helpers" to access any underbed storage areas.... __________________
John"


Boy was John right about that. Too bad I read his post AFTER I made the change. :nonono: So on our TT there is no "helper" to access the underside of the mattress storage. Soooo I built a stick with a notch on it and when I would raise the mattress/board up it would slip into place and all was well.
But I forgot :facepalm: the new replacement mattress is thicker and HEAVIER. So first time I tried that the stick came crashing through the side of the bed frame, conveniently made of micro-thin plywood. :eek:
No good deed goes unpunished. :o

[PDMarlowe]

We had the dealer pull the original mattress out and put it in their dumpster so I didn't have to worry about getting rid of it later.

[Karyn Felt]

We were lucky when we bought our TT - it already had the memory foam topper on the mattress so never got to experience the opportunity of sleeping on it. We love the topper!

[LewisB]

:lol: "Don't forget to consider weight, especially if you have gas or spring loaded "helpers" to access any underbed storage areas.... __________________
John"


Boy was John right about that. Too bad I read his post AFTER I made the change. :nonono: So on our TT there is no "helper" to access the underside of the mattress storage. Soooo I built a stick with a notch on it and when I would raise the mattress/board up it would slip into place and all was well.
But I forgot :facepalm: the new replacement mattress is thicker and HEAVIER. So first time I tried that the stick came crashing through the side of the bed frame, conveniently made of micro-thin plywood. :eek:
No good deed goes unpunished. :o

Still LOL! The moderators should get together and write a book. It would be a bestseller!

[wiredgeorge]

As John noted you need to measure the mattress simply because the RV world seemingly dreams up "new sized" of mattresses on a whim.

We've got members that have had custom foam mattresses made, sleep by number and any number of other things based on just how creative you get and what you want in a mattress. A search would bring up lots of different solutions. Some like toppers; we don't.

If you have struts to support your current mattress keep that in mind when looking for a new one because the struts are designed to support a specific weight. If you overload it they won't hold it up or you will have to replace them. Most have the rating stamped/printed on the side.

Our mattress was a normal residential queen (measured) on this trailer so mattress replacement was a breeze. Weight was a consideration and I was willing to replace the struts but happened to find a really nice mattress that sleeps wonderfully and the struts still work (not as well as before but they work). Others before had oddball sizes, cut corners etc. Now THEY were fun to deal with.

Our original mattress was circa 2002. It was probably 3 inches thick when manufactured but in the course of the years had gotten flattened out. It was the RV queen length. It got tossed prior to ever sleeping in our trailer. Went to Billy Bob's Beds in San Antonio and picked up a residential queen mattress that is identical to the king in our bedroom. It is approximately 14-15 inches thick pillow top. It sleeps good. The extra 6 inches? You have to be kind of agile to hop on and I put a 3' x 5' 1/4" plywood under the end that hangs over so when you slide off the end, you don't hit the floor. We no longer have underbed storage as I am not strong enough to lift the bed much less worry about the struts. I can also sleep comfortably with a bed that is much the same feel as the one in the hacienda.

Oh yeah, never extend the struts all the way UP to get under the bed as they CAN get stuck like that for some reason. I did this in my Sunnybrook pull trailer and ended up having to do a flying jump onto the mattress to get it to lay back down. :facepalm:

[Laredo Tugger]

Hey George,
Did the judges give you a score on that dive? :D

[ttutland2345]

I’ve found my mattress isn’t so bad after a nice helping of grandpa’s cough syrup 😂

[Reddog222]

I replaced the mattress that came with the 5 er with a sleep number queen. The dw likes a less firm mattress than I do. There are two separate mattress and each side can be inflated to the firmness that is desired. This mattress is very light and makes it easy to change the sheets.

[Frosty46]

WE have done many RV upgrades on our various rigs over the years and beds are first on the list for us. We also have learned that home furniture works well in place of some of the odd fixtures incorporated in today's offerings. WE over came our aversion to that deaded malady,," I own an RV so will take most anything to camp" syndrome.

