Air Mattresses (and Cots?) for Car Camping

Did you have one of those ridiculous full height inflatable mattresses?

When I was volunteering after Katrina our work camp had a bunch of regular 6ish inch air mattresses that folks put on FEMA cots and I didn't know of any complaints. I laid on some of the doubles and they didn't seem like they would be too bouncy for two people. I had a single on some roll away springs with an electric blanket on the mattress and sleeping bag over me.

Another thing to remember is these inflatables are no different than the backpacking ones. The need for insulation applies as well.

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It wasn't full height, but about 10-12 in. thick.

No matter what, in a queen size mattress with one air chamber, you are going to move your partner every time you get up, lie down or roll over.

I find to make inflatable pads comfortable, you have to underinflate them a bit so that they contour to your body shape. I find fully inflated pads uncomfortable. A 2 chamber queen mattress that allows each person to adjust their side would be nice.

I wonder if cots are really worth it – only thing they really add is making it easier to get up out of bed in the morning and providing a flatter surface when you are on bumpy ground. Anyone disagree?

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At Boy Scout summer camp a couple of years ago I used a wide Bass Pro folding cot with a 3" REI self inflating pad. The cot/mattress combo worked well in the canvas 'A' frame tent with wooden tent floor. That is probably the most comfortable I can get when not using my hammock.

I'm not sure how well a cot would work in a nylon tent, I suppose it depends on the floor and the slope of the walls. A cot takes up more room, especially if the tent has sloped walls. A cot is also cooler since it is up off the ground. That is an advantage when it is hot, not so much when it is cold.

As an aside, I weighed the REI 3" pad not long ago…. 7 freakin' pounds. For a PAD.

My wife and I usually do a mix of camping when we go on trips: backpacking, car camping and (as we like to call it) motel camping. If possible, it makes sense to combine the gear. For example, we use the same thermarests for car camping and backpacking, but use a bigger tent for car camping. Thermarests are very comfortable, in my opinion, so I would certainly recommend them for car camping. While car camping (or even backpacking) you might want to combine them with closed cell pads (like the stuff from Gossamer Gear) for insulation. Of course, if you are starting from scratch, and only using it for car camping, you might as well get the cushiest stuff available (if you don't mind the extra cost). Thermarest sells couplers for keeping the pads together. We use rectangular synthetic filled sleeping bags, zipped together, for car camping. These are relatively heavy but inexpensive. Much of the equipment we used to use for backpacking ends up on our car camping list (such as our old REI backpacking tent). Even though it isn't critical, it is nice to keep the weight and bulk of your car camping stuff down, just to save a few bucks on gas as well as headaches when trying to fit it all into your car.

EJ,

Would it work to pump the Queensize up REALLY tight to minimise the bumping around, and then throw the Neoairs on top of it for comfort?

We think the same way Ross. I saw the weight and bulk of some of the large car camping tents, particularly the canvas ones, and couldn't believe it. If it's just my wife and I, we'd like to car camp using only the rear storage area of our Outback, and be able to leave the Thule roof box at home (although according to people on one of the best Subaru online forums, the Thule box only costs you about 1 mpg.

We'll probably skip cots, but try to use a good thick mattress. I've done the "pillow top" with synthetic blankets with our 1 in. Therm-a-rest pads when crashing at a friend's place – works pretty well.

What are your favorite comfort/luxury air mattresses?

Not a bad idea Rod, but no matter how you cut it, one chamber = movement, unless there's a hard frame in the mattress. Putting another 2.5 in. pad like the NeoAir on top of the inflatable queen mattress would probably be too unstable. We'll probably put pads on the floor of the tend and use wide thick pads like the NeoAir Deluxe or other 2-3 in. thick Therm-a-rest luxury pads.

I use industrial packing foam cut into three peices. It is about 4 inches thick and fairly storng for two of the peices. the pillow piece is 6 inches. This eliminates the need for a pillow. My pieces are all 30 inches square except for the pillow side. That is only 12 inches wide. The stuff is easy to pack and you can usually get it for free if you talk to an electronics or industrial company.

The peices adhere to the ground when I lay on them and don't move hardly at all.

Sounds like an interesting idea Jason. And we have 3 in. sound dampening foam to dampen server noise and to use as padding for our car cargo area and inside of the Thule roof box. It's also cheap to get over eBay. But it does take up a lot of volume for packing and sound foam has a bit of a smell.

What type of "electronics" foam do you mean? Soft, semi-rigid, etc.?

If your tent is large enough cots are very nice when car camping. They give you extra storage space (store some items under the cot) and also, better keep your sleeping bag/sheet/blanket or whatever you are using off the tent floor keeping them cleaner and drier. Again, depending on the type of car camping tent you use, many are not as waterproof as backpacking tents, so the extra insurance against a wet sleeping bag can be nice. (Also if you camp with kids spills can run under the cots instead of being absorbed by your sleeping bag.)