Bed & Mattress Design

[Rustic313]

Thanks again for all the great help. As you can see in the other threads, work is continuing apace... I need to get some pictures posted!

I got a lot done over the weekend and am racing towards a labor day campout!

I want to order some gear to make the bed. I plan on eventually putting in a murphy bed in my 6x12, but we'll start with a simple frame and I'll put the hinges in later.

So, two questions:
- What thickness plywood did you use under your mattress? Will 1/2" cut it?

Follow-on question -- did you drill any ventilation holes in the plywood, or reinforce it with cross beams?


- What thickness foam did you go with? I'm looking at ordering from http://www.thefoamfactory.com/ or some similar place (it looks like there's a bunch with similar products) and am torn between 3" of cheap foam plus a 2" memory foam topper, or 5" of their mid quality foam.

Thanks! It would be nice to have the bed put in by labor day instead of camping on cots!

[roadinspector]

ArmaBorealis,
In my old TT the factory had used 3/4" with cross bracings so I followed their example. I emailed foamfactory,com customer service with some questions simular to yours. They were very helpful. In my case I wanted 4" for cushions/mattress. My wife has a bad back and needs firm to extra firm. They suggested Lux HQ. We have yet to have used it but by what I see and feel, I believe it will work. I saved about $100 by not ordering cut cushions. I got a piece that was larger than I wanted and cut my own with an electric knife. Hope this helped.

Earnest

[Willuz]

My goal was to have a comfortable mattress at 4" and I'm very pleased with the results from thefoamfactory.com. I recommend going with the 3" high density memory foam along with the custom zippered mattress cover. Then buy two packages of 3/4" puzzle interlocking exercise mats from Costco or Walmart and insert them into the mattress cover under the memory foam. I normally sleep on an EXTREMELY soft bed and this was still incredibly comfortable even on the plywood floor of my trailer.

[Rustic313]

Thanks for the inputs!

We went and tried a bunch of memory foam mattresses today. We stuck to the "store brands" at the back of the stores which laid out their layer thicknesses more clearly so we knew what we were dealing with. And then, ordered at FoamByMail. If the store prices were somewhat close I'd consider them, but most were at least double if not more than FoamByMail... and most listed lower quality foam densities.

We ended up going with 3" of 4lb memory foam, 4" of the HD-36R foam, and a 1" camping pad (closed cell). I should have 12" of space for mattress, so 8" will fit just fine. I was going to skimp on the base layer as suggested by Willuz but was veteod by my boss.

I hope the mail order works out!

[Willuz]

Hopefully the camping pad base layer they send you is FAR better than the one I got. I also ordered it expecting something like the stiff blue foam sold for camping. It is nothing of the sort. It's more like a layer of plastic with some cheap open cell foam stuck to it. I was tempted to return it but it was so cheap it wasn't worth it. I guess it really just depends on what type of foam it was the outer layer for.

I hope you get a better product but the the puzzle mats were a SIGNIFICANT upgrade from the camping mat from foambymail. However, I haven't built my bed frame yet so I do use the camping pad under my mattress to keep it clean.

[lrrowe]

I slept over at friends on a 6 inch foam mattress for the past few nights. It was over plywood and it was very comfortable.
Our friends got it from Costco. I think I will make a trip there and see what the options and costs are. Too bad a Costco is not right down the street from me.

[crumvoc]

This summer I ordered queen size foam from the Foam Factory (same outfit as foam by mail): 2" standard poly foam and 2" of HD36R foam. The price was right. I was impressed with the quality of the foam I received from the seller. I glued them together with contact adhesive. The composite mattress was quite firm, a little too firm. There was no way I would "bottom out" either sitting or laying on it. So I bought a cheap 2" convoluted foam topper and now I have a very comfortable, yet firm bed. If I were going to do it again, I would probably have ordered a 2" viscosoft memory foam pad and add it to the top of the poly foam/HD36R composite. That would be the bomb.... (Interestingly, foam by mail and foam factory often have different pricing for the same foam pieces, even though it all comes from the same warehouse. Check around among their various sites.)

