First Night

[jeanontheroad]

Hmm. No, I have never slept on an air mattress in cold weather, so I can't say anything about that. We were always in the van in summer. We have had our twin Aerobeds for nearly 10 years. I find them very comfortable. I prefer them to our sleep number bed. We never had any trouble with them and I think highly of their durability but they were not used daily for extended periods, just intermittently over those years. Kylakemike did say he was working. Daily setting up might be annoying, altho he would not have to do it every day if he chose not to. I have seen the double cushion thing done on a boat, but never slept on it, so I can't say much about that, either. They might need some sort of mat put over them to be comfortable. I don't know.

 

[Unchained]

On the toilet situation, a lot of us are in the 'Bucket Brigade'. 5 gallon bucket with a Totable Toilet or Lugguable Loo snap down lid. Much cheaper than a port a pot, and some kitty litter, cedar shavings or potting soil (which one depends on you) works well to help contain odors. As the lids are very inexpensive, it might be a good thing to try before investing in an expensive port a pot. You can always get the pot later if you want, and the lid is easily stored and a good thing to have if your port a pot ever craps out on you, pun definitely intended.

 

[papas34]

Unchained, are pottymouth puns worthy of warnings?
I have a bucketload of them. :dodgy:

 

[Patrick46]

we have a mini pop-up camper we pull behind the chopper. It has a queen size foam mattress built in.

I always though that I was the guy who could sleep just about anywhere, but for some reason, I just couldn't get comfy on that foam mattress. I was actually thinking of selling it at one point.

...until one day my wife stuck a camping pad on top of the foam...and WOW, that made all the difference in the world!! Now I sleep like a baby in there!!


btw...for the first year I was camping in my van, I used a cot to sleep on, with a camping pad on top of that. It's super comfy to sleep on, and you can take it down really easily if need be.

 

[kylakemike]

Peacetara: storage underneath

me: One thing I was thinking about was a a platform thing where 1/2 of it was drawers or bins and the other half was kept open. The inflated air mattress could be on it at nite, then deflated and put away so the platform became a desk or sewing table or other work area. The computer equipment/sewing machine/other stuff could be tucked into the open area when a bed is needed. Another solution would be a bed platform that was hinged in the middle that housed a port a potty when folded and supported a mattress made in 2 sections when it was open. The cushions could be stacked to make a seat, with a table unfolding from the wall to make a desk/eating/work area. Same drawers or bins under the part that did not unfold.

If I was making the setup, it would be simple and straight forward f. If DH was making it, it would be more extravagant.

This is my plan as well. Already have to air mattress. Simply need to build the bed.

 

[akrvbob]

Air mattresses are full of ...air! The air in the mattress will be the same temperature as the air around it. If the air around it is cold, which it often is in vans, then the air in the mattress will be the same temperature--COLD! Cold air underneath you is the worst thing you can have!!

Thermarest and other self-inflating camping pads have foam inside them that act as insulation so they have some warming value. If you put one of those on top of your air mattress it MIGHT be warm enough.
Bob

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

I had a bed that folded into a couch but i was too lazy to ever fold it lol. So i can't imagine setting up an air one. I actually made the bed solid when i redid the build

 

[caseyc]

Welcome to the forum! I'll chime in on this thread, as I too had agonized for many months on my bed setup for my van. First thing that had to go was the stock built-in rear fold-down bench seat/bed. Simply was uncomfortable for numerous reasons, including that I couldn't sleep horizontally due to hitting my head against the curtains in my conversion van.

One of the things I agonized over was whether to install a part time sofa bed to give more room during the day, or to have a permanent bed installed which would eat up much of the limited interior space in my van. I finally decided on installing a twin size iComfort memory foam mattress onto a *real* twin size 8" raised platform wood bed frame with headboard. The entire bed setup goes vertically along the left (driver side) wall of the van.

Bottom line is that when I want to sleep, I can sleep in seconds. I can quickly plop down into my bed and blankets which is already setup that way full time. I'm waaaaaay too lazy to have to setup and tear down a part time bed. Plus with a permanent bed setup, I'm able to have 4 large plastic containers for storage underneath the raised platform bedframe. I imagine it would be harder to have all my storage containers set in place if I had a part time bed setup.

As for the inflatable bed question, this too is a hugely personal choice. I once had an inflatable queen size bed that was raised so that I could sit on it comfortably. But after having slept on the inflatable bed for several months, I started to have back problems and was feeling aching all over. It was probably made worse by the fact that I like to sleep on my side. After switching over to a quality memory foam mattress, that solved my back ache problems. Heck, even my $100 pillows are Temperpedic memory foam quality. I can never go back to cheap $10 squishy pillows with no head and neck support while sleeping. I would whole heartedly recommend a Tempurpedic pillow for anyone as it's worth the price of admission for a comfy night sleep.

Cheers,
Casey

 

[flying kurbmaster]

I like the extra space during the day so I have a couch during the day with two high density foam matresses on it which I can sleep on as a single if I am too tired to pull it out or I can pull it out which is not a big deal, the trick is to get the set up and pull out hassle free. on mine the matresses go up against the back wall the front of the bed is lifted slightly the legs are pulled out on tubular slides then the hinged top is folded over, matresses laid down. I leave the sheets on the matresses and have a cover over them during the day, so sheets are folded between the matresses and unfolded in the evening a comforter is pulled from cupboard and good night. too easy. with the width that I have in the Kurbmaster there is still enough room between the kitchen counter and the bed to walk in for morning coffee or as a hallway. works well gives me all that floor space and room to string a hammock during the day,

 

[kylakemike]

Great input. Thank you so much.

Bob I did not think about the cold air in the mattress. Excellent point. I will probably build a platform and figure out a memory foam or other mattress arrangement. THe bed will need to be oriented lengthwise as it is an Astro van.

 

[maller82]

I plan on building something like this.

http://www.vagabonderz.com/building-the-sofabed/comment-page-1/#comment-18424

Couch / bed / underneath storage

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

Just want to mention, i love memory foam in normal conditions but in tyhe cold morning it becomes a concrete slap until my body warms it, and it warms exactly the shape of you body so its lumpy until you heat it all up. I wasnt aware of that property, just a heads up.

 

[kylakemike]

Just want to mention, i love memory foam in normal conditions but in tyhe cold morning it becomes a concrete slap until my body warms it, and it warms exactly the shape of you body so its lumpy until you heat it all up. I wasnt aware of that property, just a heads up.

Thanks so much for this input. Not something I would have thought about.