RV Mattresses: What You Need to Know for a Restful Night’s Sleep on the Road
Getting a restful night’s sleep is something many folks take for granted. However, getting restful sleep while camping is often a different story. Choosing the best RV mattress will help you get the restful sleep you need to take on your next adventure.
What is the difference between an RV mattress and a regular mattress?
Regular mattresses come in standard sizes, including twin, full, queen, and king. There are some special sizes like California king, but they are standard sizes. So, you can buy bedding for them based on the size name without having to measure anything or look for detailed dimensions on the package.
However, RV beds are not always that way. In fact, Bob Vila lists the following RV mattress sizes and their dimensions:
- RV Bunk: 28 by 75 inches, 30 by 75 inches, 30 by 80 inches, 34 by 75 inches, and 35 by 79 inches
- RV Twin: 38 by 75 inches, 38 by 80 inches, 39 by 75 inches, and 40 by 80 inches
- RV Full: 53 by 75 inches, 54 by 75 inches, and 55 by 75 inches
- RV Three-Quarter: 48 by 75 inches and 48 by 80 inches
- RV Short Queen: 60 by 74 inches and 60 by 75 inches
- RV Queen: 60 by 80 inches
- RV Olympic Queen: 66 by 80 inches
- RV King: 72 by 75 inches and 72 by 80 inches
- RV California king: 72 by 84 inches
How much room do you need?
Many modern RVs feature an RV queen mattress the same size as a standard household queen mattress, but the RV king mattresses are narrower than their household namesakes.
Additionally, most RV bedrooms have limited space making the “short” versions desirable for people on the shorter side of average. However, in most cases, the standard lengths will fit but may impede walking past the edge of the bed. Furthermore, it is often impossible to use a wider mattress than the RV came with without modifying the bedroom walls.
The best RV mattresses
The Sleep Foundation and Bob Vila agree on the Brooklyn Wanderlust Memory Foam mattress as the best overall RV mattress. The Brooklyn Wanderlust offers 22 sizes with five thickness options ranging from 6 inches to 14 inches and firmness ratings from three to five in the thickest offerings and seven to nine in the thinnest mattresses.
Bob Vila’s pick for ‘Best Bang For The Buck’ is the Best Price Mattress six-inch memory foam mattress. This particular RV mattress is available in six sizes, including twin, twin XL, full, short queen, queen, and king, and five thicknesses from 6 inches to 14 inches.
However, the Sleep Foundation chose a different RV mattress for its ‘Best Value’ pick. In fact, it’s the Bear Trek RV mattress that’s the ‘Best Value’ if you’re shopping for a mattress for your RV. The Bear Trek memory foam mattress offers three size options, including RV bunk, RV queen, and RV king, with seven thickness options.
What if you’re after a more luxurious RV bed? Bob Vila rates the Brooklyn Aurora hybrid mattress as the most luxurious RV mattress. This mattress features a top layer of “1.5-inch thick proprietary CopperFlex foam,” which is designed to relieve pressure points by conforming to the body. Additionally, the Brooklyn Aurora comes in 10 sizes and soft, medium, or firm options.
