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Old 04-13-2015, 11:22 AM   #1
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Sleep Heaven

I admit this is a fairly hedonistic, expensive, first-world solution to the most common of challenges, but every night my wife and I marvel at how comfortable our bed and bed accessories are. Here's what we have:

We bought and trimmed a memory foam topper from Costco. These toppers turn mediocre or good mattresses into guarantors of nighttime nirvana.

Then we purchased a Decorator Sleep System from RV Superbag. This was a bit of a crap shoot. They're pricey, and we weren't sure if it would be as cool as we hoped it would be. But it is. And we're thrilled we bought it. It's comfortable, easy to make up, warm, and simple to change out the sheets.

Since we sprung for the Superbag, we went ahead and purchased the 525 thread count sheets. I'm fine with regular ones, but my wife for some reason has this thing about smooth sheets. So we did the upgrade and I'm glad we did.

Then we purchased an Italian Army Wool Blanket from Amazon. (Be sure you know the difference from this original blanket and the Italian Army STYLE Wool Blanket that sells for about half the price.) It's kind of scratchy, but who cares? It's warm, rugged, and lays on top of the RV Superbag away from your face. It also makes for a nice top cover when making the bed.

With all these together we sleep warm, and we sleep like babies.

Two caveats:

1. If you're tempted by the RV Superbag, be very careful about the fabric you choose. We first selected Tan Swirl based upon the picture, and it was (in our opinion) horrible. Because of a manufacturing snafu, we exchanged the bag and ordered Suede Tan, which we really like.

The other thing is to make sure they use your fabric selection on BOTH the top and the bottom. Their default is to use your fabric selection on one side only, and some cheap stuff from a pile somewhere for the other side. For what you're paying, you deserve good fabric on both sides.

2. The Italian Army Wool Blankets are the real deal, and they come packaged with mothballs. The good news is they're brand new, honest-to-goodness thick rugged wool with no evidence of moth holes. The bad news is they stink. It took two weeks of airing out in the Arizona sunshine before the smell was gone, but now the smell is gone and we love it.
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Old 04-13-2015, 11:38 AM   #2
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Good to hear you have a solution that works good. Cost is secondary, if it means a good night's sleep.

Our stock 5" foam mattress was starting to soften too much, and I would get pressure points at my shoulders and hips, causing me to wake and turn more than usual, so off we went looking.

We ended up spending double what we first budgeted (just over $1,000 CAD), but we have a mattress that is like sleeping on a cloud, that you seem to float on. We actually got two mattresses, each with their own custom cover. One is a 6" firm good quality foam mattress, and the second is a 2.5" latex foam mattress. This is much better than the nice pillow top coil spring mattress that we have at home. We will consider this combo for when we change our home one out.

For bedding, in warmer weather we use a high count cotton sheet set, with just a light down duvet on top. When it gets colder, we change the sheets to cozy warm flannel ones, and and a good wool blanket to the pile. We sleep so cozy and comfy with our thermometer set at 9°C (48°F). I would never use anything but good normal bedding in our trailer.

I am a very warm sleeper, and prone to sweating if too hot, and was warned away from memory foam because of this by the mattress shops, as it does not breathe very well, whereas the latex does breathe better. Both add lots of comfort.
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Old 04-13-2015, 12:09 PM   #3
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Which supplier on Amazon did you use? The only one that says "Genuine Italian Army" also says it's pre-washed twice. (Are these Made from wool straight off the sheep or something?) Thanks for any help you can provide. I too think a good nights sleep is priceless!
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Old 04-13-2015, 01:09 PM   #4
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I think I actually bought it off eBay. Here's the link - Genuine Italian Army Wool Blanket not A Replica These Are The Real Deal | eBay
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Old 04-13-2015, 11:21 PM   #5
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Hi. We had planned on using standard sheets and a thick duvet in our 21. Is there a reason why regular sheets don't work in a trailer? Is it just that it's hard to make the bed to get to all the corners? I like the feel of wrinkle free sheets and wonder if the superbag would allow your sheets to get all bunched up?
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Old 04-14-2015, 01:06 AM   #6
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I got queen sheets and a duvet for our wonderful new 21. The tops are ok of course, you just need to figure out how much effort you want to put into making it look good. The bottom doesn't fit quite right. I considered remaking the bottom sheet so that it fit better but while checking out how best to accomplish that found a YouTube video (still not sure how to get this link in here) about using suspenders to deal with the excess fabric. I've tried that and it works fine. I may eventually remake the sheets but the suspenders solution is adequate.
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Old 04-14-2015, 02:29 AM   #7
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I think Sylvia is right - you have to decide how much effort you want to put into making the bed. That's one of the main reasons we bought a Superbag. I stand at the foot of the bed, flip the Superbag five or six times to get it generally in the right position, do the same with the Italian wool blanket, and I'm done. You can't make a quarter bounce off the blanket, but it looks pretty good.
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Old 04-14-2015, 06:50 AM   #8
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We are ones that just straighten out our regular sheets to 'good enough', and still sleep cozy.

