The mattress that came with your travel trailer is almost certainly the cheapest component in it. Replacing it is the single biggest comfort upgrade available for the money, and most owners get it wrong on the first attempt for one reason: they order by name instead of by tape measure.
RV mattress sizes aren't standardized the way household ones are. Two trailers built in the same year by the same company can carry beds that differ by an inch, and that inch decides whether a mattress lies flat or rides up the wall at one end. So the best RV mattress isn't a brand, it's whichever one matches the platform you already have. That is why the measuring comes first here and the picks come second. The best RV mattress is the one that fits the platform, so measure before anything else.
Table of Contents
Do RVs Need Special Mattresses?
Yes, and not for the reason most people assume. It isn't that RV mattresses are built differently. Many are ordinary foam or hybrid construction. It's that the beds they go into aren't standard sizes, and they're usually boxed in on three sides.
A residential bed sits in the middle of a room. An RV bed sits in a cutout, often with a wall at the head, cabinets at one side, and a wooden lid underneath because the space beneath the bed is storage. Anything that doesn't match the cutout closely either won't fit at all, or leaves a gap that catches feet and bedding.
What Is the Difference Between an RV Mattress and a Regular Mattress?
Three things, in order of how much trouble they cause.
Length, usually. RV sizes are typically shorter than their residential namesakes. A short queen isn't a marketing term for a small queen. It's a different size.
Weight. Everything you add to a trailer comes off your payload. A heavy innerspring in a bed you rarely tow is fine. The same mattress in a small trailer already loaded to its limit isn't. Foam is lighter for the same size.
Thickness. RV bed platforms are often built up off the floor to hide storage, and there may be a shelf, a window, or a cabinet edge above. A mattress that's too thick will fit the footprint perfectly and still be wrong.
Can I Put a Regular Queen Size Mattress in My RV?
Sometimes, and it's worth checking rather than assuming, because a residential queen is generally cheaper and easier to buy sheets for.
A standard residential queen is 60 by 80 inches. If your bed platform is 60 by 80, you can buy an ordinary queen and be done.
Most RV queens aren't. The common RV version, the short queen, gives up about five inches of length. If your platform is one of those, a residential queen will be too long, and forcing it in bows the mattress and ruins both the fit and the sleep.
Measure the platform, not the old mattress. Old foam compresses and shrinks at the edges, so measuring what is in there now can read short by an inch or more.
What Size Mattress Is a Short RV Queen?
Here the tidy size charts other articles publish start to mislead.
A short queen is commonly listed as either 60 by 74 inches or 60 by 75 inches, and both are sold under the same name. One manufacturer size guide lists RV short queen at both dimensions, and the same guide lists RV king at 70 by 74, 70 by 80, and 72 by 80.
This is the most useful point on this page. The same size name covers different dimensions depending on who built it. There's no standard to appeal to.
For reference, the sizes you're likely to meet:
| Name | Dimensions you may find (inches) |
|---|---|
| RV bunk | 28 x 75, 30 x 75, 30 x 80, 32 x 74, 34 x 75, 35 x 79 |
| RV twin | 38 x 75 |
| RV three quarter | 48 x 74, 48 x 75 |
| RV full | 53 x 75, 54 x 75 |
| RV short queen | 60 x 74, 60 x 75 |
| RV queen | 60 x 80 |
| RV short king | 72 x 74, 72 x 75 |
| RV king | 70 x 74, 70 x 80, 72 x 80 |
Treat that table as the range of possibilities, not as a lookup. Your bed is one of them, and the only way to know which is to measure it.
What Size Is an RV Bunk Bed Mattress?
Bunks are the worst offenders. Six different sizes appear under the single label RV bunk, spanning seven inches of width and six of length.
Bunks are also the place where thickness matters most, because the gap between one bunk and the one above it is fixed. A thicker mattress buys comfort and takes it straight out of the headroom of whoever is sleeping there. On most bunks, four inches of foam is the practical ceiling.
Measure the bunk platform in both directions and check the clearance above before ordering anything.
Does My Mattress Need a Corner Cut?
Some RV beds have one or two corners angled or rounded to clear a wall, a wheel well, or a door swing. If yours does, an ordinary rectangular mattress won't sit flat.
You have two options. Buy a custom mattress cut to match, which costs more and takes longer, or buy the rectangle and cut the foam yourself with a long serrated knife, which works acceptably on foam and not at all on anything with springs in it.
Sketch the platform on paper with the measurements written on it before you shop. It takes five minutes and it's the difference between one order and two.
How Thick Should an RV Queen Mattress Be?
Thicker isn't automatically better in a space where something is usually above your head.
Check three things before you decide. The clearance to any shelf, window ledge, or cabinet over the bed. Whether the bed lifts on gas struts for storage underneath, because a thicker mattress is heavier and can defeat the struts. And whether existing fitted sheets will still go round it.
Most RV mattresses land between six and ten inches. Going deeper works in a rear bedroom with headroom to spare, and causes problems in a bunk or under an overhead cabinet.