As far as plywood bed decking, I used 3/8 exterior plywood (I already had it) and it is really not strong enough. Should have used 1/2". I have my bed platform supported with a cross brace about every 2' or so. on the other hand, the panels are a lot easier/lighter to handle.

[Rustic313]

Hopefully the camping pad base layer they send you is FAR better than the one I got. I also ordered it expecting something like the stiff blue foam sold for camping. It is nothing of the sort. It's more like a layer of plastic with some cheap open cell foam stuck to it. I was tempted to return it but it was so cheap it wasn't worth it. I guess it really just depends on what type of foam it was the outer layer for.

I hope you get a better product but the the puzzle mats were a SIGNIFICANT upgrade from the camping mat from foambymail. However, I haven't built my bed frame yet so I do use the camping pad under my mattress to keep it clean.

I've ordered puzzle mats for the floor, too... They will do double duty until my bed frame is built as well!

As far as plywood bed decking, I used 3/8 exterior plywood (I already had it) and it is really not strong enough. Should have used 1/2". I have my bed platform supported with a cross brace about every 2' or so. on the other hand, the panels are a lot easier/lighter to handle.

1/2" ply would be ~50 lbs... add some bracing, throw a mattress with bedding on there and it will be 100 lbs.

I'm envisioning something like this (http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/2464/ctbuild6.jpg) or this (viewtopic.php?f=42&t=43778) fold-down system... I wonder if there's some way to get by with thinner ply reinforced with another material. Maybe a metal frame would help.

[roadinspector]

I looked at going that route but a dinette conversion gave me more than enough reasons to go that way. I was able to have a queen size bed across the CT and have more space for the rest of the CT. Plus I was able to put the bed at a good heigth, which can be a problem when folding a bed up to a wall with a low ceiling. It still folds back to open up for the ramp. When bad weather hits I can have a dinette to eat and play games on. It took some work to build but, for me it was worth the effort for the gain in my situation. Not trying to shoot down your idea, just throwing options at you.

Good luck with your build.
Earnest

[Rustic313]

I looked at going that route but a dinette conversion gave me more than enough reasons to go that way. I was able to have a queen size bed across the CT and have more space for the rest of the CT. Plus I was able to put the bed at a good heigth, which can be a problem when folding a bed up to a wall with a low ceiling. It still folds back to open up for the ramp. When bad weather hits I can have a dinette to eat and play games on. It took some work to build but, for me it was worth the effort for the gain in my situation. Not trying to shoot down your idea, just throwing options at you.

Good luck with your build.
Earnest

I checked out your thread and it is looking good thus far! I considered a dinette sort of option but I only have a 6x12. I need to preserve space for cargo and possibly a bike in the future so the fold-up seemed like the way to go there... It will keep about 5' wide of floor space available. It lets me get the bed up and out of the way. Also, my wife vetoed anything with seams in the mattress (like between a cushion and the mattress proper).

[roadinspector]

I checked out your thread and it is looking good thus far! I considered a dinette sort of option but I only have a 6x12. I need to preserve space for cargo and possibly a bike in the future so the fold-up seemed like the way to go there... It will keep about 5' wide of floor space available. It lets me get the bed up and out of the way. Also, my wife vetoed anything with seams in the mattress (like between a cushion and the mattress proper).

Yep I can see how you don't have room for that with a 6x. Sorry I must have missed that. The wife's veto is the best reason to do anything!! ( psst: don't tell the wife but foambymail sells pads that make those seams disappear. Or I'm hoping it does. I got them when I ordered my foam. I'll let you know how they work when we get back from vacation in October.)

Earnest

[beccae]

The fold down bed is exactly what I want but I want to mount my husbands tv on the underneath!! He doesn't watch tv in bed.I am so glad I can show him what I want,if he see's it ,he understands it.