mattress for van life

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

OK, so first post here though I have been reading a lot. Unfortunately, while learning a lot, I am also getting information overload and so am looking to cut to the chase, so to speak. I’ve searched for the info I’m looking for here and have not been able to find it, hance my question. I apologize if it has been covered.So I am looking for a mattress for FT living in a van. I am considering a latex or latex hybrid as well as gel memory foam mattress. I want to keep it to @ $500 for the mattress if possible and am looking for specific model recommendations if at all possible (rather than merely brand name).The bed is a platform slatted bed comprised of three removable sections of flat-laying 1 x 6s screwed on to the top of vertical 1 x 4s that form a rectangle. Each rectangle is 72" L x 18" W and together they are obviously the size of a full mattress. The slats are 18" long and 5.5" wide, spaced about 3.6" apart. As for me, I am about 180 lbs and tend to sleep mostly on my stomach or sides. I would say that at least sometimes, I am a “hot” sleeper, meaning I can get hot easily. My GF who will be joining me is mostly a side or back sleeper. The platform is about 24" above the floor of a high-top cargo van.I would like to get something that will be reasonably comfortable and durable without breaking the bank. My intention is to get a coconut coir mattress pad to assist with moisture management and potentially support between the slats if I even need to worry about either of those issues. I would also like something that will adapt readily to hot and cold environments as well as humid and dry without too much fuss or a premature breakdown/failure of the mattress inner materials. I think medium firm will probably be best, or possibly firm. The one other desire is something that is not too terribly heavy as I want to be able to easily pull it out of the van when I need to.Any thoughts or questions are certainly welcome. I clearly am not looking for the Rolls Royce of mattresses with my budget, but I’d like to get the most bang for my buck and I feel at my price point, there are a lot of potential pitfalls that I would rather avoid if at all possible.

https://uploads.mattressunderground.com/outside/47439/20210201_142257.jpg

2

Hmmm…anyone???

I have also read that breathability is important, but then read stuff about how impermeability is important for protection from mold and mildew in a humid environment. Which is it? Anyone?

3

Hi on_the_edge.

Welcome to our Mattress Forum. :slight_smile:

Latex and latex hybrid would certainly meet most of your criteria for something durable and easy to move in and out of the van, plus your tendency to sleep hot. I’m personally not a fan of visco-elastic memory foams in vans because of the wide swings in temperature and humidity, their tendency to form mildew and host dust mites and also because of the change firmness with increased temperature and pressure.

Memory foam does a very good job at minimizing motion transfer, but it generally is the least breathable and most insulating of the foam comfort materials, so the temperature can be an issue especially for those that have the tendency of sleeping hot. If you do choose memory foam you’d want to make sure that you don’t choose something with so much memory foam on top that you sink in too deeply.

Although I do personally like the feel and properties of latex, the choice of materials is a personal preference and there are many people that prefer a Memory Foam feel and are “used” to it to such a degree that any change to a different material may be perceived as very uncomfortable. There is absolutely nothing wrong with using Memory Foam in a mattress… provided that it meets durability guidelines here .

Your comfort choice of firm or medium-firm is appropriate for your stomach sleeping. For your stomach sleeping position, you may wish to review the guidelines in this [url=Your sleeping style, preferences, and statistics - Your sleep positions - The Mattress Underground] Sleep Positions Article [url] so that you avoid hyperextension in a swayback position that can cause back issues.

Latex in general is also the most breathable and “temperature neutral” of all the different types of foam materials and it is a great choice for all temperatures and climates but the firmness of a mattress and how much you sink into it can also affect sleeping temperature as well. It is also important to keep in mind that the layers that are closer to the top sleeping surface (comfort layers) will have the greatest impact upon comfort and sleeping temperature (including any mattress pad, sheets, and linen).

