Best Mattress Options
for SUV Camping
Now that you have built out the back of your SUV into a sleeper camper, you’re probably wondering what your options are for mattresses! Lucky for you, we have learned the hard way about the pros & cons to each of the SUV camping mattress options. We’re sharing our experiences (& the experiences of our good friends!) to help you make sure you pick out the option that is the best fit for you.
There are many things to weigh when deciding on a good mattress solution for your SUV cmaping set up. We’re outlining all the details from cost, ease of set-up, and (our number one!) comfort level to help ensure your transition to hitting the road is seamless with a good night of sleep (or several!) in tow.
Once you’ve figured out your mattress solution, head on over to our Top 10 Items for SUV Camping to make sure you have everything else you need to set out on your first SUV camping trip!
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Tri-Fold Foam Mattress: Our Recommendation
When we first started camping, we did NOT choose this option because it was the most expensive. After several not-so-comfortable camping trips in our first year of SUV camping (& many trips to Walmart to add additional foam layers to our “mattress” set-up), we decided to toss the mattress pads & upgrade our set-up to a tri-fold foam mattress.
You can purchase the tri-fold mattress that we have (& LOVE!) here: Milliard 4” Tri-Fold Foam Mattress
Pros:
Comfort. By far the most comfortable of all the options!
Easy to set-up. You can leave this mattress up without any required nightly set up, making your transition from the road to a good night of sleep super seamless.
Easy to store. With its tri-fold design, this mattress easily stacks in the cargo area on top of the bed platform, allowing you to fully use your backseat when the bed is not set up.
Durable. This mattress’ foam design makes it durable for travel and its soft external cover provides extra protection from snags or dirt.
Cons:
Requires adjustment to size. Unfortunately, there are no tri-fold mattresses that fit the back of a SUV perfectly. We had to perform surgery with a box cutter once the mattress arrived. It was relatively easy, but did require measuring tape & a box cutter.
Cost. This is definitely the most expensive of the set-up options with a current purchase price of $169.99. It’s worth it, though!
Air Mattress: Our Second Choice
If you are not ready for the investment of a tri-fold foam mattress, this option may be for you! Our good friends who built their bed platform based on our SUV Camping Build Guide purchased this air mattress and have used it as their set up on trips all across the US! We picked their brain on some of the pros and cons based on their experience with the set up!
You can purchase the air mattress that our friends use (& love!) here: Hikenture Double Sleeping Pad Air Mattress
Pros:
Comfort. Spoiler alert: this is definitely a major upgrade to the comfort level of the option we chose at the start of our SUV camping journey!
Inexpensive. At less than half the cost of a tri-fold mattress, this is a great option for those who are looking for a very budget-friendly way to begin their SUV camping journey.
Cons:
Requires nightly set-up. One of the reasons we did not choose this option is because it requires set up each night. While it only takes a few minutes to inflate this mattress, we were concerned about needing to complete this set up each night, particularly during inclement weather.
Less durable. Unfortunately, if punctured, this mattress would need to be replaced. Our friends protect their air mattress with an additional mattress pad underneath it, which adds to the cost of the set up, but protects your air mattress from any wood or screw snags on the bed platform.
Foam Mattress Pads: NOT Recommended
When we first began SUV camping, we were looking for the most budget-friendly solution to our mattress conundrum. After researching several camping set ups, we decided to purchase layered mattress pads (on the recommendation of another SUV camper) because they are super cheap and easy to find in person (& we are a bit of procrastinators when it comes to ordering supplies).
Unfortunately, we found this set up to be super uncomfortable and much more expensive than we expected as we kept purchasing additional layers in hopes that it would provide additional comfort. Once we were $70 in to the mattress pad investment, we decided to cut our losses and purchase the Milliard Tri-Fold Mattress. We wish we had started there, but how else would we be helping YOU learn from OUR experience, dear reader?
Pros:
Inexpensive…at first. The entry point is very low at $15ish per mattress pad. Unfortunately, we ended up spending $70 (!!!!!!) trying to make this more comfortable. Alas, no success.
Easy to find. These are sold at most department stores in the US, so they do not require an online purchase.
Cons:
NOT Comfortable. We tossed & turned many nights when we first started SUV camping. If you’re someone who can sleep like a rock on a rock (I know, SNL just hire me already!), then this is for you. Otherwise, there are MUCH more comfortable options.
Can actually be more expensive in a quest to make it comfortable. As noted, we spent way more than we wanted to spend for not much return here. If we could take it all back, we would have bought the Milliard mattress from the start!
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