Day: October 1, 2023

Your Guide to Van Life Matresses We absolutely LOVE the technical and more complex parts of van builds.  However, we also acknowledge that there are so many additional smaller decisions that need to be made for a complete van life ready rig.  One of these decisions is what mattress to choose.  In this guide we address: Why camper van mattress needs are unique RoamRest Mattress Foam  Sizing DIY-ing Your Camper Van Mattress Camper Van Mattress Considerations One thing we have learned throughout our DIY van builds is that typically the best option for a drop in component is one that is made specifically for van life.  Why? Because camper vans have specific considerations that do not arise with house life. This is specifically the case for things like toilets, fridges, and mattresses! For camper van mattresses, there is the need for odd shapes and higher quality in less height.  Standard “rectangle” shapes will not fit in a camper van due to the curvature and beams. A standard mattress is around 10″.  This is way too high for use in a camper van.  RoamRest mattresses are 5″ but provide the same comfort as a standard 10″ mattress due to their higher quality multi-layer foam. In this guide, we share why we chose a RoamRest Custom Mattress, but also provide DIY options if a professional option is out of budget.  Our Camper Van Mattress Journey Over our 2+ years of van life, we have had 3 different mattresses: The first was a hand cut and sewn mattress by yours truly (see “Other Options“ for details) The second was a “pre-cut to Transit specs” 1 layer foam mattress The third is our RoamRest custom 4 layer foam mattress. We had the “pre-cut to Transit spec” 1 layer foam mattress in our second camper van conversion and about 6 months in chose to replace it with the custom mattress for the following reasons: After a few months, we could feel our plywood bed platform when we were on the mattress, and you could even see indents from where we typically slept. (Hey! You might like our lightweight 80/20 bed system design guide) We were experiencing back pain similar to when we went backpacking. Our camper van is our home, we should not have to compromise on sleep! After DIY-ing one mattress, I refused to do it again, those curves and specific shapes are HARD. Time is money. But at the same time, I have massive respect and full support for you if this is up your alley. RoamRest Camper Van Mattress Options RoamRest is a camper van specific sub division of North America Mattress Corp. This means they know their stuff when it comes to foam, fabric, and mattress construction. They are a small team based in Oregon that hand crafts and sews each mattress.  RoamRest’s first mattress was the Ultimate Tri Fold which was built to be as comfortable as a home mattress, but could also be folded and stored compactly when not in use.  Since