A Guide to RV Mattresses
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I remember my first RV trip. The rig wasn’t mine, but the memories —I’ll always own those. We were trekking through the Appalachian Mountains on a magnificent journey from Michigan to Maine. Magnificent in beauty, scope and pain.
Let me back up. The RV belonged to my friend, Paul, and if you knew Paul, then you’d know how excited he was about his new RV. So excited that he insisted that I accompany him, and his young family, on the maiden journey east. Aside from the occasional olfactory offense of a pungent diaper, the trip was mostly enjoyable, until I spent my first night sleeping on the RV mattress. I woke up the next day (and the next, and the next) with aching joints and a body wrought with the spoils awarded to the soldiers of restless sleep.
Now that I am officially an avid RV man (just ask my ex-wife), I recall that first trip and wince. I had no idea that a harmless-looking mattress could negatively impact my journey to such an extent. If you’re like me, you like to spend as much time in your RV as you can. Heck, mine is basically a permanent residence from April to October. And if my first RV journey gave me anything other than a sore back, it was the wisdom of knowing the importance of having a comfortable, supportive RV mattress.
After years of RVing, I’ve found that most of the long term-travelers I’ve met have also had negative experiences with stock RV mattresses. Unfortunately, while your new RV might come with all of the bells and whistles you could imagine, it likely doesn’t come with a high-quality mattress. And this isn’t an issue for the occasional traveler or the resilient sleeper. As a frequent user of my RV, and someone with a history of back problems, I am exactly the kind of sleeper for which a subpar mattress just won’t work. It doesn’t work on my bed at home, and it doesn’t work in my RV. So when you’re looking for an RV mattress, try to get something similar to what you’re used to sleeping on. While there’s not as much of a selection, if you dedicate your search you can get a comfortable supportive mattress for your RV.
Back Sleepers
If you’re a back sleeper, look for a mattress with a good amount of padding, like a pillow or euro top. The plush surface will conform to the curves of your back better than a harder surface, so your spine can rest closer to its natural alignment.
Side Sleepers
For side sleepers, a mattress that’s too firm can cause extreme discomfort. When you lie on your side, your spine rests in its natural position, so side sleepers need an RV mattress that conforms to support the natural curvature of the body. Softer mattresses generally conform better, but some firm mattresses with pillow or euro tops can provide comfortable conformability.
Stomach Sleepers
If you sleep on your stomach, you’ll want to avoid a soft mattress, as it will cause sagging that will arch your back in an uncomfortable position. The best mattress for a stomach sleeper has a medium firmness and will provide adequate support for your middle section without arching your spine. Mattresses that have large padded tops like pillow soft and euro tops are often uncomfortable for stomach sleepers.
This summer, as you roll around this beautiful country, equip your RV with the kind of mattress that will provide the support you need and the comfort you desire. Find an RV mattress that suits your sleeping position, and you’ll enjoy your RV even more. You’ll sleep better at night and get the most out of your days, all the while feeling rested and ready to see what this beautiful land has to offer.
Article written by Timothy Taylor
When Timothy is not exploring his beloved United States of America, he’s an RV mattress merchandiser and copywriter for US-Mattress.
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MINE CAME ‘CHANGED’ MATTRESS & IT IS THE MOST COMFORTABLE ONE I’VE EVER SLEPT ON!! THANK YOU, WHOEVER CHANGED THE MATTRESS!!!
WHAT I MEANT TO SAY BEFORE THE GREMLINS ATE MY WORDS WAS:
MINE CAME WITH A ‘CHANGED’ MATTRESS AND IT IS THE MOST COMFORTABLE ONE I’VE EVER SLEPT ON!!!!!
Tim,
I couldn’t agree more! The wrong mattress negatively affects you the next day, and sometimes beyond. After a bunch of experimentation, we got the mattress in our first RV dialed in. But then we traded that unit last fall for another and had to start over. We thought we were going to be successful by putting the old foam topper on the new mattress, but no way. Pure misery for both of us. We have a great mattress at home, so we bit the bullet and tossed the factory RV mattress and put the RV version of our home mattress in the motor home. Ah, relief! It was worth every penny.
You are so right. Find the right mattress for your needs. You will thank yourself every morning.
In our case, we had a sleep number air mattress at home and when we bought our new mh, one of the options was a sleep number mattress. Guess which option we chose first?
I am fairly tall and my feet stuck out over the original mattress. Talk about cold feet! ( Not to mention the dogs and licking.) I rebuilt the storage/mattress base and put our euro mattress from home in. Perfect!
We had the really cheap mattress in the motorhome when we bought it. Wife worked for a furniture store so we had the mattress manufacture make one just like we had in our bedroom. So now when we travel it is just like sleeping on the bed at home. No aches, pains or problem sleeping. If your not sleeping good..who wants to travel?
The mattress problem is one of the biggest issues we face. Our last 2 rigs have had a “sleep #” mattress, and no matter the settings, we are both miserable. I’m at the point where we are going to pull it out, and try a custom made one. Oh yeah, we’ve tried the mattress toppers, 3′ memory foam, and goose down thingy in all different combinations. Still get a crappy nites sleep. We’ll see what happens after this winter in Key West. Lots of mojitos on Duval St. helps sometimes !!!!
Our first RV had the SleepNumber bed, we liked it enough, to buy a similar matress from the SleepBetter store on line. We liked this one better than the SleepNumber. (5 years now)
When we moved in to our current RV, full time, I modified the King platform down to our queen size, and we took our SleepBetter matress with us.
My wife had severe back problems and eventual surgery and hardware, she sleeps great on this one. I tend to sleep in every position possible, but found that if the setting was below a particular point, I woke with some hip pain that had to be walked off. Now I just double check the pressure before sleep each night, adjust if necessary, and no more pain at all.
Everyone is different, as we get older, getting the right matress is very important. Can’t sleep on the ground like I used to as a young person.
We recently upgraded the matress in our rig and took the opportunity to enlarge the base so as to accommodate a true queen size. We ordered a memory foam mattress from a major retailer and when it arrived it was packed into an unbelievably small box. A word to the wise: put the box into the bedroom of your RV before you open it up! The expansion begins immediately and it can’t be stopped once you cut the bindings loose, so be prepared!
It works exceptionally well on a plywood base and the cost was very reasonable.
Memory foam mattress toppers can work wonders for the stock RV mattresses. Did that to both of our MHs, our house bed, ours kids houses beds, and any other relatives we could get on board. Costco ones work just fine.
My first trailer was an older Bonair with couch only type mattress and it was very uncomfortable. My current trailer is a Rockwood and I purchased a memory foam topper for my double bed . It was an improvement but only about an inch thick. I then bouught a foam topper from Costco that is about 3 inches thick and it has made all the difference in the world. It is slightly larger than the mattress but not a big deal. It is comfortable and also warmer than the original set-up. I can highly recommend it.
I have never liked the mattress’s that came with either my 5th wheel or my 2 motor home. I have all ways replaced them with a regular home mattress. My current MotorHome came with a Sleep by Number Mattress, I never could find my number so I through it away on my first trip and went to a mattress store an purchased a decent mattress. I have never understood what the big deal is about ordering or having a mattress made is. I have always gone to a Mattress Store and purchased one just like I would for home.
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Well, I have a story for you! We also endured discomfort with the mattress tha came with our RV. We tried supplementing its support with yoga mats, and its plushieness with “egg crate foam” over that. Didn’t work. then I heard I could cut down a regular mattress to fit the RV bed. I found sites on YouTube where it is done step by step. I had a new memory foam mattress in storage (we RV full-time now), so, I thought, “Why not?!” I cut the mattress cover 6″ above the foot, around the bottom and sides of the mattress, leaving the face attached. Then I cut awway all the exposed foam, revealing the coil springs and wire frame beneath. Using wire snips, I cut away one row of coils. I then replaced the foam I previously removed, and wrapped the cover back over the mattress. I used a good fabric glue to attach the cover firmly all around. It has been a year now, we are sleeping quite well on it. In fact, when we took a two month break to return home for our daughter’s wedding, we missed our mattress terribly! The whole job only took me an hour. It was not difficult at all. I recommend it to anyone who really values a good night sleep!
When we picked up our new TT last year we spent the first few nights on its mattress. Not as bad as our toyhauler mattress had been, but nothing we wanted to spend weeks and months sleeping on. I bought a Comfortaire, similar to Sleep Number without the advertising costs, and liked it so much we dumped our SpringAire at home and got another one.
I never had a topper, and many seem to like them. Just seemed like lipstick on a pig to me, so I never seriously considered buying one.
Hey, great to hear from everybody! Sorry I didn’t participate in this lively discussion sooner. Just got back from a 5 day getaway. From how it sounds, the issue with stock RV mattresses is not at all limited and some of you shared great tips and advice. I was especially fond of the memory foam references.
I was a bit skeptical at first when I made my first order of custom made beds from http://www.custom-made-beds.com.au/. I wasn’t of how it was going to turn out but luckily, things turned out for the best. Recommended for all who enjoy a nice sleeping experience
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