I am not sure if you came across some of our posts that discuss temperature regulations issues, but you can read more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here more about tracking mattress temperature regulation issues potential causes ~ Post #2 here (at least to the degree possible for a specific mattress) and the posts it links to that may be helpful. You may also be interested in the information in post #29 about temperature regulation and mattress microclimate.

Some options you may be interested in considering are…

Sleep EZ’s 9" Latex RV Mattress, Full Size - $525
Latex Mattress Factory’s 9" Luxerion Latex RV Mattress, Full Size - $595
Or you could talk to Ken Hightower at Arizona Premium about his thoughts on the 6" Dunlop base + 2" Talalay topper for an 8" latex mattress coming in at around $515

You mentioned that both you and your girlfriend are “combo sleepers.” With combination sleeping it is usually wise to choose a comfort layer that is a little thinner than your “deepest” sleeping position would normally require (typically side sleeping). Most side sleepers will fall in the range of needing roughly 2" - 4" in their comfort layer, where a stomach sleeper may only need 1". Depending on your BMI you’d probably do well with 1" to 3" of foam for your comfort layer.

Regardless of which mattress you may ultimately choose, it’s important that you have a detailed conversation with each vendor prior to your purchase. Our Trusted Members are knowledgeable and experienced online manufacturers that can help with making the best comfort/support choice if they are given your stats and information about your body types, sleeping styles, general preferences and history, some general information about mattresses you have tested and done well with, and any other specific information or circumstances that could affect your choice of a mattress.

I’d certainly follow up on your intention to “get a coconut coir mattress pad to assist with moisture management and potentially support between the slats” as an inappropriate foundation might void the warranty of the mattress. I’d make sure to check with the vendor if the slatted modular wooden foundation you have in place is appropriate for your unit. A slatted platform bed is also perfectly suitable as long as the slats are spaced close enough together (again 3" or preferably less for latex) A coconut coir pad would be a good investment in this case for the added support it would afford the mattress.

You may also want to consider that a full mattress size measures 75" x 54" and this may be a bit problematic as your current setup accommodates only a 72" mattress length so you may need to ask for the layers to be cut to fit the space in the van.

Phoenix

4

Before responding here, I want to take a moment to thank you, Phoenix, for your helpful reply. The information you provided and the time you took to supply it is greatly appreciated. I had read a lot here and elsewhere in order to educate myself a bit and avoid unnecessary questions, but I still found I needed some “on point” information that might be specific to my situation. Thank you for providing it as I really did not find it anywhere else.

I first contacted Sleep EZ and arranged to visit their showroom in Phoenix. Prior to driving there, I had a phone conversation with them and it sounded promising. When I got there, honestly, I felt that something was “off”. Don’t get me wrong—they were cordial and took an appropriate amount of time to answer my questions, let me lay on a few different mattresses, and even took a look at exactly where the mattress would be going in my van. Still, I got the sense that it might not work out. The corners at back of my van where the mattress would be placed have a vertical metal support channel on the interior that would require a 3" x 3" square to be cut out of two corners of the mattress in order to get it to fit properly or alternatively, the mattress would need to be squished into the corners. As Sleep EZ began to look at that more closely, they decided that the squishing scenario probably would not work and that the mattress would likely have two permanently squished corners. They stated that such a scenario would void the warranty and offered no potential solutions. Right or wrong, I got the impression that it was simply not worth their time to deal with it. I’ve worked in law enforcement for most of my life and I feel I am pretty good at reading other people accurately, especially in person face to face. Based upon our interactions and their apparent inability to offer me a viable solution, I decided to look elsewhere.

