ROOF TOP TENT - "MATTRESS"

[BKD Dave]

Most Roof Top Tents are equipped with a 3" foam mattress. Some better than others I'm gathering.

I'm 6'2 225 lbs and I find myself feeling the floor throughout the night, constantly rolling with hips & shoulders going numb.

Thinking about replacing the "stock" mattress with a 3" or 4" (real bed) mattress topper. Costco & Sam's Club sell toppers as well do others.

Has anyone tried this ? What's your thoughts (if any) ?

What do you do to make your Roof Top Tent mattress a little more comfortable ?

Would enjoy some comments on this topic before I go out a buy something that I may be displeased with or could damage my tent.

 

[JButtress]

Most Roof Top Tents are equipped with a 3" foam mattress. Some better than others I'm gathering.

I'm 6'2 225 lbs and I find myself feeling the floor throughout the night, constantly rolling with hips & shoulders going numb.

Thinking about replacing the "stock" mattress with a 3" or 4" (real bed) mattress topper. Costco & Sam's Club sell toppers as well do others.

Has anyone tried this ? What's your thoughts (if any) ?

What do you do to make your Roof Top Tent mattress a little more comfortable ?

Would enjoy some comments on this topic before I go out a buy something that I may be displeased with or could damage my tent.

What kind of tent do you have? Soft Shell, Hard shell? I bought a 3" topper off amazon and just added it to the already 3" mattress that came with the tent. When I have my soft shell, it did make it a little bit more difficult to fold close, but still worked. Now that I have my hard shell, it hasn't made any difference in all at closing the tent and I sleep much much better

 

[BKD Dave]

What kind of tent do you have? Soft Shell, Hard shell? I bought a 3" topper off amazon and just added it to the already 3" mattress that came with the tent. When I have my soft shell, it did make it a little bit more difficult to fold close, but still worked. Now that I have my hard shell, it hasn't made any difference in all at closing the tent and I sleep much much better

Awesome question.....can't believe I left that out
I using a 23zero soft shell, I did call Justin (Rep) and he stated that 23zero has a "new" mattress, but it is quit expensive. Almost two times the cost of a standard topper.
Thought I'd try a topper first. Unless there is someone out there with a "new" 23zero mattress.

 

[JButtress]

Awesome question.....can't believe I left that out
I using a 23zero soft shell, I did call Justin (Rep) and he stated that 23zero has a "new" mattress, but it is quit expensive. Almost two times the cost of a standard topper.
Thought I'd try a topper first. Unless there is someone out there with a "new" 23zero mattress.

I would definitely try a 2 or 3 inch topper first and throw it on the existing tent mattress and see how it feels. I bought a cheap twin sheet from Walmart for like $4 on put that on the topper as well and then I can wash it after trips. See if the tent will close with both mattresses, I'm sure it will...just with a little extra effort

 

[deFine_overland]

Most Roof Top Tents are equipped with a 3" foam mattress. Some better than others I'm gathering.

I'm 6'2 225 lbs and I find myself feeling the floor throughout the night, constantly rolling with hips & shoulders going numb.

Thinking about replacing the "stock" mattress with a 3" or 4" (real bed) mattress topper. Costco & Sam's Club sell toppers as well do others.

Has anyone tried this ? What's your thoughts (if any) ?

What do you do to make your Roof Top Tent mattress a little more comfortable ?

Would enjoy some comments on this topic before I go out a buy something that I may be displeased with or could damage my tent.

I have a soft side roof top tent. I’m 6’8” 260 pounds and had the same problem. I had a 3” down mattress topper that I put on to of the 3” foam mattress that came with the tent and didn’t make much of any difference. The second problem was that it was then too much thickness to leave the bedding in there when closed which is important to me, due to lack of space in my rig.
I bought a full size air mattress from amazon that has the built in Inflator and deflator. It is taller than what was in there but not too much. I think it is 8” tall inflated. As soon as I setup camp I plug it in and it is inflated in about 30 seconds. I made a full enclosed covering for it so it always has a sheet on it that can’t come off. Bonus is that I have absolutely no problem leaving a queen comforter, quilt, one small throw blanket and 5 pillows in there when I close it up, rather than having to pull them out.
I won’t lie, my biggest fear was the additional height but it had been no problem what so ever.
Hope this helps,

-DOM

 

[BKD Dave]

Most Roof Top Tents are equipped with a 3" foam mattress. Some better than others I'm gathering.

I'm 6'2 225 lbs and I find myself feeling the floor throughout the night, constantly rolling with hips & shoulders going numb.

Thinking about replacing the "stock" mattress with a 3" or 4" (real bed) mattress topper. Costco & Sam's Club sell toppers as well do others.

Has anyone tried this ? What's your thoughts (if any) ?

What do you do to make your Roof Top Tent mattress a little more comfortable ?

Would enjoy some comments on this topic before I go out a buy something that I may be displeased with or could damage my tent.

