The Best RV Mattress for Comfortable Rest on the Road

As the air and tourism industry struggles to return to pre-pandemic norms, and everything from hotels to restaurants continue to raise prices, many are turning to the camper experience to capture that perfect vacation, on their terms. An RV (short for recreational vehicle) or motorhome allows you to avoid the lines, make your own meals and travel in your own customizable hotel room. The complete control of your travel experience offered by RVs while taking on the open road is a staple of the RV adventure many have come to love. However, while most RVs include a mattress upon purchase, quite often, it doesn’t quite live up to that hotel-room sleeping experience we look forward to when traveling. Whether you’re returning from a hike, swim or just exhausted from a day of driving, having a cozy and supportive mattress to jump into at the end of the day can help you to wake up every morning rested and ready for more adventure.

In this article, we have consulted sleep specialists to determine the best RV beds available today. For restorative sleep, quality rest and a better holiday, we hope to help you pick the perfect new RV mattress and help to accommodate the beautiful escapes you take in it.

The products featured in this article have been independently reviewed by the team. When you buy something through the retail links on this page, we may earn commission at no cost to you, the reader.

• Best Overall RV Mattress – Brooklyn Bedding Wanderlust
• Best RV Mattress for Bunk Beds – Dreamfoam Essential
• Best RV Mattress for Couples – Helix Midnight
• Best RV Mattress for Hot Sleepers – Bear Trek
• Best Affordable RV Mattress – Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam Mattress
• Best RV Mattress for Back Pain – Helix Midnight Luxe

Brooklyn Bedding is a well-known mattress manufacturer producing handcrafted beds locally in the USA. Considering the ever-growing number of Americans turning to RVs for vacation, Brooklyn Bedding has created a mattress specifically designed for RVs known as the Wanderlust. The Brooklyn Wanderlust is constructed precisely with RV owners in mind. The Wanderlust is available in various heights and sizes specific to RVs. The all-foam two-layer mattress is also quite affordable. While the bed offers the pressure relief and coziness many adore about all-foam beds, its varying thickness and firmness levels also make it suitable for people struggling with back pain who need a firm mattress. Hot sleepers may want to reconsider the Wanderlust, as it may run a little warm. However, the bed’s motion isolating foam design is excellent for couples sharing the bed. The versatility, affordability and RV-based design make it our favorite in the RV mattress world.

To avoid the cramped feeling of a bunk bed, you need a queen mattress that offers serious support and comfort. This memory foam RV mattress does just the trick. The Dreamfoam Essential is suitable for all sleeping positions (including stomach sleepers), available in bunk-bed-friendly sizes and extremely comfortable and supportive, making it the go-to bunk bed for your RV. The Dreamfoam Essential offers outstanding support for people struggling with back pain, scoring a near-perfect 9.5 out of 10 score in spinal alignment. Furthermore, whether you sleep on your side or tend to struggle to fall asleep due to aches and pains, the Dreamfoam Essential offers great pressure relief (8.75/10) and cushioning. The Dreamfoam Essential can help you escape the cramped feeling of the bed bunk experience by providing the comfort and support of a luxury-style bed.

Notes from the Testing Team 

“The Dreamfoam Chill is a super easy bed to set up, with excellent posture support and pressure relief. However, warm sleepers should reconsider this mattress, as it lacks quality cooling.”

Sleeping next to your partner is a beautiful gift of any relationship, especially after a long day of traveling and bonding on the open road. Yet, without the correct mattress, it may lead to resentment and a lack of quality rest. The Helix Midnight is an overall superb mattress that specializes in accommodating couples. The bed scored a 9 out 10 in motion transfer, helping you and your partner to sleep together without disrupting each other’s sleep during the night. Also, the Helix Midnight’s 9 out of 10 score in edge support ensures that you can both spread out and expect stability across the entirety of the bed. If you’re concerned about shared body heat, the mattress also offers quality cooling (8/10). Finally, with its 8.5 out of 10 score in durability, you can feel comfortable that the bed can adequately support adult activities.

Notes from the Testing Team

“The Helix Midnight is a great choice for couples due to its impressive motion isolation and edge support. However, despite being a great value, we would not recommend the Helix Midnight for people on a tight budget.”

Regardless of the environment, our RV mattress should be able to help deliver a neutral and sleep-friendly temperature when we finish the day. The Bear Trek is a mattress designed specifically for the travel trailer experience and for those who struggle to fall asleep feeling warm while craving the feeling of a standard mattress. The Bear Trek has a simple yet sophisticated three-layer structure. At its base is a durable high-density support foam to help create a stable foundation of support throughout the mattress. The Bear Trek is made with a cooling gel memory foam layer designed to dissipate body heat that may get trapped in the mattress. Finally, greeting you is a breathable cover top layer constructed to further airflow and maintain a neutral temperature on the bed’s exterior. Warm sleepers will find quite a bit of quality relaxation when on the road due to both the Bear Trek’s cooling abilities, as well as its sturdy support and cozy comfort.

