Memory foam mattress topper

cbarnhill

I travel solo, sleep wheel-to-wheel and keep the bed down and made all the time. I have a 1 1/2 inch topper and just purchased a 3" topper from Costco ($20.00 off) to replace it. My concern is that it covers the heat vents. Does anyone else have a 3" topper and does it interfere with the heat distribution?  I use the back shelf for clothes storage so I can't cut vents in there. 

Verna

@cbarnhill, can you cut a couple of inches off of the topper to help keep it and your bedding away from the heating slots?

ericnliz

@cbarnhill, We use a brace to raise ours. Our mattress topper also covered the rear vent as you are describing. Got the idea from who else.... @Dalehelman! Works great.

cbarnhill

@ericnliz if you are recommending raising the shelf above the fins by an inch and holding it open with a brace, you are suggesting exactly what frank (Tabaz) recommended. You guys are so smart ;-). Franks going to do it for me when the weather cools down in Arizona-if it ever will..

ericnliz

@cbarnhill, Yep, you got it!!! I used a piece of old broken ladder ball frame to make mine. I believe @Dalehelman used a scrap piece of PVC he had. I just cut a notch in mine to fit on the center frame board below the shelf to keep it in place. Works well...cost..$0!

Homebodyatheart

@cbarnhill way back somewhere on the forum pages there was a great mod done to help with this. @Verna may have also been involved, but don't quote me on that. On either side of the back shelf area is the small V shaped side wall. Someone took both out and replaced it with a grate of some sort. This allowed the warm air out while keeping objects on the shelf from falling into the abyss. Someone else took theirs out, did some scroll saw work to open it up, then replaced it. Hope this helps!

marilyncp

Chiming in here.... Chris Krieg drilled 3 or 4, 2 1/4" holes into the back shelf and plugged them with a small vent.  His post can be found on the T@B Camping Trailers page... https://www.facebook.com/groups/24931511064/search/?query=vent

But question, is it necessary to vent the back shelf on the newer models (2017 T@B S)?  Mine has a small space at the very back of the shelf that seems to vent fine, but I know @cbarnhill that you have an older model.  

Verna

There is no need to vent the newer models, @Marilyncp. The slot at the rear of the shelf replaces the front facing vent of the 2014, 2015 and some of the 2016 models. 

@cbarnhill has said she stores her clothes on top of the shelf, so any vents on the top would be useless. 

marilyncp

Thank you Miss @verna!  I didn't think so but thought I would ask.
 
PS. Love what you guys are doing to the forum. Thank you all for your hard work and great advice!

Verna

You're very welcome, Marilyn. Slowly but surely we are straightening things up so it's easier to find, merging like threads into one (such as T@B Sightings), and just trying to be a more friendly place to spend some time. Thanks for the kind words. 

2Cougs

@Tbone - I believe the vents are under the bed and not blocked by the table when the bed is made.  We just make sure once we arrive at our destination to not store anything under the bed that would block the vents.

Verna

@2Cougs, @cbarnhill has an S model and you have the CS-S. She uses the sofa as a twin bed and has the mattress pad and bedding on top of the sofa, which does block the vents. She and another T@B owner have it figured it out. 

2Cougs

@Verna - Thanks!  Forgot that was the original question and was commenting to Tbone who has a CS-S like we do.  Perfect example of why we love you and all you do to keep us on track!

Verna

@2Cougs, you're fine. Sometimes it takes another set of eyes to see clearly. And you guys have a lot of smoke in front of your eyes right now 

dundons

We had to stop using the memory foam topper in late season camping due to the way the material becomes very firm when it gets cold. We don't use the heater all night and the foam around the periphery gets hard as a rock.

PattyGus

Is a three inch topper really necessary? Isn’t the bed comfortable enough? I’m planning to sleep the same way, wheel to week on the sofa made up as bed full time. 2018 320s Sofitel.

Sharon_is_SAM

We find it very comfortable with just a plush mattress pad, but we like extra firm mattresses.

ontheroad

@dundons ...I have a T@G...but I actually use my memory foam under the factory mattress..it softens the hardness of our floor...and if it gets too hard you'd still be fine...some of our temps have been in the high 30's the we've slept in and I sleep like a baby in our T@G!

