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Old 10-20-2018, 04:01 PM   #1
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A Good Night’s Sleep

Looking forward to a lot of great nights in the new van that was just ordered. Just curious what people have found to be the most comfortable sleeping surface. Will be a platform bed, between 48-53” wide, four season use, so something that's comfortable in low temps as well as warmer temps. Please chime in, all insight and experiences welcome!

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Old 10-20-2018, 06:02 PM   #2
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What van are you ordering? Transit, Sprinter, Promaster?? Is the conversion from Sportsmobile, another converter, or are you planning a home build?
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Old 10-20-2018, 06:14 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by eradikate View Post
...Please chime in, all insight and experiences welcome!
Couldn't resist...only good mattress I've ever experienced is the one available after a warm campfire and a cold 6pk
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Old 10-20-2018, 07:20 PM   #4
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I have 9” of memory foam, works great, more confortable than my bed at home.
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Old 10-20-2018, 07:31 PM   #5
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3 seasons but with a decent number of nights as low as the teens. The single most important thing for me on cold nights is socks. It almost doesn't matter how prepared - if it's cold, and I don't have socks, I freeze. With socks, I am well regulated.


Beyond that, layers make a huge diff. Modern materials make great thermals.


Body heat also helps if you have a willing participant.


A blanket over the sleeping bag can further insulate. If wool isn't an allergic problem, surplus stores still have great military blankets that are extremely warm. Wool can stay warm when wet, which may be a lifesaver some time.
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Old 10-20-2018, 07:57 PM   #6
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Of the several van builds I've done I'm pretty much just fine on 6" regular foam from the upholstery/foam store in my town. My wife likes the memory foam stuff but I could care less.

As far as temp regulation I find one thing works for me: A furnace to make it 70 deg. in my van. I can stay warm with a down mummy bag but I'd rather sleep with one layer in a cozy heated room. In all of my experience this is not expensive to achieve in a van with a propane or diesel furnace.
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Old 10-20-2018, 08:28 PM   #7
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This is going to sound weird but it works really good in cold weather, we put my wifes heating pad on low in the bed, makes it nice and toasty. And a beanie to keep my head warm. The current draw is minimal so it dosent effect the battery bank if we are boondocking and not on shore power.
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Old 10-20-2018, 09:54 PM   #8
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We have nice 3” foam and then add a 2” air cell sleeping pad from REI on top of it and finely a sleeping bag on top. Very comfortable. The propane heater gets set to 60F then goes to 68F about 6:30 am.
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Old 10-20-2018, 10:21 PM   #9
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Old 10-21-2018, 11:40 AM   #10
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We use an IKEA mattress. It's something in between a futon and a proper mattress. At the time I needed something quick and it met the rough size and weight parameters I was envisioning.

It's on a fairly light wood platform topped with thin-ish ply that gives just a bit. That was thrown together in a rush one evening before heading out on our second trip with the van.

I find it perfectly comfortable, my better half complains a bit about it, which is odd. Usually I'm the one that's more sensitive to such things.

If I did it over, I'd look into leveraging some commercially available slat systems, but might end up back where I am now. I do want wall-to-wall coverage with no holes to fall into.
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