Comfort of a RTT mattress!

[Lemsteraak]

Don't forget that weight is a variable. It is another compromise, tents are pretty light, mattresses not so light.

Just for exercise, take out your mattress and weigh it, I think you will be surprised. I'll take the mattress out before I lift the tent off my car, makes a really big difference, lowers the noise level coming from the other side of the tent.

Mike's point about bulking up in winter is good, I've found that my old bones need a little more cushion when temperatures drop.

 

[clcoyle]

Lots of good info here

 

[xcmountain80]

There is significant variability between the materials and designs employed by several manufacturers. Additionally, the user's physique and sleeping position will be a factor in comfort.

There are several solutions.

Memory foam is Ok for warm climates, but it will become very hard when cold.

Replacing the factory supplied mattress with a thicker inflatable mattress is Ok for warm weather - but it is a very poor insulator in cold weather.

A pure latex foam topper about an inch thick will make a huge difference but the $$ are a consideration for some.

A sheepskin mattress top pad adds great comfort, warmth and improves air circulation - making sound sleep possible.

My personal favorite is a feather bed mattress topper, which has similar benefits to the sheepskin topper. I almost always use sheets and down comforter instead of a sleeping bag in my tent. This makes sleeping MUCH more comfortable.

Ahh these are great idea............I have a trip planned in a month with a new trailer mounted tent and this will make it that much better.

Aaron

 

[Corey]

Mike, Rich, I have a question for you guy's.
I do not know why I did not think about adding one of these earlier, but since I will be opening up my tent weather permitting next weekend to repair a small rip in the skeeter netting, and see if that LED light fits in good, I may want to add a mattress pad.

This is similar to what I use at home underneath my sheets.
Pike Street Overfilled Ultra Soft Microplush Mattress Pad

They come in different sizes, and the link takes you to the full size one which is the same size of the fitted flannel sheet set I have for the medium Airlander which are a perfect fit.

What do you think of this?
The reviews look great for it.

Only two concerns, and that is it might be to big since it can go over a much thicker home mattress, and it might add to much height for the top to come down.
Not sure on the latter, there still may be plenty of room to shut the lid.

Thanks...

 

[Ridge638]

We use a 3" memory foam mattress. We had trouble closing the tent with it in there. I tried cutting it in half so it would fold better but that still didnt work. Ended up leaving 1/2 inside the tent and the other half on top of the closed tent but inside of the cover. Works fine that way. The mattress sure makes a difference and we just use regular sheets and a Down comforter.

 

[Mike S]

Mike, Rich, I have a question for you guy's.
I do not know why I did not think about adding one of these earlier, but since I will be opening up my tent weather permitting next weekend to repair a small rip in the skeeter netting, and see if that LED light fits in good, I may want to add a mattress pad.

This is similar to what I use at home underneath my sheets.
Pike Street Overfilled Ultra Soft Microplush Mattress Pad

They come in different sizes, and the link takes you to the full size one which is the same size of the fitted flannel sheet set I have for the medium Airlander which are a perfect fit.

What do you think of this?
The reviews look great for it.

Only two concerns, and that is it might be to big since it can go over a much thicker home mattress, and it might add to much height for the top to come down.
Not sure on the latter, there still may be plenty of room to shut the lid.

Thanks...

Corey - this looks like a "hypoallergenic" version of a feather bed. A good idea, but with your AirLand it may not crush down quite enough -- I don't know for sure. Worth a shot at that price. I believe in maximum comfort possible after a day out walking, photo taking, fishing, bird hunting, whatever.

 

[montypower]

I have an ARB RTT and the included mattress is horrible! You might as well sleep on the ground. Camping last weekend I removed the crap foam pad and replaced it with a memory foam mattress topper inserted into the mattress cover then put an air mattress underneath. This was comfy but... It ruins the advantage of the roof tent. Inflating / Deflating the mattress takes time. The other issue was the memory foam absorbs moisture! I had to remove the foam and dry it afterwards. At this point I'm thinking a ground tent is less hassle.

I'm still searching for a good solution. Quick setup / take down is important... And I don't want to deal with drying the mattress afterwards.

 

[xcmountain80]

We have a Campinglab Serengeti Trailer tent and it is wonderful ( I didn't think it would be but I don't toss and turn, do wake up well rested well as long as my dog isn't up all night barking at bears). Never had a stock mattress in the Hannibal just made our own and it was hit or miss for comfort.

