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Space Efficient Alternative to Comfort Mattress for 3 seat bench

J

jackster

Messages
43
Location
York
Vehicle
T6 Cali On Order
Hi Everyone

We are the proud owner of a new 3 seat bench Cali Beach. We are a family of 5, with kids young enough that we can get all 5 of us asleep in the van. We went away last weekend last weekend and all was great... but... the comfort mattress takes up so much space in the van which could be better used for storing something else.

Does anyone know of a better way? An inflatable mattress maybe that can level out the bumps of the 3 seat bench? Doesn't needs to be perfectly comfy...

Ideas and thoughts really welcome! jack
 
Hi Everyone

We are the proud owner of a new 3 seat bench Cali Beach. We are a family of 5, with kids young enough that we can get all 5 of us asleep in the van. We went away last weekend last weekend and all was great... but... the comfort mattress takes up so much space in the van which could be better used for storing something else.

Does anyone know of a better way? An inflatable mattress maybe that can level out the bumps of the 3 seat bench? Doesn't needs to be perfectly comfy...

Ideas and thoughts really welcome! jack
Hi Jack, we have the 3 seat beach and like you found the comfort mattress takes a huge amount of space. We now use 2.5cm Duvaley Toppers (2 singles laid side by side). Not quite as comfortable but acceptable my opinion. They roll up very compact and can be stacked on each other. We did try a ‘double bed’ sized topper but this was far to much faff to roll up! Slightly off topic, but I would also recommend Vanessa window bags as these utilise what is otherwise wasted space. We can get all our clothes for a family of 4 and room to spare!
 
We have gone for decathlon self inflating mattresses. They are a little long but very comfortable. I need to add a thin foam pad on top of the multiflex board, though two pillows worked well (but used more space!)

I have seen YouTube videos of shortened matts, I may try doing that
 
We have gone for decathlon self inflating mattresses. They are a little long but very comfortable. I need to add a thin foam pad on top of the multiflex board, though two pillows worked well (but used more space!)

I have seen YouTube videos of shortened matts, I may try doing that
We use a pair of Decathlon Ultim Comfort self inflating mats - as mentioned they’re a little long but are comfortable and pack away to an acceptable size.
 
Thanks for the quick responses, amazing! Do the Duvalays / Ultim self inflating mats cover the whole width of the van? We'll probably need to keep the kids down there for the time being since they are very young for the top... other ideas welcome too! We're getting there with our packing strategy now, bought another brand of the vanessa bags, they are sooo useful
 
Hi Jack,

the age old problem is available space and what to bring with you.
In truth there is no ideal one size fits all. All you can do if try to make use of every available space by planning your trip accordingly and what you must take with you.

I do not travel light, but we as a family have conditioned ourselves to pack for most eventualities, taking what we need to live comfortably without too much excess. if there was an ideal solution to do away with the need to carry some sort of mattress or if there were a mattress that took up next to no room and could be deployed quickly when needed and stowed just as quickly when not, I would take that option, although as with most things camping wise it’s a compromise, that needs to suit how you use the van

instead organise the available space to accommodate my muse have items, so that when needed deploying and stowing are the least faff possible.

IMO less is more, although three girls don’t always agree, particularly when the van is packed and I get presented with , “Oh this needs to go in “ followed by “ and this” “and this” :headbang:headbang:headbang
We have four of us normally (upto six occasionally) and pack accordingly for each trip, depending on duration, potential weather, location and type of holiday environment we are travelling to, including potential local resources, if needed, such as laundry, shops etc.

I agree the full size comfort mattress does take up a lot of room, although if you pack correctly for the available space the comfort mattress just become part of your normal set up.

my experience over many years, various VW Vans and car camping is you will always fill the available space (and some)

SIM’s still take up valuable space as well, they are a PITA to fold up small (particularly in wet weather) and don’t provide a flat surface to place things on the rear shelf unlike the factory full size CM, which can be used to place all your soft / lightweight items, such as pillows, coats etc when travelling and whilst the down stairs bed in not made up.
(fitted / elasticated edge sheet attached to the CM even when folded, duvet cover as the upper bed sheet slide over the mattress)

”really useful“ clear boxes, with lids, are really useful!
organise your gear in the boot area. You can get these in varying sizes that allow you to maximise the height and width of the space under the multiflex whilst still being able to see and access the boxes when needed, it does take some trail and error , but you can fit an inordinate amount of gear into those boxes when packed accordingly allow say cooking / eating / plates / cutlery, washing up gear etc to be in one easily available box ready to be taken from the van as needed, with the added benefit that the gear you need for a meal time etc is all in one place & goes back in when used and cleaned which is then put back into the van out of the way.

