Air mattresses for tent camping??

[gardendame]

What kind of air mattresses do you guys use to sleep on while tent camping? I posted about the Aerobed, but some of you responded that you use 'regular' air mattresses. When I think of air mattress, I think of the bright colored ones used in swimming pools (when camping as kids, that is what my parents had us sleep on).
Just curious. If these are the kind you guys are using, it sure would save me a lot of space and money! I think staying in a tent would be fun, but when I sleep I have to be comfortable!

 

[Memph1s]

They will not last any time at all. We have a couple we got from Sam's for $35 each. They are queen size with a built in pump that runs on 4 D batteries and blows itself up in 90 seconds. The pump is reversible so it can suck the air out so it will fold up nice and tight for storage. It is very comfortably and rated at 600 lbs. We have used them for 2 seasons now with the same batteries and no complaints. The camping section at Walmart or Target ect has a wide variety of sizes and styles. I do recommend getting one with a built in pump. Its just one less thing to have to remember.

Our DD also uses it at home for sleepovers and they seem to like it better than her $600 mattress on her bed.

 

[clkelley]

I got a single vinyl air mattress from the camping section at Wal-Mart. It was only 9.99. They have double for $14.99, queen for around $19.99.n They inflate to the same size as standard mattresses and use standard sheets. (I have sewn the top and bottom sheet together at the bottom so they stay together.)

We did not get the kind with the built-in pump because myself and my boys have their own mattress.

I bought a Coleman rechargeable pump for about $30. That way we pump up all three mattresses with one pump. I plug it in the night before we go camping and it has plenty of charge to inflate and deflate all three mattresses. It also has a reverse so we can suck all the air out of the mattresses so they fold up small.

Here is the pump I have

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/prod...1470&type=21&dept=4125&path=0:4125:4128:91470

Here is a link to several air mattresses that WalMart carries. Ours are all vinyl and even less expensive than the ones shown here.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product_listing.gsp?cat=91470&path=0:4125:4128:91470

Carol

 

[Rhonda]

We just bought a Swiss Army queen size mattress from Target. It has the built-in pump, and only takes about 3-4 minutes to fill! It's also very quiet, so when we check in late a night we don't have to worry about our air pump waking up our neighbors! It was about $40.

 

[gardendame]

Originally posted by clkelley
I got a single vinyl air mattress from the camping section at Wal-Mart. It was only 9.99. They have double for $14.99, queen for around $19.99.n They inflate to the same size as standard mattresses and use standard sheets. (I have sewn the top and bottom sheet together at the bottom so they stay together.)

We did not get the kind with the built-in pump because myself and my boys have their own mattress.

I bought a Coleman rechargeable pump for about $30. That way we pump up all three mattresses with one pump. I plug it in the night before we go camping and it has plenty of charge to inflate and deflate all three mattresses. It also has a reverse so we can suck all the air out of the mattresses so they fold up small.

Here is the pump I have

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/prod...1470&type=21&dept=4125&path=0:4125:4128:91470

Here is a link to several air mattresses that WalMart carries. Ours are all vinyl and even less expensive than the ones shown here.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product_listing.gsp?cat=91470&path=0:4125:4128:91470

Carol

Carol, how much room do these take up when packing? There are 5 of us. We will be driving everywhere, so not a lot of packing room. At least 2 tents, linens for everyone, plus all gear for cooking, etc. I'm beginning to think that people buy campers just to have something to haul all of their gear in!

 

[clkelley]

Oh they roll up very small, at least our single ones do.

Each of us has one of the 33 gallon Rubbermaid bins. Inside that bin is the tent, groundcloth, air mattress, linens, rain suit, mess kit, sleeping bag for cold weather, small toiletry kit, flashlight, battery lantern, and other miscellaneous.

Then for weekend camping trips we just toss a couple of changes of clothes in a small sports bag. So all I really pack for weekend trips is the three bins, and three small sports bags.

These all fit nicely into the back of my pickup truck.

Now of course this does not include cooking gear. Our weekend camping trips are with Boy Scouts and we have a trailer that somebody pulls that contains fold out boxes that become kitchens with propane tanks, gas grills, gas lanterns, and so forth. We have a tight sealing food box and a large cooler. The food buyer loads those into the trailer with the kitchens and off we go.

When I go to Ft. Wilderness, I don't cook, but I would invest in Rubbermaid bins to hold cooking gear if I were to do this on my own.
Carol

 

[geniegirl]

I Love my AREO -

Aill Air beds will "leak" air out and with the areo all you ahve to do is hook the pump on and your set in 5 sec you back to full. with the others you have to re-pump a big pain.

Got rid of my others with pumps inside and just use the areo now. pump is not too loud and mine is rechargable so i done need the tent to be close to the power. it is great.

 

[tim5055]

I second the vote for a rechargeable Aero Bed. We went through several standard air mattresses and could never find one that would hold air ovr time.

Not only does the Aero seem to hold the air better, it is very easy to add air when needed.