y husband and I are 39. He has a bad back. I am a side sleeper and have a bad knee. But we love to camp and hike and ride bikes with our four children. We are trying to make our standard issue bed more comfortable for ourselves in our camper. When we bought our 2015 Starcraft Travelstar last year, we immediately bought a 2 inch memory foam topper for it. It is more comfortable, but it is still not enough. We have problems with what to do with it when folding up the beds. At first, I would try to fold up the memory foam with the mattress. But very quickly, I learned the memory foam is just too heavy and not manageable enough for my strength. So, my husband now rolls it up for me. I'd like to get back to doing something that I can do myself. Plus we need to get it to a place that it is more comfortable. The biggest problem is that often times we are storing our 6 bikes and lawn chairs and cooler INSIDE the camper while driving, so not a lot of room to store extra bedding. We have done some searching online and we've seen an option for a queen size fold-able mattress at Amazon. Anyone have experience with this?We've also thought of getting a queen size 4 inch memory foam topper, cutting it in half and sewing up 2 covers for it, to make them more manageable. However, I'm not sure how this would work with them separating while we are sleeping and how heavy they would be to move. What have you all done to make your FOLD-able beds more manageable in your hybrid travel trailers?

If you cut the memory foam in half or even thirds you could use heavy duty velcro to hold it together so it shouldnt slide apart. Just make sure the velcro is in the middle and round off the edges of the velcro so it doesnt poke when u lay on it . Or you could make a strap of velcro and attach it at the bottom of the mattress but I think that would tend to let the cushions seperate at the top when u lay on it.

I just have a 3" memory foam pad on mine sleep better than I do at home. Only thing better is a hammock

We have a 3" memory foam as well, we roll it up like a sleeping bag, it's actually pretty funny to watch someone do. A lot of flinging it around and laying on it to smoosh it. We have a large duffel bag we put it in...

When we had a hybrid I rolled up the memory foam,put a strap around it and stored in the shower

We experimented with a number of ideas and found that the best idea for us was:1) a 2' memory foam topper which we rolled up and put on the sofa but it is lightweight. We have had this almost from day 1. It helped a lot but the mattress that came with the trailer was garbage, worse than a Futon. 2) we recently picked up a 4" foam mattress from Ikea. It has made a huge difference for sleeping. We have been struggling with how to store it because it is heavy and we have looked at a number of ideas for how to store it, but because it is so dense compared to the garbage that came with the trailer, it would not fold up and compress as small as the original bed with the tent end closed. Right now the best we have come up with is to fold it in half and then drag it down onto the floor between the dinette and sofa. It does use some floor space and it is a bit of work getting it back up when we setup again, but the improvement in our sleep is well worth the extra work and loss of space. With it and the 2" memory foam on top it is the size of a real queen size bed so sheets fit properly and there is no gap to worry about.

Making Foldable Beds more comfortable in Hybrid Trailers

3boxerss
Explorer
Jun 01, 2016
If you cut the memory foam in half or even thirds you could use heavy duty velcro to hold it together so it shouldnt slide apart. Just make sure the velcro is in the middle and round off the edges of the velcro so it doesnt poke when u lay on it . Or you could make a strap of velcro and attach it at the bottom of the mattress but I think that would tend to let the cushions seperate at the top when u lay on it.
Can_t_Wait_Now
Explorer
Jun 01, 2016
I just have a 3" memory foam pad on mine sleep better than I do at home. Only thing better is a hammock
Wavesprite
Explorer II
Jun 01, 2016
We have a 3" memory foam as well, we roll it up like a sleeping bag, it's actually pretty funny to watch someone do. A lot of flinging it around and laying on it to smoosh it. We have a large duffel bag we put it in...
popeyemth
Explorer
Jun 01, 2016
When we had a hybrid I rolled up the memory foam,put a strap around it and stored in the shower
rwbradley
Explorer
Jun 01, 2016
We experimented with a number of ideas and found that the best idea for us was:
1) a 2' memory foam topper which we rolled up and put on the sofa but it is lightweight. We have had this almost from day 1. It helped a lot but the mattress that came with the trailer was garbage, worse than a Futon.
2) we recently picked up a 4" foam mattress from Ikea. It has made a huge difference for sleeping. We have been struggling with how to store it because it is heavy and we have looked at a number of ideas for how to store it, but because it is so dense compared to the garbage that came with the trailer, it would not fold up and compress as small as the original bed with the tent end closed. Right now the best we have come up with is to fold it in half and then drag it down onto the floor between the dinette and sofa. It does use some floor space and it is a bit of work getting it back up when we setup again, but the improvement in our sleep is well worth the extra work and loss of space. With it and the 2" memory foam on top it is the size of a real queen size bed so sheets fit properly and there is no gap to worry about.
jdwickham
Explorer
Jun 01, 2016
POPEY...THAT IS WHAT MY HUSBAND CURRENTLY DOES WITH IT, MINUS THE SHOWER. WE DON'T USE OUR SHOWER, SO WE CURRENTLY CONVERTED IT INTO STORAGE SHELVING FOR OUR CLOTHING. WE LOVE IT!
jdwickham
Explorer
Jun 01, 2016
rwbradley
I THINK YOU MAKE A GREAT POINT. IF YOU GET A BETTER NIGHT'S SLEEP, THE INCONVENIENCE IS WORTH IT. WE JUST AREN'T AT THAT POINT YET OF BETTER SLEEP! :)
coolmom42
Explorer II
Jun 01, 2016
Get whatever thickness memory foam you think you will like, cut it to size, and then cut it in half. Make (or get someone to make) a fitted cover for each one, out of quilted fabric like a mattress pad. Personally I wouldn't bother trying to stick them together with Velcro, unless they separate so much it's annoying.

Get a bike rack for your bikes, and much of your problem is solved.
Campfire_Time
Explorer
Jun 01, 2016
I can't offer much advice. We simply throw an open sleeping bag on top. Seems to be enough for us, we both sleep like rocks. For now. We're well into our 50s so I imagine that at some point we may need something more.

Our old hybrid actually had a split mattress and it wasn't split down the middle, more like 60/40. So we had to get a topper just to keep one of us from sliding off the mattress.
rexlion
Explorer
Jun 01, 2016
I suggest that you experiment a bit with your memory foam. You have 2" foam, so double it over and take turns lying on the 4" of foam. How does it feel? If it's good, buy another 2" memory foam and lay it overtop the 2" you now have (lighter weight to roll them up separately, plus you already paid for one of them so why get rid of it?). If 4" of memory foam does not satisfy you, it's time to look for a different solution.

Possibility #1: an air mattress, either alone or with the 2" foam on top. Even a couple of those individual-size air cushions they sell for camping, laid side by side, might do the job under your existing foam.

Possibility #2: add some sort of cushioning fibers. The "Cuddle Ewe" topper is made of wool, do an internet search for it. Or experiment with some comforters or sleeping bags laid underneath the memory foam.