Air Mattress Problem

I knew when I saw that our unit had a fold-out sofa with air mattress and air pump that it would likely be a problem. I never knew an air mattress that didn't leak either sooner or later.
OK, now on our first extended trip we have our daughter and niece sharing that bed and sure nuff...by day 6 it no longer holds air through the night. Are all these beds a piece of junk or is everyone else's sturdy enough to work?
I think I will take it back to the dealer repeatedly through the warranty period and let them replace it each time. Maybe someone will get the idea that this isn't a well thought idea and find a different solution. Maybe they should go back to the fold-out type of sofa bed that my last Terry 5th wheel had (and it was a 1996 model!!).

Kim

the second bed in my Cat is a fold out type with mattress,(not air) only a couple of people have slept on it but have had no complaints, also there is enough room on the bed to store the duvet which saves space else where

We have the Aerobed that came with the unit. We have not only used it in the 'Cat, but in the house and also a few times in a tent. Ours seems to be holding up well (hope I didn't jinx myself now).

Kim

Is you air mattress attached to your couch or is it a separate mattress that just lays on top of the couch?

The units that are attached and fold up with the couch are known to fail early and often. The units that use a completely separate air mattress hold up much better but will still eventually fail as all air mattresses do.

Ours has been fine. Always made it a point to not fold it up in the bed. Also don't leave it in the Wildcat during the cold winter months.

John

For that very reason I went out and bought a Coleman air mattress for a back up in the event the stock one fails.... The Coleman looks to be a little better made also...

Memory foam works great as a replacement. And can be stored in the couch year round.

You have to be careful with air beds so they don't get tangled in the couch's mechanism. Fill the mattress up and paint some soapy water around to check for bubbles. Most likely, it's in the seams, unless it got caught in the mechanism and pinched a hole in the mattres surface. If it's on a seam, it's toast. Otherwise, it's probably fixable.

TC

TC wrote:Memory foam works great as a replacement. And can be stored in the couch year round.

You have to be careful with air beds so they don't get tangled in the couch's mechanism.

TC

The new style I'm talking about above doesn't fold up in the couch. Its a complete separate unit that stores in a seperate drawer under the couch.

I love memory foam. Our old truck camper was simply 4" or 6" memory foam on top of plywood. I slept better on it than our own bed!

Mountainman, maybe that's why Tempur Pedic mattresses are so popular. The only drawback is the price, and in the case of a 5er, maybe weight. I've laid on one in the showroom and was very impressed. But, I can buy several spring mattresses and foam toppers for what one of those Tempur systems would cost.

Back on subject, our Cat has the spring mattress in the fold-out Vs the air bed. I added a 1 1/2" memory foam pad on top of it. The cross bars previously felt through the original mattress disappeared with the addition of the memory foam. And...it all still closes nicely, even with the addition.

TC

We had exactly the same issue with the air mattress that was folded up in the sofa. I returned it and the dealer replaced it under warranty. I have not folded it up in the sofa since and have had no more problems. We have also used the AeroBed brand in other situations and it has worked well.

After reading the problems with air matttresses I had the dealer check mine and there was a problem with the valves . The replacement had leak problems but the dealer fixed it. We recently got a matress pad to go with it. We don't use it much . Jim

I have the slow leak issue with the air mattress in the couch. The dealer tried to pursue a replacement under warranty. The air mattress is warranted under the furniture manufacturer. They contacted the maker of the air mattress in the couch to discover that the air mattress is not to be folded up in the couch but put under the couch. Ours arrived with it folded up in the couch and we have been trying to get Forest River to fess up as they are the ones that put it there and there are not instructions with respect to taking care of the air mattress.