Mattress for Bed made from Settee (1 Viewer)

[Mark and Mindy]

We're still going round in circles as to what we want to buy, other than it's going to be a PVC, so I wanted to ask what mattress or topper do people put onto a bed they make from a settee?

And where do you store it (along with the rest of the bedding)?

I don't want to get into a discussion of having some kind of fixed bed v a bed from a settee as its unlikely that we'd be going that route for various reasons which aren't pertinent to the question.

 

[Minxy]

You've pretty much summed up the problem ... whilst having a topper is good, storing it during the day can be a pain in the bum! Some people swear by Duvalays but they are IMV expensive for what they are and bulky.

The best thing is to wait until you've decided what PVC you're getting and then see how you get on with it as the beds made up from sofas vary quite a bit in the 'comfort' stakes - if you do want a topper you might find that a 1 inch one is sufficient, if not you can always add another on top which may prove easier to store than a 2 inch one ... alternatively go for a duvet underneath instead as these can usually be squished down smaller for daytime storage than a topper (if you use one of those vacuum bags, without using the vacuum of course and just roll it instead to get the air out), alternatively store the toppers on the sofa during the day to give more sitting comfort.

 

[Cheshirecat57]

I agree with Mel ref Duvalay being expensive, but they do solve the comfort,warm,bedding issue at a stroke,especially with a couple of luggage straps around them ( instead of the absurd idea of trying to re-bag them. That’s like an its a knockout game)

Alternatively, my good lady copied the concept of a Duvalay and ran a couple up for us using the component parts at a fraction of price

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[Barclaybasher]

A bit drastic but I cut off the buttons on the seats that make up the bad in the Eriba

They still look fine but made the bed much more comfortable

edit...... and use a duvet as a 'topper'

 

[Nasher]

Have a word with a local upholstery - I bought my first van 2nd hand & didn't want to use the old rock'n'roll bed cushions. I had some new cushions made up using memory foam & breathable vinyl covering. Really comfy and easy to clean. It was a few years ago but about £150 for four cushions.

When I had my current van converted I specified 4" memory foam & breathable vinyl for the bed - well happy with it.

BTW, I chose the same material to cover the front seats & was advised the best way to clean them was with baby wipes. It works great on the seats & bedding.

 

[The Dudess]

For single beds we've always used a double duvet folded in half, so you lie on one side and cover yourself up with the other. Comfy, practical and less stuff to store.

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[two]

When I was young, I could sleep on anything.
Now, I need a 'proper' bed.
Beware of getting older!

The biggest problem I found with made-up beds was with gaps in unfortunate places. Best to get the thing first and find out what you need to address (eg regarding firmness).

Everything is a compromise. You may be juggling with weight and space, as well as comfort. If necessary, I'd consider just the area needed to support the trunk of your body. I've not tried them, but campers have rolls that can be reduced in size when not in use (by squeezing the air out) - may be worth a look?

 

[Minxy]

I've not tried them, but campers have rolls that can be reduced in size when not in use (by squeezing the air out) - may be worth a look?

Yes, you can get ones that self inflate with a twist valve on the end, if you want them a bit more inflated you can easily blow into them a bit, and when not needed you just twist the valve open and roll them up on a hard surface (ie table, floor etc) to get as much air out as possible. The downside is that getting them just right for comfort can be difficult and they aren't very thick either, but if the discomfort isn't too bad they could certainly work and take up a lot less room than any other option.

 

[138go]

Had a Swift MH where you made the bed from the seats. Never got a good nights sleep. Seats were much to firm. SWMBO tried a mattress topper but where do you put it when not required. Sleeping bag on the bottom with a duvet on top was about as near as I got to getting it comfortable. You cannot beat a proper bed with slats underneath for comfort.

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[Brucek]

For our Auto Trail V line we bought 2 x 3 inch memory foam mattress toppers from MattressesRus, made to the right size for £114.
During the day they are rolled up with luggage straps and stored in 2 large holdalls, along with the rest of the bedding, on the drivers seat.

It is very comfortable.

 

[Jands]

I like the idea of the duvalay topper with a zipped in bottom sheet, saves making it.
Just unroll and duvet on top.
Ok expensive but only need to roll it up and use the ties.
Am thinking of getting it for the 3rd "table top" bed, table drops and cushion on too.
It's for my daughter, although expensive will be a once only purchase for her comfort.
When not used will be put on top of the fixed bed, along with the table top cushions.

