12v heated mattress pad

Mick'nSarah

Mick'nSarah

Junior Ranger
Question for folks who have them: which brand of 12v heated mattress pads do you have and is it a twin or a queen?

We are looking a them right now, and only finding the twin size. Anyone have suggestions for us? And where did yo find them (we have looked at amazon.com, so far).

Thanks!
 
Me neither, but I was thinking for trips to cold country, it would be good to have. We don't normally need things like that out here. I have a heated car blanket Mick got me years ago, but tonight was the first time it had been opened. Mick was testing it, and it didn't seem to warm up. Found other ones online for a screaming deal on Camping World (around $15). was thinking it might help soften up that memory foam when it gets really chilly.

I also won the bet on whether the massive 2 person sleeping bag we got as a wedding gift 9 years ago (also never opened) was actually 2 sleeping bags zipped together. He will never learn not to doubt me when it comes to camping gear! Seriously! I know my stuff! :) One of those will be going in Dottie for cold country too. Worst comes to worst, I have a 5-year old who doesn't seem to get nearly enough snuggles and he is an excellent source of heat!
 
We have a queen size Electrowarmth 12v pad & love it. We plug it in about 30 minutes before stopping for the night or going to bed & then turn it off. It does a great job of taking the chill out of the mattress during damp/cold weather camping.

I don't believe you can buy them in queen size anymore, as Electrowarmth stopped making them several years ago. Made mainly for truck drivers, there really wasn't a demand for anything larger than twin size, so they phased them out. You can sometimes find one available on ebay.

:cool:
 
I used to have one of those electro warm 12 volt mattress pads. It was TOO hot, very impressive how much heat it cranks out, but just caused my back to sweat.
 
I got one of those Trucker mats that CI pointed me to. no long made.

I have it pinned to the hard mattress then have a 1-2" foam pad on top of that for the same reason, and then a regular mattress pad, don't like sleeping on wires either and would be too hot, and it works fine. While the heat warms the foam pad sort of, when you lie on it, you sink down towards the heat. Works great and turning on 30 min before and then the Main heater 10 min makes for a warm and toasty sleep.

Warning:
The pad, if left on all night, even at half setting, it's suppose to trickle on/off to lessen power drain, will drain the battery. I've done it several times now, so just a heads up.
Drew battery down to dead, like in no lights etc... revived, but not during the night eh??

So I only use if plugged in. The 750 quilt and main heater does the job as well...

Hope that Helps..
 
Frank, that was what I was thinking of doing. Putting it between the foam and the mattress. I figured I would only use it to warm up the bed, then unplug. Just was thinking it would be a nice thing to ave to ake the edge off. Bummer they aren't made anymore.
 
Electrowarmth still makes a heater pad, it's just that it's not a queen size, like Betsey said. They have a 36"X60" pad, their bunk warmer , that sells for just over $100. I s'pose 2 people could share it... Actually, it would fit sideways in the teardrop, so it could be shared comfortably.
 
As is so often the case with this forum, this is a helpful thread. I just ordered a 42" x 60" (double) 12v Electrowarmth heating pad off of eBay. I will let you all know how it works for me.
 
Hi Rick,

I looked it up on eBay and found a bunch, but couldn't tell which we're 12v. Do you have a link you could pass along? Will be interested in what you think.

Thanks!
 
Hi Sarah:

The listing I found was for a singular pad for sale by someone who had an unopened package they had received as a gift several years ago. When I tried to re-do the search using "my recent searches" on my eBay account, it failed to come up with anymore examples. In my original search I had typed "Electrowarmth 12v heating pad" and came up with the one that I ordered. I'm guessing I just happened upon a singular listing.

I know I'm taking a chance ordering something that is several years old, but it cost $29 + $10 shipping so I was willing to take a chance.
 
Thanks! That was the search I put in too. Good to know, I wasn't sure if there were multiples. I saw one for RVs, but it looked like it was a 110.

Cheers,
 
Rick said:
I know I'm taking a chance ordering something that is several years old, but it cost $29 + $10 shipping so I was willing to take a chance.
Click to expand...

