You are getting very Sleepy

[daveb]

AmbienCR at least that's what the comercial said, but I use the standard 12 pack. I have to sleep with my head higher also. I carry my jackets in a stuff sack along with a couple of pillows. I prefer the sound of moving water, but if there are jerks around I put a fan close by. A solid sound like that works well for me. I like those sound devices set to water or ocean noises also. The deal is you don't want to be around ME. One couple made a mistake of pitching a tent behind my rig...Ha. They moved in the middle of the night and why they decided to pitch in my camp was wrong anyway. Too bad. I can raise the dead.

[Ford_6L_E350]

I suffer from the same issues: Has to be level and quiet.

I take great pains to level the van when I park. The back (foot) end can be slightly lower, but not much. I carry pieces of 2X8 for leveling the van. I have dug holes under the tires to lower one side and have had as much as 10" of leveling stuff (2x8 and rocks) under one tire. But, mostly I try to wedge between ground features to get a level parking spot.

Ambient sounds. Especially people sounds, trains, traffic, etc. will keep me awake. So, I travel with some foam rollup earplugs. But, the biggest help is the severe hearing loss in my right ear. Sleep on the left side for soundest sleep. Earplug in the left ear if needed.

Mostly we sleep in the penthouse. 2" memory foam over the hard SMB 'mattress'. Then a sheet and a top sheet, blanket, open sleeping bag across both of us if needed for warmth. And a window open for ventilation. Thermostat set at 40 (had to 'tweak it to get this low) to prevent freezing.

Usually, the first day or two of a trip I don't sleep well. After that, I adjust to the different bed and do okay. I even slept well in Alaskan 24 hour daylight.

Mike

[sdwindansea]

Like many others, a couple beverages at night always helps us to fall asleep. However, that is not necessary for us. We really don't do anything out of the ordinary although we are rarely in a campground either. So far I have only put minimal effort into leveling the van (rocks and wooden boards). We both sleep in the penthouse.

We did just get a Travasak for Christmas and used it for the first time a couple weekends ago (queen size). I was really surprised and happy at how comfortable it is.

For those of you that use memory foam, does it make much of a difference? Also, how do you store it when not sleeping in the penthouse? Is one brand different than another?

[Ford_6L_E350]

Originally Posted by sdwindansea

For those of you that use memory foam, does it make much of a difference? Also, how do you store it when not sleeping in the penthouse? Is one brand different than another?

We tried a couple of different memory foams, and they are not all the same. Current one is cut down from a Costco 2" double bed size. BTW, my wife neither likes it nor uses it.

We have enough room to leave it in place when the top is down. We can also leave the sheets and a thin blanket up there, but the sleeping bag (or down comforter) and pillows come down and go behind the dinette backrests.

Mike

[Marc]

Entering into our 4th camping season in our SMB, my wife and I found that the "adam and eve" sleeping bag from Cabelas is by far the most comfortable and since it's a sleeping bag for two, it's not confining at all. We seem to sleep better now in the penthouse of our van than at home in our king size bed. Our four year old daughter sleeps down in the back of the van in her own sleeping bag along with additional blankets and pillows and has been doing that since she was an infant. She loves it.

[yvrr]

My wife has back problems so mattress comfort is a major issue. We both sleep together in the penthouse. We use a pair of Thermarest BaseCamp pads (together, they are as wide as the bed) which go down first and then a memory-foam mattress from Cosco on top of that. The Thermarest pads allow us to adjust the comfort and support of the mattress "system". The memory foam is fitted with a fitted twin sheet (flannel during the colder months) and a top sheet. For warmth, we use a fleece blanket and a "down" comforter on top. To compensate for the mattress thickness, we had a foam pad made (about 1.5" thick by about 14" wide x the width of the penthouse) which goes under the pillows and brings them up to the height of the mattresses. We use the same type of pillows in the van that we use at home.

The Thermarest pads roll up and are stored in their stuff sacks. The memory foam and sheets roll up as a package and are stored in a large duffel which goes behind the sofa. The pillows and blankets go in another duffel. The pillow pad is stored in the penthouse.

Ear plugs are essential at times. The soft foam ones don't work and easily fall out during the night. Instead, we use the moldable silicone ones. Roll one between your palms to warm it up and then it will fit in your ear opening and completely shut off outside sounds when needed.

We sleep with our heads toward the rear of the van and so front to back level is important....being off somewhat side to side isn't a problem and we have camped enough that we can tell from the torpedo level we use whether we are close enough each way.

Sweet dreams...!

[Greg In Austin]

I think I will try and add to and revive this thread rather than starting a new one....

I am wondering what folks have done to add to or enhance their Penthouse Bed?

I have seen the threads replacing the platform, but I am thinking more about the mattress itself or bedding additons, etc.

Yes, very similar to the orginal question here.

What, if anything, have you done to your Penthouse bed to enhance comfort?


.

[calclimber]

We use a 1 inch memory foam topper that can be folded up and stored up top when not in use. It made a huge difference.

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Me ... oduct.html?

[surfgeek33]

Greg,

We were thinking of picking this up from gowesty.com when we get our rig. A little pricy at $179. But we are seriously thinking of calclimber's suggestion. Hope this helps!


Craig,

What size did you purchase and how is the fit? Can you use a fitted sheet with it?

Thanks, Ray

[calclimber]

I think we got the full size one. Its a little to big for the upper bed but fits nice down below. You could trim it to fit were every you would like. As far as sheets we dont try to use fitted sheets anymore they always pulled off the corners. We just use flat sheets top and bottom.