A week or so ago, I asked my Twitter friends for topic suggestions. Someone (yes, I’m referring to you JJohnston1975) suggested integrating “creature comforts” and the spa experience with RVing. Personally, I’ve been wanting to do a blog about sleep for a long time. So these two topics dovetail in this LongLongHoneymoon.com entry.
I’m a big believer in “spoiling” ourselves when we go Airstreaming. I mean, we’re already dealing with compromises in terms of living space and **ahem** plumbing. So why not add a little pampering to the equation? An extra pillow or blanket never hurt anyone. A dash of lavender linen spray can work wonders. And yes, you WILL find Grey Poupon in our fridge (right next to the cave-aged cheese and Trappist ale).
Someone out there will inevitably shout, “Hey, that’s not exactly roughing it!”
Indeed, it is not. We have a tent for roughing it.
Here’s Kristy in the pre-Airstream days on our first camping trip together, “roughing it” in Yellowstone National Park. We had a blast, even though things went predictably awry.
Someday I’ll video blog about our first camping experience — this was BEFORE we owned an Airstream. We were visiting Yellowstone National Park. Since the park hotels were booked full, we stopped at the Big K in Jackson Hole to do a little shopping. We bought a $40 tent, a couple of sleeping bags, and an inflatable mattress. So far, so good, right?
By midnight, the inflatable mattress had completely deflated. We were lying on the bare, rocky ground. The temperatures dropped into the low 40s. We got so cold that we formed an impromptu camping burrito, cramming our two bodies into a sleeping bag made for one person. Around 2AM a pack of wild coyotes was howling just steps outside our tent. We felt we were living out an old Hayley Mills movie, and the joke was on us. I guess we got about two hours of quality sleep. When we awoke, I’m pretty sure there was frost on my eyebrows.
So, yes, we know all about “roughing it.” Don’t get me wrong: we love tent camping. It has its place. But RV camping is different.
We have an Airstream for doing what Wally Byam suggested so long ago: taking the comforts of home (or even the spa) with us on the road. Airstreaming may be about simplifying, but it’s not about roughing. If I wanted to rough it I’d be outside lying on the ground. This is a distillation of the essentials, of exactly what we need, and little more.
Here I am “roughing it” on our first Airstream camping trip.
There’s nowhere this is more true than the bedroom. The most essential purpose of any shelter is to facilitate adequate rest. It’s a little known fact of American history that Patrick Henry originally said, “Give me SLEEP or give me death.” (He was misquoted as saying “liberty,” which is why we don’t have a Statue of Sleep. )*
What about those people who glibly advise, “You can sleep when you’re dead!” Don’t worry much about ’em; they’ll be the ones dying young due to lack of sleep.
With an RV, it goes beyond shelter from the elements – it’s about comfort and familiarity. If this is your home away from home, you better treat it as such. Bring on the creature comforts!
The view from our bedroom on our first Airstream camping trip.
Our strategy has been to treat the Airstream as a cocoon. Our bedroom is a small, cozy nest that’s filled with familiar comforts. As we discuss in the video, we’ve given consideration to every element of the sleeping experience: mattress, pillows, linens, light, sound, and even scent.
During our first RV camping trip, I guess we did get a little chilly on the beach at night. Then we went inside to our cozy Airstream cocoon, kicked on the heat furnace, and broke out the lavender spray.
So, after taking all of these steps… why the heck can’t I get any sleep? 😉
*Okay, that bit about Patrick Henry was a blatant lie.
The most dramatic improvement we’ve made to our Airstream sleeping arrangements is a foam mattress topper for the bed. CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR OWN FOAM MATTRESS TOPPER.
Very nice ya make me want to got out into the camper and sleep! We use a mattress covet too and man does it work well. Those triscuts as I like to call them are the worst! A mattress cover is just the right trick. We don’t use the white noise thingy thing we just use the sleeping bear method ME SNORING! I tried the mast thing but could not get use to the mask rest on my nose so I bagged it. the spray sounds good I might have to give that a shot.
As a side bar I have put the MONSTER exhaust on from banks and the Filtration Solutions oil bypass kin in and have some early findings. The Banks exhaust with the cat off and just the muffler sounds like a F4 fighter jet with the turbo screech (sounds way cool) .The noise in the cab is heard but not too loud. I don’t notice the exhaust “drone” and the truck seems to like it so far the Turbo spools much faster and it’s hard to keep below 80 at old pedal press where it liked it before. A lighter pedal is required to keep at speed. Money well spent and I see it in the MPG from 14.2 to 16.5 so far unloaded with no trailer.
As for the FS2500 Bypass system the engine seems (might just be me) but it just seems to be running smoother and a bit more quiet. I also noticed that the turbo seems to spool better meaning with less force on the go go pedal and seems to spool down longer..meaning as you turn off the truck it keeps spinning. I believe this it due to the cleaner oil and better lubricity.
