Bed Level

[TimR]

I'm looking to buy a zonesleep topper for a bit more comfort on the bed downstairs, but does anyone know if it will even out the difference in height between the shelf mattress and the seat? I've attached a photo to show the difference.

 

[Hotel California]

Is your rear shelf in highest position?

 

[TimR]

Its in the standard lower position with the regular vw rear parcel shelf mattress

 

[Hotel California]

Try the upper level.

 

[TimR]

In the upper position it lifts it by about 7cm so then its too high

 

[Hotel California]

In the upper position it lifts it by about 7cm so then its too high

Was not sure ....
We got the other VW matrass witch folds open on the seat itself and has a thicker part on the metal shelve.
But i do not take it with me all the time takes up to much boothspace , also think sleeping upstairs is much comfortable.
When i don't have the lower matrass with me and we do sleep downstaires due to heavy winds or so i put the shelve in upper position and trow some fleece blancets on it to make it softer , it it just legs up there....

 

[barry]

sleep upstairs.
dead flat and comfy!
ignore the high winds and sway.

 

[Tactical]

I'm looking to buy a zonesleep topper for a bit more comfort on the bed downstairs, but does anyone know if it will even out the difference in height between the shelf mattress and the seat?

+1 for the zonesleep.
It increases comfort, is warm in the winter and is not sweaty in the summer (unlike some memory foam toppers).

I've never been aware of a height difference between the seat and the shelf mattress but on the occasions when we have forgotten to push the seat belt buckles out of the way (down the side of the seat), we have not noticed the bump.

I suppose you could put a thin (8-10mm) piece of ply under your shelf mattress if the height difference remains a problem.

 

[TimR]

Im out most weekends so sleeping downstairs is kind of essential, especially with the current weather. I was thinking with a zonesleep it would just mask over any height difference but will have a play about and see if the rear mattress can be raised slightly.

 

[reserves]

Pretty sure they should be level, that's kind of the point

 

[gregspam]

Pretty sure they should be level, that's kind of the point

Agreed, but it sounds like the original poster is one of the unlucky ones. @TimR see my post here, I resorted to keeping some thick foam matts under the rear mattress section to level it out. The zonesleep topper on its own won't level it out. I tend to sleep head at the tailgate end which makes the drop more noticeable. I was a bit annoyed at the time that something so fundamental could be wrong!

 

[WelshGas]

I'm looking to buy a zonesleep topper for a bit more comfort on the bed downstairs, but does anyone know if it will even out the difference in height between the shelf mattress and the seat? I've attached a photo to show the difference.

View attachment 11805

Looking at that picture something doesn't seem right. The infill mattress is horizontal but the seat is not. I have the full VW comfort mattress, but my seat is horizontal when in the down position when compared with table edge. Yours is not.

 

[reserves]

Agreed, there's something wrong with the set up, it shouldn't be like this

 

[vmaxkiddy]

Are the head rests touching something underneath preventing the seat back going fully flat ?

 

[steve and lisa]

Ours is also the same, we have been living with it for the past year and just stuffed some towels undeneath to level it it !

Surely not another Cali problem?

 

[SimonB]

I'm looking to buy a zonesleep topper for a bit more comfort on the bed downstairs, but does anyone know if it will even out the difference in height between the shelf mattress and the seat? I've attached a photo to show the difference.

View attachment 11805

How thick is the cushion on your rear shelf? Ours is about 7cms, just under 3" and it tapers from the top going towards the rear of the van. I assume that this is so that you can pull it forward a bit and overlap it with the rear of the seat to smooth out the join.
Is it shaped around the offside pillar at the back which would indicate it is the right one for the vehicle?
I would take a picture, but a monsoon started when I went out to measure it.

 

[snowy55]

We always have the shelf on the highest of the 2 settings at the the rear end to give a slightly heads up sleeping postion.

 

[TimR]

Hi thanks for all the help. Here are some more pics. Mattress is about 7cm thick and tapers at the seat end but even pulled across the height difference is still noticeable. Checked and headrests not obstructed underneath. Bed goes clunk when put flat so locks down. Sounds like it might be a bad old design problem with the mounts in the wrong place from when they used a board instead of mesh? Was thinking of options....

Remove the rear mattress and try the Brandrup ixtend thin pad with wire mesh in top position.
Remove the rear mattress and replace with vw comfort mattress (seems bulky)
Buy some approx 2cm hard foam and cut to the shape of the rear mattress to sit underneath.

Anyone have any other ideas or tried any of the above?
Did you find a solution gregspam, sounds like you have had the same issue?

I assume vw must have "fixed" the issue fairly quick.

 

[gregspam]

Looking at that picture something doesn't seem right.

Not sure how you drew that conclusion from the limited original picture? Subsequent pictures look normal to me.

Hi thanks for all the help. Here are some more pics. Mattress is about 7cm thick and tapers at the seat end but even pulled across the height difference is still noticeable. Checked and headrests not obstructed underneath. Bed goes clunk when put flat so locks down. Sounds like it might be a bad old design problem with the mounts in the wrong place from when they used a board instead of mesh? Was thinking of options....