How Do You Make an RV Bed More Comfortable Without Replacing It?
If the platform size is awkward, or you aren't ready to spend, a topper solves more than people expect.
A topper on the existing mattress adds softness without changing the footprint, which sidesteps the entire sizing problem. It's also far lighter to carry and to fit than a whole mattress, and it can be pulled off and stored.
What it won't fix is a mattress that has collapsed in the middle, or one that is the wrong size. A topper follows the shape of what is under it.
Best RV Mattress Picks, Once You Have Measured
Five mattresses, in the order most people should think about them, and two cheaper things to try first. Nothing here has been slept on by anyone at Restful RV, so each card is about dimensions, materials and fit rather than how it felt after a week. Every size below is given in inches, because the size names are the problem.
| # | Mattress | Size (in) | Thickness | Feel | Fill | Fiberglass free |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zinus 8 in Ultima RV | 60 x 74 | 8 in | Medium firm | Memory foam | Yes |
| 2 | Celestial Sleep 10 in | 60 x 75 | 10 in | Medium | Memory foam | Yes |
| 3 | WanderRest 12 in Hybrid | 60 x 74 | 12 in | Plush to medium | Foam and pocketed coils | Not stated |
| 4 | EGO White by MLILY RV King | 72 x 80 | 10 in | Medium firm | Memory foam | Yes |
| 5 | Zinus 6 in Narrow Twin | Narrow twin | 6 in | Medium | Foam and coils | Not stated |
Zinus 8 Inch Short Queen Ultima RV Memory Foam Mattress
The one to start withA short queen isn't one size. Some are 60 by 74 inches and some are 60 by 75, and the platform decides which one fits. This mattress is sold as 60 by 74, so measure the frame before ordering rather than trusting the words on the label.
Eight inches is the thickness that clears a hinged storage lid on most RV bed platforms, which is why this is the safest first choice rather than the most exciting one. Zinus states CertiPUR-US and OEKO-TEX certification, a fiberglass free construction and a ten year limited warranty, and it carries the longest review history of anything sold in this size.
What You'll Love
- Thin enough to clear a hinged storage lid on most platforms
- Fiberglass free, so unzipping the cover isn't a hazard
- Ten year limited warranty, which is rare at this price
- Compresses into a box narrow enough to carry through an RV door
Worth Considering
- Sold as 60 by 74, so it leaves a gap in a frame cut for 60 by 75
- Eight inches feels thin to anyone moving straight from a house bed
- Memory foam holds heat, which tells in a trailer in August
- Needs a day to expand and air out before the first trip
Celestial Sleep RV Short Queen Memory Foam Mattress
Fiberglass free, and thickA short queen measures 60 by 75 inches, five inches shorter than the queen in a house. Those five inches are the whole reason mattresses get bought, unwrapped in a bedroom the size of a wardrobe, and then sent back.
This one states 60 by 75 in the listing itself rather than only in the title, and it's 10 inches of medium memory foam, made in the USA and certified fiberglass free. That last point matters: the fire barrier inside many cheap foam mattresses is spun fiberglass, and it escapes into the bedding if the cover is ever unzipped. Ten inches is at the thick end, so if your platform has a hinged storage lid, check what lifting it does with this sitting on top.
What You'll Love
- Publishes the actual dimensions, not just the words short queen
- Fiberglass free, so unzipping the cover isn't a hazard
- Ten inches is deep enough that you stop feeling the platform through it
- Ships compressed in a box, which is how it gets through an RV door
Worth Considering
- Ten inches can foul a hinged storage lid, or the struts that hold it
- Awkward to wrestle alone in a bedroom you can't walk around
- Memory foam holds heat, which tells in a trailer in August
- Needs unwrapping and airing before the first trip, and a closed trailer makes that worse
WanderRest 12 Inch Cool Hybrid RV Mattress, Short Queen
Coils instead of solid foamEvery other mattress here is a block of foam. This one puts pocketed coils under the foam layers, and the difference shows at the edge of the bed. Foam collapses when somebody sits on the edge to pull boots on. A reinforced coil edge doesn't, and in a bedroom where the edge of the mattress is the only place to sit, that's worth more than it would be at home.
It's 12 inches deep and 60 by 74 inches, which makes it the thickest option here by a clear margin. That is the thing to check before ordering, because 12 inches is deep enough to foul a hinged storage lid and deep enough that a standard short queen fitted sheet may not reach underneath. Made in the USA with a ten year warranty.
What You'll Love
- Pocketed coils hold the edge instead of collapsing under it
- Reinforced edge means the usable width is the whole width
- Motion from one sleeper carries less across to the other
- Coils breathe, so it runs cooler than solid memory foam
Worth Considering
- Twelve inches is deep enough to cause a storage lid problem
- The heaviest thing here to wrestle through an RV doorway
- The most expensive by a wide margin
- Needs deep pocket sheets, and many short queen sets won't reach
EGO White by MLILY RV King Mattress, 10 Inch
The other RV sizeAn RV king is 72 by 80 inches. A house king is 76 by 80, so a house king doesn't fit, and a queen leaves a gap down both sides that no amount of bedding hides. This is the mattress to buy if the bedroom came with a king platform rather than a short queen one.
