Custom mattress for a 2005 Eagle?

[shear]

My wife and I have secured a 2005 Eagle that we will be picking up in May. The mattress is flimsy, however, and definitely not going to work for us to sleep on. What options are there for customizing a mattress for the Eagle?

Currently we sleep on (in the back of my truck on a platform) a 1.5" closed cell foam with 4" memory foam topper.

Spend lots of months in the truck and need a sustainable bed that won't wreck our bodies.

Any ideas or things you've personally done would be great. Thanks!

 

[strayDog]

Try the Froli system. http://nickleatlantic.com/
Reasonable prices and easy people to work with. I got the "star" system 1" 3/4 high. absolutely wonderful. Tried it with a gel mat only and didn't work, you can feel the springs. Then put the mattress pads that came with my 2013 Hawk and perfect! Have a 68 year old back and the springs keep the body and especially the hip in a very comfortable, supported position. Froli systems are used on high end yachts also. Good luck and happy camping.
Ps. wth the extra height I always pull my blankets and sleep bag off when lowering the unit but probably don't have to.

 

[Fallbrook]

That Froli system looks pretty cool! We have a '14 fleet, the mattress is like a slab of plywood, or worse. I'd wake up thinking the sleep just wasn't worth it. We picked up the 1.5" "cooling" gel memory foam from walmart and put it over the stock mattress, and it's a night and day difference. I wanted to incorporate the original somehow because we do a fair amount of cold weather camping, and the stock mattress has the plastic backing to block the condensation. We got the full size version for what's effectively a queen sized bed, and we just rotate it to retract the bed fully, or to sleep east/west. the only problem is the damn dog despises the stock pad too, and he fights with us for the mattress topper. Gonna tie him to the bumper one day... We can still close the roof with that pad and a comforter spread out. It sure would be awesome to be able to leave the pillows up there too!

 

[Stalking Light]

I have a late '14 Eagle, am 68 with a bad back, and love the factory mattress. I wouldn't want to add anything very thick on top anyway for fear it would be hard to close up. FYI

 

[Fallbrook]

Pretty sure they changed mattresses, finally. Might have been later than April, when mine was built. We've found no difference in closing it up with the topper and comforter...

We tried pillows, and they didn't work so well.

We should probably just line em up down the middle and kind of force it, the slight bow would be better at shedding water! (sort of kidding).

Interestingly, I was up on a ladder the other day with the roof up, in and out of the camper trying to line up where I'm going to put the roof solar plug. It's intriguing to see how much flex the roof does when I pressed down in the middle. Gave me a bit of perspective about where to position the Yakima rails...

Dan

 

[Stalking Light]

Mine's a late 2014 with, I think, the 2015 features. I can tell the difference in putting the top down depending on what sleeping bags I'm using. I should also note that I'm coming from sleeping in an Eezi Awn RTT and I found that mattress very comfortable as well, so maybe it's just me. ;-)

 

[kmcintyre]

We purchased some memory foam from Costco (4") for a 2001 Eagle and cut it down into 2 pieces and then had some new covers made for it. Others don't like the memory foam for when it gets cold as it may harden a bit but we've never experienced that and love it. Search around and do some investigation into the different types of memory foam if you go that route as there are a lot of misleading brands out there that say they are more or less dense (and how they measure it, etc.).

 

[shear]

We purchased some memory foam from Costco (4") for a 2001 Eagle and cut it down into 2 pieces and then had some new covers made for it. Others don't like the memory foam for when it gets cold as it may harden a bit but we've never experienced that and love it. Search around and do some investigation into the different types of memory foam if you go that route as there are a lot of misleading brands out there that say they are more or less dense (and how they measure it, etc.).

So you do the 4" memory foam and have no problems putting the top back down? I guess that's my worry. I'm honestly just thinking of figuring out the dimensions of the cushions, how thick I can actually go with the mattress, then having them all cut to size, getting covers made and just replacing them fully. The old cushions/mattress is flimsy and not at all comfortable.

 

[PaulT]

Mine is a 2014 Hawk received in July. Like Charlie, I'm late 60's with an imperfect back. The factory mattress is great. I was concerned about all the bed complaints here before mine arrived, so I assume I got the 2015 features also. It is miles more comfortable than either the bottom or top mattress in my '78 VW bus camper that I suffered with for years.

Sleeping on my back or side is comfortable and neither shoulder or butt bottoms out. I did put a Coleman closed cell pad under the mattress to fill the space behind the slide out shelf and topped that with 1/8" Reflectix; both for thermal insulation based on the condensation thread recommendation. Never slept on bed without those additions so I don't know how much they help with support.

Ask Stan for the foam density parameters so that you could buy a replacement or just order one from the factory. Actually, the parameters are published in an earlier thread on this forum.

Paul

 

[shear]

Mine is a 2014 Hawk received in July. Like Charlie, I'm late 60's with an imperfect back. The factory mattress is great. I was concerned about all the bed complaints here before mine arrived, so I assume I got the 2015 features also. It is miles more comfortable than either the bottom or top mattress in my '78 VW bus camper that I suffered with for years.

Sleeping on my back or side is comfortable and neither shoulder or butt bottoms out. I did put a Coleman closed cell pad under the mattress to fill the space behind the slide out shelf and topped that with 1/8" Reflectix; both for thermal insulation based on the condensation thread recommendation. Never slept on bed without those additions so I don't know how much they help with support.

Ask Stan for the foam density parameters so that you could buy a replacement or just order one from the factory. Actually, the parameters are published in an earlier thread on this forum.

Paul

Yeah, I know the new mattresses are fine...this is a 2005 however...and having looked at the camper last August, I know it's pretty flimsy.

 

[Stalking Light]

Yeah, I know the new mattresses are fine...this is a 2005 however...and having looked at the camper last August, I know it's pretty flimsy.

Maybe you could just replace the foam in the mattress with whatever they use currently.

 

[kmcintyre]

Yes, I used 4" foam. There's no problem with the roof coming down as the foam is about the same height as the lip on the bed and below the height of the "wall". You can't put anything else up there though.

 

[RC Pilot Jim]

Shear -
My 2 cents - Go to your local upholstery shop and ask for foam you can sleep on.

We replaced the foam in the bed mattress with high density "Nymbus model Q41" foam -contours to the sleeper, has high bounce back. With the Eagle you sleep front to back so only REPLACE the largest piece as most of your weight is on it...That will save you a few dollars.
If you decide to replace the foam in all 5 pieces get the 3" thick ...Just as comfortable, and you will have room for bedding (no pillows though).

And Welcome to the family you are going to love it.