$39 is a darn good price for it, especially if it is still new in the package. We have had ours for several years & it works just fine. Good find!

:cool:
 
I just got back from my maiden voyage in my Raindrop. I'll write more about the whole trip elsewhere, but wanted to report on my heated mattress cover. It worked exceptionally well! I travelled by myself to Florida to meet some other Camp Inn owners. I spent one night on the way down and two nights on the way back sleeping in truck stops with no hook ups. It was cold in all cases and REALLY cold at my last stop on the way home. The 12V mattress pad that I had worked like a charm! It took a good 20 minutes to get up to full temperature, so Betsey's practice of turning it on 30-60 minutes before you stop for the night would make sense. (In my case, I never knew when and where I was going to stop until I was already there.)

I placed my pad on top of the mattress but beneath a foam topper. It is only 42" wide, and I was by myself, but I think it would be fine for two people if you were on "snugly" terms with them.
 
Just curious, how'd the battery hold up??? if you were able to check it and did you leave it on all night or just the initial warm up. and finally, do you have the "Propane heater system"..

Just a Wandering Mind that wants to know...

fun trip... heheh..
 
Hi Frank -

Good questions - I didn't take any before or after measurements of the battery, but next time I will! I was also using my built-in stereo, so my voltage numbers would have been somewhat contaminated. I did leave the heating pad on all night long, but I had it cranked to the highest setting initially and turned it down after about an hour when it became uncomfortably hot.


I do have the built in propane furnace/heating system. I was perfectly willing and ready to fire it up, but wanted to first see how well the heated mattress pad would warm me up on it's own.

In my test runs of the furnace in my garage, the cabin temperature seemed to gyrate from too cold to too hot (a function of the tiny space I'm sure.) Where as the heating pad took longer to make an impact, but allowed me to find a setting that felt nice the entire night.
 
We have an Electro-Warmth 12-volt bunk warmer (the only size they now make) in our camper placed along the bottom half of the mattress at the foot of the bed. It's great and I highly recommend it.

I had the thing pinned to the mattress, per instructions, but between trying to get the safety pin through the substantial mattress cover fabric in the first place, having several of the safety pins bend and spring open, and finally getting a big gouge in my camper wall when I went to make the bed, I said "to hell with that!"

Electro-Warmth recommends using a mattress pad on top of the bunk warmer. So I thought, why not simply sew the bunk warmer to the bottom of my mattress pad? No safety pins! Then I thought, why not use snaps so you can take it off to wash the mattress pad?

I ended up using some 3/4" size 10 sew-on snaps - after I discovered how crappy the "heavy duty" rivet snaps you can buy at Michael's and Joanne's are! If you don't want to use sew-on snaps, I would try some better upholstery or marine-grade snaps. A heavy-duty velcro might work well, too.
 
Jenn said:
.....

..So some searching turned up that concept at the big W by Sunbeam. The old one is going to the kids and the new one is going in my TD. Steve had double stick Velcro'd the controllers to the corners at the head and attached the plug with a 3M plug holder in a corner by the 110 plug. The cord comes out the foot of the mattress pad and wraps around the mattress leaving each piece in its corner. Very neat and organized, as is their whole setup.
Click to expand...

So, just so I understand it Jenn, the Sunbeam above is the 110v electric, not the 12v one..

I have the 12v one I used in the TD but the cord is on the wrong side... sounds silly, just flip it over, but If I recall, they had a "This side up"... will have to check it again, but just wanted to clarify your Sunbeam of Wamrth and Happiness was a 110v... not 12v..
thanks...

Sunbeam Electric pads
 
ElectroWarmth recommends that the pad be used padded side up (although there's not really that much padding). I had to orient mine upside down so the controller came out on the left side center. If the cords came out left side bottom, the cord to the controller box is too short. I hang the controller box on my coat hook.

The 12-volt plug is super-long and tends to get tangled in our bedding - one of these days, it's going to lose it's plug. The 3M plug holder is a great idea.
 
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