How About an Airbed?

When we started working on our new camper "project," it was clear the previous owners hadn't taken the best of care of some things. A new mattress was certainly in order before we took the rig out on the road. But what kind of mattress to replace the old "spring and stuffing" that we took out?

In our big fifth wheel we'd been spoiled rotten with a commercial air bed. It set us back a few bucks, so getting another one of these seemed out of the question. Still we wanted something comfortable and light, as we were working hard to lighten the camper load weight. With reservations we visited Walmart and picked out a queen size air mattress from the sporting goods section.

It was surprisingly comfortable for the price. When we added a couple of inches of memory foam to the top of the mattress, our restful nights were almost as good as back in the "big rig." Still there are a few things we learned from nights on the road.

First, a genuine, expensive "air bed" with separate air chambers for each sleeper is certainly an advantage. If we pump up our single chamber bed to make us both comfortable, things get ugly when one partner gets up, leaving their fellow abed. The sudden loss of weight on the bed causes a quick drop in altitude, leading to the potential of a sore shoulder or hip.

Second, when traveling between destinations where altitude changes are encountered, be prepared for a surprise. Heading uphill, the air mattress certainly expands, getting much firmer. Heading down the hill the opposite is sure to occur. Be prepared to have to make fine (and sometimes rough) tuning adjustments to get a decent night's sleep.

Oddly the quality of the sleep varies between mattresses, with no particular relationship to cost. Our beloved queen size air mattress developed a leak in Las Vegas, leaving us to hit another Walmart. We picked up another inexpensive queen mattress, pumped it up, and found that sleeping was far less comfortable. At the time we didn't have our memory foam with us--still, the "loft" and even-ness across the mattress just wasn't the same.

Would we go back to a "springs and stuffing" mattress? Considering the cost, weight, and comfort factors, we'll tough it out with the air mattress. But we will add a layer for memory foam. We prefer to "remember" a good night's sleep.

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