Club 80-90 Forums

Just looking for feedback on inflatable mattresses as I'm now starting to work out what to do for a bed.

I don't want a heavy mattress nor heavy cushions as the van is normally just a work van.

An inflatable mattress could be stored away when not in use and I am hoping could be deflated very quickly in the morning during trips and then re-inflated at night. Bare in mind, our trips away will probably not be longer than two nights.

I have found some mattresses with pumps that can be plugged into the cigarette lighter.

Has anyone used one lately? If so, what brand was it and was it any good?

Anyone got any other suggestions on what I could use that's lightweight and easily removable?

We have a 12v pump. I am not sure of the actual brand but it looks like this...

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/hi-gear-tor ... lsrc=aw.ds" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It is fine. Certainly does the job

Look good and very cheap. Can it suck the air out as well as pump it in?

Yep. You just swap the attachment from the air output to the intake

The 2 different makes that I bought both deflated overnight, I'm guessing the valves aren't very good as I could not find a leak. Personally I' m not impressed with them & would think they have a poor life span compared with a roll up foam bed.

evilnoodle wrote:Yep. You just swap the attachment from the air output to the intake

Great. I shall keep this pump in mind if I end up with an inflatable bed that doesn't come with one. Thank you

Jeff J wrote:The 2 different makes that I bought both deflated overnight, I'm guessing the valves aren't very good as I could not find a leak. Personally I' m not impressed with them & would think they have a poor life span compared with a roll up foam bed.

I was thinking about one of these but watched a video of a single being rolled up and thought it looked like a lot of work. As I would be rolling a double up on a raised platform would might be even harder. Did you use a double and if so, what was it like rolling it up and how bulky was it once rolled up?

I've camped since I was a kid (I'm now... somewhat older ). Crap valves are the bane of airbeds, especially cheap airbeds (that's not to say that pricey ones don't suffer the same issue, either).

A couple of years back we bought one of these; http://www.millets.co.uk/equipment/1737 ... AlNV8P8HAQ ...woah, long link!

It's mid-range in price, but the quality is, in my opinion, very good.

The valves are great; much better than previous airbeds. The great thing about this one is that it's a "wrap and roll". Once you've let it down, you roll it up and it wraps into it's own sleeve/bag which is part of the bed (so you don't lose it). Packs up small, stows away nicely.

You can then use any of the generic battery operated air-pumps (usually take 4x D Batteries); they usually last for ages on one set of batteries and will inflate and deflate.

That's my recommendation. We'll also be packing our one into the camper in a couple of weeks, just in case we're not as comfortable on the rock'n'roll bed as we're hoping.

Hope that helps!

...and don't forget; the first few times you use a new airbed you can expect them to "go down" a bit overnight, as the material will actually stretch the first few times you use it; it doesn't really go down... you just have the same amount of air in something which got slightly bigger, thus feeling less inflated. Also, you'd be surprised how much volume warm air (e.g. inflated on a warm afternoon) takes up compared to cold air (e.g. as the airbed cools down over night), making things feel like they've deflated.

Compound the two issues above, and the first couple of times you use your airbed you'd be forgiven for thinking you had a leak or a dodgy valve. I recommend filling it at home and leaving it filled and topped up for a few nights, prior to using it in anger on a camping trip; at least you've taken up a fair bit of the stretch in the material before use.

nsjtaylor wrote:...and don't forget; the first few times you use a new airbed you can expect them to "go down" a bit overnight, as the material will actually stretch the first few times you use it; it doesn't really go down... you just have the same amount of air in something which got slightly bigger, thus feeling less inflated. Also, you'd be surprised how much volume warm air (e.g. inflated on a warm afternoon) takes up compared to cold air (e.g. as the airbed cools down over night), making things feel like they've deflated.

Compound the two issues above, and the first couple of times you use your airbed you'd be forgiven for thinking you had a leak or a dodgy valve. I recommend filling it at home and leaving it filled and topped up for a few nights, prior to using it in anger on a camping trip; at least you've taken up a fair bit of the stretch in the material before use.

Well, I think you've solved the dilemma for me. I'm so glad you mentioned the overnight deflation issue as I'd read several reviews saying they did that. Now I know why I.

I think I'll buy one of the mattresses you recommended too.

Thank you so much

BohemiVan wrote:

Jeff J wrote:The 2 different makes that I bought both deflated overnight, I'm guessing the valves aren't very good as I could not find a leak. Personally I' m not impressed with them & would think they have a poor life span compared with a roll up foam bed.

I was thinking about one of these but watched a video of a single being rolled up and thought it looked like a lot of work. As I would be rolling a double up on a raised platform would might be even harder. Did you use a double and if so, what was it like rolling it up and how bulky was it once rolled up?

Yes it is a double & more difficult to roll up & as you suspect quite bulky but with a couple of straps not a major problem, it is definitely preferable to waking up on a hard surface next morning. My problems were definitely not stretching of new material, they both went completely flat. Having read other replies to your post it seems like a more common problem than I realised.

Electric pumps are noisey and slow. A two low litre kite pump would be quicker and keep you fit they pump in both directions but they don't deflate d stuff. You have to tesort to doing that manually. Not much help of you are definitely wanting electrc but they are cheaper quicker and quieter

Thanks to advice here, I've ordered a Yellowstone Tornado 2 12v pump and a Durarest double airbed.

An inflatable mattress with an electric pump is my preferred choice so I shall give them a go and let you know how I get on. If they fail, I will look at buying a foam mattress and hand pump.

Thanks everyone