Short queen mattress replacement

We encountered the dreaded R-Pod mattress on trip number one. I checked on line, did the research, etc. Because we have a R-Pod 172 that has two bunks up front and a dinette that makes a short queen in the back. We like the short queen but you have to put it up and take it down, so what to do. I bought a sheet of 1/4 inch Luan plywood and measured the length of the short queen dived by 4 and made 4 separate pieces. Now what to do for a hinge ? I folded each piece and used Duct tape on the long side, flipped it over and another strip of Duct tape. I ended up with the stiffner with Duct tape hinges that could be folded up for storage and folded out for use. I put the 1/4 in stiffner between the factory cushions and ( don't laugh ) bought a 3 inch dual foam one piece short queen mattress from Walmart for 99 bucks. When ready for bed the table goes down, the factory cushions then the Luan stiffner then the foam mattress then Donna makes the Bed. When done I roll up the foam mattress and secure with 2 bungees and store it and the Luan stiffner on the lower bunk. It sleeps really good, I mean really good and we have the best of both worlds. It takes less than 5 minutes to set up or tear down. walah problem solved for less than $120.00 bucks. We really wish we had a 179 so we could leave the bed made up, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Originally posted by J&Jcf .. They should just reduce the price and let you choose your own.

Yep, the ground and a mat or pad used to be fine back in my backpacking days. Take a back injury or two + a few extra birthdays .. Well, a few extra bucks to get a better mattress doesn't seem like a bad idea. Even one night on a bad mattress is something I pay for for a week.

It seems like most manufacturers know this is an area where they can cut costs. We've had 6 TT's, made by 4 different manufacturers. Five of the 6 mattresses were poor. The one in our Arctic Fox was the exception. Our first 2 trailers, we put up with the mattresses, as we were younger and more resilient with fewer aches and pains. Over the years, we've tried replacement inner springs, memory foam mattresses, regular form toppers, and memory foam toppers--all with varying degrees of comfort success. I swear that they found the mattress from our RPod in the garbage dump and installed it in our new Kodiak! Well, memory foam topper for the time being.

Ditto to Furpod's post.