Sleeping pad

Took my wife on our first camp out in the back of my Tacoma. Her idea! Great woman, I may just keep her. Anyway, got the Ridgeline tent and picked up an air mattress and off we went. We realized it was going to be an experiment but such is life.

so we made it Leadville, Colorado at just over 10,000 feet. It was beautiful. But we need some adjustments.

possibly dumping the air mattress in favor of a pad maybe cut to fit the space.

what do you recommend? How thick? Is there a reliable way to judge. like It doesn’t bottom out until X pounds per square inch of weight is put on it?


Advice please! Questions?

 

Here's an air mattress option that fits to truck beds with wheel well cutouts:

https://realtruck.com/p/airbedz-ori...I4Qvyq6PLSl0mdY0JuIiHgs_TOwC_TdhoCcbEQAvD_BwE

 

You might already know this but one thing to keep in mind is insulating value of the mattress. I've had to many friends focus on finding the most comfortable mattress only to have it suck all their body heat out on a cold night. Some have mitigated this by layering blankets on the mattress itself before laying on top of it. Generally the thicker and more air goes in it the harder it is for your body heat to keep it warm. We've been pretty happy witht the klymit double v

Klymit Insulated Double V Inflatable Sleeping Pad for Camping, Lightweight Hiking and Backpacking Air Bed For Cold Weather, 3" Thick

https://www.amazon.com/Klymit-Doubl...it+static+v2+two+person&qid=1597099446&sr=8-5

It works well for backpacking too. it is pretty comfy for me and my wife, i'm about 5'9" 180 lbs. It packs pretty small and once you get the hang of the pump it fills up really quick. you can probably use an electric pump for it too. It never loses firmness or deflates for us. These are meant for backpacking. so they are compact and don't take a lot of air. therefore they won't be the most comfortable out their. But like I said, we find it pretty comfortable. If you are in cold climates I believe they make an insulated version that would be better. It doesn't take much space at all. you can also get two of the single versions. whenever I can I prefer backpacking gear for my truck because it takes up so much less space.

edit: I'm dumb. I just re-read your post and you are trying to move away from the air mattress. I tried a pad that I had custom cut at a local upholstery place. It was really comfortable and warm. But after a while it just became to cumbersome. it took up way too much space for me. so I settled on the backpacking air pads.

 

After some uncomfortable nights sleeping in an air mattress and a lot of research I got this one...

http://www.exped.com/usa/en/product-category/mats/megamat-duo-10-m-green

Fits perfectly (width) in the bed and is REALLY comfortable and warm. I used it to truck camp with my girlfriend and she didn’t complain at all.

It’s a bit pricey compared with the other ones, but I can really vouch for it’s value.

 

Did you join the 10,000 foot club?

 

Not at $260 I’m afraid. I’m sure it’s wonderful but I’m not that wonderful

 

Thank you for the reply - understand what you’re saying my favorite time to camp is in the winter in the snow. But like you said I’m trying to find a pad. Not worried about cumbersome, yet so what type pad did you get? How thick?

 

Tell you what, you have my permission to tell all your high school buddies you know of a 67 year old married guy that joined, once again, the 10,000 foot club.. Twice if that helps..

 

Ok this is along the line of what I’m looking for. Thank you.

any other suggestions? I’m looking to build a platform for more width

 

Ikea Mattress + Serrated Blade =




This version just rolled up and tied off with a boot string, but I made a new version with some Cordura and cheap mattress foam from Joann Fabrics. ...and it doesn't feel like sleeping on a pool float or a dehydrated, inflated condom.

 

Here’s where I am. Got rid of the 10” queen size air mattress which wasn’t all that comfortable. In its place a full size mattress from a sleeper sofa. On top of the platform I built and it works great. Just wish I was still in my 50’s.

The mattress does lie flat just folded it out