What kind of mattress?

[Lucky53s]

Wasn't sure where to put this so I'll put it here and it can be moved if necessary (hopefully someone will tell me where it goes though!)

I haven't seen anyone talk about the type of mattress they put in their TD. Does everyone pretty much use a blowup mattress? Or do you have to build with the mattress inside (haven't seen that anywhere)? I was thinking of making the galley wall somewhat movable to get a decent mattress in there after assembly but that could conflict with lots of wiring, plumbing, cabinets, etc. I can't imagine that you can get a mattress in through the door....

Seeing that sleeping and staying dry is about all you do inside I want to make sure that the sleeping part is comfortable. I broke my back 10 years ago and need a good mattress. My wife won't go in it if she's got to be on air. So, what is the answer? I'm sure there is one, just haven't seen it addressed directly.

[bobhenry]

Just before I pulled down the roof on Chubby I slipped in a queen size pillow top Serta and I have never regretted it for one minute.

I have foam in the barn and also in Rip van winkle and fight with them. I have added layers and egg crate material and finally buried it under a heavy futon and that made it almost 1/2 as comfortable as the pillow top in the big teardrop.

If you are worried about getting it stained or dirty during final building heavy moving plastic bags are available to protect it.



If you look close you will see the lexan roof poking out in front. This is where the mattress was inserted just before closing down the roof.

[Lucky53s]

Thanks Bob.

I can see that the mattress will have to be in the plan from day 1. I have some ideas about possibly doing a temporary mount of the wall between the galley and living space so I can assemble the shell, remove or displace the wall to slide the mattress in, then replace the wall. That will all depend on the design, which I have not settled on yet. The heavy plastic will be essential during the finishing process. Because I am inexperienced at this level of build I would rather not be building with the mattress installed if possible. I could plan my headboard/front cabinet design around the idea of slipping in a mattress like you did. But I saw one TD with an AC box up there (nicknamed The Wart) and thought that was a good place for it. That may interfere with sliding in the mattress that way.

All stuff to think about. In my head, I'd start tomorrow. In reality, I am probably 6 months of planning away from being in a good place to start.

[DMcCam]

Hi Lucky53s,

We went with a 5" custom made full extra long foam mattress (queen length, full width). It's 3" of standard mattress foam topped with 2" of memory foam. We just bent it in half and shoved it through the door after we completed the build. You can also roll them up to fit through your door. We sleep just like home.

All the Best,

Dave

[Lucky53s]

Thanks Dave. I wasn't sure anything would fit through the door like that. I can see where custom size would have it's appeal. We are both under 6 feet and don't need to waste floor space if we don't need to.

[David S]

6in queen size memory foam from Wally world.
It came in a bag with air vacumed out,it was about the size of a sleeping bag.
put it in and cut the bag open.
I have taken it out once by rolling it as tight as I could and squeezed it out the door.

[AlgoDan]

Here we went with a custom made pillow top spring mattress. We tried different variations of foams, but this was as close to home as you can get. I also have a pass through under the galley that the mattress slides through to the cabin.

[Lucky53s]

Thanks David and Dan. Has anyone done a sleep number? I have one at home and it's basically a glorified air mattress. It will run in 110 which I will have. They hold air great and can go months without refilling.

[Redgloves]

Lucky53,

Air mattresses are cold when the air and ground are cold. Was the worse night of sleep I have experienced in a teardrop. First teardrop I purchased did not have a mattress, so used an air mattress. Tough learning experience.

Memory foam will freeze solid in the winter. So if you plan on winter camping, seek other ideas. Latex will not freeze, which I learned from the local mattress factory.
I have a latex layer over the Camp Inn mattress in my teardrop.

From my experience, any mattress, commercial made home mattress or camping mattress will bend like a taco to place or remove from teardrop. Plan on removing the mattress in the future for cleaning, drying, or what ever maintenance needs to be performed on the teardrop.

[Lucky53s]

Red: You have to deal with some issues that we don't have down here in sunny Florida. I'm not even putting a heater in mine. If I need one I have a tiny electrical heater that plugs into 110v plug.

I'm thinking that ratchet straps can be used to assist in taco-ing a mattress. Then it's mostly patience to get it worked through the hole. Always good to hear of others experiences to guide me in the right direction.

Thanks for the input.