Elkmont Queen Mattress

[Shandysplace]

We're expecting to take delivery of a '11 Elkmont 26 in a few weeks and found the Elkmont mattress a tad firm. Has anyone purchased a pillow topper for it and successfully softened it up some?

[brulaz]

One of the nice things about the Elkmont is that it doesn't fold down like the other Trailmanors. So you can put anything of any thickness you want on the bed!

We find the mattress a little weird as it holds your shape for a long time after you roll over and move to a new position. So we picked up a topper from IKEA that helps quite a bit. But it's too big (maybe the bed is bigger in the 26' Elkmont) and doesn't have the rounded corners. One of these days I'll take a razor to it.

[cochise]

We're expecting to take delivery of a '11 Elkmont 26 in a few weeks and found the Elkmont mattress a tad firm. Has anyone purchased a pillow topper for it and successfully softened it up some?

We have an Elkmont 24, and we also found the mattress to be a bit hard, We got a 2" "topper" from Walmart, ($ 98.00) and that made a world of difference. One CAVEAT! Once this topper has been placed on the bed, the hydraulic struts may not support the bad in the open position any longer. You can oipen it but if you let go, the bed will come down. I went to Lowe's and got a 48" section of 3/4" PVC pipe, and fitted one of those rubber dingies for a walking stick or chair on the tip and we now use that to hold the bed open. Works fine.

[voyager2]

We also found the matress in the elkmont to be quite firm and topped it with first, one, and then two hospital grade eggcrate foam toppers. That is about the right amount of padding for us. Since I am tall, we also added two swim noodles between the matress and headboard to lenghten the bed a tad. Has worked very well for us this year.

[Bigbit]

I don't think the mattress is firm at all. Conversely, it is a thin 4" foam sheet, that we find we sink right through, and the "firmness" is really us feeling the hard sheeting underneath. We tried a foam topper which really didn't help.

So we bit the bullet today and spent $340 on a short queen Parklane Eurotop mattress from the local Camping World. We installed it and really like it. We'll be camping next weekend and I'll file a report once we've tried sleeping on it.

[brulaz]

Not cheap and looks like it hangs over the corners? But yes, I don't like that "sink right through" the mattress either. Do tell us how it works.

[Bigbit]

Not cheap and looks like it hangs over the corners? But yes, I don't like that "sink right through" the mattress either. Do tell us how it works.

After 1 night, I'm sold. Excellent support. 2 minor negatives: the mattress does have a smaller radius half-round at the corners, so the mattress sits over the edge of the corner by a few inches (no bother to us) - otherwise it fits perfectly; and the extra weight of the new mattress is too much for the piston to keep the bed base up when trying to retrieve items in storage underneath. I need to make a propping stick of some sort like Cochise did.

But we are quite pleased with the mattress.

[Bigbit]

I got new air cylinders to support the bed in the upright position. The old ones were rated for 40 lb. lift and the new ones are 80. They went in easy as pie and the only challenge was keeping the bed down while I put the mattress back on the bed. The new cylinders hold the frame / mattress up perfectly. I got them on eBay for $30 for the pair.

[Shandysplace]

Make, model, etc. or anything else we need to obtain something similar.

Many thanks.

[Bigbit]

Make, model, etc. or anything else we need to obtain something similar.

Many thanks.

I bought these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-GAS-SPRING-PROPS-ARMS-36-80-LBS-80LBS-REP-C16-10944-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem255ffeb3d7QQitemZ16052 4317655QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccesso ries#ht_4307wt_948

2 GAS SPRING PROP ARMS - 36", 80 LBS, Model C16-10944

[Shandysplace]

You said installation was 'easy as pie'. We received ours w/ no mounting hardware of any kind. Does 'easy as pie' mean you somehow used the existing mounting hardware from the old ones?

[Shandysplace]

How did you get the mattress for $340? Website President's Club price is $419.99 w/free shipping. Would it be cheaper to drive and pick it up--90 minutes away. Cost of gas could offset saving.

[Bill]

Just a note. There was a word of caution in (I think) the RVTravel newsletter not long ago about replacing those gas struts with bigger ones. I believe it said that the structure of the bed (or the frame???) might not be strong enough to accept the point load of heavier struts, and in some instances had broken. I don't recall that it had a solution, but perhaps adding a third strut, supported at some distance from the others, might be a good approach, rather than beefing up the existing ones.

I don't have an Elkmont, I don't have a liftable bed, and I have no experience with air struts other than the ones that support the tailgate in my car. So take this thought with a large dose of salts. Actually, you might consider looking up the last few issues of the newsletter, to see if you can spot the article. If I find it, I'll post a link here.

Bill

[Wavery]

Just a note. There was a word of caution in (I think) the RVTravel newsletter not long ago about replacing those gas struts with bigger ones. I believe it said that the structure of the bed (or the frame???) might not be strong enough to accept the point load of heavier struts, and in some instances had broken. I don't recall that it had a solution, but perhaps adding a third strut, supported at some distance from the others, might be a good approach, rather than beefing up the existing ones.