I have a soft side roof top tent. I’m 6’8” 260 pounds and had the same problem. I had a 3” down mattress topper that I put on to of the 3” foam mattress that came with the tent and didn’t make much of any difference. The second problem was that it was then too much thickness to leave the bedding in there when closed which is important to me, due to lack of space in my rig.
I bought a full size air mattress from amazon that has the built in Inflator and deflator. It is taller than what was in there but not too much. I think it is 8” tall inflated. As soon as I setup camp I plug it in and it is inflated in about 30 seconds. I made a full enclosed covering for it so it always has a sheet on it that can’t come off. Bonus is that I have absolutely no problem leaving a queen comforter, quilt, one small throw blanket and 5 pillows in there when I close it up, rather than having to pull them out.
I won’t lie, my biggest fear was the additional height but it had been no problem what so ever.
Hope this helps,

-DOM

Very happy that you responded, was going to Sams tomorrow, but I think I’ll try the air mattress first. Can always use an air mattress somewhere if it doesn’t work out.
Thank you
P.S. You don’t have any condensation problems

 

[BKD Dave]

I hated the mattress that came in the Alu-Cab and replaced it with an X-long Xped Duo, pricey, but worth every freaking penny it cost IMO.

I hate that word.......”pricey”
But I’ll look into it thank you

 

[deFine_overland]

Very happy that you responded, was going to Sams tomorrow, but I think I’ll try the air mattress first. Can always use an air mattress somewhere if it doesn’t work out.
Thank you
P.S. You don’t have any condensation problems

No I haven’t had any condensation problems as of yet.

 

[Meettaco]

I ended up putting a topper in mine. Seems to work pretty well. Amazon has a bunch of them for pretty cheap.

 

[BKD Dave]

I ended up putting a topper in mine. Seems to work pretty well. Amazon has a bunch of them for pretty cheap.

Yes, I also did the same. Tried it out last weekend (topper & stock mattress), seems to have been better, but not perfect.
Seriously wonder what people do that spend many many days (months) i.e. lifestyle overland & Epic family road Trip (3 grown kids in a tent & 2 adults in another), I've emailed both of them, but never heard back (their super busy, I get it). But I do love their videos.
Thanks for your input, much appreciated.

 

[headhunter4hire]

I was looking at adding a topper in mine as well but I'm concerned about if it will fold when the hard top is down.

 

[BKD Dave]

So I bought a 3" topper off of amazon, installed it under my stock 3" mattress.
I closed it with my comforter and pillow and it was not flat when closed.
Took out the pillow and comforter and it is still not flat, didn't really make a difference.
I believe the reason it's not flat is because of the tuck portion of the tent, canopy portion of the tent that you tuck in.
I'm going to try to not tuck it into the tent, but rather roll it up. Not sure it'll work, but that's what I'm thinking the next time I go out.
Note: Everything fits just fine, just one side is larger (thicker) on one side when tent is folded up.


Going on a big overlanding trip next week, I'll advise up on my return (after Aug 3), maybe I'll add a picture at that time.

 

[BKD Dave]

Just returned from a 10 day overlanding trip. Used the new 3" topper with OEM 3" mattress.
Worked great, took some getting use to, but I enjoy it much more.
I also have a down comforter as well as a pendleton blanket.
Closing the tent up is a bit tight, but it works. I just don't tuck in the overhang flap, instead I roll it up and tuck inside the outer cover.
I do remove the pillow, which is just fine.

Hope this helps out anyone with the same issue.

 

[OLgadgets]

Most Roof Top Tents are equipped with a 3" foam mattress. Some better than others I'm gathering.

I'm 6'2 225 lbs and I find myself feeling the floor throughout the night, constantly rolling with hips & shoulders going numb.

Thinking about replacing the "stock" mattress with a 3" or 4" (real bed) mattress topper. Costco & Sam's Club sell toppers as well do others.

Has anyone tried this ? What's your thoughts (if any) ?

What do you do to make your Roof Top Tent mattress a little more comfortable ?

Would enjoy some comments on this topic before I go out a buy something that I may be displeased with or could damage my tent.

I had the same issue with mine, so I purchased this 2" memory foam topper which now I'm super comfortable, and it folds down just fine in the RTT.

 

[jeepers29]

I hate that word.......”pricey”
But I’ll look into it thank you

We have a FSR RTT and removed the matress and replaced it with the expedition duo mat as well. As stated above, worth every penny. Sleep like a baby now, where as before I did not sleep at all on original mattress.

 

[Kendv8s]

I hated the mattress that came in the Alu-Cab and replaced it with an X-long Xped Duo, pricey, but worth every freaking penny it cost IMO.

Have the Smittybilt RTT. Spent ~20 nights on mattress with topper. Just broke down and purchased the Exped DUO XL. WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!

It honestly comes down to how much time you spend sleeping in the outdoors and how much a good night sleep is worth to you. The Exped was a game changer for us.

 

[ctcv1984]

I bought a James Baroud last July and found very quickly that the stock 3" mattress was not enough for my 250 lb bod. I found that Temperpedic mattress toppers were (gah!) $300 so I found a nearly unused one on Craigslist for $100. It made all the difference in the world. My sleep quality is much better with no sore points in the morning. It makes closing the tent a little harder but it closes with all my bedding up there but I have to take the pillow out. Money well spent.