need opinions on best matteress

[Tom Y]

Hey everyone,
Been a while since I have posted, but I am almost done with the complete restoration of a 86 Bigfoot 5th wheel. I need help determining which mattress we should put back into the overhead, it came with a "short queen" innerspring mattress, and I am thinking of a "memory foam" mattress instead, and am looking for opinions, pros and cons of the memory foam mattress.
Also, the mattress store nearby says I should not bend a innerspring mattress to install it and there is no way to get the mattress in place without bending it quite bit. They void the warranty if damaged by bending to install it.
I am also about to post many photos of the rebuild, and will make a album when I get to it.
Thanks in advance for your help...
Tom Y
86 Bigfoot TF20

[Alf S.]

Hi: Tom Y... We use an 8" thick 60X80 Memo foam and find it great. So much so that we bought a Temper-Pedic to use at home also... and take our pillows with us camping. I have turned the mattress end to end and it is quite a chore in the space provided!!!
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[rabbit]

There are memory foam mattresses and memory foam pads with muslin covers. A simple 3 or 4" memory pad wil bend easily. Many come in a compressed roll. Can easily be trimmed to size and shape of space available. Questions are beginning to surface about out gassing of toxins and allergins. I think more rather than less information before purchasing is advisable. We have a sub-200$ pad in our trailer. It is comfortable. The jury is not in on long-term health consequences. I would not buy an expensive mattress incorporating memory foam at this time.

jack

[rgrugg]

We have had a TempurPedic at home for 3 years now and NEVER have had so much comfort. We both have quite bad backs, with both having had fractures along with arthritis. Based on this we bought a memory foam mattress at Walmart for our EggCamper. Very comfy but not quite up to the TempurPedic but nowhere near the cost, either. We also have low cost memory foam pillows for both home and away. The TempurPedic was $2600 and the Walmart one was just a bit over $100. FWIW

[Donna D.]

Then too, there is memory foam and then there is memory foam. Some of it gets as hard as a brick when it gets cold and feels like you're laying on a hotwater bottle when the outside temperature is warm. Wide extremes. Read all information available on any given product.

[Rzrbrn]

Not sure about a Big Foot, but Southern Mattress makes a memory foam mattress for the Casita, perhaps they may for the Big Foot.

We have a about 9" of memory foam over an inner spring, a hybrid, not sure exactly what it is called, pillow top maybe? I just lay down on it in the store and that was that. You will not regret it, but they do sleep warm.

Years ago I owned a heated water bed, and I swear that it messed up how my body generated heat. The memory foam did so also, but much less. On the other hand it could be that I am growing old...naw that ain't it....

[Tom Y]

Thank you all for the advice, still have not made up our minds yet, I sure would like to try a memory foam or hybrid memory foam mattress, the heat retention may be a problem for us though.
I find innerspring mattresses that are being sold vacuum packed in a fairly small box, online. Can't imagine how that would work, so has anyone ever bought one or had any experiences with those?
Tom Y

[rgrugg]

We have never experienced the heat issue mentioned by several posters. Not with our Tempur Pedic nor with the one we got at Walmart.

[Jim Bennett]

The only experience I have had with memory foam in a trailer is not that great. When the temperature gets near freezing inside, it was like laying on a brick, and every time I rolled over, I had to heat that spot with my body to get it to soften. By morning it was not as bad, as it held the heat we generated under the blankets.

This was nearly 10 years ago. Could it be there are better memory foams?

We are sleeping on the stock 5" foam mattress that came with our trailer right now, and it is quite comfy. Being foam though, I know it will slowly break down and loose its 'bounce'. After 4 years we already seem to notice we sink in a bit more.

A bit of an aside, for those with back issues, or arthritis, I would highly recommend trying out some hot yoga for a while, going at your own pace. It has improved my mobility, and eased some back issues, a whole lot. I know lots of others that say the same. I am nearing 2 years of going 2-4 times a week. Even my mother who is near 80, has started to do a yoga class (not hot though) and is getting good benefit from it. Never too late to start, I just wish I had started when I was much younger.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Tom Y

Also, the mattress store nearby says I should not bend a innerspring mattress to install it and there is no way to get the mattress in place without bending it quite bit. They void the warranty if damaged by bending to install it.

