I am creating a sleeping set-up for the back of a 2011 Toyota Rav4. I have calculated that I can fit a double bed if I design the platform correctly. While most car campers use a very thin mattress, I am opting to go thicker with a 6 inch, as I believe that will be a good balance between comfort, support, and preserving head room. I am a 6-1, 200 lbs, fairly lean with broad shoudlers, and prefer a medium-firm bed. I’m a side sleeper but I sleep at a bit of an angle with my shoulder kind of rolled forward tucked under my chin. With these things in mind, what are your thoughts on this configuration?:
-base layer: 4 inch of HD-36 HQ Foam (35 ILD) from Foam Factory
-comfort layer: 2 inch soft Dunlop topper (20 ILD) from SleepOnLatex
The bed will be on a flat piece of 3/4 plywood. Thanks for your thoughts!
Hello @DustinP ,
How did the car camping bed go?
I also have a 2011 Rav4 that I’m beginning work on a bed platform.
Did the 6 inches end up being worth it? I also like the idea of a thicker mattress than they sell (hest dually mattresses, etc.) Did it work well with the Rav head space?
I’m roadtripping in the southwest this fall. Did it end up being super hot on the foam?
Was the full size mattress the correct choice, or do you wish you bought the excessively big queen? The hip room spec is like 52", but the shoulder room is 55".
Any advice for the Rav4 build?
I hope that your camper build, and traveling went well! These cars are super nice.
I’m not familiar with fitting beds into cars, but have studied a lot about layering foams. I’ve read HD36R feels softer than HD 36hq even though they are the same ILD. His bed, even with the soft topper would be an 8/10 firmness. If you wanted to have a little more of a progression and a little softer bed you could try this
2" soft dunlop latex
1.5" hd36 convinced topper peaks up (this would also help with airflow)
3" Hd36R
To get it to fit into your car, you could shim off the parts that need to be a little smaller.
I really like the air flow idea with the topper.
I also read that it would be somewhat firm, so I like the idea of layering different foam. I bet it would also make rolling them up for storage in the car easier.