How to choose the best mattress for an RV

Considering an RV is your home away from home on wheels, you’ll want a comfortable mattress that can mimic the same quality sleeps you have at your non-mobile home. Because let’s be honest, a home isn’t really ever a home until you can sleep comfortably. 

Traditionally, mattresses that are already built into RVs tend to be lumpy, uncomfortable, and are usually made of low-quality materials that offer very little support. If you’re about to hit the road or you’re sneaking off for a camping trip, you might need to choose a better mattress for your house-on-wheels. 

With that said, it’s important to do research and find a new mattress quickly. As always, doing your due diligence, studying a bunch of different sources and mattresses will help you sleep more comfortably while you’re travelling. 

When it comes to the world of RV mattresses, there are five categories with different types, shapes, and sizes for you to consider when choosing a new mattress: memory foam, innersprings, air mattresses, latex, and polyurethane mattresses. 

You’ll want to get some research done, read some customer reviews, and then test out some of them before buying one and driving off into the sunset. 

Memory foam RV mattresses

The memory foam mattress is a very popular choice because they are made with comfort as the number one priority. Memory foam mattresses contour to your body and can adjust differently to each person to help alleviate stress, pain, and body aches.

Memory foam mattresses will also regulate your body’s temperature as it changes environments. While this can be ideal for travelling around in your RV, memory foam does have a tendency to sleep hot which could result in sweaty and uncomfortable sleeps, especially if you’re in an RV that can’t constantly run a fan or air conditioning. 

If you’re looking into choosing a memory foam mattress for your RV, you might want to invest into one that has cooling agents that will help keep your body sleep cooler instead of waking up in a sweaty nightmare. 

Innerspring RV mattresses

Innerspring mattresses don’t have the advanced technologies as some memory foam beds but they’re made from metal coils within padding that usually makes for a thick and comfortable sleep but they also breath well and tend to give off a cool sleep. If you’re stuck in an RV all summer, you might want to favour sleeping cool over sleeping thick.

Innerspring mattresses do tend to collect a lot of condensation that can get pretty annoying for sleepers because they start to feel a bit heavy. 

But, compared to memory foam, innerspring mattresses are a lot more economical and equally dependable. 

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Air mattresses for RVs

While air mattresses are very convenient, they aren’t known to be very comfortable and are usually made from low-quality materials. Everyone has probably slept on an air mattress at some point in their life and the majority of experiences don’t tend to be very favourable. 

But, because they can be deflated, they are exceptionally useful as storage, especially in an RV where every inch of space is of value. If you have a big family and only two beds in the RV, being able to unfold a mattress out of a closet and inflate it is very valuable. If you’re looking to maximize space, air mattresses might be your RV go-to. 

Polyurethane RV mattresses

Polyurethane mattresses are the lowest quality of all five types of RV mattresses and are usually the standard that comes with the mobile homes. It’s usually made out of the stuff that low-grade couch cushions are made from but polyurethane foam is made out of flame resistant materials so it’s ideal to have in a small place that should not catch fire. Obviously, you never want a place you’re sleeping to catch fire but if you plan on living in a condensed RV for a while, having something that is resistant to fire is a real smart preventative choice. 

If you’re on a tight budget, polyurethane mattresses are also very inexpensive and could be ideal for people on a lower budget. 

Latex foam RV mattresses

The majority of latex foam mattresses are made out of natural and organic fibers which although eco-friendly, don’t tend to be as comfortable as memory foam or innerspring beds. Latex foams tend to be the least popular choice for RV mattress but they are known to be very long-lasting and durable. 

Sizes

It’s always important to measure your RVs rooms before going ahead and buying one. Inside an RV, space is even more valuable than it is in a bedroom. You don’t really have many options when it comes to a mobile home versus in an apartment or house. 

From bunk mattresses (42 inches by 80), to twin mattresses (38 inches by 80), king mattresses (72 inches by 80), and queens (66 inches by 80), it’s important to choose a size that fits well in a tiny space. If you’re going to be a lot of family members sleeping in the same RV room, you might want to favour a big size, like a king, over several twins. 

Quality

There’s admittedly no better way to find out the long-term quality of mattresses than simply sleeping on them. Since you can’t realistically sleep on hundreds of mattresses at a time, the best remedy to see which mattresses are the best quality is to read a bunch of reviews online. Customers reviews are unbiased snippets of information and the more research you do, the better off you’ll be. 

In the end, be sure to check in on RV mattress warranties before purchasing and make sure you’re getting something that is comfortable and optimizing as much space as possible. If you’re going to be spending a lot of time on the road, you’re going to want to make absolute sure that you’re comfortable.