I find the order you pack gear into the van should be the reverse of when you will need gear / frequency whilst camping

if you need to the boxes can be taken out of the van and stacked, cover with a simple lightweight tarp.

making use of the additional space, to get thing outside the van can be useful with a full complement of campers, the wind out awning can offer a huge amount of storage space when onsite, fitting a couple of simple waterproof (tent type) tarps attached to the sides of the awning arms, attached with bungee balls and pegged out at the bottom provides a serious amount of space, the tarp can be used to cover (pegged down) anything you leave outside the van. The tarps fold into a small bag and take up the space of a regular packet of crisps.

Window bags can offer a huge amount of space for clothes, when used with packing cubes, allowing a fixed place for clothes, easy to access and making use of an otherwise dead space. Four of us are able to pack all our clothes into two packing cubes each, for a two week holiday.
Keys / phones glasses / sun glasses can all be placed into / onto the bag as designed.

Technical clothing can severely reduce the amount of clothes space needed.

Shoes can be put either side of the multiflex board legs on the sloping panels when travelling and not in use. (In the Footwell or under the van when at location)

Microfibre full size towels roll up to the size of a can of coke and are a lot better than you may expect at drying off after a shower. Four of them easily fit in one under seat draw.
Beach towels can be placed on the rear seat as additional cushions.

not sure if you travel with a fridge, but this can be secured and stored behind the front seats to give more boot space And does not interfere with bed set up.

Fold flat canvas storage boxes can be placed in the footwell one at site to allow all the daily clutter, that needs to be accessed periodically, can help a lot with the tidiness of the van whilst camping.

Hook up cable etc, can be placed in the space in-front of the starter battery (engine bay) as can 1 litre of oil.

Car tidy pockets, the type that normally strap to the side of the chairs / headrest and sit on the unused part of the seat are great for hanging from the two interior coat hooks which can provide a convenient place to store phones and small items such as keys , wallet and anything else you need to access know exactly where you put it.

use the available space in the camping chair void between the folded up chair, an amazing amount of soft items can be stored.

have fun playing with your set up and let us know if you achieve the perfect set up and solution to the mattress issue.
 
Last edited:
Hi Jack,

the age old problem is available space and what to bring with you.
In truth there is no ideal one size fits all. All you can do if try to make use of every available space by planning your trip accordingly and what you must take with you.

I do not travel light, but we as a family have conditioned ourselves to pack for most eventualities, taking what we need to live comfortably without too much excess. if there was an ideal solution to do away with the need to carry some sort of mattress or if there were a mattress that took up next to no room and could be deployed quickly when needed and stowed just as quickly when not, I would take that option, although as with most things camping wise it’s a compromise, that needs to suit how you use the van

instead organise the available space to accommodate my my have items, so that when needed deploying and stowing are the least faff possible.

IMO less is more, although three girls don’t always agree, particularly when the van is packed and I get presented with , “Oh this needs to go in “ followed by “ and this” “and this” :headbang:headbang:headbang
We have four of us normally (upto six occasionally) and pack accordingly for each trip, depending on duration, potential weather, location and type of holiday environment we are travelling to, including potential local resources, if needed, such as laundry, shops etc.

I agree the full size comfort mattress does take up a lot of room, although if you pack correctly for the available space the comfort mattress just become part of your normal set up.

my experience over many years, various VW Vans and car camping is you will always fill the available space (and some)

SIM’s still take up valuable space as well, they are a PITA to fold up small (particularly in wet weather) and don’t provide a flat surface to place things on the rear shelf unlike the factory full size CM, which can be used to place all your soft / lightweight items, such as pillows, coats etc when travelling and whilst the down stairs bed in not made up.
(fitted / elasticated edge sheet attached to the CM even when folded, duvet cover as the upper bed sheet slide over the mattress)

”really useful“ clear boxes, with lids, are really useful!
organise your gear in the boot area. You can get these in varying sizes that allow you to maximise the height and width of the space under the multiflex whilst still being able to see and access the boxes when needed, it does take some trail and error , but you can fit an inordinate amount of gear into those boxes when packed accordingly allow say cooking / eating / plates / cutlery, washing up gear etc to be in one easily available box ready to be taken from the van as needed, with the added benefit that the gear you need for a meal time etc is all in one place & goes back in when used and cleaned which is then put back into the van out of the way.

I find the order you pack gear into the van should be the reverse of when you will need gear / frequency whilst camping

if you need to the boxes can be taken out of the van and stacked, cover with a simple lightweight tarp.

making use of the additional space, to get thing outside the van can be useful with a full complement of campers, the wind out awning can offer a huge amount of storage space when onsite, fitting a couple of simple waterproof (tent type) tarps attached to the sides of the awning arms, attached with bungee balls and pegged out at the bottom provides a serious amount of space, the tarp can be used to cover (pegged down) anything you leave outside the van. The tarps fold into a small bag and take up the space of a regular packet of crisps.

