We have the 10" Zinus short queen memory foam mattress. We have been very happy with it. I find it to be very comfortable. The down side is the weight. It is heavy and hard to move to get to the spaces underneath to winterize or to get to the storage compartments I made. Amazon lists the 10" model at 52.6 lbs. I am about to order the 6" Gel Infused model which is 31.3 lbs. https://smile.amazon.com/Zinus-Gel-Infused-Green-Memory-Mattress/dp/B072M8JWGR/ - https://smile.amazon.com/Zinus-Gel-Infused-Green-Memory-Mattress/dp/B072M8JWGR/

I will move the 10" model into our house. I will need to find a way to adapt it to a full-queen size though.

Originally posted by jato This has been a problem since day one I believe.  After only a few nights in our 177 we decided to replace the mattress, and this was in 2011.  We purchased a eurotop  mattress (AKA mattress in a roll) from Camping World and have been very pleased with its performance.  We use it about 30 days/year and feel it is just as luxurious and comfortable as the day we purchased it 7 1/2 years ago.

We did the same in our 2011.. except we didn't last a "few nights".. we lasted one night in the driveway.

The six inch mattress arrived today and is expanding now. It will take a while before it is fully expanded and I can give an objective evaluation. I can provide some first impressions though.

First off, it is amazing what a difference that 28.1 lbs of weight makes. The 6" mattress is something Ican move easily. I expect it will still be easy once it is fully expanded.

Second is the thickness. I will need to wait to after it is fully expanded, but partially expanded, it is easy for me to fold enough to get to access things underneath.

As for comfort, I can't report on that until we have a chance to test it. One good thing about geting it now is that the odor of the new foam has time to dissipate before we need to use it. Lying down on it while partially expanded just does not work for providing an evaluation. I think it will be a bit more firm than the 10" model. My wife had mentioned the 10" model which we purchased in 2016 seems to have developed impressions where we lie. While Ido not find this to be a problem (I had not really noticed it), she does not care for that part.

Now to figure out what to do with a 10" mattress that is in too good a shape to throw away  and for which we have no good storage option.

Has anyone tried the apparently new 'mattress topper' as an alternative to getting a whole new mattress??

https://www.zinus.com/collections/mattresses/mattress-type_memory-foam

Greetings:  

I travel by myself and purchased a inner spring twin.  It's much easier to change the bedding and I installed a shelf behind it. I have a stereo system on the shelf and storage underneath.  It works great for me.  

Crankster78  R-179 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00W67PH2Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Since the bed is North/South and hangs over the dinette we didn't need a short Queen....being 6'4 and the wife 5'11 a full length will be glorious. 

Keep in mind, we are all different shapes and sizes with different definitions of comfort, so what works for one may not work for another! :-)

We did have an old 2" thick semi-firm chunk of foam that was left over from the larger chunk that we used as a mattress in the back of the pickup that we put under the R-pod mattress. That is what does it for now. The original mattress has seemed to compress since we've gotten it, so I can foresee a time in the future when it will have to be replaced.

Right now the 6" mattress is not working out very well as it is not expanding beyond 4". I already contacted Zinus' customer service. I will give it a couple of more days per the agent. If it still does not expand, I will contact Amazon to replace it. I may go for a refund and change brands, which would be too bad as my 10" Zinus is quite comfortable and is shortly going to be moved into our house for use there with a foam block to fill the space to make it a full queen length.

The issue may be that the mattress was manufactured in September 2018 and I ordered and received it in January 2019. The box states to unpack within 72 hours of receipt. That does not account for the four months of shipping and storage from when it was manufactured. The top memory foam portions seem to have expanded, but the base layer is the one that is still not expanded. I'll let you know more in a couple of days.

I really like the lighter weight and flexibility of the 6" mattress. An 8" mattress would be over 10 lbs heavier and stiffer. It would be a good choice as it still would be more flexible and lighter than the 10" mattress.

The mattress never got beyond 4" at the thickest part. I got a refund and was told to dispose of the defective one. It was donated to a Habitat for Humanity ReStore. The issue was that it was in the box too long. Manufacture date was September, 2018. I ordered it in January, 2019. That meant that it was in the box about 4 months. That was simply too long. I ordered a different brand of 6" mattress from a US manufacturer. It should be arriving here tomorrow if all goes well. I expect this one will fully expand. This is the one I ordered: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B019EMSP5Q/ - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B019EMSP5Q/

Originally posted by offgrid We use the mattress topper approach but I wouldn't recommend it.  Not hard to put the sheets on but the they tend to pull off the topper at the corners. It might be better with a thicker topper, ours is about 3 inches.

