King mattress for 29-5T

[tcartmell]

We just purchased a 2013 29-5T. My wife wants to replace the mattress which is probably the original. It is 80" x 74". So far we have not found one that size. We have found an 80" x 76" that is even on sale. It seems like there is enough space but not sure if I am missing a reason the larger mattress would not work. Any thoughts?

[RocklinDave]

We just purchased a 2013 29-5T. My wife wants to replace the mattress which is probably the original. It is 80" x 74". So far we have not found one that size. We have found an 80" x 76" that is even on sale. It seems like there is enough space but not sure if I am missing a reason the larger mattress would not work. Any thoughts?

We have a 2016 29-5T, and I also don't see why 1" added on each side would make any difference in walking around the bed or raising the bed to access the storage area.

The only factor, would be if the length from the headboard to the foot, is extended over 80", then the added length would interfere with the mattress against the dresser, when the slide is retracted.

[tcartmell]

Thanks Dave. Your input is greatly appreciated. I think we will go with the larger size.

[foxyrvlady]

Not familiar with this model, but is the bed side to side or head at the front end of the 5er? On pull trailer models where the head of the bed is at the very front, the front of the mattress is usually cut on a slant back underneath to fit the front of the trailer wall which slants backward. If the front of your current mattress is straight up and down you should be OK--if slanted that's a whole different story.

[Dave Didit]

We recently replaced ours with a 72 X 80 from Wilderness RV Mattress.

https://wildernessrvmattress.com/

[LFOD]

We replaced our King with a Queen which has worked very well. I was suspicious of a mail-order mattress but it is better than the one we used to have in our house that we paid over $1000 for. They have several sizes to choose from, not just the Queen we ordered. They had a great Veteran's Day sale back in November; we ended up paying less than $400 for ours.

https://rvmattress.com/products/brooklyn-arctic?variant=32523156684847

[IRN83]

John, I would like to downsize to a queen as well. Did you remove the metal frame and put plywood in? How did you make the transition? Thanks.

[LFOD]

Terry,

After disconnecting the lifting shocks, I pulled out my ever handy sawzall with a metal cutting blade and cut the outside edges of the existing frame from the two sides and the foot, leaving the frame attached at the head. Then I added 3/8 inch plywood (2 sheets) to the top of the frame (I didn't like the old strap supports). The plywood was sanded, I rounded the corners, and added 3 layers of paint, then thru-bolted the plywood to the old frame to make it secure. I never reattached the lifting shocks since the under-bed storage is minimal. It has worked fine so far, and we have been living on it for a few months now. Here's a couple pictures of the install, which may not be helpful.

Best Wishes

[IRN83]

John. Thank you. I never thought of doing it that way. So simple. I take it the wood over hangs the metal so you don’t get cut.
Have you had any issues with mold under the mattress? I’ve read that some have had that issue.

Again thank you for sharing. That is one of the great things about this site, RVers helping one another.

I’ll start following your blog as I am planning a whirlwind wind trip to Alaska next year with a big trip around the US, a little over 15,000 miles in total.

[Rolland]

Friends had a RV Queen and wanted to keep the shorter length when they upgraded their mattress, they purchased a regular queen from a local mattress store near them, for a small fee the store was able to shorten it for them. An option that might be out there if you don’t find one and a regular king doesn’t fit.

Good Luck!

[LFOD]

I take it the wood over hangs the metal so you don’t get cut.
Have you had any issues with mold under the mattress? I’ve read that some have had that issue.

Yes, I cut the frame about 2" shorter on each side than the mattress, and the plywood about 1" shorter on each side so our legs hit the mattress and not the plywood or metal. I have not seen any mold/mildew issues around the trailer, but never thought of looking under the mattress. Next time we change sheets I'll probably flip it and have a look.

I also forgot to mention that I counter-sunk the bolt heads in the plywood so they wouldn't rub the mattress. I think the bolts ended up being about 2 1/4 " long to make it through the wood and bed frame, and I used lock washers. Watch out for where the wholes are drilled so the bolts don't end up on the wood box frame.

[LFOD]

Oops, I also forgot to mention that the center bed frame beam is a little higher than the side bars, so I had to glue thin wood strips on top of the side bars so the plywood sheets would lie flat.