The Zinus Green Tea all-foam mattress is a highly affordable bed that competes with luxury-grade beds without the luxury price point. The Certipur-US-certified Zinus Green Tea offers impressive posture support, scoring a 9 out of 10 for its ability to keep your spine correctly aligned. If you move around in your sleep or share the bed with your partner, the Zinus Green Tea in a queen size offers consistent comfort across the entirety of its exterior, scoring an 8 out of 10 for its responsiveness. For side sleepers and people suffering from general joint pain, the bed scored an 8 out 10 for its ability to relieve pressure points. Couples sharing the bed will also appreciate its quality motion isolation (9/10). Furthermore, despite being highly affordable for such a quality bed, the Zinus Green Tea still offers a limited 10-year warranty, 100-night sleep trial, free shipping and free returns.

Notes from the Testing Team

“The Zinus Green Tea is an all-around great deal. It is impressively supportive, great for couples and offers fantastic pressure relief and comfort throughout the bed. However, the lifespan may be shorter than more expensive similar beds.”

Back pain can seriously interrupt our sleep patterns, and on the wrong mattress, become worse over time. The Helix Midnight Luxe is a hybrid mattress that offers outstanding support for people struggling with back pain. Scoring a 9 out of 10 for its ability to maintain the healthy alignment of the spine should capture the attention of sleepers with frequent or chronic back pain. Furthermore, if you struggle with general soreness or inflammation while you sleep or when you wake up, the Helix Midnight Luxe scored an 8.5 out of 10 for pressure relief. Consistent contouring, support, and comfort are maintained throughout the bed, leading to a 9 out of 10 score for the bed’s responsiveness. Warm sleepers should take notice of the mattress’s remarkable 9.5 out of 10 score for its cooling abilities. The Helix Midnight Luxe uniquely offers a softer feel while still providing deep support to back sleepers, making it great for a fusion of cozy comfort and therapeutic support.

Notes from the Testing Team

“The Helix Midnight Luxe is a bed that performs across the board. Tests have shown the mattress to provide exceptional spinal support and consistent comfort wherever you rest on the bed. A perfect choice for warm sleepers too. However, couples may want to reconsider due to mediocre motion isolation.”

How Mattress Advisor Found the Best Mattresses for RVs

Mattress Advisor is a trusted mattress review tester. The non-bias company investigates the quality of mattresses to help consumers make the right choice when purchasing a bed. 

The Mattress Advisor Testing Process

Using an elaborate testing process, Mattress Advisor draws conclusions on the quality of a bed by conducting various tests on a bed’s key attributes.

Key Performance Factors that the Sleep Lab Tests

How to Pick The Best Type of Mattress for RVs

Consider the space your RV has to offer while also determining the sleeping patterns or needs of yourself and or loved ones. Once understanding your needs for the best sleep experience in an RV, you can compare a bed’s scores and attributes to find the best match. 

Memory Foam

Memory foam beds are usually quite comfortable and affordable. In addition, they typically are softer in firmness than other mattresses, making them ideal for side sleepers. 

Hybrid

Hybrids are a fusion of the coil foundation in innerspring mattresses and the foam comfort layers of all-latex or all-foam mattresses. 

Innerspring

Innerspring beds are made of coil-based spring systems that provide stable support, breathability and comfort from their base. 

Latex

Despite being more expensive, latex mattresses are typically more eco-friendly and hypoallergenic. Latex foam tends to offer similar attributes as normal all-foam beds while being slightly cooler.

RV Mattress Sizes

RV mattresses come in a few different sizes, which can differ from tradition mattress sizes. We’ve laid out the dimensions below.

Other Considerations When Buying the Best Mattress for Your RV

The size and shape of your RV and the needs of those who will be sleeping in it determine the mattress you need.

Weight of the Mattress

A mattress’s weight is significant considering its potential impact when setting it up, cleaning or removing it and potentially contributing to higher fuel prices on your journey.

Weight of the Sleepers

Sleeper size is important for determining the thickness or firmness options of a mattress you need. Heavier sleepers may need an extra thick or firm feel mattress to receive adequate support and prevent unhealthy sinkage.

Best Mattress for Hot Sleepers

Hot sleepers want a mattress that scores well in cooling and possesses temperature regulating technology in its construction.

Best Mattress for Couples

When purchasing a mattress, couples should focus on the bed’s edge support and ability to isolate disruptive motion transference between sleepers.