Basecamp Bed Improvemants

[BkroadTravlr]

My wife and I have only had time to spend one night in Wallie since we took delivery. I figured we would need to add some type of mattress pad to the bed cushions and my initial thoughts were confirmed. Our old backs need more cushion. Has anyone come up with a good solution that can be rolled and stored under the bench? Thought about a memory foam bed topper but not sure if it can be stowed or not. I think a 6" air bed is a little overkill, but maybe best solution. Has anyone tried a self-inflating sleeping pad?
Planning to sleep crosswise so my wife can get in and out of bed as at home. I don't have any problem climbing over her and if we leave out the fill-in boards, I can sit up or stand on my side with my feet in the opening. I'm 6' tall and can lay flat in the aft location if I angle slightly.
Wanting to keep things as simple as possible and feel like camping. That's why the Basecamp appealed to us in the first place.

[IanPoulin]

If space is a consideration, and if you and your wife prefer different levels of firmness, you may wish to head into an REI or similar store and look at Thermarest or in-store brand backpackers pads. They all roll down to nex tto nothing, weight ounces in many cases and are quite comfortable.

[Joe_Julie]

We just purchased a Basecamp as well. Unfortunately, we were called the evening prior to the morning of pickup saying the axle recall prevented them from releasing the unit to us.

We actually have not spent the night in it yet. We are a little concerned with the cushions pulling double-duty as a mattress as well. We both like an extremely firm mattress so it might be okay for us. We purchased the REI Kingdom Sleep System (Queen) for our tent camping adventures. This is no ordinary air mattress, it is amazing and can be adjusted to any firmness and the material is extremely durable.

We bought the Basecamp because we're tired of tent camping. I hope if the cushions don't work out for us we can use the REI mattress. It will fit width-wise but length wise it is about 3 inches too long, but we might be able to stuff it in. It wasn't cheap but every time we buy something high quality and pay a little more I am never disappointed (hope the Basecamp is the same).

I agree with IanPoulin, check out REI, they have a great selection of these new mattresses, I was pretty impressed with all of them.

[incahoots]

My thought is to leave it in the bed configuration and cover with a futon mattress or equivalent like a pic somebody here posted. We are also long time tent campers and don't think we would often need the table set up.

[Trae and Ann]

Originally Posted by incahoots

My thought is to leave it in the bed configuration and cover with a futon mattress or equivalent like a pic somebody here posted. We are also long time tent campers and don't think we would often need the table set up.

Found on amazon for about 100.00 many colors available. We have been very happy with it.

[incahoots]

That's it! Actually looks perfect in the first pic. I'd decorate with 2 sleeping bags and 2 fluffy pillows. Finished. I believe you can still access some room for storage below? The BC has AC, room for 6' to stand up, make coffee, take a shower. It's the perfect small trailer floor plan and, as far as I know, not found anywhere else. I just need it to not leak and not blow out a tire. Can't wait!

[Trae and Ann]

Originally Posted by incahoots

That's it! Actually looks perfect in the first pic. I'd decorate with 2 sleeping bags and 2 fluffy pillows. Finished. I believe you can still access some room for storage below? The BC has AC, room for 6' to stand up, make coffee, take a shower. It's the perfect small trailer floor plan and, as far as I know, not found anywhere else. I just need it to not leak and not blow out a tire. Can't wait!

Yes you can access the middle part underneath pretty easy even open the back door if you have something way back there to reach but be sure to not block the intakes on the floor if you are running the heater. If you need to run the heat I wouldn't store in that space.

[Rg416]

We are hoping the cushions will be good but our fallback is to use our Exped MegaMat 10's. We got 2 of these for our last couple of tent camping trips and they are just fantastic. Just about as comfortable as a real bed. They are a combination of self inflating closed cell foam like a Thermarest and some added air. Exped sell a thing called a Schnozzel Bag that is like a large stuff sack. It attaches to the inflation valve of the pad and you just hold it open, then quickly close it up and press the large volume of air into the mattress. 2-3 of these and its full. It's ingenious. Like, 15 seconds.
They should fit sideways (squeezed in) in the Basecamp and will make it super comfortable. We'll probably just partially deflate and throw them into the back of the SUV during the day.

[YoungishJedi]

How is the futon mattress working out? Is that the way to go?

I think I saw someone else cut down a memory foam mattress to fit the sleeping area and have thought about that as an option.

Any suggestions?

[FricknFrack]

We bought this memory foam plus mattress topper off Amazon. I laid out the memory foam over the opened bed area and cut it to perfectly fit the irregular sleeping area with a razor knife. It is more comfortable than our home bed!



We store it along with all the pillows, sheets & blanket in this heavy duty canvas xmas tree bag that fits perfectly between the benches when we are traveling.

[dickgeo]

Can you roll the mattress up and still get it in the bag you bought?

[ColoradoBCer]

Here's a picture our three inflatable Thermarest Basecamp pads - one XL in the middle and two L along the sides. Very comfy! I'm 6'2 220 lbs and my wife is 5'10 slim and we were both very happy with the mattress situation. They roll up nicely and fit in the bench storage along with our pillows, comforter and sheet.

[FricknFrack]

Originally Posted by dickgeo

Can you roll the mattress up and still get it in the bag you bought?

It more folds than rolls - it's a little bit of work and it is a bit bulky but we think it's well worth the extra effort. I've got it down to a science now and takes about 10min total to convert over the trailer from sleep back to couch n table configuration. It all fits in that bag including 4 king pillows and comforter.

[trd09]

Originally Posted by Trae and Ann

Attachment 282126Attachment 282127
Found on amazon for about 100.00 many colors available. We have been very happy with it.

What size is that? Queen?

[Glampman]

We just bought a foam roll at a local chain department store for about 20 bucks. My wife and I sleep with our heads towards the back, that way both can get up to do whatever while the other can stay put. Really comfy! Can sleep for way too long.

We simply don't use the dining table function as most times we eat outside.

But perhaps we will revisit that decision in the winter.

Glampman

[Trae and Ann]

Originally Posted by trd09

What size is that? Queen?

Yes purchased thru amazon about a year or so ago. They had lots of colors to choose from too.

[trd09]

Originally Posted by Trae and Ann

Yes purchased thru amazon about a year or so ago. They had lots of colors to choose from too.

Thanks!

[hopmonster]

We ended up buying a King size memory foam mattress (2inch) from Walmart then added 2 down filled bed toppers and it's finally comfortable to sleep on. I have some old injuries from younger days falling off bikes, skateboards and such and found the Basecamp mattress alone was not cutting it.


Mike

[ArawayCamper]

My wife and I do the same thing. She actually sewed a tube shape cover with a full length zipper so we put it over the rolled mattress, then zip and strap so we can put it in the truck without it gathering any dirt on sheets.

[ArawayCamper]

Originally Posted by Trae and Ann

Attachment 282126Attachment 282127
Found on amazon for about 100.00 many colors available. We have been very happy with it.

My wife and I do the same thing. She actually sewed a tube shape cover with a full length zipper so we put it over the rolled mattress, then zip and strap so we can put it in the truck without it gathering any dirt on sheets.