Memory foam

[VickiC]

I purchased egg crate foam last year for the dinette/bed. It just wasent comfortable enough for me. I would like to get some memory foam and i'm also thinking of placing a board (possibly one that will fold and store easily)under the mattress and over the seat cushions, to help smooth out the bumps. Any thoughts on a more comfortable nights sleep.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Any thoughts on a more comfortable nights sleep.

A bottle of red wine.

[Donna D.]

Well, along with Bryon's suggestion....I purchased a 4" King Size piece of memory foam from Overstock.com and used an electric knife to cut to shape and size. Ended up with a big enough piece to give my daughter a twin bed size too.

I place the memory foam over the top of the regular cushions ...very comfortable.

Overstock.com right now, shipping is only $2.95

[Ron N]

I currently sleep on a Tempur-pedic mattress at home so I'm used to what a quality memory foam feels like. I get a great night's sleep on it versus a standard mattress. To check out the cushions in my new-to-me eleven year old trailer, I thought I'd sleep a night in it while it was parked in the driveway. Two hours later I was back in the house after tossing and turning for two hours. I then decided to get a quality memory foam mattress topper. After searching the internet for several hours and reading reviews on various companies and materials, I decided on a 3" thick, 5 pound material, "Sensus" (made by Foamex) mattress topper through SleepWarehouse (Salt Lake City). Cost for a twin size, $199.00 plus $24.95 for the cover. There are MANY options out there for memory foam. 2", 3", 4", thick; 2 lb., 3lb., 5 lb., and 5.3 lb. material. Rule of thumb is the thicker the topper, the heavier the weight of the foam, the more expensive the topper. Tempur-pedic uses 5.3 lb. foam so I know what that feels like. That's why I chose the 5 lb. material from Foamex. I did receive the topper yesterday but I haven't tried it out yet. When placed over the existing cushions, it should be a pretty nice set-up!!

[Donald Stahl]

Vicki,
Like you, we first tried the egg crate foam and wasn't satisfied with it. We bought a two inch memory foam which, after being cut to the right shape, fit nicely in the linen bag which came with it. This we placed on top of the two inch egg crate foam. That did the trick.

Since memory foam is much heavier, did not want to add the extra weight of a four incher m.f. to the trailer. The memory foam is not conducive to folding and stashing somewhere else, so we leave the bed in place permanently.

[Normand Choiniere]

I just changed my 4 old foam cushions and tested the new ones for 3 weeks. Very comfortable. This is the recipe that works for a 265 and a 125 pounders. Beware that there are many type of memory foam and the "receipe" is of prime importance. A full 4 inches memory foam is not comfortable, you need some kind of more rigid base. This is probably one of the best "recipe" within the 4 inches limit.

A 1 inch sandwich of high density memory foam (blue-visco-elastic) and 3 inches of high density polyurethane foam. I got it made and cut from Canada's largest foam manufacturer Domfoam located in Montreal. The four pieces costed around 200 CDN$ or 160 US$. They are manufacturers and not resalers. You get a finished piece or sandwich of foam at a very good price, period. Nothing more.

[Lance MacArthur]

We coverted the original dinette/bed in the Boler to full-time bed. Am using 3" medium density foam with a 2 1/2" memory foam topper. VERY comfortable. It beats our home bed, which I may convert to memory foam at some point.

Check the quality of what you buy. Not all foam is the same.

[Al and Cindy K]

Hi VickiC,

We had a local company, Southern Mattress, custom make one for our 02 16' Scamp and its proven to be one of our better mods (if you don't mind having the bed permanently setup). A number of Casita owners across the country have used these folks and, I think, a couple of other Scampers. For more consumer info, go to the casitaclub.com website where I think you'll find an 800 number and input from a number of people who've purchased from Southern. Local number is (252) 446-1101.

This company is in Rocky Mount, NC just off I-95 about fortyfive miles south of the VA line. If you work anything out with them, they may still have the template used to make my mattress. If they don't, I'll be glad to stop by there with my trailer and let them take the measurements again. Good luck.

Al

[Ron N]

Al and Cindy,

Although it was very pleasant talking on the phone with Southern mattress, botton line to have a mattress made and shipped to my home in Oregon would have been $600. They recently have had a price increase. I too have read all the wonderful things that people have said about doing business with them and their wonderful product however... $600 was more than I wanted to pay so I went the QUALITY memory foam topper route.

[Al and Cindy K]

$600 - WOW!! Can't say that I blame ya, Ron. That's considerably more than I'd want to invest. I'd heard they had a price increase but didn't think it was that significant.

If, however, cross country shipping costs were a major factor in the price, that could be a good thing for VickiC as she'd have an excuse for a southern roadtrip.