The 6.0 like super clean oil and fuel this seems to be doing the trick on the oil side. Randy the owner and chief bottle washer is a great wealth of knowledge on his product. I can’t wait to get to the 5k to drop the “cleaning oil” and put in the synthetic oil and get my first sampling at 10k. that’s all I have for now. You may want to check it out and you can see if ya want to invest the 560.00 on it. To me I can see an improvement. Who knows maybe just snake oil.
Sean,
Nice video. We use the memory foam mattress topper. Otherwise our stock mattress was at best a place to lay down on. Now, I sleep well. And I like sleeping.
Our Keystone RV mattress doesn’t look like it is near the quality of your original mattress. I bought one of those foam egg crate things and it made a world of difference but I bet we would sleep even better on a foam topper like you have. I had heard that they were hot and a struggle to roll over on, that has so far stopped me from getting one.
Matt, I think you need to video blog that new exhaust! I usually use synthetic oil in our vehicles but have been using dino in our truck. A lot of guys recommend the Rotella T oil, so that’s what I used. I’m not sure it makes much difference, so long as it’s clean. Which reminds me — SEEMORE needs an oil change! We need new tires also, so we’ll be “investing” some spare cash in the truck before our next big road trip.
With regard to the engine mods, I’m waiting until we’re out of warranty coverage before I go crazy with that stuff. I’ve been told you can extract HUGE performance gains by tweaking the turbo (chip, intake, exhaust) so it may be something we do.
Glad you liked the sleep blog! I once had a college roommate who was a snorer… I learned how to sleep with ear plugs, lol
Thanks JM… yes, the mattress topper is a must! Glad you liked the blog… We’ll be tackling more topics like this one in the future.
Tibbar, the foam egg crate things are better than nothing… but the memory foam is really good stuff.
I haven’t found ours to be hot or to impede rolling over (lol – they’re thick but they’re not THAT thick). I think the one at Costco is three inches thick. Ours was made by Novaform, but Costco may be carrying a different brand now.
Note that they come folded up… they take 24 hours to expand to full size. And the odor in the first few days isn’t exactly one of rose pedals. But in a short while, all is well and good…
Great post. The VERY first thing Michele did when we got the trailer last year was to lay on the very firm mattress and say “this won’t do”. She immediately went to Costco in London and purchased that exact same mattress topper that you mentioned. (We can’t remember the brand just that it was squashed into a cardboard box way too small for it) Like you said, it made a world of difference. We have been proponents of those formed pillows ever since they came out and wouldn’t be without them. They are a reasonable price now, not like when they first came out. We don’t have quite as many other pillows as you guys but two each seems to do the trick. We may just try those eye shade things you have though. I tend to wake up with the light (which annoys Michele as the trailer starts to move around when I do!) Maybe eye shades are the answer to keep me in bed longer. As I get older I seem to need less and less sleep, unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be the case with Michele, she seems to need MORE!
Sean,
A suggestion for a future topic. Many have $50,000 or more in their tow vehicle, often way more coin than that in an AS, and don’t understand why they need a real good weight distribution and sway hitch. Might discuss the need for a good hitch, and some differences between sway mitigation (like Equalizer) and sway elimination (like Propride or Hensley) hitches. It could get quite a few responses as it is a controversial topic. Just a thought and if you don’t want to go there, so be it.
Thanks Nigel, yes the mattress topper was pretty much the first thing we changed also! We went on one camping trip with the “bone stock” mattress, and then made a beeline for Costco (our favorite store). Costco actually has the toppers on sale this month, and yes they are pretty reasonably priced these days (now that those Swedish scientists have padded their pockets, lol).
The eye mask definitely helps me a lot. In fact, once you get used to wearing one, you may start wearing it to sleep whether or not you are camping.
I am with you in that I need a lot less sleep than Kristy! I have joked that although most people spend one-third of their lives sleeping, with Kristy that percentage may be significantly higher. 😉 We usually go to bed at the same time, but I’m always having my morning coffee alone…
Thanks JM for the topic suggestion! I agree that hitches and hitching would be a great topic. I’ll definitely put it on the list.
I think our next videos will address the pressing issue of H2O (in all its forms). Stay tuned!
Sean,
Water is a good topic, too! After all two thirds of our planet is covered with it. I can’t wait.
Hi Sean.
I think one of the first things anyone buying any RV needs to do is go out and buy a “real” mattress, and unceremoniously pitch out the wretched thing that comes from the “factory”.
Of course, being greenhorns, that’s not what we did, since we put up with the el-cheapo thing that was in the motorhome for a number of years before getting a clue. Hey, it was our first ever RV, cut me some slack.
It was what is termed a “short queen”?? (somehow makes me think of Liberace, but whatever)
I’m six feet tall, and having issues with not quite fitting onto the mattress started to become the second annoyance. The first being, it was just uncomfortable.
