Memory Foam Or Some Other Type Of Mattress Topper? Need Advice!

We recently put the Hypervent in our 550, but wished we would have gave the FROLI more consideration after your review. Van is a side-sleeper too.

 

Jenn,

I haven't purchased the Froli system yet, but I'm convinced it's the way I want to go; Lorie's and Randy's posts were most helpful.

I did purchase a queensize 3" memory foam topper for our mattress at home with the intent of using it in the teardrop if
we liked it. It's comfortable, but truthfully, it's a little more "marshmallowy" than I like. Maybe a one or two inch topper would be less so...I just don't want to go that route.

The Camp Inn mattress is a good mattress. I really do think the Froli system will enhance it by alleviating pressure points and maintaining air circulation underneath. It helps to be sure because it's an expensive addition to the camper.

Deb

 

Deb,

Perhaps Lorie will weigh in also, I would be interested in her take.

I found the difference with the Froli to be subtle, but it definitely got rid of the pressure points that I was experiencing and serves the dual purpose of providing circulation under the mattress. I tried the topper route but it didn't relieve the pressure points and I found it to be a hassle as it slid around, especially for me as I am a tosser and turner. I also find that it is a little easier to access the under storage compartments with the Froli attached to the lids than it was with the hypervent. I was considering a non CampInn mattress as a solution but it's such an unknown without being able to try them out.

Very pleased with the Froli solution. For me it was money well spent as having a comfortable bed is after all a large part of a Tear Drop's purpose. The fact that Little Guy is offering the Froli as stock on some of their new models is what convinced me to give it a try.
T@B 400 Teardrop Trailer | RV Sales | 1 Floorplan

I also made sure that the soft side of the stock mattress was facing up.
Non camp-inn mattress

Hope that helps.

Randy

 

Randy,

Yes, that definitely helps.
Thank you so much.

I know Lorie is a believer in the Froli system. She took the time to email me her experience.
Thank you again, Lorie.

Alleviating the pressure points was my initial objective.
Now to repurpose my Hypervent. ❓

Deb

 

I used some extra hypervent to line the lower galley cabinets.

 

After reading the posts from others, I became interested in the Froli system, and contacted them this past January. I corresponded with Elke Nickle of Nickle Atlantic, the US Distributor, and she told me of an alternative Froli system to what is available on their website, that is geared toward the OEM market. It comes as a 13" square mat consisting of nine Froli springs connected together in three rows of three. They come in two firmness's regular, and firm, and each square costs $6.90. I ended up ordering 24, with a mixture of firm for my side except for the shoulder area, and regular for Kris's side and the rest. Elke told me the mats were comparable in firmness to the Froli Travel system. I ended up cutting some of the squares into smaller sections of 1,2,3, or 6 springs to fill smaller than full square spaces. I've attached the Froli Mat brochure as well as a couple pics below of it partially installed in our Camp-Inn. It was only about 25 degrees where I was working on it, but I did lay on it when I was done, and it definitely felt nicer for the little while I laid there, but I'll have to do an update when we have a chance to actually spend a few full nights on it. If it proves to be as comfortable as hoped, it will provide a significant savings over the Star or Travel systems currently offered on the website.

 

I'm interested in how well it works on the sofa.

 

I'll have to do a follow up update on that too. I made joints in the mats to line up with joints in the sofa sections, and it doesn't seem to interfere with pulling it up into position, at least with the mattress off.
It has always been a little bit of a struggle pulling it up into the sofa position with the mattress on however, especially for one person to do, but I don't think it will make it much if any more difficult.....at least that's my hope. For that reason we don't use the sofa a lot, but it has come in handy a few times, like when we had three consecutive days of almost steady wind & rain in Bayfield, WI after leaving CICO '16. It was nice to be able to sit up and watch movies, read, etc.

 

I leave the sofa setup all the time and have used it a lot. Well a lot for just ten nights.

