Casita Mattress Redux

[Shelley Latin]

Hi. Other than Southern, Magic Sleeper and taking an electric knife to the corners of a square mattress, has anyone found alternative sources for a Casita mattress? There are a few places like MattressInsider that claim to make any custom mattress but I haven’t checked out any of them yet. Hoping for some inside scoop here.
Thanks all. Wear a mask. Wash your hands.

[Civilguy]

Welcome to the forum.

We had a good experiencing ordering a mattress for our Casita 17D from MattressInsider. It was a quality foam mattress with three layers of different density as best I recall. It had good quality fabric cover and good workmanship.

I asked for a fabric hinge as I was worried about getting the mattress in and out of the trailer. We did regret that decision.

The hinge was well done, but it created a slightly weaker area that we had to stay away from, something which is not real easy to do on that small a bed.

You can muscle a mattress in and out of the trailer without a hinge. It may build character, but it can be done.

[patrick crawford]

i didn't want to have to wrestle a mattress in and out of my 16' casita so i retained the cushions that casita provided and added a 4" memory foam topper. i travel solo and the bed remains a bed all the time except when i need to work on the stuff under the bed. i sleep very comfortably on that arrangement.

p@

[Bob Penn]

Originally Posted by patrick crawford

i didn't want to have to wrestle a mattress in and out of my 16' casita so i retained the cushions that casita provided and added a 4" memory foam topper. i travel solo and the bed remains a bed all the time except when i need to work on the stuff under the bed. i sleep very comfortably on that arrangement.

p@

I went with the 3" memory foam option and also retained the Casita cushions. I, for the most part, have a good sleep on it. I have not used a memory foam mattress before. For me, it takes some getting accustomed to. I tend to move around a lot and I find myself fighting the mattress in an attempt to get out of the "hole" from my previous position.

Man handling the mattress is challenging at my age. Has anyone tried cutting the foam memory mattress into three sections to match the cushions for easier handling when needed. I believe a cloth hinge could be attached to the mattress to help keep it in place.

[Civilguy]

We hinged ours as shown. As stated, we didn't care for it, but other folks are fine sleeping on seat cushions with all their gaps, so it's clearly a matter of individual taste.

[Bob Penn]

Originally Posted by Civilguy

We hinged ours as shown. As stated, we didn't care for it, but other folks are fine sleeping on seat cushions with all their gaps, so it's clearly a matter of individual taste.

Thank you for your illustration. When you mentioned that the cracks were a problem, I suspected that you had made the split lengthwise. I am suggesting that dividing in thirds across the length (90 degrees from your illustration), you would be less likely to feel the division I am thinking (On occasion I do that). I am definitely no expert on the subject, but I would think that the memory foam would tend to stay connected.
If I cut mine as stated, I will provide a report as to how it worked. Good or bad.

[Shelley Latin]

Thanks everyone for your input. I don’t plan on having the fold since the bed will be in permanently and there’s no problem reaching underneath with the Casita SD. And I really didn’t want to “make” my own. I’m no longer a DYI’er. Safe travels everyone.

[georgiagary]

When we bought the Casita the prior owners had a foam mattress. It was fine but we need the space. The toppers are not comfortable and of course there's making the bed every morning.....has anyone tried an inflatable air mattress?

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by georgiagary

...has anyone tried an inflatable air mattress?

Naturally, everyone's taste and comfort varies...

We use a couple of inflatable mattresses around the house for guest beds and they are tolerably comfortable. However, they are bulky even when deflated. As they are about ten inches tall and hold a lot of air, it's nice to use the built-in 120 VAC electric pump.

There are other pads about six inches tall with 12 VDC pumps marketed for camping which other members of the family use for tent camping. I hear they are tolerably comfortable too.

Both of these these regular-style air mattresses tend to sleep cold as the air takes on the surrounding temperature.

We also used a pair of Alps Mountaineering self-inflating pads for tent camping and in our teardrop trailer some years back. They are about two inches thick and we were quite impressed by how comfortable they were. The current model is now sold as the Flexcore Double, a pair of pads which connect with Velcro to form a 47" x 75" pad.

From my 2014 Amazon review, "they are indeed a booger to roll up":

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QCJVT4

Just like everyone has said in the fulsome reviews on this site... They provide a great nights sleep. My wife was planning on using several supplemental layers of padding including an extra heavy sleeping bag but realized that these were fine without the additional padding. Though relatively thin, they are firm enough to keep you from bottoming out on the ground. You can add a little air to puff them up a bit firmer if you like. And they are indeed a booger to roll up. We store them unrolled so they won't become permanently compressed.

It looks as though the newer Flexcore model does not have as high a review rating on Amazon as our older pads did, so that's another thing to consider. It looks like there are now a number of higher-rated self-inflating pads from other brands, so maybe this idea will help you find something that works for you.