Roof Mattress

[Mrs Miggins]

Hi all

We have been having a think about our beloved Bongo and that dreaded question has arisen...... Do we sell or do we keep?

After much thought we have both decided that we like it and want to keep it. It's comfortable, a pleasure to drive, and it's as big as we dare go as we use it as a second vehicle.

However, we have the basic conversion in it: A sink/cooker unit which stores a coolbox under the cooker half and some very small shelves for food storage and water carrier under the sink. It has the original rear seat with cardboard boxes underneath them for extra storage.

We'd like to have more storage space with a proper fridge and a rock 'n' roll bed. We've seen some lovely conversions that we like but the problem is the width of the rock 'n' roll bed. It seems to be a little narrow for the two of us and we think we'd be fighting for space. We currently manage with the back seat folded down and two bench seats placed next to the back seat to give us the leg room. It means one of us has to curl up around the sink unit a little but we do manage ok.

We do have an auto roof so there is space up there for one of us to sleep but this also causes problems. My partner finds it too claustrophobic up there and I find it too hard and uncomfortable. We bought a memory foam mattress to go up there but it's not thick enough and I end up in a whole world of pain unless I put an airbed up there as well as the memory foam mattress. This is comfortable but, if you've ever tried blowing up an airbed in a confined space, you'll appreciate my problem! Also not great if you need to answer the call of nature in the middle of the night as that requires deflating the airbed to be able to get the hatch open and climb down only to re-inflate when you get back up there.

So, my question is this: What's the thickest mattress we can get away with in the roof and still be able to close the roof down? Or, does anyone have any suitable suggestions?

We've thought about a full width rock 'n' roll seat but the problem then arises about what to do with the sink/cooker unit and still be able to cook indoors during inclement weather.

I know, we want it all! Any help with our dilema will be greatly appreciated though!

[Bongoplod]

Hi all

We have been having a think about our beloved Bongo and that dreaded question has arisen...... Do we sell or do we keep?

After much thought we have both decided that we like it and want to keep it. It's comfortable, a pleasure to drive, and it's as big as we dare go as we use it as a second vehicle.

However, we have the basic conversion in it: A sink/cooker unit which stores a coolbox under the cooker half and some very small shelves for food storage and water carrier under the sink. It has the original rear seat with cardboard boxes underneath them for extra storage.

We'd like to have more storage space with a proper fridge and a rock 'n' roll bed. We've seen some lovely conversions that we like but the problem is the width of the rock 'n' roll bed. It seems to be a little narrow for the two of us and we think we'd be fighting for space. We currently manage with the back seat folded down and two bench seats placed next to the back seat to give us the leg room. It means one of us has to curl up around the sink unit a little but we do manage ok.

We do have an auto roof so there is space up there for one of us to sleep but this also causes problems. My partner finds it too claustrophobic up there and I find it too hard and uncomfortable. We bought a memory foam mattress to go up there but it's not thick enough and I end up in a whole world of pain unless I put an airbed up there as well as the memory foam mattress. This is comfortable but, if you've ever tried blowing up an airbed in a confined space, you'll appreciate my problem! Also not great if you need to answer the call of nature in the middle of the night as that requires deflating the airbed to be able to get the hatch open and climb down only to re-inflate when you get back up there.

So, my question is this: What's the thickest mattress we can get away with in the roof and still be able to close the roof down? Or, does anyone have any suitable suggestions?

We've thought about a full width rock 'n' roll seat but the problem then arises about what to do with the sink/cooker unit and still be able to cook indoors during inclement weather.

I know, we want it all! Any help with our dilema will be greatly appreciated though!

Buy a 12v air pump and an extention cable to reach the top. Then buy a shewee for widdles in the night

Brian

[mikeonb4c]

Why not get the kitchen and activity out of the Bongo and into a quick erect side awning and enjoy a full width double bed downstairs. Works really well for us and we sleep in luxury.

[Tony x]

Pretty sure our memory foam mattress is 5cm and the roof closes no problem.
I suspect you could go a fair bit thicker. I did once measure the gap between roof and base (sorry...can't remember what it was) and was surprised at how much room their was.

Another solution would be to use non memory foam. In my view, Memory foam is ok and cheap but their are better products out their when it comes to comfort. Certainly the 2cm of none memory foam that was originally in our roof was excellent and almost good enough. 2cms of memory foam wouldn't have cut it comfort wise.

[mikeonb4c]

Pretty sure our memory foam mattress is 5cm and the roof closes no problem.
I suspect you could go a fair bit thicker. I did once measure the gap between roof and base (sorry...can't remember what it was) and was surprised at how much room their was.

Another solution would be to use non memory foam. In my view, Memory foam is ok and cheap but their are better products out their when it comes to comfort. Certainly the 2cm of none memory foam that was originally in our roof was excellent and almost good enough. 2cms of memory foam wouldn't have cut it comfort wise.

You could have a point there. I have 2" memory foam up top. I find it pretty good provided I'm on my back or on my front, but if I'm on my side I can feel pressure points as it gives. Ordinary foam could be better in that respect. I recall one member on here saying they used 3" memory foam with no problem but bearing in mind that if you put hatch sections on top of the other sections when closing the roof, I think 6" thickness is pushing it. 4" is my limit.

[g8dhe]

We can just squeeze this lot in;


That's the hatch (pins removed to slide), two layes of 3" foam and folded front silver screen but thaat's the limit, you need to keep the front clear as maximum leverage is at the rear to squash things

[Mrs Miggins]

We can just squeeze this lot in;


That's the hatch (pins removed to slide), two layes of 3" foam and folded front silver screen but thaat's the limit, you need to keep the front clear as maximum leverage is at the rear to squash things

Wow! That's lot of package up there. I'm liking the idea though! Can you still raise the interior roof during the day for standing space with all that on? And is it the same width of the roof mattress?

