Mattress Pad -

[Sarge]

I've got a Hunter trailer and I purchased the foam mattress from Hunter which has worked fine for the past 4 camping trips, but in my never ending quest to spend money I purchased this from Costco: http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?prodid=10042022&whse=&topnav=&cat=&s=1

What an improvement! I always thought that I was a hard mattress guy, but the older I get the more I appreciate a little cushioning. This mattress topper is great.

OK...foam is suppose to retain heat and I haven't tested this out on a hot humid night so I don't know how much I would like it under those circumstances. BTW, I have a queen sized sleeping bag that I sleep in so I don't sleep directly against the pad.

Food for thought for those of you wondering what you're going to do for a mattress.

Later,

-Sarge

[Arne]

Sarge, I spent big bucks for a mattress at home. In the tear, I have a 6" knox med foam mattress with a 2" topper and it is better than the big buck job...

If I had it to do over, I'd use the same set up at home as I have in the tear.... very comfortable. The foam gives support, and the topper fine-tunes the fit.....

[Juli n Bill]

Overstock.com has pretty good deals on the memory foam toppers. We boughtt the 3 in. for our teardrop, and shipping was only $2.99 I'm going for "more comfortable than home" for our Teardrop mattress.

[Michael W]

We also bought a 2 inch thick memory foam topper from Overstock.com.



This sits on top of a full-sized futon mattress. This combination acheives the "better than home goal". One disadvantage of the memory foam, however, is that it is heavy. If you are going after a lightweight version, go for a feather duvet.

[Guest]

Hey Sarge,
I see that this item comes with a cover...
How difficult would it be to roll and stow this product?
Reason why I ask...
I'm going with four sections to compose a 60" x 80" mattress.
These four sections also make the two benches for the dinette.
My original plan was to buy my four sections in Medium Grade A Knox Foam.
If this item roles and stows somewhat easily... I'll go with a bit firmer grade of sectional foam, which should work better while used as a bench.

[Sarge]

Dean,

As Michael W mentioned, this type of foam is quite heavy and IMHO not so easy to move around. Also, once it is inflated (it comes sealed with all the air removed) it is bulky. It's 2.5 inches thick when inflated. I don't think I would want to be rolling this topper up every morning.

-Sarge

[pgwilli]

Hey Sarge,
Norma and I use the same mattress topper, but she sewed a fitted sheet for it so its easier to wash. It is super comfortable even on warm nights.

Dean,
We roll the topper up when we travel so we can load our easy-up awning and any other big items in the cabin. It isn't too bad to roll, but it doesn't exactly get small either - I'd say about 16-18" diameter x 59"

[campadk]

We have a Hunter too with the stock foam pads. They are pretty good, but for extended days camping its nice to have some extra padding on top. We have been using sleeping bags under a bed sheet which works pretty good, but the plan is to add a 'pillow top' which works well on our bed and show add some luxury to our tearsleep.

We've sleeped on a memory foam bed... once... it felt pretty wierd, especially if you moved around a bit. Just couldn't get used to it.

[Mark & Andrea Jones]

We bought a 6 in foam pad (60x80) from a fabric / upholstery store near us and put the pad inside of a queen-sized futon mattress cover (that we had around the house). It fit perfectly (the TD space AND the futon cover) and cost about $80 or so.



Andrea.

[Guest]

Hmmm...
I'm starting to get the feeling that this dinette thing is going to turn into something that only gets set up when needed, like when it's raining outside or I'm sick or something...
I'm just not picturing myself setting it up each morning and tearing it down before bedtime...

Thanks everyone for the input and for mentioning that the topper comes vacuum packed...

[kurtibm]

If you're willing to risk eBay, this guy seems to have GOBS of these toppers.
http://search.stores.ebay.com/search/search.dll?query=mattress+topper&srchdesc=y&sid=9950873&store=Bargainland-Liquidation&colorid=12&fp=0&st=2&fsoo=2&fsop=3&submit=Search

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Another interesting alternative.....
http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?page=proframe&prod_id=52996

If you DO use Overstock.com, use a coupon code for further savings
Samples here > http://www.allonlinecoupons.com/st/overstock/

Kurt

[exminnesotaboy]

I bought the same *exact* topper that Sarge did above for my tear. Because my tear isn't done yet, I put it on my own bed to try it out for a few nights - and I LOVE it. When we cut it down to fit the tear, i will be buying another for my home use

[Arne]

Dean, it does pay to plan what you want in a tear, then get realistic.... My plan was to build mine tall enough to carry my scooter inside.... which I did. Along the way in the build, I kept having this nagging feeling that my scooter would add over 400 pounds to the weight, that each night, no matter how tired or how late or what the weather, I would have to take the scooter out and set up the tear for 2 adults and one dog..... and if camping and traveling, I might be leaving the scooter out while we were being tourists for the day...

Bottom line, I wound up with my chop-the-top problem (tear now 6" taller than I want) and no scooter carrying capability.....

I also started with one small shelf which turned out to be very inadaquate and I now have 2 very wide shelves which are great....

So, plan well, and build better.....

[mikeschn]

I agree with the planning part. Plan well, and you may only have to build 1 teardrop.

Also, it helps to have all the parts on hand when you are building.

Mike...

[Guest]

Mike,
I didn't mean for that to sound like a knock against the dinette.
I do like the capability of having that for when I do out of town jobs.
It's just that I'm begining to see that you don't get the best of both worlds when you make a choice like this.
I bought that topper, slept on it last night and will probably buy another one for the teardrop unless I end up getting a king sized bed.
It is going to be a challenge to stow and will add a few steps to setting up and taking down.
One thing I see and it's not too late... I'm going to add about a half of an inch of extra floor space to make it easier to move the cushions and topper.
One thing you will probably be disappointed with me about... I'm considering nixing the Atwood furnace from the package unless I can figure out a different way to duct the register. I'm having width issues with the TV/DVD and the register, they want to take up the same space along the bulkhead. I've taken a good look at the furnace and there are two possible solutions...