Mattress for van

jacobconroy

Hillbilly of Leisure
OK, here is a complication to the memory foam question.

I am installing a Propex in my van. Suppose I turn on the heat a couple of hours before bedtime to bring the temp up to 60º in the van. Would the memory foam then be "regular"? Or, would it need to acclimate for much longer than an hour or two?

I really like memory foam, but being in MT, the shoulder seasons can get down to 30º at night.
 

luthj

Engineer In Residence
If you pull the covers back, and get the interior warm, 2 hours would be enough for the top couple inches. if the memory foam layer is thicker than that, its gonna take a while after a cold soak. Now, if its only 30F ambient, it won't take that long. Cold soak at 0F? Much longer...
 

jacobconroy

Hillbilly of Leisure
Hmmm. That sounds like a lot of work. Given that there is usually booze involved with my campfires, it's hard to say if I would remember to turn on the heat early.

Nights around here are typically between 25º and 45º (where I camp for the three seasons). What type of mattress would be best for that?

I appreciate the learned advice!
 

luthj

Engineer In Residence
For cold weather, a high-medium density foam is best. Avoid memory foam, latex can be okay, but still gets a bit stiff when cold. Every other type of common mattress foam works fine.

I have a programmable timer on my heater, so I can just set it to come on before bed, and before I get up in the morning.
 

lcavalletti

Observer
IMHO. A 4” firm latex mattress is the best. If you have the room add a memory foam topper. This is my plan for my ccv bed up top
 

4wheeldrivevan

Observer
I've tried regular queen sized mattresses, foam cut to fit and just an old futon mattress. Futon beds suck, but the mattresses work just fine.
 

luthj

Engineer In Residence
In a 4" thickness you want a firm high density foam. I doubt that mattress qualifies. Those units are often designed to go over a spring or woven "box spring" type which gives them more flex than a hard platform (van install) would.
 

another_mike

Adventurer
any links to exact mattresses people have used?
I have this one in full. Love it. I’ve had it for two years. Used it for a month straight each year for big trips and a couple small weekend trips in between.

Milliard 6-Inch Memory Foam Tri-fold Mattress with Ultra Soft Removable Cover with Non-Slip Bottom - Full https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W67PEY2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_QBhACbQFH5YDZ

I see cold was brought up. I’ve slept on it in the 20’s. Was in a campsite, we had to leave the faucets dripping the whole night. Had nice icicles hanging from the faucets each morning. I didn’t notice anything “weird” about the foam.
 
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Peter_n_Margaret

Adventurer
We much prefer a light weight inner spring to foam and designed our camper to use a standard size double.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome
 

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