Cot recommendations

[Cammalu]

I’d like to buy a couple of cots to put in my cargo trailer. The smaller they fold up the better but would also like some comfort if possible. HDR you were sleeping on a cot forever. Anyone have recommendations and why? I have a very bad back BTW.

I’d also like to use it for my puttputt. I go out in the desert and find the best places and it hurts me sometimes to leave. I’d like to lie down and maybe nap or spend the night.

 

[bullfrog]

We also have tried many and several worked but all that did were too big, heavy, or didn’t work for us. If you have room an offset platform/table/bench that hinges off the wall of the cargo trailer and can hold a comfortable mattress while folded seems what most do. If I could of ever gotten used to sleeping in a hammock that would have been ideal but just didn’t happen. Tent cots were heavy to move to set up. There are some cots and beach type folding chairs that work but after a while with our weight ended up stretching and felt like I was sleeping in a hole and the frame hurt my legs if I set on them too long. I’m pretty picky anymore but a sturdy flat surface with my mattress which is portable works well for me. I can even use 4 30”x20” totes as a base (30”x80” and I don’t loose much if any storage) and lay a sheet of 3/8” plywood on top then my mattress and I sleep just like I do at home. Maybe you could build a rack for your putt putt, maybe even make it removable or fold into a bed.

 

[jacqueg]

I have a Cabela's cot that I like. I have no idea whether it would be too cumbersome for you to manage, but it is well-made.

Alas, it's in storage in Washington, or I'd give it to you.

 

[highdesertranger]

x2 on the Cabelas I have had mine for a very long time. They were much cheaper back then. It came as a kit it came with the cot, pad, storage on the side and a coat rack. The pad is a must. Also I would not say it was small and compact and a prybar is almost a must for setting it up. But it has proven extremely rugged and is still good many years later. it is also very comfy.

As a note, before I had the Cabela's cot I had another brand that was very compact and very light weight. It sat very close to the ground maybe a foot so. That made it was a pain getting out of it in the morning, come to think of it everything about that cot was a pain.

Highdesertranger

 

[shadowmoss]

I slept on one like this for 5 years.  Left it in Honduras or I'd still have it.  The air mattress inside the sleeve is replaceable.  I think I went through 3 or 4.  With the air out of the mattress the light frame folds up small.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-Double-Sized-Air-Bed-with-Mattress-and-Frame/668591287

Coleman also has a version.

 

[user 37446]

The Coleman Deluxe Comfort Smart is 30" wide and holds up to 300#. Believe it is 80" long and about 14" off the floor. Needs a level floor or you will need to shim the tubular alum legs. It has a 1" pad and the whole thing folds in half.

About $80 give or take depending on the season and sales. Lots of good reviews, just doesn't fold down for storage very well as compared to the tent camping cots. It's my choice for when I go out FT.

 

[Cammalu]

Bullfrog. I don’t have room in there for fold up mattresses. I have the puttputt in there most of the time and it would be pretty infrequent if we used it as a camper.

Thanks

 

[Cammalu]

TWIH. Folding down very small is really going to be a must as I need to find something I can easily throw in the back of the side by side.

Thanks

 

[Cammalu]

With the air out of the mattress the light frame folds up small.

How small?

 

[Cammalu]

I have a Cabela's cot that I like. I have no idea whether it would be too cumbersome for you to manage, but it is well-made.

Alas, it's in storage in Washington, or I'd give it to you.

Wahhhhhhh.

Are you still in Q? Heard you went to Flagstaff?

 

[Cammalu]

Also I would not say it was small and compact and a prybar is almost a must for setting it up. But it has proven extremely rugged and is still good many years later. it is also very comfy.

Highdesertranger

A pry bar? Holy hell.

 

[jacqueg]

Wahhhhhhh.

Are you still in Q?  Heard you went to Flagstaff?

No, no, I'm here. I had to go to Prescott, but that was only an overniter. Still some snow on the ground up there.

HDR might be exaggerating about the pry bar, my Cabela's cotneeds no such help. But is about average size for a camping cot, not especially small.

 

[highdesertranger]

A pry bar just makes it so much easier. You want the canvas part super tight like a drum this makes installing the ends hard, hence the pry bar. Highdesertranger

 

[shadowmoss]

The zippered bag it folds into is roughly 9.25"x10.5"x39" long.  The one they sell now is a bit different than the one I had but same idea, the mattress is separate and slips into a fabric sleeve so if the air mattress gets a leak it is the only part you need to replace and they are everywhere.

 

[Ravella and X]

No, no, I'm here. I had to go to Prescott, but that was only an overniter. Still some snow on the ground up there.

Flagstaff, Prescott... They're both 2 syllables and both end in a double consonant. : D

Tomatoes/potatoes?

 

[jacqueg]

Just don't try to make ketchup with potatoes...

 

[jacqueg]

A pry bar just makes it so much easier.  You want the canvas part super tight like a drum this makes installing the ends hard,  hence the pry bar.  Highdesertranger

Hmmm. I don't know whether Cabela's still sells canvas cots or not, but mine isn't canvas.

 

[JDub]

I was in Wallyworld this afternoon, I just happened to be looking in the sporting good section and I noticed they are selling 2 kinds of cots - one was the low to the ground but guaranteed extra easy to set up kind that folds into the standard rectangle - It was on sale for $49 - 10 bucks off. Then there was another aluminum one that folded into a lawn chair configuration - much thinner and easier to stow in odd side places and was $39. It looked a lot simpler and sturdier with fewer folding hinges and plastic this and thats that can break. That's the one I'd get.

 

[user 37446]

TWIH. Folding down very small is really going to be a must as I need to find something I can easily throw in the back of the side by side.

Thanks

Oh ok. There was an outdoor gear review article then just for you, IF I can remember what it's called. Something like the 10 best cots for 2020... Let me look.

https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/best-camping-cot

Yep that's it, from GearLab. You'll find what you need by reading that!

 

[highdesertranger]

My Cabela's cot is Cordura which is basically Nylon canvas. So when I said canvas I meant Cordura. Sorry about the confusion. Highdesertranger