Window bags can offer a huge amount of space for clothes, when used with packing cubes, allowing a fixed place for clothes, easy to access and making use of an otherwise dead space. Four of us are able to pack all our clothes into two packing cubes each, for a two week holiday.
Keys / phones glasses / sun glasses can all be placed into / onto the bag as designed.

Technical clothing can severely reduce the amount of clothes space needed.

Shoes can be put either side of the multiflex board legs on the sloping panels when travelling and not in use. (In the Footwell or under the van when at location)

Microfibre full size towels roll up to the size of a can of coke and are a lot better than you may expect at drying off after a shower. Four of them easily fit in one under seat draw.
Beach towels can be placed on the rear seat as additional cushions.

not sure if you travel with a fridge, but this can be secured and stored behind the front seats to give more boot space And does not interfere with bed set up.

Fold flat canvas storage boxes can be placed in the footwell one at site to allow all the daily clutter, that needs to be accessed periodically, can help a lot with the tidiness of the van whilst camping.

Hook up cable etc, can be placed in the space in-front of the starter battery (engine bay) as can 1 litre of oil.

Car tidy pockets, the type that normally strap to the side of the chairs / headrest and sit on the unused part of the seat are great for hanging from the two interior coat hooks which can provide a convenient place to store phones and small items such as keys , wallet and anything else you need to access know exactly where you put it.

use the available space in the camping chair void between the folded up chair, an amazing amount of soft items can be stored.

have fun playing with your set up and let us know if you achieve the perfect set up and solution to the mattress issue.
Thanks Perfectos - what a useful comment. I guess your advice boiled down is dont give up on the comfort mattress just yet and find out what works for us. There will come a time when we can get the girls up to and out the way, and then i imagine comfort downstairs will become more of the priority. I think we will keep it for this summer and autumn and see how we get on. You're right it is a good flat surface on top of it...
 
These are brilliant and fit down and up (just). There is also a 15cm version.

 
Exped megamat duo … it’s just about as comfy as our own mattress at home
 
Exped megamat duo … it’s just about as comfy as our own mattress at home
Does that fit the upstairs bed?
Can you replace the factory mattress, and leave it inflated with the roof down?
 
We bought a king size mattress topper from Aldi. It fits the downstairs bed perfectly then rolls up and stores on top of the bench. It does take a up a bit of space but less than the comfort mattress,was £35 and very comfortable. We actually use it with the comfort mattress too if there are only 2 of us. It also goes upstairs and wraps up the sides too then keeps us really warm in the winter and we have never had issues with rain getting through.
 
You can also look into the Maxxcamp comfort overlay for 3 seater bench (not cheap!). No own experience with it, but it folds into a fairly compact size (given its only 3cm thick).
 
I didn't have a problem with the space taken up by the comfort mattress, just its lack of.....comfort (and yes we did sleep on the soft side)
I ended up going for an sleep mat topper & plumped for this one;
1626781035575.png
The Therm-a-rest Mondoking (XL)...... what a revelation, so much so that I tried it without the comfort mattress & it was perfectly usable.

Not cheap by any sense of the word, but I'm really chuffed with it as a solution.
1626781145099.png
 
+1 for thermarest. Only use mine for camping but it’s superb. I’ve got the xtherm ultralight which is great for sub zero camping and it’s tiny when packed. Not cheap mind at around £200 and that’s for a single!
 
Hi Everyone

We are the proud owner of a new 3 seat bench Cali Beach. We are a family of 5, with kids young enough that we can get all 5 of us asleep in the van. We went away last weekend last weekend and all was great... but... the comfort mattress takes up so much space in the van which could be better used for storing something else.

Does anyone know of a better way? An inflatable mattress maybe that can level out the bumps of the 3 seat bench? Doesn't needs to be perfectly comfy...

Ideas and thoughts really welcome! jack
Can definitely recommend the Vango Shangri-La II 15 double SIM - laid straight onto the bench, it's just like sleeping on a domestic mattress!
 
Ikea mattress topper - £65


At 200 x 150 x 3.5cm it fits perfectly and folds to a compact 150 x 70 x 10cm

In this photo it is packed inside the blue cotton sheet sleeping bag.

1631094204988.jpeg
 
Can definitely recommend the Vango Shangri-La II 15 double SIM - laid straight onto the bench, it's just like sleeping on a domestic mattress!
Do you have a pic of how it folds down in the van by any chance?
 
I also use a folded up travel blanket to even out the dip in the bed where the seat squab and backrest meet.
 
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