 

[Mark and Mindy]

We have various ideas flitting round in our heads, and have changed our minds so many times that I don't know if we're coming or going!

I like the idea of a Duvalay but not the expense behind it, those mattress foam toppers sound good and worth investigating but we would have to work out what to do with them when driving because if its both of us in the van then the dogs will be there as well. I did think about a duvet under the bottom sheet but think we'd still be able to feel the joins/gaps in the cushions.

Or maybe going the home made route with a double duvet cover sewn down the middle with the topper in one half and a duvet in the other - poor man's duvalay! Then we wouldn't be faffing around with bottom sheets.

Thanks for the ideas and help!

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[Barclaybasher]

We have various ideas flitting round in our heads, and have changed our minds so many times that I don't know if we're coming or going!

I like the idea of a Duvalay but not the expense behind it, those mattress foam toppers sound good and worth investigating but we would have to work out what to do with them when driving because if its both of us in the van then the dogs will be there as well. I did think about a duvet under the bottom sheet but think we'd still be able to feel the joins/gaps in the cushions.
Or maybe going the home made route with a double duvet cover sewn down the middle with the topper in one half and a duvet in the other - poor man's duvalay! Then we wouldn't be faffing around with bottom sheets.
Thanks for the ideas and help!

You do need something to bridge the gaps between the cushions

I'm going to try this and with a duvet on top

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Table-Pr...hash=item1c5d71ac94:m:m8i4pw4odwMFegw3Tv_-GXw

 

[Jenben]

We had a pvc and tried various things but none of them were a good solution so we invested in 2 single duvalays toppers.

We had the zipped sheets for them and stored them under the sofa seats in the cupboards.

Yes they are expensive but after 7 years use and of being rolled/unrolled each night on trips they show no signs of wear and tear.

More importantly they were brilliant to sleep on and I would recommend them but that's just my opinion.

 

[Devon Sue]

You do need something to bridge the gaps between the cushions

I'm going to try this and with a duvet on top

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Table-Pr...hash=item1c5d71ac94:m:m8i4pw4odwMFegw3Tv_-GXw

The table protectors are not very thick, so while enough to protect a table I would not have thought it would be thick enough to even out the bed. When we had our Bessacarr I too made use of a double duvet cover and memory foam bought to size on line

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[Mark and Mindy]

We had a pvc and tried various things but none of them were a good solution so we invested in 2 single duvalays toppers.

We had the zipped sheets for them and stored them under the sofa seats in the cupboards.

Yes they are expensive but after 7 years use and of being rolled/unrolled each night on trips they show no signs of wear and tear.

More importantly they were brilliant to sleep on and I would recommend them but that's just my opinion.

We will have just one sofa to store underneath, so we have to accommodate all the double bedding plus whatever we decide on for the topper.

Is there room in the storage gap between body and cab? Not sure how to describe it! Some vans seem to have a door or curtain and others have it open. I wondered whether bedding could be stuffed in there.

 

[Brucek]

If you mean the storage area above the cab? It's only about 15cm high, so the bedding would go in but not a rolled mattress topper I don't think.

 

[Janine]

We have various ideas flitting round in our heads, and have changed our minds so many times that I don't know if we're coming or going!

I like the idea of a Duvalay but not the expense behind it, those mattress foam toppers sound good and worth investigating but we would have to work out what to do with them when driving because if its both of us in the van then the dogs will be there as well. I did think about a duvet under the bottom sheet but think we'd still be able to feel the joins/gaps in the cushions.

Or maybe going the home made route with a double duvet cover sewn down the middle with the topper in one half and a duvet in the other - poor man's duvalay! Then we wouldn't be faffing around with bottom sheets.

Thanks for the ideas and help!

I hate having my feet sticking out the bottom of a duvet so I sewed two single duvet covers together down one side and across the bottom leaving the original openings free.

I insert an old sleeping bag in the bottom cover and a duvet in the other

You can vary the weight of the duvet to suit the season.

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[Mark and Mindy]

I hate having my feet sticking out the bottom of a duvet so I sewed two single duvet covers together down one side and across the bottom leaving the original openings free.

I insert an old sleeping bag in the bottom cover and a duvet in the other

You can vary the weight of the duvet to suit the season.

Oh, wow, another good idea... we've got months to work out what we want to do as we still don't have a van (just some ideas) or the money to buy it although that will happen early next year; but I'm still trying to think of all eventualities, and there are so many sources of information here!