You can get sheet leashes, they are short lengths of elastic with fasteners at each end that you connect under the corners, to keep the sheets/toppers/protectors from pulling off. I am an... "athletic sleeper" so we have used them our whole lives, every mattress. The only time they have not been needed was when we used a oversized double sleeping bag arrangement. We had a fitted sheet on the mattress still, but the bag "insulated" it from all my spins rolls twists and turns.

Something like this random link: http://www.amazon.com/Nyche-Designs-Adjustable-Grippers-Suspenders/dp/B00MNBPZFE - Sheet Grippers

If the combo of the topper and the original rpod mattress was actually comfortable then I would try it, but its not very comfortable for us so I am awaiting StephenH's feedback on the 6 inch foam mattress. 

My "mattress advice" to new owners is always.. "mattress comfort is subjective" and I swear, we have owners happily sleeping on the stock mattress.. but I don't see how.. LOL We did one night, in the driveway in the Pod, ordered from CW the very next day.

But I will also admit, we love the stock mattress in our Lance. It's a Serta Perfect Sleeper or something close to that. Serta for sure. But many other owners don't like it. We use a Tempurpedic at home. Thought about one for the camper, but they ain't light, or cheap. Maybe if we break down and go full time..

The Dreamfoam mattress arrived this week. I have not had time prior to this to take pictures and get them ready to post so I will have them linked to this message.

It expanded to the full 6" very quickly as it had not been compressed in a box for 4 months. Manufacture date was December, 2018 but I don't think they compress and roll them until just before shipping. It came in a tall box as the mattress was not folded in half before rolling. I think that also helped.

Impressions:

It seems a bit thin as I can sit on it and feel it bottom out on the platform. However, as soon as I lie down, it seems more than adequate. It is firm but not hard. I will know more when I can give it an actual in-use test.

It was a bit more expensive than the Zinus mattress which did not expand properly. I was able to get a refund for that one. It is disappointing as the 10" Zinus mattress is comfortable. It is now in our house taking the place of a 10-year old Select Comfort mattress which is boxed up for possible later use.

There is some residual odor to it. However, it should dissipate long before we need to use it. It is a Gel mattess and claims to sleep cooler than standard memory foam. We won't be able to verify that until we actually get the opportunity to try it.

Even though it cost more, the Dreamfoam mattress is a bargain over the price of some other mattresses I viewed as I was looking. It is made in the USA which is also a big plus.

When we purchased our 6" Eurotop mattress in 2011 the only negative was the weight of lifting it up to get to the bypass valves underneath.  However by just using my shoulder to lift the mattress up and getting to my access panel under the bed I can open/close the 3 valves in less than 30 seconds so it isn't too big of a deal.  Now if I had to raise an 8" or 10" mattress that may be much more problematic not only because of the extra weight to lift, but less room to raise sufficiently due to the increased thickness.  The second negative with the thicker mattress would be to easily tuck in the bedsheets and cover.  My DW sewed the bottom and cover sheet together at the base which makes it much easier to maneuver.

Now here we are 7.5 years later and still enjoy the firm mattress, just as comfortable now as the day we purchased it.

The key seems to be the age when you receive it. Unfortunately, I did not see a date of manufacture anywhere on the box when I received it. The date was on the tag attached to the mattress. In my case, the mattress was over 4 months old. Since it was made in China, the four months included shipping to the US, transportation, and warehousing before it was shipped to me.

OTOH, the Dreamfoam mattress had a date of manufacture only about a month old and I understand it is not compressed and rolled until just before shipping. The difference in how they expanded was astounding. The Dreamfoam mattress came up to full height in only a few minutes vs. the Zinus which never did expand beyond 4" at the thickest point even after about a week. However, when I got the 10" Zinus, it must have not been in the box quite as long as it did fully expand. Perhaps the 6" model moves slower than the thicker ones. If so, the 8" Zinus might be okay.

Do you find the 8 inch mattress difficult to move out of the way to access equipment under the bed?