Al

[Benny K]

Howdy, has anyone here done any research on the life span of the memory foam before it starts to lose it`s elasticity.....I ask because I caught an ad on the TV of a competitor's bed matt without a memory foam and they mentioned that the memory foam starts to lose it`s characteristics at about 2 1/2 years.....mind you I don`t know at what rate it`s supposed to break down!... Benny

[Ron N]

Benny,

That's why a person should, if they want to spend the money, buy a QUALITY memory foam. The most expensive memory foam I know about is Tempur-pedic. My queen set cost $2200.00. For me, it is worth it considering the great night's sleep I get with my lower back problems from time to time. Tempur-pedic uses a 5.3 pound foam which, I believe, is the firmest in the industry. It's warranty is for 10 years against degredation of firmness and another 10 years against cracking. That is why I bought the 5 pound material, 3" thick from a reputable manufacturer (Foamex). This topper, when placed on my eleven year old Bigfoot cushions, feels pretty good.

As far as Southern Mattress is concerned, the shipping did add over $100 to the price plus they felt that at my weight, 235 pounds, the combination of bedding materials would have to be a certain combination that may not be necessary for someone who doesn't weigh as much as me. They have very high ratings on the Casita Club website.

[John & Sandy M]

Howdy, has anyone here done any research on the life span of the memory foam before it starts to lose it`s elasticity.....I ask because I caught an ad on the TV of a competitor's bed matt without a memory foam and they mentioned that the memory foam starts to lose it`s characteristics at about 2 1/2 years.....mind you I don`t know at what rate it`s supposed to break down!... Benny

2.5 yrs would be a bit over 900 nights sleeping on the foam. That's a lot of camping. My wife and I bought a 1 1/2" topper at Walmart (sale $58) and made a slip cover from a king sized flat sheet. This has worked well for us but we're not very tall or heavy. Can't feel the cushion seams under the topper and we sleep well. After 1000 days camping I can prob. justify a replacement.

[Donna D.]

A number of things "age" based on time, not use. Tires for one, and perhaps memory foam for an other. I purchased reasonable quality memory foam from Overstock.com. It's only been in the trailer for about five months and slept on a couple of weekends. Since I'm not a full-timer (YET), I didn't want to make a huge investment that was going to go bad after a few years anyway just based upon time.

Is this one of those things that only time will tell

As an FYI for those considering memory foam. I've found it to be extremely warm to sleep on. Which is good for spring/winter/fall, but I think I'm going to be uncomfortable this summer in the heat. My daughter has the twin bed size and has been able to take a couple of blankets off her bed this winter....that tells me something. And yes, there is a quality mattress pad between the memory foam and the sheet.

Another one of those things that only time will tell

[Benny K]

The ad didn`t mention the usage amount but since it was for a home mattress ad then it would be high usage aas opposed to camping.....With the Tempur-pedic warranty, it seems to blow a hole in the mattress ad that I saw.....just curious if anyone else came across the same ad.....doesn`t matter anyway.....Should have considered the Tempur-pedic for home at the last mattress change....Benny

[Bill MacDermod]

Southern mattress sells 2 styles of mattress, one is the 4" thick which in reality comes out to 7" thick and the other is their 5" thick which is considerably thicker and more pricey. We picked ours up in Rky Mnt on our way to Richmond and saved the shipping which I realize some cannot do, we bought the 4" that they had in stock before the prices went up and are thrilled with it. Many buy the thicker one without really knowing whether they need it ir not. I weigh in at just shy of 200 lbs and momma is a shy 125 so we felt like the 4" would serve us well. they do use the finest in materials so I don't believe that would be an issue If your planning an east coast trip in the near future give them a call a couple of days ahead and see what they can do for you. They are ideal if you leave your bed setup full time

[Rick B]

I bought a memory foam mattress from Costco in Astoria, Oregon was passing through last spring. It was about $100 for a twin size. I recently bought a memory foram pillow from Costco in Kamloops, British Columbia, same manufacturer. While not in the trailer, I bring it inside the house for the winter for guests - however, they find it so comfortable, they tend to linger

Rick B

[Penny Taylor]

I have bought 3 bedsize thick foam toppers from Mrs. Foam on eBay, for about $50 a piece. They are seconds, but you wouldn't know it. Then I also bought thick 2550 density foam to go under 2 of them, as that is the way that Temp-urpedic makes theirs. It has all worked out very well, and very comfortable.
As for the memory foam being hot to sleep on, I have had it on my mattress through this last Texas 100 deg. summer, and I didn't find it hot, but then I do have a quilted mattress pad on the foam and under the sheet.

[Jeanne and Steve]

For those of you living near a Bi-Mart, you may be interested to know that this week they have a sale on 1" thick memory foam toppers. A full size piece is $15. We tried one last night on a pull-out couch bed that had become horribly uncomfortable due to support wires pressing through the bed's padding, and had a great night sleep!

I'm sure the quality of this memory foam isn't as good as many of those mentioned previously, but at $15, it's hard to go wrong.

Jeanne

[Bill MacDermod]

I think the biggest complaint about the cushions and a memory topper was the juggling to make the bed. My wife and I slept fine on just the cusions and the folks we bought it from had an eggshell topper (which momma threw out in a hurry) and she had a heck of a time making it up. We also got fitted sheets with it when we bought it but she said it was a bear trying to get them on. Now we've got the mattress and no more complaints, when momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. Now we're happy campers