[duh1]

That was the first thing we did with all the mattresses. Foam pad and toppers made a big difference

[jimborokz]

One "consistent rule" about RV mattresses is that "They are never consistent"... There are two "most popular" sizes of queen mattresses in RV's. They are "home size 60x80" and "RV size 60x72-74-75". Then there's RV queen size mattresses with "curved ends" some with "curved on one side only" and now the move to "RV King Size beds"... Really? Are they California King, Standard King, RV king or some other "king size" ???

With all the "consistently inconsistent sizes" your only means to know is to measure your mattress, Length, Width AND Thickness. Don't forget to consider weight, especially if you have gas or spring loaded "helpers" to access any underbed storage areas....

Ours came with a pretty good RV king. A topper did the trick for sleeping. The problem was no room to get around the bed to make it and the mattress overhang at the end so you slide off when you sit on it.
So we moved to a residential queen. Got a mattress in a box from Nectar. Replaced the section of the base that lifts so it extends to the length of the mattress. Now all is well.

Almost. offered the old mattress to our daughter who's king mattress is old and sagging. Turns out she has a California king. They are 72X85. Regular king is 75X80. Our rv king was 72X80. ??? what's with that.

So now we're at a campground in Charleston with an RV king mattress tied down to the tv trying to get rig of it. Goodwill won't take mattresses, neither will Habitat for Humanity. RV trash p/u won't either. Finally located the local landfill near the park and dropped it off there. Luckily they didn't require me to be a local resident.

Much ado, but it's not about nothing. A good sleep is worth the effort.

[German Shepherd Guy]

jimborokz wrote:
"So now we're at a campground in Charleston with an RV king mattress tied down to the tv trying to get rig of it. Goodwill won't take mattresses, neither will Habitat for Humanity. RV trash p/u won't either. Finally located the local landfill near the park and dropped it off there. Luckily they didn't require me to be a local resident."

My basement is full of old mattresses. The downstairs bed looks like the princess and the pea. Truly hard to get rid of once they wear out. Have a new mattress in-a-box sitting upstairs right now and am wondering what to do with the old one as my basement is full. :facepalm:
At least you no longer look like the Beverly Hillbilly's as you drive around the TV. :D

[JRTJH]

I've had similar "problems" with getting rid of mattresses, old TV's, tires, old doors and even old window air conditioners. The "land fill" wants us to pay to dispose of them. So, being "CHEAP" I devised a foolproof method to get rid of all my "disposable stuff"... CRAIGS LIST....

Now, I put a photo of the item and post it on Craig's List with the title, "FREE to the first person with a truck large enough to haul it off".... Most is gone within 6 hours of posting, All is gone within 2 days of posting.... And, my money stays in my wallet.....

Of course, we live in an area where we don't get "riff-raff" using CL as a means to case people's houses, so we aren't exposed to that danger. However, everything I "give away" is outside, so nobody has access to the house or even to the garage. A bit of "caution" (or common sense) goes a long way......

[flybouy]

:lol:Or list in on CL for a small fee (say$10) and post "will be at the end of the driveway at XX address. Someone will steal it immediately.

[jimborokz]

jimborokz wrote:
"So now we're at a campground in Charleston with an RV king mattress tied down to the tv trying to get rig of it. Goodwill won't take mattresses, neither will Habitat for Humanity. RV trash p/u won't either. Finally located the local landfill near the park and dropped it off there. Luckily they didn't require me to be a local resident."

My basement is full of old mattresses. The downstairs bed looks like the princess and the pea. Truly hard to get rid of once they wear out. Have a new mattress in-a-box sitting upstairs right now and am wondering what to do with the old one as my basement is full. :facepalm:
At least you no longer look like the Beverly Hillbilly's as you drive around the TV. :D

Good heavens you just described my basement. :lol:Have you been to my house? Had to laugh as just last month I was thinking of the Princess and the pea. and the Beverly Hillbilly fit to a tee. I may try the Craig's list approach.:cool: