Comfortable Sleeping in the RV
In recent RV/Camping articles, it was written that “Sleeping in the RV is more relaxing than sleeping at home.” I’m sure that you will agree with me that it’s true.
That said; from day 1, we believe that the original equipment mattress on our rig was ordered to be just high enough so it could pass under the edge of our bedroom vanity and light enough to not overload the lift assist springs. With the color keyed comforter and shams in place, the bed looked great! To those ends it was photogenic and worked as intended however in reality we found that the comfort level of the mattress was marginal to say the least. We did sleep on the original mattress for a few months since our rig was all new to us and we thought that it’s supposed to be that way.
We were in agony and after a while and it almost felt like sleeping on the ground was a better option. It didn’t take long for us to go shopping for a replacement. In order to get immediate relief we went to one of the local mattress stores and bought an 8” high, full size queen by Sealy called a Back Saver. It was an improvement over the original mattress and we had good luck with it for a few years. One of the challenges that we had with this mattress was its weight. When I lifted the platform to get access to the storage, the springs couldn’t hold the bed and I had to place a broom stick to hold it open. I even went as far as to change the lift springs with units from “Hatchlift” however it still didn’t help.
After a few years of use, the Sealy was beginning to fail and I was getting up in the morning with agonizing back pain and my wife was also complaining. We were now in a situation where we had to go out and buy a new Sealy or find a better solution. While we were shopping at a local big box discount store, we came across a 2 ½” memory foam mattress topper. The topper was reasonably priced so we rolled the dice and went with it. The topper is made from what is described as high density foam, it’s additionally heavy and it almost feels sticky when you touch it with your hand. The topper came with a deep pocketed mattress cover and a rather nice material that I believe is made from a cotton blend.
Sleeping on the Sealy and topper improved the situation and it was all good for about a year. Lately as with any structure, if the foundation is compromised the whole structure would be compromised and we were getting back to not sleeping well. What to do next? Do we go the full boat and attempt the $1,000+ solution and go with air, or is there a more affordable RV specific product that will work? Enter a new iRV2 member advertiser onto the list of iRV2 sponsors, “
Mattress Insider” of Littleton, CO. I was determined to get it right this time and so I began researching which of their products might work best for us given that they specialize in RV mattress solutions.
According to the Mattress Insider website, they have any size RV mattress or they will make a custom sized mattress if required. Our need however was for a conventional Queen measuring 60”x80”. The available mattresses range from the most affordable Deluxe RV Mattress to 8” thick Gel Foam products. As I kept looking, I found a mattress that I thought would work for us however I made sure to check everything before making a purchase. What I found interesting was the
8" Park Meadow Custom Pocketed Coil RV Mattress. This mattress was described as having pocketed coils, hi density soy foam, double quilting, reduced motion transfer and superior pressure point relief. Couple the features with “Made in America”, right here in Greenville, South Carolina, a 20 year warranty and we concluded that this mattress would be a winner and so we ahead and ordered it.
In a few days, the mattress arrived in a 60 inch long rectangular box from FedEx weighing in at some 70 pounds. We thought it best to bring the box in the motorhome and unpack there. We opened and began to carefully remove the box revealing a plastic, vacuumed wrapped “something,” as it did not look at all like a mattress. Once the box was removed, the plastic bag was carefully cut open with a scissor and the contents began to inflate. Having removed the outer plastic envelope the mattress was wrapped in a membrane of sorts and secured with 3 bands under apparent tension. The roll was placed on the bed’s platform across the width at which point we began cutting the bands. Cutting one band and then another appeared to release a lot of pressure and it made a loud popping noise. Finally, the last band was released and what can now be seen as a mattress unrolled and took up all the space on the platform. In the instructions it requests that you allow the mattress to sit and rest open for 90 minutes before use however we gave it a few days.
Being anxious to try out the new mattress, it didn’t take long before we plugged in the rig and went camping in our yard. Although we were tempted to just simply evaluate the mattress without our hi-density foam topper we chose to add the topper and try it as a system. We fitted the mattress cover over both pieces and made the bed. Over the past year or so we have found that flannel sheets and pillow cases are so much better to sleep on in the RV that we won’t use anything else. I was so nervous about getting into bed wondering if we made the right choice but by the time I snuggled in I couldn’t think any more about it and fell asleep. Come morning, I woke up and looked over to my clock and it said 8 o’clock! “No way!” I said; but there is was. As I was lying there I have to admit that I was very comfortable and when I did get up, I didn’t have any back pain. I think we did very well and I am pleased with our purchase.
Now here’s something that I found remarkable. First of all, I have no doubt that we are keeping the mattress however in the event that we wanted to return it, we wouldn’t even have to repackage it but just donate it to a charity and get a donation voucher. Mattress Insider will fully refund the money. Absent a charity to receive the mattress, you can always return it however getting a Queen sized mattress in the mail would not be my 1st choice. The Park Meadow Custom Pocketed Coil RV Mattress is on sale at 42% off until 8/12, we received an extra $100.00 off the price during check out and free shipping to our home. On the Mattress Insider website they have both an eMail link and a call back feature. We chose to call and speak with the company directly who were more than willing to answer all of our pre-sales questions. If the sale price is missing on the website, tell the call taker that you’re with iRV2 and they will honor the sale price.
In closing and after having all the bedding in place, I had to go in the storage compartment below the platform. I lifted the bed board up and let go of the platform and it stayed right in the raised position without any assistance. I look at this as being an additional built-in freebee benefit! I’m ecstatic that I don’t have to struggle to hold the platform up any longer.
For more information:
Mattress Insider LLC
6732 W Coal Mine Ave, Suite 130
Littleton, CO 80123
877-648-1371
http://www.mattressinsider.com/
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