2Cougs

I just finished adding a 3" memory foam topper.  I did not do this to make the bed more comfortable.  I did this to make switching from bed to table is easier.  We do not use sleeping bags, but prefer sheets and blankets.  Now I will make the bed with the fitted sheets going around the mattress topper and not the bench pads. Then when we want to use the table, we can just roll the topper (bedding included) toward the back.  It looks like a big round pillow.  Then the bench pads get adjusted, thetable goes up and we are set.  When it is time for bed, the table goes down, bench pads put down, the mattress pad and bedding rolls back out, and we are ready for bed.

We do not put the table up often... but I am hopeful that this will make it easier than unmaking and remaking the bed every time.  We will try it out on our first early Spring outing where the weather will be questionable.  Will report back how it works.  Thanks to @Dalehelman and others at the F@ll J@m who modeled this for us.

Homebodyatheart

@PattyGus I use a sleeping bag over a Thermarest self inflating pad. They do come in different thicknesses. I love that it’s compact when put away as I have no interest in wrestling a foam sleeping topper. I usually sleep wheel to wheel, and when DH is along we sleep two twins. As with other discussions there are fans of each method. Good luck with your decision. 

Somemedic

The floor mat pads they sell at menards are high density foam an withstand a lot. I used them on my pop up to help the heated mattress

rfuss928

2Cougs said:

 We do not use sleeping bags, but prefer sheets and blankets.  Now I will make the bed with the fitted sheets going around the mattress topper and not the bench pads. Then when we want to use the table, we can just roll the topper (bedding included) toward the back.  It looks like a big round pillow.  Then the bench pads get adjusted, the table goes up and we are set.  When it is time for bed, the table goes down, bench pads put down, the mattress pad and bedding rolls back out, and we are ready for bed.

We do not put the table up often...

This describes the method/system we have been using for most of our T@B years.  The pillows get laid lengthwise in the center of the roll.  The roll also makes a good back rest below the cabinet while sitting lengthwise on the benches either side of the table.  The swap is quick and easy.although many trips it has stayed in the bed configuration the entire time.  We use a CG picnic table under our awning whenever possible.

JPRoland

I realize this is a bit pricey, but I am not a good sleeper so this is an area of utmost importance to me. I found a place on the internet called, Foam Source. I think they are out of Boulder. The site allows you to pick from a wide-variety of foam types and thicknesses (tons of choices) and they will custom-cut them to your measurements. I chose a 2" medium density piece of foam for my both mine and my wife's bed in the T@B. My wife is 5'1" and 125 pounds (don't tell her I told you that) and I am 6'0 and 200 pounds. I pull my side out to what I guess you would call a full-size bed and her side remains like a narrow twin. We like having a little pathway between the beds to get to the restroom. Plus, after 44 years, we don't really like each other that much (okay, just kidding). I just received the two pieces this week and I am so glad I measured precisely because they cut them exactly! They are a perfect fit and it feels fantastic. My wife said, "This is a game changer." Which was surprising because I can't get her to watch a game. I keep them each rolled up in black plastic bags and just stow them in our SUV. 

4ncar

JPRoland said:

I realize this is a bit pricey, but I am not a good sleeper so this is an area of utmost importance to me. I found a place on the internet called, Foam Source. I think they are out of Boulder. The site allows you to pick from a wide-variety of foam types and thicknesses (tons of choices) and they will custom-cut them to your measurements. I chose a 2" medium density piece of foam for my both mine and my wife's bed in the T@B. My wife is 5'1" and 125 pounds (don't tell her I told you that) and I am 6'0 and 200 pounds. I pull my side out to what I guess you would call a full-size bed and her side remains like a narrow twin. We like having a little pathway between the beds to get to the restroom. Plus, after 44 years, we don't really like each other that much (okay, just kidding). I just received the two pieces this week and I am so glad I measured precisely because they cut them exactly! They are a perfect fit and it feels fantastic. My wife said, "This is a game changer." Which was surprising because I can't get her to watch a game. I keep them each rolled up in black plastic bags and just stow them in our SUV. 

Web link or phone number?

Bayliss

@4ncar, I looked it up to see what they have, so here's the link and number:

https://foamsource.com/     1-800-255-0181