Who needs a gym? Or a personal trainer? Heck, I don’t even need to walk the recommended 30 minutes a day. All I need to do is attempt to change the sheets on our RV’s bed! Oh, the climbing and scootching; the pushing and tugging! I feel like an acrobat as I twist and stretch my arms and legs in an effort to wrangle the fitted sheet into place over the mattress.
Upgrade woes
Upgrading our standard queen-size mattress to a king was a huge mistake. There wasn’t very much room on either side of the bed originally. But now? I have to forcefully wedge myself between the mattress and the wall in order to reach the head of the bed. Even then, my arms aren’t long enough to span half of the king-size width, so I end up trying to smooth the sheets and blankets while crouched on top of the whole mess.
Mattress topper
Did I mention that we also added a mattress topper? It’s thick and made of foam, which is comfortable to sleep on, but has made the bed too tall for me to mount without a step stool. Raise your hand if you think changing the RV’s bedding should be an Olympic sport. I’m with ya’!
Elastic sheet straps
Don’t talk to me about straps either! I’ve tried them. (I’m talking about the elastic straps with closures on each end. The closures remind me of waaay back when garter belts held nylon stockings in place.) In theory, the elastic straps can be fastened to the corners of the bottom bed sheet and will keep the bottom sheet taut, smooth, and in place. Hooey! I’ve come to realize that the issue isn’t the mattress pad or the sheets, but the mattress. It’s just not a “normal” size. End of story. Nothing is going to make the bedding lie smoothly over the RV mattress.
Husband helper?
My husband has tried to help me with bed-making. I appreciate the effort, but he tends to make me laugh at the ridiculousness of it all and the ordeal takes twice as long as it should. I spend the majority of my time doubled over in a fit of giggles as he mimics my moves in his silly exaggerated way. When we finally get down to business, we both need a nap to recover from the exertion! (Or a stiff drink!)
Our system
Enough complaining. I think you get the picture. And if you’ve struggled with making your RV’s bed, you know that the struggle is real! After many different strategies, I think we’ve found the best way for us to make the bed. We begin by pulling the mattress down and away from the headboard. Then I crawl up into the resulting space at the head of the bed. Hubby tosses one end of the fitted sheet up to me and I put it on the top part of the mattress as he pulls the bottom of the fitted sheet into place. Then I crawl out of my hidey-hole and we both stretch (and I stand on the step stool) to align the top sheet in place over the bed. We then push the entire mattress back up and into place butted up against the headboard. We tuck in the top sheet under the mattress at the bottom of the bed and then toss on the blankets and tuck them in too. It’s never pretty or smooth. But it’s done. At least until the next time we change the sheets.
A $300 inspiration?
If you share my bed-making pain, you well might guess that I was heady with excitement this past week. Scrolling through some online postings, I discovered (ta-dah!) the Beddy’s® (as in bed-ease). This product is ingenious. It’s a bed system that involves zippers. Yes, zippers! Take a look here. The Beddy’s seems to come in one piece that fits over your mattress like a fitted sheet. Ergh! I know, I know. But wait! Here’s the best part! The comforter has an integrated top and bottom sheet that you can zip off to launder. Then you simply zip it on again and you’re done! Easy peasy! The Beddy’s comes in various standard sizes, and it seems that the twin size would be really helpful for an RV bunk bed setup. What’s not so easy is convincing Hubby that it’s worth the almost $300 price tag!
Questions for you
So, here’s my question: Have you used the Beddy’s or one of its competitors in your RV? How did it work?
Here’s my hubby’s question: Do you have an easy alternative (read: cheaper than $300) way to make your RV bed? Please share!
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RVSuperbag: A cozy solution for making those tricky RV beds
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We switched sleeping with our heads at the end of the bed away from the “headboard”. This means I still have my occasional workout changing the sheets, but making the bed in the morning is much, much easier. Getting out of bed is also easier. When we make the bed we still put our pillows at the headboard end and cover the bed with our bedspread, so it looks normal.
