wmyers4u said:
I'm not in my van yet but have a 2" memory foam topper on my standard mattress.
I couldn't imagine sleeping on just that 2" or anything close to that.
I am looking at 8" for myself but I weigh 210.
For support you may want something layered with a firmer base and memory foam on top.
Make sure whatever you end up with it is ok to cut.
I agree with this person! Your knees will be hitting the plywood fast, your shoulder blades too, if you get a skinny mattress and hope for the best.
This is the full size version of the queen size I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005A4OQ9W/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1
Very satisfied with it. I've had a few foam/gel mattresses over the years, and have found the quality has skyrocketed on these things. The days are over when you had to spend $4,000 on a foam/gel bed or else deal with something that fell apart in a year. Yet I have not found that you can go skinny and still do well. The one I recommended is as thick as a "real" mattress.
To me, a bed *must* be from very good to great, or you will see immediate impacts on your health. It doesn't matter how much you save if you don't sleep well or just lounge well while you wait. The one I chose is cheap but not cheaply made. Big numbers and percentage of great reviews.
I also put a couple inch mattress topper over it that I got from Big Lots. $63.00 if I recall correctly. Very well worth it, but not entirely because it's such a great topper alone -- because it, along with its cover, will serve as a protective barrier against spills and tears, as well as simple friction. I would rather ruin a topper that costs 1/4 the price of a mattress than have to buy a new mattress. The topper softens the mattress a bit too, which is nice enough ... though I prefer a very firm mattress. This mattress is indeed firm, but with the topper, you shouldn't be hurting if you like a softer mattress.
You mention having a partner. If you do, I again even more strongly recommend not trying to get by on a skinny mattress and/or no topper. You will wear it out a lot quicker, if you know what I mean. We can't expect miracles out of foam/gel mattresses. They are made from materials for which damage from abrasion is much more likely than your standard durable-cloth coil mattresses and box-springs.
NOTE: Foam/gel mattresses tend to deal with the temperature differential between the heat of your body and the surrounding air/box spring/plywood foundation etc. by building up fungus and rot on the bottom of the mattress. I found a horror show of fungus on the underside of the first mattress I got. Some of that stuff can be not just gross but -- I'm not kidding here, for any who don't already know -- dangerous unto deadly.
Get yourself a protective moisture barrier going that will keep things drier. They have names like Aire-Flow, and from what I've seen tend to be pretty much the same thing with different brand names. You get strong plastic fibers on one side attached to a cloth backing on the other side. The fibers create air space for the moisture to evaporate in. It comes in long rolls that you have to order in whatever way you need to fit your size bed, then cut to size. Usually about 10 bucks per foot. My queen bed cost me a hundred bucks to fit with the moisture-barrier. Cheap compared to buying a new mattress, and much healthier than destroying your bed and/or vehicle with fungus.