A

 

[ETAV8R]

Lots of great information here. I have recently found that in the flippac when changing position I develop aches/pains here and there. I would love to get a thicker, firmer, mattress in the future.

 

[sixbennetts]

With a FlipPac, if you just moved the hammock mount brackets down a little, wouldn't you be able to use a thicker mattress?

 

[Enigma]

The used Chinese knockoff one I bought off of CL came with one of those eggshell foamies for some extra plushness, it's quite comfy with that on.

 

[JKJenn]

I used the Cabela's Ultimate sleeping pad on top of my standard ARB RTT last weekend - very comfortable, but...I have to deflate and roll up the sleeping pad when I am done, that is going to be a real pain. Next time I will try it without the RTT mattress and just the sleeping pad.

If anyone has any tricks for making the sleeping pad deflate/roll up process quicker and easier, I would love to hear them.

 

[xpdishn]

What great timing on the rebirth of this thread. We just returned from 5 days in Utah during whick we had an ongoing discussion about this very topic. Sore shoulders, hips and arms do not make for a good nights sleep. We had already tried the memory foam idea, but the tent wouldn't close, so that was out. $$$ down the drain on that one.
We have two air mattresses that came with a REI double sleeping bag we are going to try. But with all of the great ideas, I now know there is light at the end of this tunnel. Thanks all for the great ideas.
We also went to regular sheets with a down sleeping bag on top and that really helped with staying asleep.

 

[cnynrat]

I used the Cabela's Ultimate sleeping pad on top of my standard ARB RTT last weekend - very comfortable, but...I have to deflate and roll up the sleeping pad when I am done, that is going to be a real pain. Next time I will try it without the RTT mattress and just the sleeping pad.

If anyone has any tricks for making the sleeping pad deflate/roll up process quicker and easier, I would love to hear them.

Not sure there are any magic answers. We use Thermarest 2" thick pads under the mattress in our Eezi-Awn. When setting up the tent we open the valves up and let them sit on top of the mattress for a while to self-inflate. A few puffs of air to top them off is all that is usually needed, and then we slide them under the mattress. When breaking camp we find that a full deflation isn't really necessary, so we just quickly roll them up with the valve open, close up the valve, and fold them in half on top of the mattress. We are able to close the tent that way with no trouble. We don't usually carry our bedding up there, but we have done that on one long trip when the trailer was full. We were able to close the tent, but it was more difficult than usual.

Mario (of Adv Trailers) had suggested we think about the Nemo mattresses they use in the Habitat. IIRC, these are like an air mattress with some down filling to provide insulation. They inflate quickly with a pump built into the mattess, and have a large valve you open to deflate them - no roll up really required as I understand it. We tried them in a Habitat, and they are comfortable. As I recall the widths available weren't really a good fit for our tent, so we never pulled the trigger on that idea.

 

[spressomon]

I've had at least a dozen different sleeping pad/pad systems for camping and backpacking over the years and all kept me wanting for more comfort...especially as I've gotten older. The Exped DAM 9 was my go to pad as I entered middle-agedom ...that is until hoser turned me on to the Exped MegaMat 10 6-months ago! I purchased one of these mats earlier this year to use in my Land Cruiser upon hoser's recommendation and after nearly 3-weeks of camping this spring this is my new benchmark for a portable sleeping pad! Its that good!

I'm an all sides sleeper and this is the very first portable sleeping pad that doesn't force me to sleep on my back when my sides are calling I can sleep on my side without comprise of comfort...all night long if I want to. It never feels like an air mattress. Exped got the foam right and they also designed it with straight/vertical sides for maximum comfort.

I have a new Columbus ordered from Mike and the Exped MegaMat 10 will be going into it sans what the too firm foam pad they come with...

For those of you that are searching for the best portable style sleeping pad and find its width and length suitable for your RTT/application I highly recommend it! That said it is too bulky and too heavy for backpacking...but anything 4 wheel camping related is fine. I even slept on it several nights at my Mom & Dad's house for a family visit a few weeks ago...

For those wondering: I don't sell them nor do I have anything to gain from the positive words about this product. However those that know me know I'm ultra critical about the gear I buy and use.

http://www.expedlife.com/2011/01/exped-megamat-10-new-for-spring-2011.html