Another Mattress Question - But Different

[BPoland]

I have read many posts on the Sleep Number mattress .vs. the pillow tops and conventional mattresses. I spent 30 years sleeping on a waterbed and had to give it up due to a back condition (not caused by the waterbed). My problem is with the size of the mattress. At 6'4" the common RV Queen (60 x76) is really short. The DW and I currently have a Cal King at home. I know some coaches have a standard queen, but the vast majority that I have seen have an RV Queen. To make an RV Queen usable, I would need about 4". I'm looking for Ideas on an easy way to fix the problem. I know if a slide is involved, I may need to undo the fix for travel mode. The DW and I will be looking for a "new to us" coach next year, but I need to have an idea of a workable solution before hand. What are your thoughts? Thanks in advance for your help!

[SMRDNR]

our TT had the "short" queen, the memory foam topper was to long so I folded it over at the head of the bed and then added another strip of foam to make the bed longer- it worked well for us. mattress cover held it in place and all the standard queen sheets fit the bed.

[MoonSail]

You mentioned you will be looking for a new-to-you coach next year. I would just make the bed size a must-have when you are looking. I don't know about other brands, but my 2005 Alfa has a standard 60" x 80" queen.

[jdwky]

You can have a custom size mattress made. I would recommend seeing how many more inches you can add to the mattress and it still fit. Even though it may hang over the edge a little bit farther, it's no big deal. At your height, every inch counts, and helps. I own a furniture chain, I had my main mattress manufacturer make me a custom size latex memory foam mattress for our MH. It squishes up a little bit when the bedroom slide comes in, but I like having one as long as possible too. Hit me up if you need a local recommendation on where to find a retailer that will order you a custom mattress (and get a good price).

[Alan17]

Go to a place that cuts custom foam peices and have them cut you a block of foam 4 or 5 inches wide by the width and thickness of you mattress. Make a zipper cover for it so it can be removed for laundering.
At bedtime just slid your mattress down and place the newly made mattress extender at the head of your bed. Nothing needed to hold it in place and the only thing that really sits on it is your pillow.

I could put a regular queen mattress in but it would be difficult to get around to the sides of the bed. The extender is easily removed an stored during he times that h bed is not in use.

Hope this information helps you and other fellow RVers here.

[dabrooks]

I did about the same thing. But instead of getting a foam filler cut I bought two king size pillows and stuffed them at the head of the bed for our pillow to lay on. I just had to remember to take them out before closing the slide. It worked fine. The new motorhome has a regular queen so no problem now.

[Stano]

I think it is safe to say most class A motor homes have a full size queen mattress? We took the 10 year old Sleep Number out of our motor home while in Florida last winter and replaced it with a full size queen Serta.

Stano

[Maladjusted]

why not look for a coach with a king size bed?

Our SportsCoach has a king size Sleepnumber.

[jerichorick]

If you are looking for a long term solution you need to consider more durable options and be aware of potential problems.

The first to mind problem that I can think of is the available room for an extended mattress. Can your slides close without damaging the coach or the mattress? One solution I saw for this problem is to have a reclining bed. With the head raised and the leg support up much room can be gained. I think Sleep Numbers has this feature.

When I took a brief look at the Sleep Numbers sight last week I got a headache trying to figure out what all of the options on the different models were for or of what real benefit they would provide. Have fun if you go this route.

Hope you overcome this "big" problem satisfactorily and that RVing with be a pleasure for you.again soon.

Happy trails,

Rick

[BPoland]

Thank you all for the replys . A little background on us. We currently have a large pop-up camper. It's the multiple setup and takedown per trip that kills it for me. I am the guy that puts a smile on most of your faces, as you are drinking a cold one. On average, I spend a little over an 1 1/2 hours setting up camp. Then about another hour breaking it all down and packing up. When you add that to the setting up at home before, to load it up for the trip, and after, to clean it out after the trip, you can see that most trips have me working about 6 hours just setting up and taking down, and that's with the DW taking care of the inside stuff. I told her it is just too much work for a 3 or 4 day weekend. The pop-up, a 2004 Coleman Utah-CP has a king size bunk on each end, and a slide in the middle. They say that it sleeps 9. I think if you put 9 people in there, if they weren't good friends when they started, they would be by the end of the trip .

So the DW and I both love camping. She loves sitting by the fire and reading a book, or roasting marshmallows, and just enjoying the outdoors. Me, I'm a programmer and spend too much time sitting behind a desk. I love to get out and see new places, but at 55, it's becoming too much like work.

I thought maybe getting a 5th wheel would be less work, but DW sees them as monstrosity and isn't interested in something so large. She feels the same about the big DP's. My father had a 34' Itasca DP and that's about as big as i think she will go. We have no plans to FT, and I really don't see that changing.

While I would love to have a 40' DP, and all the bells and whistles that go with it, but I think a gently used 30' - 35' gasser is a better fit. Most of those that I have seen are split about 50 - 50 queen size .vs. RV queen.

I'm like a kid in the candy store. I'ld like this, and that, and that. But then comes hard part, finding all that, on the used market, at a decent price .

I'm glad I've got time to look and learn. Love this forum!!!!

[NLOVNIT]

More & more of the later model coaches have the regular (60x80) queen size mattress. Ours does. Depending on your budget, you should be able to find a coach in the size you want with a regular queen mattress. I know of one 08 Bounder for sale in our Classfieds that has a 60x80 mattress. There are even some out there with king mattresses (Winnebago comes to mind) - harder to find but might be worth it to you if you've got the time to shop.

Another solution I've read in forums to solve the "short queen" dilema, is cutting to fit a piece of dense foam to whatever width needed to make the current mattress longer. Leave it on top of the mattress at the headboard for travel. Pull the mattress down & insert that foam piece at the top at night, then put on the sheets. This makes the mattress longer for when it's needed to be, but allows slides to come in properly for travel, when removed.

Lori-

[BPoland]

Thank you for the replies. I now know that if we decide on a coach that has an RV Queen, there are work arounds, providing of course, there isn't a wall in the way.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

[Enokie]

I would suggest a deep tall recliner as has been noted, I had a broken back and got an adjustable bed, it saved my life....because when the head is slightly (to comfort) elevated and the legs also, all the pressure is gone from the back, allowing it to heal and to rest plus you get a great sleep and that alone allows the body to heal.

The adj beds are very heavy but there are some incredible recliners out there that do the job perfectly, the other thought is to put an old sofa cushion under the mattress at the knee and another at the head giving a 'well' type space raising the head and legs giving the same effect, and guess what... your lrngth of limb will also be shortened...

I helped many of my clients through this method because the adj beds were too $$$ for them.
Takes a few nights to adjust to, but your back will thank you!

[TLGPE]

Strongly suggest looking at a MH. Our 05 Newmar Kountry Star has a full sized queen bed. Pillow-top, sleeps great!

On another note, the set up and travel prep are much easier on the back. Lots of affordable coaches out there. Life can be easier if you let it.

Just a thought............

Tom