I don't have an Elkmont, I don't have a liftable bed, and I have no experience with air struts other than the ones that support the tailgate in my car. So take this thought with a large dose of salts. Actually, you might consider looking up the last few issues of the newsletter, to see if you can spot the article. If I find it, I'll post a link here.

Bill

That makes sense. I would imagine that those things just screw into particle board. If they do, the screws may rip out chunks of the particle board.

To prevent that (if that's the issue) you may want to consider gluing and screwing a 1'x1' piece of 1/4" or 3/8" plywood into the particle board with several screws. Then mount the struts onto the plywood. Plywood holds screws much better than particle board.

The other option may be to drill all the way through the particle board and use machine screws and nuts.

[Bigbit]

You said installation was 'easy as pie'. We received ours w/ no mounting hardware of any kind. Does 'easy as pie' mean you somehow used the existing mounting hardware from the old ones?
Yes. The cylinders use cup-and-ball mounts with the balls mounted on the bed frame. There are spring clips around the cups on the cylinders, which you just stick a screwdriver underneath just enough to release the cups. The cylinders I ordered use the same size cups and just snap onto the existing balls. Installation took just a few minutes with the biggest part of the job being removing and replacing the mattress.

I can't speak for long term usage and whether the bigger springs will cause problems. I have lifted the bed about a dozen times now without issues.

2/25/11: Edited to add that I have found out that some other Elkmonts use a different gas cylinder than mine does. Check your cylinders for a part #, do a web search, and find replacement cylinders with the same compressed and extended lengths, but an appropriately higher force rating.

[Bigbit]

How did you get the mattress for $340? Website President's Club price is $419.99 w/free shipping. Would it be cheaper to drive and pick it up--90 minutes away. Cost of gas could offset saving.

I bought it in early November on sale at Camping World. With my President's Club discount, the price was $339 without the 9% us Californians get to donate to the state... :eek:

[Shandysplace]

Understand the installation process. Guess the price went up on the mattress.

[Bill]

There was a word of caution in (I think) the RVTravel newsletter not long ago about replacing those gas struts with bigger ones....If I find it, I'll post a link here.

Found the link.

http://www.rvtechtips.com/?p=276

Bill

[Shandysplace]

One member has successfully replaced the struts on the Elkmont with ones with enough capacity to keep the bed elevated with a heavier more comfortable mattress. Nearly everyone we've read about on the Forum has had to replace the original TM mattress or placed a topper on the original one for adequate comfort.

It appears these lifts exactly match the original except for capacity. We hope to have the same result as Bigbit.

We'll be careful while installing these replacement lifts and appreciate this info.

[Wavery]

If the strut mounts attach to the bed frame and the bed frame is aluminum tubing (like in the photo) there certainly shouldn't be an issue.

[cochise]

One word of caution! My bed totally collapsed, tore from the front wall of the trailer, and I only had the standard gas struts installed. But I did use a length of PVC pipe to support the bed platform when we raised it to get under the bed. IMO that was a much easier way to deal with the problem of keeping the bed in the raised position. And it only cost me $ 1.25 for the pipe at Lowes.

[Shandysplace]

Unfortunately, because of what happened to you and a few others; the factory confirmed that the structural design of the bed has been modified, or so we were told by our dealer, Custom RV-Anaheim, CA and Ed Lytle from the factory.

While we've not kept count, we've opened and closed our bed many times. Being older folks, lifting fairly heavy things is a challenge (why we traded our 3326 for the Elkmont) and while we currently have a handle on the bed frame to help and your PVC idea to hold it up, we're hopeful these beefier struts will ease the task. Only time will tell if the structural changes made in the bed design will hold up going forward.

Our biggest challenge regarding the bed is finding a comfortable mattress. We're in the process of exploring all the many suggestions on this thread. This thread and hundreds of others is why, at $12/yr., this Forum is an incredible value.

[cochise]

Unfortunately, because of what happened to you and a few others; the factory confirmed that the structural design of the bed has been modified, or so we were told by our dealer, Custom RV-Anaheim, CA and Ed Lytle from the factory.


Sorry Andy, but why is that unfortunate?
Sorry again I could not help myself. I know what you mean, and yes it was a very unfortunate incident/accident. And I am happy that it appears to have been taken care of.

[Shandysplace]

I guess what we were trying to say is that it was unfortunate that for whatever reason, Elkmont owners where the QC department for the early Elkmont models rather than the factory, as your situation clearly illustrates.

We're both hopeful that under the new management team, long standing QC issues with all TM models will be rectified, not just the Elkmont line.

[Bigbit]

Shandysplace: the Eurotop mattress is on sale at Camping World. $345 for the short queen with President's Club discount.