 

[Jenben]

We will have just one sofa to store underneath, so we have to accommodate all the double bedding plus whatever we decide on for the topper.

Is there room in the storage gap between body and cab? Not sure how to describe it! Some vans seem to have a door or curtain and others have it open. I wondered whether bedding could be stuffed in there.

All our bedding which was 2 duvalay toppers, double duvet plus pillows fitted easily inside one of the bench seats in our panel van.

 

[two]

Oh, wow, another good idea... we've got months to work out what we want to do as we still don't have a van (just some ideas) or the money to buy it although that will happen early next year; but I'm still trying to think of all eventualities, and there are so many sources of information here!

Having so much time to (over) plan could end up causing unnecessarily expense.
Enjoy the anticipation but try to avoid the temptation to purchase things before you are sure you'll need them. I speak from experience. It's difficult to avoid when the excitement's 'buzzing'.

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[Mark and Mindy]

Having so much time to (over) plan could end up causing unnecessarily expense.
Enjoy the anticipation but try to avoid the temptation to purchase things before you are sure you'll need them. I speak from experience. It's difficult to avoid when the excitement's 'buzzing'.

We know well the temptation to get "the odd thing" before we actually buy; but this time we're sitting on our hands... doing the research - and changing our minds frequently!

I'd like to have some thoughts in my mind, but when the time comes it will have a lot to do with what's available at the time.

We're off to the NEC again in October to look at our thoughts in the flesh to see if we still think the same at that point.

 

[Mark and Mindy]

All our bedding which was 2 duvalay toppers, double duvet plus pillows fitted easily inside one of the bench seats in our panel van.

Did you put the toppers into some kind of bag, or just roll and secure with something?

 

[Jenben]

Did you put the toppers into some kind of bag, or just roll and secure with something?

Just rolled and secured with a couple of elastic straps.

Whatever you do, don’t buy a double topper unless you enjoy wrestling with a drunken octopus each night

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[Mark and Mindy]

Just rolled and secured with a couple of elastic straps.

Whatever you do, don’t buy a double topper unless you enjoy wrestling with a drunken octopus each night

Sounds like you've done that!

 

[two]

I think it's what happens after a jolly good night cap.
(4 drunken arms + 4 drunken legs in a confined space = octopus)

 

[Cheshirecat57]

I like the idea of the duvalay topper with a zipped in bottom sheet, saves making it.
Just unroll and duvet on top.
Ok expensive but only need to roll it up and use the ties.
Am thinking of getting it for the 3rd "table top" bed, table drops and cushion on too.
It's for my daughter, although expensive will be a once only purchase for her comfort.
When not used will be put on top of the fixed bed, along with the table top cushions.

Why dont you try;-
1. Ikea double duvet cover £10
2 . Put in a top to bottom seam, just under half way accross
3. On the smaller side, put in a single 50mm topper. Ours was £15
4. Other side put a single duvet. ikea £10

Roll it up, 2 x luggage straps e-bay

They work, just a bit of trial and error at first

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[carolyn]

We have a PVC with a U shaped lounge but always make it up into a large double at night. We have two single duvulays which we leave on the seats during the day with a cover on each but put a king sized fitted sheet over them at night to hold them together. Only takes a few minutes and we think it's worth the effort but not everyone would agree.

 

[Spriddler]

After donkey's years of sleeping on the ground in a bikers' tent I can sleep on virtually any bumpy lumpy slopey bed surface, but I absolutely must have a proper pillow.

 

[Evasion 16]

I know that we are, relatively, new to all of this ourselves...but you can buy memory foam mattress toppers, quite cheaply, from Amazon and the likes. You don't have to spend very much to find out if they are going to give you a good night's sleep - then after a trial period, you could choose to upgrade to a better quality, if you like.

On Amazon.fr, eg, there is one measuring 90x140 for €29. We have chopped that one up and made our own, separate and shaped, 'Duvalays', for the French bed which served us well for a year.

They are really easy to cut and tailor (with big scissors) although, once you have cut them, you would have to make new covers - which is, really, easy...particularly if you, just, modify existing duvet covers.

You could look at the total surface area you need and order the nearest. Then, you could try using it whole and stowing away every night - or cutting it into any sections which might work best for you.

We've, just, upgraded our van and our mattress toppers. The new ones (awaiting delivery) were €69 for the same size. That's not because the old one was bad - just thinking more towards the future.