Remove the rear mattress and try the Brandrup ixtend thin pad with wire mesh in top position.
Remove the rear mattress and replace with vw comfort mattress (seems bulky)
Buy some approx 2cm hard foam and cut to the shape of the rear mattress to sit underneath.

Anyone have any other ideas or tried any of the above?
Did you find a solution gregspam, sounds like you have had the same issue?

I assume vw must have "fixed" the issue fairly quick.

View attachment 11847 View attachment 11848 View attachment 11849 View attachment 11850

When we bought the van, the previous owner had gone to the effort of cutting matts like this to cover the main floor to keep the carpet clean. Hardly an ideal solution, but we shove these under the mattress to level it up a bit, seems to work.

It may not be a coincidence that those who've reported problems have roughly the same model year - maybe the factory did screw up on the positioning of fixings for a limited run? I got no response from VWCS when I enquired. Pure speculation, but could have been something to do with the switch over from the older designs of the previous model that I'm led to believe had a different shelf construction.

Not sure if you see this also, which could be related, but when I tilt the shelf on the non locking fixings and move it to a different position where the bolts rotate/slide in, they don't always line up perfectly and take a small amount of persuasion to align, like the frame isn't quite true. I'm pretty sure it is though, so maybe that's consistent with the fixing holes being a bit off spec. It certainly doesn't feel like German precision engineering anyway! Small gripe though.

 

[WelshGas]

Not sure how you drew that conclusion from the limited original picture? Subsequent pictures look normal to me.

There were NO subsequent pictures when I posted my comment this morning.

Very simple. I enlarged the photograph on my big screen iMac. Made sure the bottom of the wardrobe was horizontal by adjusting the angular rotation of the photograph. At this point I could see that although the shelf mattress seemed horizontal, but the seat back did not. On my vehicle the seat back sits a little lower than that in the photograph.
You obviously have better eyesight than I have, and hindsight is so useful.

In the last photograph from the rear of the van, Only posted this evening, that looks normal, because the majority of the body weight will be on the seat back when lying down, thus compressing the upholstery, producing a level surface. Obviously, because the top of the seat back is sculpted you are likely to feel the join. The VW Comfort mattress or a full length topper would solve that problem.

 

[TimR]

Yeah seems like mine is the same, tried to move it to the top fixings and bolts didnt quite align.

 

[TimR]

Not sure if you see this also, which could be related, but when I tilt the shelf on the non locking fixings and move it to a different position where the bolts rotate/slide in, they don't always line up perfectly and take a small amount of persuasion to align, like the frame isn't quite true. I'm pretty sure it is though, so maybe that's consistent with the fixing holes being a bit off spec. It certainly doesn't feel like German precision engineering anyway! Small gripe though.

Yeah seems like mine is the same, tried to move it to the top fixings and bolts didnt quite align.

 

[gregspam]

Very simple. I enlarged the photograph on my big screen iMac. Made sure the bottom of the wardrobe was horizontal by adjusting the angular rotation of the photograph. At this point I could see that although the shelf mattress seemed horizontal, but the seat back did not. On my vehicle the seat back sits a little lower than that in the photograph.
You obviously have better eyesight than I have, and hindsight is so useful.

Hilarious, you certainly brightened up my morning. I did observe the sequence of events, no reflection on hindsight required.

Yeah seems like mine is the same, tried to move it to the top fixings and bolts didnt quite align.

I suspect there has been a mess up at the factory for a limited run. I can't see a neat fix that isn't padding out under the shelf somehow. Moving the fixing bolts would be too invasive and I doubt there exists a mattress designed for the resulting thickness. For anyone that hasn't experienced it, the difference is quite pronounced and makes it uncomfortable.

The VW Comfort mattress or a full length topper would solve that problem.

My experience is that a full length topper (zonesleep in my case) doesn't hide the ridge. I'd like @TimR to benefit from my comments as someone with a similar experience. I appreciate forums by their nature attract a lot of more negative enquiries and it's great that you bring so much positivity and balance to this forum. But it's not always reasonable to pronounce that all is well when you lack the particular experience.

 

[WelshGas]

Well the VW Comfort mattress works fine on mine. Obviously not a common problem as cannot find any mention of this on the Forum or elsewhere. I could be wrong but I still maintain that the slight elevation of the seat back over the rear mattress is as designed and that once bodyweight is applied it will be compressed and level so that you are just left with the join. In which case the fairy story of the Princess and the Pea springs to mind.

 

[gregspam]

Well the VW Comfort mattress works fine on mine. Obviously not a common problem as cannot find any mention of this on the Forum or elsewhere. I could be wrong but I still maintain that the slight elevation of the seat back over the rear mattress is as designed and that once bodyweight is applied it will be compressed and level so that you are just left with the join. In which case the fairy story of the Princess and the Pea springs to mind.

Well, as long as you're right