Date:         Wed, 17 Dec 1997 11:15:55 -0500
Reply-To:     "Simoes, Brian" <bsimoes@EMAIL.MC.TI.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.sdsc.edu>
From:         "Simoes, Brian" <bsimoes@EMAIL.MC.TI.COM>
Subject:      FW: Sleeping comfort in campers??
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Sorry volks...I'm a bit new to this and really intended to send my response to
the list...

Brian

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From:   Simoes, Brian
Sent:   Wednesday, December 17, 1997 10:57 AM
To:     'sealaw@nela.org'
Subject:        FW: Sleeping comfort in campers??

Malcolm,

I'm fairly new to both this list as well as the entire Westy scene but would
like to offer a suggestion based on my years of tent camping experience...I
found a SIMPLY INCREDIBLE increase in comfort when my wife and I picked up a
pair of ThermaRest Camping Mattresses (we were sleeping on a couple of blankets
on bare ground prior to purchasing the ThermaRests).  These mattresses come in
various sizes/footprints and thicknesses depending upon your needs...they even
make a double width unit for "family camping"...this may prove a bit cumbersome
over the long haul however.

The construction is a nylon outercasing which surronds a dense but porous
foam...there is also a stopcock provided in the lower corner for
"inflating/deflating"...let me clarify...when the pad is in it's rolled up form
(with the stopcock closed), the internal foam is compacted and no additional
air can get in to "inflate" it...however, upon unrolling the mat and opening
the stopcock, the internal foam starts to expand and air enters the pad,
filling the voids, so to speak.  Although you really don't need to inflate the
pad yourself, I find that a couple of breaths of air into the mattress works
well especially after long periods of non-use...you really don't have to blow
into it but it does speed up the "inflation" time...if time's not going to be
an issue (ie, you're not going to sleep right away), then you can simply wait
for the pad to expand itself...once the matress has fully expanded, simply
close the stopcock and voila, comfort.

The benefits as we saw them were twofold...
1)  The air/foam interface heats up nicely from your ambient body heat and
stays comfortable in terms of temperature (I have not found it to be too warm
in the summer and summer sleeping w/o air conditioning is usually a problem for
me)...I obviously wouldn't recommend sleeping directly on the nylon though due
to the sweat factor...
2)  This thin little mattress is simply much more comfortable than one would
ever imagine.

One caveat is that these little babies are pretty expensive...I believe that
they start in the $40-$50 price range and go up to the $100 or so mark for the
double unit (as well as the thicker models).  Another caveat from my personal
perspective is that we have never actually used these matresses in our Westy (I
am still waiting for the garage that I am buying my Vanagon from to finish the
final touches on the rebuilt engine before accepting delivery)...We do use
these matresses at home if we have more people sleeping over than we can
accomodate with beds...to date I haven't had any complaints when using them on
top of a rug...

Be aware that the two pads that my wife and I bought were "cheap knock-offs" at
a Price Club...I believe that we paid $30-$35 each for ours...we have however,
made a mutual pact that, if and when our existing pads tear or the stopcock
breaks, etc., we will without a doubt replace them with the genuine ThermaRest
name brand.

I saw the actual ThermaRest pads advertised a while back in an LL Bean
catalog...though I haven't looked recently, I would suspect that they still
carry them...

Hope this helps...

Brian & Lisa Simoes
Massachusetts
(Soon to be owners of '85 Westy GL)

ps - If anything was unclear, or if you have additional questions, please let
me know...



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From:   Macon Cowles[SMTP:sealaw@NELA.ORG]
Reply To:       Macon Cowles
Sent:   Wednesday, December 17, 1997 9:16 AM
To:     Vanagon@GERRY.SDSC.EDU
Subject:        Sleeping comfort in campers??

The 2 inch foam pad that came with our 1997 Eurovan for sleeping on the
platform of the pop top is uncomfortable:  not enough give in it for your
butt, so sleeping on your back is particularly uncomfortable.

Has anyone found a replacement or supplement for the platform that makes
sleeping more comfortable?  I would prefer something, obviously, that does
not take up much room for storage during the day, and yet something that
you don't necessarily have to blow up at night.

I would be very grateful for any suggestions.  I want to surprise my wife
with this as a Christmas present.

Macon Cowles, Trial Lawyer
1680 Wilson Court
Boulder, Colorado 80304
303 447-1332
FAX 303 440-6294