We bought the RVSuperbags 6 months ago. We purchased 2 singles as we have a King bed-this allows for us to each get out easy from the middle. At first blush we really liked the convenience…the sheets Velcro into the outer bag. Washing the sheets has been a problem because of the Velcro though. They stick to each other, destroying pillow cases…so, I will wash them in their own bag from now on…still looking for a suitable sized bag! Also, I ordered Red outer bags for that splash of color…shows every piece of lint, and seems maybe the polyester batting is escaping on occasion! Pet roller works, but daily use is a pain…life in the windy desert Southwest! Easier than our original setup though, individual twin bedding with lots of exercise tucking everything in!
A friend made her own like bags with two seasons sleeping bags and sheets that got tied in along the sides. But, I haven’t gotten an update on how it’s actually working, but certainly less expensive! Hope this helps 🙂
We took a different approach. We went from a king to queen size. Wife and I work as a team, one on each side of the bed and pull the mattress away from the headboard for the bottom sheet. Slide it back up and for the top sheet and comforter. Takes less than 5 minutes. Queen gives us all the room we need. Sometimes less is more.
I was so excited about the Beddy’s that I not only bought one for our king-size RV bed but one for our queen-size fold-out RV couch and one for my son and his wife for Christmas this year.
After using ours for a couple of weeks, I noticed snags on the comforter and the shams. The decorative stitching on the Top of the Line Luxe set with its self-described definition: “Of the best quality or among the best of its kind,” appears to be made with fragile thread. In addition, the main fabric on the outside also seems to be weak.
When I reached out to Beddy’s, the response was that they only see this happen when there is a snag. My response was that besides making the bed every day and crawling into it every night, we expect any bedding to be able to hold up especially when it cost close to $400.
So buyer beware!
We have room to pull our mattress down past the foot of the bed, put the top corners on, then push it back into place for the bottom corners. Not perfect but better than trying to get into that top corner!
Is this like a sleeping bag in that you are totally zipped in?
I am one of those oddballs who needs to have some room to stretch my legs and usually sleep with at least one foot or leg hanging out of the sheet! I am sure there is a long medical word for this behavior! lol
There used to be a system called Trava-Sack that sits on top of the bed… Its like a Double Sleeping Bag that opens End to End with a LONG Velcroed Sheet….The top & bottom of the Bag has a Zipper, that zips the bag closed along the sides….It has a Summer & a Winter Top & Bottom…. Works Very well…..NO MORE CRAWLING AROUND ON THE BED TO MAKE IT…
Quickzip sheets are another option.
We also love our quick zip sheets.
We too go through the acrobatics of changing sheets, our bed is a short queen (76” long). With the “built in” closets on each side of the bed (about 40” deep) we pull the mattress down from the front wall (head board) to install the fitted sheet over the head of the mattress, then slide it forward and fit it over the foot. Then DW climbs onto the mattress to put the top sheet into position. DW doesn’t want the top sheet tucked under the foot but i do so half the top sheet is tucked under along with the blanket and half is out, it looks strange but it works, so far. Lol
We got the Bedease system a year ago and it’s a game changer for us best $ I’ve spent.
Gail, I share your woes and just completed a fix for my corner bed. I bought a set of king size sheets at a local box store for $20. Brought my “almost” full size corner mattress home to my sewing room, re-fitted the fitted sheet to my mattress size- rounded corners and all. Added 2 flaps to that sheet with a zipper closure on the underside so the fitted sheet can’t move! Then cut the top sheet to size, and sewed it to the bottom sheet on two sides (next to walls). I now can make the bed starting at the top to the bottom in one fell swoop. I still have to flip the mattress half way off the bed, but only once! Works like a charm. (And I have pictures for you if you like)
I’d love to see them!
I’d love to see the pics your talking about. Would appreciate it if you could also send them to me. Thanks, Larry & Sandy