Time For A New 2350 Mattress

Our original 11 year old mattress is near the end of life so we are trying something different.

A few months ago I ordered a zippered mattress cover from Phoenix USA made of the exact fabric as our cloth dinette seat cushions of yesteryear.  Our boxed window valances are appointed in the same fabric, so our new mattress will visually look like a piece of furniture when stripped of the bedding.

But more importantly, the Phoenix mattress cover provides us with some options on foam mattresses.  Walmart sells a HoMedics and a Spa Sensations 6" memory foam mattress for $114.00.  We are thinking buying one of them, toss the covering, trim the sandwich foam/memfoam material to the dimensions of our bed with angled corner, then stuff it inside our PC mattress cover for an affordable memory foam mattress that looks customized for our PC.

Has anyone done this?  If so, how did it turn out?

For you with memory foam, is it a hot material to sleep on?  Irene is concerned about that.

Here is our new Phoenix-supplied zippered mattress cover with our old mattress stuffed inside.  The fabric is called "Outlander Moss" which was used in the 2007 Sagemint Green color interior.  The pic did not capture the hint of green in the material.

That's a great idea . Our custom  2350 matress is a 2" thick 3 lb memory foam top layer over a  6" thick non-memory foam bottom  layer (the rv matress company that made ours calls the black/grey bottom layer 1.8 foam). I supplied the full size memory foam matress topper that I bought for our corner bed model Rialta,  and let  Next Day RV Matress Company do the rest.

3 lb density memory  foam is the ideal firmness.  Use 2 layer construction because  solid 6-8" thick 3 lb memory foam would be crazy $$$$. Amazon.com has a great selection, don't remember which exact one I bought.   Get the 3 lb memory foam that is specified non-smell, then let  it air out for 2 or 3 days for best results.

For us, regular non-gel memory foam  has been great, not too warm or sweaty. We use a simple thin quilted matress cover/pad on top, so your fabric matress cover should be good to go  .

Excellent idea.  Although our experience has found memory foam to be too warm.  I have read
that some users have successfully  -- some more, some less -- addressed the issue with a thick
breathable pad placed over the mattress.  Good luck, and please update the forum when you've
has some experience with your new bedding.

Although our experience has found memory foam to be too warm.  I have read
that some users have successfully  -- some more, some less -- addressed the issue with a thick
breathable pad placed over the mattress.

Hi Cropduster,

We would likely add a typical mattress pad over the top of it like we've always done before, or possibly inside along with the mattress.  Do you think having that barrier will reduce the heat sufficiently?  CalCruiser says that is what they do and it works.  I am seeking multiple confirmations.

Just to clarify the Phoenix mattress cover, it is not padded at all.  It is a thin durable upholstery fabric.  I would not count on it as a barrier like a mattress pad might offer.

Ron Dittmer

Difficult to predict, as comfort will always be subjective.  However, at a minimum, one would
expect that you would be more comfortable than without the covering.  If it turns out to be
not to your liking you can investigate the always-available Plan B.
Best of luck.

Difficult to predict, as comfort will always be subjective.  However, at a minimum, one would
expect that you would be more comfortable than without the covering.  If it turns out to be
not to your liking you can investigate the always-available Plan B.
Best of luck.

Yes, your point is well taken.

I personally feel you both are right.  It is my wife Irene who wants more assurance.  I don't always mention her, but she sometimes watches over my shoulder when typing.  Haha.  That is why I sometimes seem a bit unstable.     She is not here right now. 

My wife always uses a blanket even when I don't , but I weigh 190 vs her 100 lbs.
Maybe test out a memory foam pillow at home first  to see if it feels warm. I would also put  a simple matress pad/cover on the inside. We reused ours from our old  Rialta topper configuration out of habit,  even though our  new  matress  may  not have  needed it. The key thing is to get the 3 lb memory foam. I had back surgery plus a bad shoulder, so having a fixed bed with a good matress vs. a  jacknife sofa or convertible dinette   is a necessity. With the 3 lb density memory foam I am always comfortable sleeping on my back or side.

Thanks CalCruiser for the details on what is working for you.

Irene says we're going to our local Super Walmart in hopes they have the HoMedics and or Spa Sensation mattresses we are interested there to try out, lay on for a while.  We think we recall seeing mattresses on the floor at Walmart, but we might have our stores mixed up.

Yes, your point is well taken.

I personally feel you both are right.  It is my wife Irene who wants more assurance.  I don't always mention her, but she sometimes watches over my shoulder when typing.  Haha.  That is why I sometimes seem a bit unstable.    She is not here right now.  

Love it.  A problem as old as time, women believing they need to ride herd on their husbands.  (Not to suggest that Irene is not otherwise a perfectly lovely individual).  Unfortunately, your favorite wife will not be able to evaluate her sleeping comfort level until she has some practical experience.  Personally, if you decided to go with memory foam and a breathable cover, it may be your best option.  If you need a bedding trump card, remember to use the expression 'air bed'.

Also, thanks Ron for your terrific posts and sharing your expertise.  I am always in favor of not having to reinvent the wheel.

One last disclaimer- we keep the temperature inside the rig around 70 degrees at night using the ac or fatastic fan as required.  We have only experienced the extreme 110 degree heat of the Mojave desert once. The nights cooled down enough to let the fantastic fan take over from the ac before going to bed.  We had to start the ac again by mid morning . Our matress never felt warm or caused us to lose any sleep, it just got too hot inside the rig to sleep any later.  Everyone was happy except the Dometic refrigerator.

CalCruiser,

I wonder how the typical PC Norcold fridge fares in 110 degree heat.

Good to know the memory foam is not an issue with a simple barrier pad.  The HoMedic mattress comes with "Cool Flow Bubble Knit" zippered cover, maybe to address any heat issues.  Irene was thinking she might be able to rework that cover to the adjusted size of the our mattress requirement to provide such a barrier inside the PC mattress cover.

CalCruiser,

I wonder how the typical PC Norcold fridge fares in 110 degree heat.

It is indeed a  Norcold, my bad.
⛑Save this link for  when you are out in the desert and the heat exchanger gets too hot. This fixed the notorious n code fault and salvaged our ice cream using a handy 20-22ga jumper wire (NOT 12ga).
http://thenorcoldguy.com/blog/norcold-refrigerator-in-lockout-mode-do-you-need-to-reset-your-power-board-/


The next project. Pulls hot air up and out the top vent??  
http://r.ebay.com/V9VFdp

Very Interesting CalCruiser.  It seems like Norcold should have included a reset button installed somewhere behind the fridge (seen with outside service panel removed) with a label explaining how to use it.  Thanks for that tip.

Our matress never felt warm or caused us to lose any sleep, it just got too hot inside the rig to sleep any later.

I'm envious.   Our experience with memory foam suggest that it would be perfect in arctic conditions.  And those times when you wanted to save room by hauling only one thin blanket.

Well, after visiting a local Walmart, looking at their Spa Sensations 8" mattress sample, we decided to buy THIS HoMedics 6" mattress because it is a solid mattress inside without the large air gaps from the Spa Sensations egg-crate pattern between the two types of foam.  With free shipping to the house and local sales tax, total cost is $122, arriving here at the house in 4 days.

I will be trimming it to fit into the Phoenix mattress cover.  Irene is thinking of taking the mattress cover that the mattress comes with and re-sew it to the adjusted size, and then place the whole thing inside the Phoenix mattress cover.