A very nicely bed is not something we care to take the time to do very often while camping, plus once I get in it, once I am warmed up, I have to kick the bedding off my feet to regulate my temperature. Looking nice would not look so nice, in short order.

We are fortunate in our 19, that a regular sized queen matress cover does fit nice, and lays flat. The sheet under me does need to not be wrinkled, if possible.
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Old 04-14-2015, 07:41 AM   #9
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Unfortunately, the odd-shaped mattress on the 21 makes fitted sheets impractical.
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Old 04-14-2015, 07:44 AM   #10
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It would not be tough to make a fitted sheet for the 21, using the mattress as a guide. If you have a sewing machine, it would only take an hour or so to sew up. If you don't have a sewing machine, it would not take much to have someone sew it for you. Maybe have a spare made too.

That idea with the elastic straps, place in appropriate spots, would also work to keep the sheet taut, but would be a lot more hassle to deal with.
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Old 04-14-2015, 08:40 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff and Karen View Post
Unfortunately, the odd-shaped mattress on the 21 makes fitted sheets impractical.
We bought a mattress cover and fitted sheet in a full extra long. Those are made 54 x 80 to match the 21' mattress. The odd corner requires tucking. We plan on giving the suspenders trick mentioned earlier a try. I think that will take care of the corner. We are using the Travasak on top and the cover and sheet is for protection and looks.

By the way the new Travasak has Velcro all around the sheets. Our old one had it only every so often and tended to pull away from the cover during the night. Should work better.
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Old 04-14-2015, 10:03 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by Jeff and Karen View Post
Unfortunately, the odd-shaped mattress on the 21 makes fitted sheets impractical.
I would think you might be able to just tuck under the corners, however, you can use two flat sheets instead.
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Old 04-14-2015, 10:05 AM   #13
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After a few times of crawling over the bed, pulling up the mattress, etc., to get the fitted sheets on, we bought one of the new Travasaks from CW. It works perfectly. I also bought a dark brown mattress cover to coordinate and now the bed always looks neat and tidy. Plus, the Travasak sheets are very comfortable and the whole set keeps us warm and cozy.
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Old 04-14-2015, 11:31 PM   #14
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This might be one of those things you have to learn for yourself. I still think we'll work with the sheets and duvet and deal with the hassle of changing the bed. Wonder how long it will take for me to regret my stubborn decision!
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Old 04-15-2015, 12:32 AM   #15
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Love our travasak...made things so much easier...The sheet stays in place very well with all the velcro
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Old 04-15-2015, 05:39 AM   #16
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Love our travasak...made things so much easier...The sheet stays in place very well with all the velcro
Do the sheets hold tight to the mattress with Velcro? I assume this is what holds everything in place, so that it doesn't bunch up under you.
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Old 04-15-2015, 07:18 AM   #17
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Jim,

The Travasak is like a giant sleeping bag or 2 comforters with the sheets velcro inside. You just install a nice mattress cover and lay the Travasak on top. Unzip and crawl inside. There is a summer side and a winter side.
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Old 04-15-2015, 07:49 AM   #18
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That is kinda what I thought, but some of the talk here sent mixed signals, saying this system eliminated the need for a fitted sheet thus making it easier to use, and I got confuzzled a wee bit.

Our bedding with regular sheets takes about 30 seconds, tops, to make up. Besides, moving from a queen to a king at home a few years back, left us with lots of great queen sized bedding.

I think that in the end, the bedding really doesn't matter as much as the mattress anyway. I could likely get cozy comfy with many different types of bedding, just so long as I can let my feet hang out when needed.
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Old 04-15-2015, 09:59 AM   #19
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If anyone is thinking of getting a Travasak they better get it quick. Camping World is selling their last at quite a reduction and the manufacturer is no longer making them. Twins are totally gone. Sigh. RV Superbag is still in business but $$$$$.

Since I'm sleeping in the top bunk of the Gaucho I sure need one. Maybe I'll get out the old sewing machine?
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Old 04-15-2015, 10:20 AM   #20
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I remember my granny, near 50 years ago, used to use big diaper pins to pin the bottom a sheet together with a comforter. They camped in a truck camper, and though the bed was relatively easy to get in, there was not much room to move around.

Was this maybe the precursor to these newfangled things?
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