Guest Author - Evanne Schmarder

All the signs were there – achy morning back, restless sleep, endless tossing and turning – 6½ years of sleeping on the mattress that came with my 5th wheel camper was coming to a quick end. Thus the search for a quality “princess queen” mattress began. The princess queen is a mattress the same width – but 5 inches shorter – than a regular “off the shelf” queen – a mere 75 inches long – and is also referred to as an RV queen.

I wasn’t interested in a standard RV-style mattress so set about to explore other mattress options. Princess queens are tough to come by and the best option seemed to be a mattress that was flexible enough to roll a bit when the bedroom slide was closed for traveling. I shopped Ikea and liked the latex mattresses ($999). I shopped traditional mattress stores and discovered Tempur-Pedic Memory Foam – nice but pricey ($2,000+). They couldn’t accommodate the length I needed but the salesman offered to cut one down for me – at no extra charge!! Novaform, Costco’s memory foam mattress didn’t come in our size so we didn’t even price them.

My husband began searching the internet and came across two websites worthy of further investigation – Dormia and BedinaBox. Dormia’s website touted a review in a leading RV magazine but offered no pricing, etc. online – only a directory of dealers. I called the local Dormia dealer and the salesgirl had no idea what a princess queen was. She called the factory and got back to me later the next day with pricing for this “custom” mattress ($1,799 + $200 for shipping) and availability (3-4 weeks). Additionally, factory shipping was available to the store only, we’d have to drive over and pick it up.

I kept going back to BedinaBox. Their website is fantastic and answered nearly every question I had. The downside, however, is that their mattresses are only available online so no pre-purchase testing is possible. I Googled them and found very little about their product – 2 reviews to be exact – both positive. BedinaBox offers a 120-day no questions asked return policy, free shipping (to my front door) via UPS or FedX, a 10-year warranty and princess queens ready to ship the next day. Their prices were amazing – plus they are American-made – manufactured in North Carolina. Upon further research I learned that they had partnered with the well-known chemical company BASF – you know, “we don’t make the products, we make the products better”.

After much deliberation we decided to take a leap of faith and order the BedinaBox 9” Pac-Down memory foam mattress – their Pac-Bed ($499) with an added down mattress pad - $100 extra. You order online and pay with a credit card or PayPal – very convenient. The mattress shipped via FedX the very next day. BedinaBox has a special shipping method that removes the air from the mattress allowing it to roll up, fitting in a reasonably sized box – approximately 3½ feet high, 2 feet square that weighed in at around 70 pounds. Also in the box was a waterproof, super absorbent, anti-microbial terrycloth cover. The vacuum packed mattress was easy to get through the RV and into the bedroom. As soon as we cut open the plastic bag it began to expand. I expected it to take a few days to completely fill out but I was wrong – it fully expanded immediately. The mattress emitted a very slight odor that dissipated quickly upon venting the room.

We are delighted with our new mattress. I must say, memory foam is a whole different feel than a standard mattress. We expected it to be quite soft and to sink down into it with the foam forming a cocoon around us – perhaps creating a slight challenge when getting out of the bed. In reality, it’s firm but gives soothing support to the whole body. For the first time in a long while I can lie on my back and have no need to change positions. The bed envelopes me in comfort. I’ve noticed a gentle warmth emanating from the mattress – certainly not heat – and that feels great. When one of us rolls over or changes positions it can hardly be felt by the other. We both now sleep through the night and wake up rested without an ache in the world!

So, if you are in the market for a new RV queen mattress and are interested in memory foam consider BedinaBox. Two enthusiastic thumbs up for BedinaBox – we’re happy campers…

Note: According to the BedinaBox website, there will be a 15% price increase effective December 4, 2007 due to increased cost of materials. FYI.