Camper Mattress!

My panels havenā€™t had a problem and my mattress is super comfortable.

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Newer or older mattress?

Older, mines one of the first 20 or so built.

Having spent countless nights in tents, truck shells, and a heavy ass slide in camperā€¦yes 100% worth it.

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I would say worth it.
Over 300 campers out there and like 2% have had a hinge issue to my knowledge.
The bed is fine. Weā€™re just a group of people that love to tinker with stuff because we like to make things better and suit us. The GFC is like a truck, just keep modding it until it has cable television.

13 Likes

I have another option to throw in the ring for those who feel the 2" mattress is too firm. The short version is Exped Megamat Duo. The long version follows. :slight_smile:

My wife and I spend a lot of nights sleeping outdoors each year. Probably in excess of a month total between backpacking, backcountry ski huts, and car camping. When weā€™re car camping weā€™ve decided we want to be as comfortable as possible and get the best sleep. The Exped Megamat is great. It rivals our home mattress in comfort. We particularly like that it is firm without being too hard, you donā€™t feel your partner move much, and it has great R-value. If you havenā€™t tried one, call your local REI and see if they have a demo in the store.

When we got the GFC we were willing to accept some backslide in mattress comfort for all the other benefits it provides. We first rented an early GFC unit to try-before-buying. That had the 3" mattress and if I recall right, it was comfy but my hips and shoulders bottomed out a bit. When we got our GFC a few months ago (#297), it had the 2" mattress. This bottoms out less but my wife and I both found it to be too firm. Like others here, we added a 1" latex topper to it and this works pretty well. It was soft enough and the GFC closes okay. But, Iā€™m always looking to improve on things.

Before a recent round of trips, it occured to me to try the Megamat in the GFC. We have about 5 nights out with it nowā€¦and I think weā€™ll stick with the Exped because all of its good features come through in the GFC. It is super comfortable up there now. But, it isnā€™t without downsides. Here are the issues:

  1. Depth of the mattress: the Megamat is 3.9" think when inflated. So the GFC will not close until you deflate it (but thatā€™s part of the point, it deflates a lot!).
  2. Width of the mattress: the Megamat is specā€™d at 52" wide. About 2" wider than the GFC. In reality, it is closer to 51" and when inflated it conforms pretty well to the constrained width of the GFC. The tent fabric near the extrusion has a little extra pressure on it from the inside but I donā€™t anticipate any change in performance or dealing with precipitation. Iā€™ll report back if there are issues in a big rain with water wicking in under this pressure. It also means GFC wonā€™t close comfortably with the mattress laid fully out.
  3. Deflating the Megamat: Because of #1 and #2, the Megamat has to be deflated (for depth) and folded in half (for width) for the GFC to close. This adds about 5 minutes to my take down process but thatā€™s okay because it was part of my old routine with the Megamat, it can be done inside the GFC and out of the elements, and the GFC closes really easily with sheets, a wool blanket, a down comforter and 2 pillows up there once I do this. The comfort is worth the extra time for me. To deflate, I set the pillows to one side, then fold the Megamat in half width-wise with sheets, blanket and comforter in place. I lay on top of it until it stops deflating, then I fold it in thirds length-wise, each time leaning on it until no more air comes out.
  4. Length: The Megamat is available in 72" and 77" lengths, I think. I have the 77". So it interferes with the transforma-floor. When you take either of the two small panels out it overlaps the opening by about 50%. Fortunately, the Exped is flexible and it is easy for me or my wife (who is 4.5 months pregnant) to slide through the opening. I donā€™t consider this a big issue but it might be for some people.
  5. Inflating: The Exped is self-inflating and this works great under most circumstances. But in the colder weather of fall, with the weight of blankets on top, ā€¦it needs some help. I do about 20 strokes on a low-pressure, high-volume pump (like for an inflatable raft) and it is ready to go. Inflation adds about 2 minutes to my setup time.
  6. Cost: The Megamat is not cheap. If I didnā€™t already have one for car camping - I might have stuck with the latex topper approach for now.

Sorry for the long post, but I think the Exped is a pretty interesting option for people looking for great comfort in the GFC and who donā€™t mind the downsides listed above.

