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trekbiker · 02-12-2021, 06:29 PM

We need to replace our OEM mattress, and would like some advice. Because of the lift we understand we need foam/latex , and are leaning toward latex.

I've not been able to find the weight of the OEM mattress to compare it with any possible replacement. Does anyone know if flexibility of foam/latex material needs to be considered? I expect we may need to replace the struts with heavier ones.

Any advice/suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance for any help.

firemed509 · 02-12-2021, 09:28 PM

We went with a sleep number mattress and absolutely love it.

Airhead2018 · 02-19-2021, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by firemed509

We went with a sleep number mattress and absolutely love it.

Does your bed tilt up and the sleep number works with that?

trekbiker · 03-22-2022, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by firemed509

We went with a sleep number mattress and absolutely love it.

How did you deal with the head of the mattress resting on the covering for the Alde heat pipe? The original mattress has a taper at the head end so it lies flat. We replaced ours with one through Airstream Supply that was supposed the be like the original. However it does not have the “split” nor the taper of the original. Therefore, the head end is always raised several inches which creates sleep/sore back and shoulder issues.

BigSxyWhtGuy · 03-23-2022, 07:02 AM

We just ordered a Brooklyn bedding mattress. Didn’t even think about the taper or the split on the head. It’s a 13” mattress which is about 4” more than what our stock one plus topper is.

Will let you know how that works out. We will need to replace the gas struts but likely only 100# struts because we want to use the stock mounting point. If those don’t at least assist with the bed lift then we will go down the rabbit hole of changing geometry of the gas struts to support the 150-200# struts we will need for this mattress.

BigSxyWhtGuy · 04-07-2022, 11:16 AM

Just got our mattress in. Fits perfectly on the bed frame. The bed is much taller so need to find deep pocket sheets now but worth it.

The little cut out for the Alde didn’t impact us at all. Lifting the bed is a little heavier but still manageable and done infrequently anyways.

Now we gotta figure out how to dispose of our old mattress.

hsgsports · 04-08-2022, 05:49 AM

Does your new mattress without the split still tilt up so you get more walking room around the bed?

BigSxyWhtGuy · 04-08-2022, 08:00 AM

No tilting. Although the mattress could tilt, the motor isn’t strong enough to lift the mattress. There is a solid weight gain of at least 50lbs. This obviously depends on your previous setup (we had a 4” topper on the stock mattress).

The motor had a hard time lifting that too. Other consideration is the gas struts to hold the bed up. Again, old ones didn’t do well with the topper on. I believe there are 100# direct replacement shocks that would fit with zero modifications. Still not enough to lift the bed though, it would end up being more of an assist.

trekbiker · 04-08-2022, 10:10 AM

Glad it seems to be OK for you. I am suprised that the Alde cover did not affect the head end. When we did a replacement there is a noticeable height difference of 3+ inches that then tapered down to the level area. That affected how comfortable sleeping is. If a back sleeper it's not a big deal, but side sleeper it does affect. See attached photos.

BigSxyWhtGuy · 04-08-2022, 05:41 PM

Yeah, ours isn’t slanted like that. It buts right up to the Alde and is almost level with the shade cover now so our pillows no longer drop behind the bed. You got a short queen mattress and not a standard queen, right?

BigSxyWhtGuy · 04-08-2022, 05:45 PM

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here is what our Alde looks like in the 2018 30’ queen. Mattress fits perfectly on the frame.

BigSxyWhtGuy · 04-08-2022, 05:47 PM

Is your foot hold thing for the bed installed right? We got a 2019 version that is shorter and works great.

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trekbiker · 04-09-2022, 12:22 AM

We did get the typical RV short queen.

The foot end hold on our 2017 is designed a little differently than yours but is in the same position as yours. I modified it a bit so that the mattress would slide down past the Alde cover, but then when we tried to raise the mattress it would be tight up against the Alde cover and cause a real strain on the motor. The mattress is 75" long. Wonder of they re-designed the bed platform so the mattress did not ride over the Alde cover. I can't tell for sure from the angle of the photo but it appears your bed frame may be positioned a bit higher in respect to the Alde cover than ours is.

BigSxyWhtGuy · 04-09-2022, 07:56 AM

That could be possible. 17 was the first year with the Alde system. They could have totally changed the design based off feedback. Let me know if you need me to measure anything

trekbiker · 04-10-2022, 03:14 PM

No need to measure. Thanks for all your input.

steverino · 10-15-2022, 04:52 PM

Waking up this slumbering thread in hopes of getting some better sleep;-)

2018 30’ Classic, in need of a new queen mattress. Is it true that the short queen RV foam mattresses properly work with the head lift? I saw BSG’s reply that his 13” mattress was to heavy for the motorized lift; does anyone have experience with a thinner, say 8” foam mattress? We find the lift is important to make moving around the bed easier…

trekbiker · 10-16-2022, 07:03 PM

We got an OEM replacement through Airstream, took three tries to get it with the split and taper.

First one we received did not have either taper or split. We were told that since it was foam, due to its design, it did not need the split. Two problems with it were the head of the mattress did not lay flat (see earlier post above with photos), and it created an obvious strain on the lift motor, and the struts were not strong enough to keep the bed open when we accessed storage beneath the bed. So I upgraded the struts.

Second one had the split but not the taper. Since I am a side sleeper the mattress created a problem with being able to sleep comfortably due to the lifted area at the head of the mattress.

Third one was exact match to the OEM as to split and taper. Bed lift works easily and mattress lies flat. Being a close match to the OEM the quality of foam is not what I had hoped for, but I believe it is slightly better than the OEM mattress.

When and if we replace the latest one I think we will get a bare latex, create the split and taper ourselves, then make a cover for it possibly by using the cover off the current mattress. I know it will be heavier and will probably require another strut upgrade but should be better quality and last longer.

Mike0392 · 12-09-2022, 10:56 AM

We have the twins XL 36X80. The OEM mattress is breaking my back. Anyone change out their twin? I have a topper but it’s not enough. I’m a big guy and my hip is broken.

Tyler2you · 12-09-2022, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike0392

We have the twins XL 36X80. The OEM mattress is breaking my back. Anyone change out their twin? I have a topper but it’s not enough. I’m a big guy and my hip is broken.

Check out ABLifestyles. We bought the 9" Hybrid mattress custom fit for the Airstream walls. Very comfortable and reasonably priced.

https://www.ablifestyles.net/9-pocke...for-airstream/

ronalddodge · 12-09-2022, 01:24 PM

I am looking at this whenever I need to swap my mattress out...
https://axelbloombeds.com/2022/01/23...bed-airstream/

Spendy - but looks to be a good full-time upgrade.