[Mrs Miggins]

The thicker foam I can fit in, memory or otherwise, the better for me. Just can't lie comfortably on hard surfaces anymore. The bones protest too much. Have considered an air pump with airbed but it's still a lot of messing around, particularly when it's chilly out as the roof space is very cold in cooler months. Ideally want to be able to drop a piece of foam over the hatch space and snuggle down asap in cold weather.

Also discussed a moveable kitchen but we want to ideally not have the extra messing with awnings and moving things in and out of the bongo. Trying to keep it as compact as possible, especially when wild camping!

After much searching and following various links on this forum and others, we've seen an good idea for a conversion on Northstar campervan conversions. They have the kitchen at the back of the van with dining area and the seat rearward facing on a sliding rail behind the front seats.

http://www.northstarconversions.co.uk/6.html

The table drops down between benches to make the foot of bed and the middle seat slides forward to allow back rests to drop down flat to make up the rest of the bed. I think it gives total length of approx 5ft 9" which would be fine for us. We could just about stretch out fully and still have the width to curl up in comfort. The dining benches make useful storage boxes and we could put extra small cupboards above the windows too. We'll most likely go with that idea if it doesn't cost an arm and a leg! Does anyone know of a good conversion company in the west midlands area?

[cmm303]

Thermarest are the benchmark for self inflating mattresses. These are deceptively comfy for their thickness but I couldn't promise its enough for you and unfortunately Thermarest are a bit expensive to just try out. Beware of cheap imitations!

Another possibility with the conversion is units at each side in the rear only, bed runs from middle to front, using the front seats as the foot end of the beds. It needs a bit of work if using the original bench seat to level out the curves. The downside is that there is no standing at the kitchen. Upside is the kitchen can still be accessed with the beds up and from the tailgate.

[g8dhe]

Yes no problem in raising the roof, when the AFT is up of course, even without moving the bits around. It takes a few minutes to locate the correct positions first time - aligned between the roof window shutter guides - but otherwise no problems.

[fjj1]

Hopefully I can shed some light after recent experiments in this area!

I have a similar conversion to the one that you mention, except its from Tranzwagon - its very similar with a rear kitchen unit, and the seat boxes and table. I just added a Northstar swivel bench seat too - it's great!

I bought memory foam mattresses from Comfortz (one for upstairs, one for down) - the downstairs one is a wee bit long because of the rear conversion, and the upstairs one is good - pretty comfy. However, they take up a huge amount of space when the van isn't in 'night mode'. So, last trip I picked up a Vango Grande Comfort 10 self inflating mattress and used another self inflating mattress that I had in the garage. The comfort 10 is great downstairs as the extra thickness helps with the lumps and bumps in the seats, and the other, thinner, one was great up top. I found that it could be folded in half and wedged in the lower half of the roofspace if i needed to get up for a comfort break in the middle of the night. They take 5 mins to inflate, undo the valves and wait for a bit then top up with a few breaths.

I might grab another Vango mattress though - they are so comfy... They do a double too but as they are a little long with a rear conversion, i think the singles are better as they sort of slot into the spaces left if you put the front seats forward and 'jump seats' down. A double would be perfect for those with no conversion.

[Mrs Miggins]

Thanks for suggestions so far. We will certainly consider all options. The vango 10 sounds like a possibility. The thermarest? Maybe a birthday/christmas pressie if I'm well behaved! I do wish you could try before you buy. It would save no end of grief. I'm reluctant to spend a lot of money on something that may not be much good for me. I recently tried my partners self inflating mattress (decathlon's Forclaz A200, 3 cm thick) with the 5cm memory foam mattress on top. All this on top of the seats downstairs! That was ok and I slept fine. Just the memory foam on it's own on the seats gets a little uncomfortable (could be where I'm positioned though.) We will probably change the seats anyway as ours are the basic ones. I've seen some far nicer looking seats, complete with headrests!

The rear end conversion is definitely at the top of our thoughts so far. We cook and wash up whilst sitting down anyway so it wouldn't make a difference where in the van the sink and cooker were placed from that point of view.

Not keen on attempting conversion ourselves, even with a kit, for a number of reasons. It would be ideal to find someone who can do it a little closer to home in the West Midlands though. Any recommendations for that would be appreciated.

[cmm303]

Thanks for suggestions so far. We will certainly consider all options. The vango 10 sounds like a possibility. The thermarest? Maybe a birthday/christmas pressie if I'm well behaved! I do wish you could try before you buy.

Vango are a well reputed name, originally in quality mountaineering tents. Don't know about their mattresses but along with a recommendation here they may be up with the best. A quick price comparison may help. We had problems with mattresses from Amazon priced at less than half that of a Thermarest. My Thermarest has survived 3 seasons bongoing and a trip to Everest. Get wot ya pays for! Some of the large camping stores have sample mats hanging up, GoOutdoors certainly do and I think Cotswold Camping does, so you could go lying about in their shops! Tell us where and when and we'll arrange the paparazzi.

[Mrs Miggins]

It will be considered but I've done all this before. Lying around on a mattress for a short while in the shop isn't quite the same as lying on it all night. I usually find the discomfort kicks in after 2-3 hours. It's not the quality of the mattress thats a problem, it's the quality of my joints! Most people would find a big difference between a quality brand and a cheap one, especially in terms of longevity and comfort but I strongly suspect the problem lies with me and not the mat hence my reluctance to invest in something expensive only to find it's no better! To give something a proper trial run would involve having it for at least overnight, if not over a few days to give it a full test. How many suppliers will give a money back guarantee if not fully satisfied?