I then contacted Ken Hightower. Like Sleep EZ, explaining my setup to him on the phone sounded promising. I decided to take a chance and visit Arizona Premium even though it was another 4-hour round trip by car from where I live. He had a couple other customers in the place, but I told him I would be there before I just showed up and he made the time to show me some different options and setups that he thought I would find acceptable. He took the time to look at where the mattress would go in my van, and then offered a viable solution in terms of getting the mattress to fit in the back corners without squishing it into the corners (4" diagonal corners on a lengthwise side). He took exact measurements to make sure a full mattress would fit appropriately and talked to me about the non-issue in my case of the spacing of the slats on my platform. He did not rush me at all and gave me time to talk over the options with my gf with no obvious expectation that I was going to buy from him or not despite all the time he took with me. Long story short, I did opt to buy a mattress from him. I have a 54" x74" 4" poly core w/ 2" #28 Talalay and 3" #19 Talalay that I think I will be quite happy with. It was more than I was initially wanting to spend, but it was I think a better choice for both my GF and me.

I know Sleep EZ has an excellent reputation here and I know it is well-deserved, as does Arizona Premium. My interaction with Ken was entirely positive and while he was solution-oriented, he was not pushy to make a sale. Sleep EZ was not pushy either, but they seemed unable or unwilling to address the back corner issue. That’s fine. I’d rather know up front than get something that would ultimately be a disappointment.

Thank you again for your help and pointing me in the right direction.

5

Hi on_the_edge.

I am glad we could help!

Congratulations on your newly fitted mattress van from Arizona Premium Mattress! :cheer:

As you well know they are a trusted member of this site which means that I think very highly of them and that I believe they compete well with the best in the industry.

Good call to take a “4-hour round trip by car” and visit Ken at Arizona Premium. I am glad that he found a “viable solution in terms of getting the mattress to fit in the back corners”. Times and times again I am gratified to learn how responsive and how far out of the way they go to help their customers.

One thing I can’t picture is … how can the mattress “fit in the back corners without squishing it into the corners” of your van? I don’t quite understand the “4” diagonal corners on a lengthwise side" arrangement. Did it involve any custom cutting?

If you still check our site I’d appreciate if you could add a photo or give us more detail on this. We had many RV and van mattress questions and our visitors may want to know a bit more about it.

I hope you and your girlfriend will have many restful nights while being on the road in your van.

Phoenix

6

Phoenix, Ken’s idea was to do some custom cutting, to sort of radius the two back corners of the mattress to avoid the problem corners of the van. I included a pic of the problem corners looking towards the back from up front in the cargo area. I think you can see the issue if you look at the pic closely.

Hopefully that will make sense.

7

That’s not a big deal, I would just chamfer the foam edges on the mattress so it fits snug but doesn’t compress the corners at all. No need to alter the cover unless you want to for aesthetic reasons.

8

I know, right? That’s why I am surprised Sleep EZ didn’t offer or suggest something like that, or even suggest something like, “Well, we can’t/won’t do this, but one thing someone else could do is…”. As a newb, I didn’t even know it could be done or I probably would have asked about it. Although again, I was getting a weird vibe from them and there comes a point when you realize that is what’s called a clue. It was time to move on.

9

Hi on_the_edge,

Thanks for the description. very useful.

Great solution! I think you are very lucky. The advantage of dealing directly with the CEO is that higher-level management can make “out of the box” decisions that no other employee can. Ken did take a bit of a risk of cutting the corners of the mattress…so he must have been quite sure that the support/comfort of the layers you chose are a good match for you and your girlfriend and that the risk of exchange/return is close to zero. So I am “not surprised” that you got a different response from another company. My guess is that the “vibe” you got from them is connected with their customization policies or even the rep that may not be authorized to do something like that. Additionally, if they offer returns or have policies that do not include customizing layers by cutting off several areas, then if something goes wrong with the customer’s choice of comfort/support any defective or cut layers will end up in the landfill, and the company accrues losses on top of their very fair pricing.

Did you intend to attach a new pic with the mattress fitted, or were you referring to the previous pic you uploaded showing the van layout?
Phoenix

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I was referring to the previous pic I uploaded in my first post. You can see the back (problematic) corners in that pic.

11

Got it! Thanks on_the_edge