Best Sleeping & Sitting Solutions for RVs, Campers, Cabins, Tiny Homes & Sleeping Lofts for 2017

When it comes to small tight spaces like an RV or low ceiling sleeping loft, your typical innerspring mattress just won't do due to size and thickness.  A few things you should keep in mind for your RV mattress.

*Foam is the best option
*Thickness should be 8" or less
*Longevity and density
*Light weight and can fold

The best American based manufacture of premium RV and camper mattresses is Otis Bed from Buffalo, NY. This company has been around since the late 1890's.  The quality of foam they use in their mattresses is the highest density of high density pressurized foam on the market.  Made to last 10 plus years with frequent usage.  Otis Bed offers several different foam mattresses in different thicknesses and firmness.

The best recommended and thinnest model is the Stratosphere mattress. The Stratosphere measures just under 7" thick and provides superior support and comfort.

Best rated thinnest mattress for RV's and sleeping lofts

The picture above was taken inside a tiny home of less than 300 sq.ft.  This tiny home happens to be a double loft. Meaning there is a sleeping loft on each end of the house.  Most tiny homes do not have conventional stand up bedrooms.  Sleeping lofts tend to be under 4ft tall from the floor to the ceiling.  Given the little room, there is no need to put a conventional bed frame nor box spring in this space.  A foam futon makes more sense than the cotton based futon.  The main reason is weight. A cotton futon will weight 4 to 5 times more than a foam futon mattress.  This makes a big difference when transporting the mattress and fitting it in a tight space as well as lifting it and changing the linens. Otis Bed manufactures the best premium foam futon mattresses which give the highest level of comfort and are built to last for many years.

The great thing about these foam mattresses is that the manufacture will use 12 to 14" of foam which is compressed into 7 to 9" thick.  This gives the mattress some give or rebound as if it contained coils.  I don't recommend coil innerspring mattresses for a number of reasons.  

1. Innerspring mattresses less than 10" thick tend to be on the lower side of quality.  The springs will wear out fast, and they are heavier.

2. Special sizes in innerspring are harder to find.

Bunk beds in RV's are smaller than standard twin and cot sizes.  Special size foam mattresses can be made to order.

3. Innerspring is not good for sitting long periods of time.  Your body weight is concentrated in one spot of the mattress increasing the wear.

4. You can't fold an innerspring mattress and stow it away if necessary.

Best Rated Foam Mattresses for RV Campers & Sleeping Lofts

As for sitting and lounging solutions, foam futon mattresses are perfect for built in sofas and chairs in your RV, trailer, cabin or tiny home.  Special sizes and covers can be made for non standard mattress sizes you can't buy in store.  As for a sofa bed in your tight space, you need something functional that will not take up a lot of space when converted from a sofa to a bed position.  Conventional pull out sofa beds are the least preferred type of sofa bed for RV's.  Not only is the mattress extremely uncomfortable, but the mattress in the bed position will occupy 88" of floor space from the back of the sofa to the front of the end of the mattress.

As show above, this RV has a slide out where the sofa is positioned.  Look at all the unnecessary wasted space the mattress takes up.  You can't even walk around it.  The mattress is less than 5" thick, very flimsy and you will eventually be able to feel the support cross bar sticking up in your back.

A jack knife sofa bed or "modern futon" is a perfect inexpensive solution for an RV.  This style of sofa bed is bi fold and will open up width wise, saving you quite a bit of space.  Also, these sofa beds usually have extra storage underneath the seating deck.

Example of a jack knife style sofa bed used in an RV

How to Prevent Cats From Scratching and Destroying Your Sofa Couch

I worked for many years in furniture retail sales and I have been asked the same question so many times, I thought I would write a little blog post about it.  The common question I receive from customers is "what is the best type of fabric that my cat won't destroy for my sofa?".

How to stop your pets from destroying your furniture

I can answer this question truthfully because personally, I myself have been a cat owner of several different cats over the last 30 years.  The short answer is that there really is no type of fabric that is scratch proof.  Be it leather, vinyl, microsuede, polyester, rayon, it doesn't matter. Cats will destroy it.

I tell my customers that they simply cannot worry about their cats destroying their furniture.  If you're worried about your pets destroying your furniture, then you can either clip their nails every few weeks or train them not to go on the furniture.  Easier said than done.

Okay, so really, there has to be a sofa that can hold up against cat claws.  The simple answer is a wooden futon frame, futon mattress and cover.  Most cats like to scratch the arms of sofas.  However, a futon frame is wood which cats cannot scratch.  However, cats can still scratch the futon mattress and cover.  Most cats like to go underneath the futon and try to scratch the bottom of the mattress.

The futon really is the best option if you have pets.  The reason is that you can easily replace the futon cover and mattress.  A futon cover costs on average between $40 to $150.  This is not too expensive compared to reupholstering your sofa, replacing cushions of discontinued models, or replacing the sofa all together.



That is the beauty of the futon.  Everything is piece by piece.  You can easily replace the futon mattress or futon cover.  Your frame should hold up for a while, provided that you operate it correctly.
The best idea is to invest the futon set package.  The futon set package allows you to choose your style of futon frame, comfort level of futon mattress and lastly your futon cover.