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Iā€™ve started experimenting with an air/foam mattress by Sea to Summit, that is 50" wide and is the right width for our GFC. it is a little short of the full GFC bedding area. we sleep with our heads at the big end of the tent and use the little left over space at the foot of the mattress for our clothes and sleep wildly naked ! my wife likes LOTS of bedding, so I deflate the mattress for travel and leave much of the bedding in place ! I use a Coleman 12V inflator/deflator. when deflated this way, the mattress becomes about 1" thick. winter has cut short the experiment as we are not into winter camping. sleeping with our heads at the big end is great, with maximum air flow coming from the optional side door as well as the big screened back door.

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i added a 1" inch latex soft foam topper to the camper and I sleep amazingly good. Had to cut the shapes a little smaller than the cushions itself or it wouldnā€™t shut. Very happy with the foam!

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Do you have a link for the topper? & You stuffed it in the panels with the 2" mattress?

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UYG8UIE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

the GFC already has 1" firm and 1" soft but having the extra 1" soft latex topper has made it heaven for me. I kept hemming and hawing about if it would be too soft but it has turned out to be perfect.

The GFC closes for me pretty easily. Main thing is nothing on the bed (that sucks) and turn over the panels closes to the big side rear door. That gives it extra room for the door fabric and Iā€™ve found that to work the best.

I tried stuffing it with full sized latex topper panels but it was really hard to shut. So my friend told me try trimming them an inch from the side since he thought maybe the topper was getting squished outwards causing it not to close. and so far his theory is right. At the head, I chopped 2" because my head wonā€™t fit down there anyways and then about an inch on the sides of the mattress. FWIW I have a full sized topper and unfortunately after all the cut it doesnā€™t fit all the panels perfect so some panels have less coverage than others, oh well. and find a good pair of shears. Kitchen shears sucked- grabbed a pair of trauma shears in my truck and they worked great!

Still donā€™t quite understand, so did you cut up the topper and shove it into the panels or just have it sitting on top of the panels

i bought fitted sheets. Cut the topper to barely fit each panel, then shoved the topper between each sheet and mattress cushion.

The GFC fitted sheets? Like from their site

yes, the ones from their site. I thought they were pricey but after seeing the cushions and their shapes I realized it would be easier to buy a set there. ill send you pics in the AM

everything is a pain in the ass if I ask you.

I purchased the megamat Duo and tried it out for a couple of nights in my GFC. I have to agree that it is one of the most comfortable mattresses I have ever slept on. Having to air it up and down is a downside for me. Itā€™s not a big deal but I just donā€™t like it. I go back and forth between using the ladder but I do like to climb out through the bed as well. I wasnā€™t a big fan of climbing down through the bed with the megamat duo. Perhaps I would get better at it with time but that and the high cost, I returned it to REI. Sometimes on cold mornings Iā€™d like to push all the panels to the far back and have coffee with the tent all closed up. This is a little more difficult when you have to deflate the mattress and then re-inflated in the evening.
Ideally I wouldnā€™t be so picky and just use the camper as it comes. With that in mind I followed the suggestion of @RileySB and purchased the same one inch latex memory foam topper he got. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UYG8UIE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_.sD1DbT48GFT8
Iā€™ve only slept in it one time so far but it was comfortable. I have not cut it into pieces yet. Iā€™m going to give it a few more nights just in case I want to send it back. Iā€™ve come to the conclusion that if I want to easily move panels /close the top or not have an extra mattress or memory foam to put away I need to use this one innch solution.

Hereā€™s one last thing I am trying for comfort as well. At home I sleep on an adjustable frame This means I normally sleep with my head and feet elevated. This is hard to duplicate in the outdoors but I came up with something that is a little better than flat. I took a 4x4 block of wood and put a 1in piece of plywood on top of that all cut size to achieve my desired height. This allows me to sleep with my head elevated and still be able to remove the panel and get out through the bed. I do have to remove the block which is easy in order to close the bed. Hopefully I will find the perfect comfort.:blush:

Has anyone on here tried replacing the foam thatā€™s inside the gfc cushions? I was thinking of doing a 1" layer of firm latex and a 1" of either medium-firm or soft.

@Kwood @RileySB after sleeping on it, do you think you would bottom out with just 2" of latex? I have a memory foam topper on top of my mattress now thatā€™s comfortable, but Iā€™m trying to figure out a way to be able to store bedding up there againā€¦

Sorry to hear the Exped didnā€™t working out for you @Kwood. Good luck with the next iteration.

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@mode7, I have thought about replacing all the foam as well. If you look inside the cushion I believe it comes with one inch of firm and one inch of soft. Correct?
I do think you would bottom out with just two inches of latex.

Thanks for the suggestion though. That Exped is one of the most plush camping mattresses there is.