Ten inches of green tea and cooling gel memory foam at a medium firm feel, made in the USA by MLILY under its EGO White name. The listing states CertiPUR-US certification and a fiberglass free flame retardant inner cover. One catch: Amazon's title for this listing says 76 by 80, while its own dimensions say 80 by 72. Check the size selector shows the RV king before you order. The inner cover is the detail worth checking on any foam mattress, because the flame barrier in cheaper foam is often spun fiberglass, and it escapes into the bedding if the cover is ever unzipped.
What You'll Love
- A true 72 by 80 RV king, not a house king cut down
- Fiberglass free inner cover, stated in the listing
- Medium firm feel with a cooling gel layer
- Arrives compressed, which is the only way it gets through the door
Worth Considering
- RV king bedding is harder to find than short queen
- Ten inches can foul a hinged storage lid or its struts
- Heavy to position alone in a bedroom you can't walk around
- Memory foam holds heat on a hot night
Zinus 6 Inch Narrow Twin Foam and Spring Mattress
Measure the bunk firstBunk mattresses have no standard size. Widths of 28, 30 and 34 inches are all in current trailers, and lengths vary too, so the tape comes out before the card goes in.
This one is 30 by 75 inches and 6 inches thick, foam over interconnected steel coils, with CertiPUR-US certified foam and an OEKO-TEX certified cover. Zinus rates the twin sizes for up to 250 pounds. Six inches is about the ceiling for an upper bunk, and the reason is safety rather than comfort: every inch of mattress is an inch less rail standing above the surface a child sleeps on.
What You'll Love
- A genuine bunk width, not a twin that has been described as one
- Six inches is a real improvement on the thin factory pad
- CertiPUR-US foam and an OEKO-TEX cover
- Light enough to feed through a bunk opening single handed
Worth Considering
- Thirty inches fits some bunks and not others, so measure before ordering
- Every inch of thickness lowers the effective height of the safety rail
- Zinus doesn't state whether the cover is fiberglass free
- No corner cuts, so it won't suit a shaped or tapered bunk
Two cheaper things to try before replacing anything. If the mattress is the right size and simply too thin, a two inch gel memory foam topper in short queen costs a fraction of a new mattress and solves the complaint most owners have, which is feeling the platform through the foam.
And whatever ends up on the bed, regular queen sheets won't fit a short queen. The corners ride up on the first night. A short queen sheet set cut to 60 by 75 is the cheapest fix on this page.
How Do You Choose the Right RV Mattress?
Nobody can name the best RV mattress for an RV they haven't measured, so the order matters more than the brand. In this order. Measure the platform, both directions, and note any cut corners, not the old mattress. Measure the clearance above the bed, and check whether it lifts for storage. Decide foam or hybrid on weight, and if payload is tight, choose foam. Then shop, and buy only from a listing that publishes actual dimensions in inches rather than a size name.
That last point is the whole article in a sentence. A listing that says short queen and nothing else has told you nothing. Even the best RV mattress needs to breathe in a damp trailer, so prop it up off the platform during storage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a short queen the same as an Olympic queen?
No. They're different sizes, and neither is a residential queen.
Can I use regular queen sheets on a short queen mattress?
They will go on, and they will bunch at the foot. Sheets made for the shorter size fit properly and cost little more.
Will a foam mattress off-gas in a closed trailer?
New foam has a smell that fades. Unbox it and let it air with the windows open and the vent fan running, and if the trailer sits closed for long spells a moisture absorber is worth having in there before the first trip, rather than the night you arrive.
Should I replace the mattress or add a topper first?
If the size is awkward or the budget is tight, try the topper. If the mattress has a dip you can see, replace it, because nothing on top will fix a collapsed core.
Quick Answers
Do RVs Need Special Mattresses?
They need the right size more than special construction. RV beds are often non-standard sizes, boxed in on three sides with a storage lid underneath, so a mattress has to match the platform closely.
What Is the Difference Between an RV Mattress and a Regular Mattress?
Usually length, weight and thickness. RV sizes are often shorter than their house namesakes, weight counts against your payload, and a thick mattress can hit a shelf or cabinet above the bed.
Can I Put a Regular Queen Size Mattress in My RV?
Only if your platform measures 60 by 80 inches. Most RV queens are short queens, about five inches shorter, so a house queen would be too long. Measure the platform, not the old mattress.
What Size Mattress Is a Short RV Queen?
Usually 60 by 74 or 60 by 75 inches. Both are sold under the same name, so measure your platform before ordering.
What Size Is an RV Bunk Bed Mattress?
Bunks are the worst offenders. Six different sizes appear under the single label RV bunk, spanning seven inches of width and six of length.
Does My Mattress Need a Corner Cut?
Some RV beds have one or two corners angled or rounded to clear a wall, a wheel well, or a door swing. If yours does, an ordinary rectangular mattress won't sit flat.