We just bought a mattress for the house, and the store manager's explanation of this was that innerspring mattresses traditionally had an edge reinforcement wire, which would get kinked if the mattress was bent, ruining at least the edge of the mattress. At least some current designs do not have this wire (ours doesn't), and so can be bent substantially (but still not kinked too sharply) to get them where they need to go. Don't sit for long on the edge of a mattress without this reinforcement, since it is hard on the mattress.

I suggest looking at other brands or model of innerspring mattress, if interested in that option.

We also had a Queen size mattress put in our larger trailer, which would have required substantial bending... but it is all-foam, and was not a problem.

[ThomasE]

Do you have an Ikea nearby? They carry lots of different foam mattresses of varying firmness. I use one in the trailer and it's very comfortable. More so than what used for about a year, which was a 3" memory foam topper on top of stock trailer cushions.

[dylemma]

We bought a natural latex foam mattress from Ikea we bought a kingsize and cut it down so it fit the bed and the bottom bunk bed or couch in our case as we dont use the bunk beds. We got it in the as is section so it was quite reasonable. You should google natural latex it is an excellent choice for camping.

[Darwin Maring]

We put a memory foam topper on top of the cheep mattress that came with the camper and it is great.

[LindaK]

Here's what we have in our Escape 19ft. We like it so much that we have decided we will buy one of these for our bed at home the next time we need a mattress! It didn't have any odor and reasonably priced/free shipping on Amazon.

[Tom Y]

I sure thank everyone for ideas on mattresses. Were going to try a Icoil innerspring mattress for now, as Walmart has them on sale with free freight for 189.00
Get the Slumber Mattress In a Box, 1 - 8'' at an always low price from Walmart.com. Save money. Live better.
It has no perimeter wire, so can bend in and out of the overhead area without damage, and we can return it if we don't like it.
I do want to try a memory foam mattress, but until we get some sleep time on one, this will do.
Tom Y

[ruscal]

Natural latex is the best sleep I ever experienced. It has great resilience, coolness, and longevity. Drawbacks are expense, weight, and some may have allergies to latex. I got 35 years out of one! Slept like heaven.
I replaced my scamp cushions recently with 4" thick standard foam medium density. They are OK, but 5" would have been better in hind sight, since I had new upholstery made as well. The standard upholstery foam is light weight and has lower flame spread than latex foam, so good for RV use. Just opt for 5" if you are making new covers.
Russ

[web3221]

tempur-pedic there is no equal, closest is pure latex imo i, have owned both and they are about equal. i have tempur-pedic queen never owned better mattress period ( lady passed in my nighborhood bought a complete unit queen and adjustabel with vibration that was almost 4000 dollars for 800 dollars could not pass it up) i have seen used temperputic mattresses queen for 250 to 600 dollars, and worth every penny, just do thorough inspection get all linens sheets and pads covers etc... included. they are there if you do a bit of research, if you want the best you must spend the dollars - i had major lower back probs, 3 days slepping never a problem since and the mattress will last longer than i will live - no knock offs please - now how will i get the adjustable and vibrating base in the trailer - we will see or i will keep it in my base camp home in the rockies in the future

[hotfishtacos]

My wife and I used to sleep on a Tempur-Pedic mattress and have had the most comfortable sleep on it. We don't like the queen mattress that came with the Escape 19 so we just installed a new memory foam mattress tonight into the trailer and it is amazing for the price: $379US. 12" Thick and very soft and luxurious. This is the info:

Amazon.com: LUCID by LinenSpa 12" Memory Foam Triple-Layer Plush Viscoelastic Mattress 20-Year Warranty - Bamboo Cover, Queen: Home & Kitchen

[rgrugg]

We've had our TempurPedic (at home) for 3 years and love it. T.P. has a 20 year warranty and free replacement for the first 10 years. Of course, for free replacement, something has to be wrong with it.

[DENNIS ARCHER]

You can order regular mattress foam in any size from www.foambymail.com. I used their products until I purchased a mattress from Southern Mattress in Rocky Mount, NC. They make products designed for both Casita and Scamp.