 

Wow - that sounds great. Perhaps they will add it to their website. It looks like basically the same product and potentially easier to install. Here is the website page I think is most helpful - it takes awhile to find it: Modular Froli Sleep Systems by Nickle Atlantic, LLC

Jenn - I will be spending some time in Fort Worden this summer at the Port Townsend School of Woodworking. Might you be near there?

We love our Froli. When the time comes, we will buy it for the house.

 

It would be nice if it was added to the page linked above, but I think the website is geared more toward the end user / consumer, where this particular product was aimed more at OEM's to install on their production units.
Until then, the brochure pdf I attached above in my first post should should provide most of the information about it, and there is a "contact" button on the top of the page Lorie & Keith linked above, where you can ask any unanswered questions, to which Elke Nickle will respond. She ended up sending me the info. brochure pdf on the mat, in response to a question I asked.
If you'd like, she will also send you a grid layout of each of their different systems, so you can figure out how many of each style it would take to fill a given area. Elke was very helpful.

 

For what it's worth, I went with the FROLI Star System. After giving her the mattress dimensions, Elke recommended the Double Bed Package + 12 Pack Expansion, 108 pieces total. This was the perfect size, used every piece and didn't have any left over. No problems with the couch and I fastened the sections over the storage lids with some stainless screws for easy access. That may be one advantage to the individual pieces vs. the modular, as it took 12 pieces to cover the the storage bin lids and I believe the modular comes in 9 piece section although I suspect they could be cut to make a 12 piece section.

The cost shipped was $361. The modular option Dustin went with appears to be significantly less expensive. Favorite mod to date, really comfortable. Might be a nice option for CI to offer. Little Guy is using it on some of their new models.

Randy

 

The total cost on mine was about $175 including shipping, but I left about the last six inches of the foot area uncovered to provide extra toe room so you could add about $14-21 to that for total coverage. The Froli Star and Travel systems will both give you a bit more range of adjust-ability with their spacing options, and addable bands for increasing/decreasing firmness, so there are trade offs for the lower price, and easier installation of the mat system. With my custom sofa bed option getting to the under-bed storage requires getting the bed into sofa mode to gain access, but otherwise like Randy said, the mats could be cut to fit the covers for the regular camper without a sofa bed.

 

Thank you Randy!! We ordered and installed our Froli star system just in time for our latest trip. Wow! We loved it! It may be the most comfortable bed in our house. Your post described all we needed to order and your photo was very helpful for the install. I followed your suggestions on fastening the pieces to the lids. It worked great!

 

So happy it worked out for you John and Jodi!

 

For those with the froli installed, can you give some idea on the durability of the plastic? For example, how would it hold up to a 3 year old walking around and bouncing on it while waiting for a Barney DVD to load?

 

I think you would be fine. It's a soft plastic with plenty of give, more rubber like than plastic I would say..The three year old might be OK but I derinetly wouldn't let Barney jump around on it No trouble with my fifty pound dog jumping in and out.

My opinion only though. They are super helpful over the phone if you want to ask them directly. I love the Froli, my favorite camper upgrade.

Randy

 

Thank you, Randy, for giving us all the information we needed. We ordered the same pieces, but had some leftovers which will be fine in case Michael decides to make his side firmer.

 

We bought our trailer used and it came with a 3" memory foam topper (we bought it at the end of 2014). We just ordered a replacement about a month ago. This one was a 2" topper. Not quite as comfortable as the 3" but still very good. We have slept with and without the topper and the standard mattress is good but the topper makes all the difference in the world for us. Basically, the topper makes it very similar to our own bed at home. Firmer support layer with a softer top layer. I'm a side sleeper and have occasional issues with my hip and shoulder and the topper does make it more comfortable. I generally don't have an issue with heat retention of the topper but it does get pretty hard on cold nights (until body heat warms up the cabin and mattress). The problem with a 3" topper for us was that it puts the covers at the same height as the door skirts so the blankets can get in the way of closing the door. You have to make sure everything is tucked in before closing the door. That is why we switched to a 2" topper.

 

Sorry you ended up with extras. Perhaps our spacing was different? Hope it works out well for you guys. We have 6 trips with it now and still love it.

Randy