It just so happens that we have a perfectly fine mattress manufacturer not more than 10 blocks from our place in Burlington (Ontario) and…
It also just so happens that regular size Queen mattresses do go on sale from time to time. So for something like three hundred bucks, the improvement was astounding.
And $300 is not an expensive mattress as far as mattresses go, but it was still a huge improvement over the old thin piece o’ crap.
I did lose a few inches around the foot of the bed, so now instead of having something like 22 inches of space, it’s down to 17. Not really the end of the world as it turns out. AND, my feet don’t hang off the end of the bed. Hazzah!
Meanwhile, we just paid a few day’s visit to Prague. I recommend it. I’m sure you’ve been. Can’t say I was too excited about the temperature though, since it was around minus eight most of the time. (That’s Celsius folks, sorry) If unsure what that feels like, just go outside, since I see the temp. in your area is pretty close to that.
The cold was probably the only reason the place wasn’t mobbed. There were still a fair number of tourist however. Did get a chance to try out some Czech beer. Good stuff.
Send that cold weather to Vancouver….
Keep it between the ditches.
Bob.
Sean,
Ordered a mattress topper from Sams’s Club for my bed at home.
http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=448346
It comes in other sizes if anyone is interested. Not sure I follow all the green tea extract stuff…but hey if I sleep better…..green tea me!!!
I didn’t follow what N3qdz said in 3/4 of his message, maybe a video WOULD help explain what he was saying. With the price of gas and diesel, any savings is good. Listening to the yearly profits made by the oil companies and the ridiculous bonuses paid to their executives makes one want to go “Elvis” on the TV!!!
Tell Kristy to pick up another bottle of linen spray. That one in the video is almost empty.
Ray
Hey Sean I know you and Kristy love to “sleep around” but…..were going to SC during the summer and need help. I love to watch DDD on the food TV with Guy Fieri. What I need help with or maybe you might be able to piece together “the moons” fave eats while on the road. we will be staying @ a COE and am looking forward to staying and it looks like theirs not much to do there. I think going to the Castle (Vanderbuilt) at $60.00 a head is not my cup of tea. I think the UFO welcome center is not too high on my list either. let me know if there was any place that stood out in South Carolina either to eat or to visit.
We first started with the egg crate but soon realized that it wasn’t doing the job. Now we have both the egg crate and a memory foam topper. What a difference! I have to agree with you on pillows too. We stock the camper with the same linens and pillows we like for the house. No need to remember to pack things…the camper has its own set of everything! One thing you didn’t mention that is a must for our sleeping is a small fan. We live in south Texas and sleep every night (year round) with a ceiling fan. It is not only for air circulation but the background noise. We even have one set up for the kids so they sleep better too!
Thanks JM, the water video is underway! I am trying to cram everything about water into these videos… so they will be posted in separate parts. Stay tuned!
LOL Bob, I guess ours is also gifted with a Liberace mattress.
I must say that I like your solution of completely ditching the factory joke of a mattress in favor of something more substantial. But with that said, we use the space beneath our bed for storage (and storage is precious in an Airstream) so I’m not sure how that would affect things. Our bed lifts up to reveal the storage beneath. If the mattress was too thick, it would probably be pretty tough to lift. Anyway, thanks to those dedicated Swedish scientists, our foam topper has saved the day.
Yes, I’ve spent a LOT of time in Prague — I love that city! When I was teaching in Bratislava, Prague was a pretty easy weekend trip (four hours by train). We went often and during every season. My favorite visits were during those times in the early 1990s. I used to rent a room from a Russian lady for $7 a night! The beer was outstanding and generally less than 40 cents a pint. Those were the days… 🙂
Thanks Ray for the Sam’s link. We got ours from Costco, and they are on coupon sale this month. I think you will enjoy it!
Yes, Kristy will soon be replenishing the lavender spray supply — she loves any excuse to go to Bed, Bath, & Beyond! (But don’t tell her I said that!) 😉
Matt, we haven’t done much in SC just yet. A Twitter friend of mine (JJohnston1975) is in the Carolinas, and is quite knowledgeable about SC. He might have some tips. In what part will you be staying?
If you could visit Charleston, I bet you would enjoy it. I went a long time ago, and had a great time. I’ve heard that Myrtle Beach is nice also…
Yep, Ginny, we did the same for our camper — it gets its own set of sheets, pillows, etc.
And great tip about the fan! We usually have our fan running through the night because the noise & air circulation helps us sleep.
Of course, one issue when camping is the presence of electricity. We don’t usually run our generator through the night, so when we boondock there are times when we have to improvise. Our ceiling fans will run off the RV batteries, but of course the A/C will not. So in this situation, we will run our ceiling “Fantastic” fans. Hmmm, maybe I should add this to the video…
Sean,
If you have a coupon for Bed Bath and Beyond that is outdated, they will honor it. They do not pay attention to the expiration date. They also accept their competitor’s coupons. My sister works part time at the Bowie, MD store and she’s put the word out to all our friends.
I hope the rumor I heard that the rear bedroom floor plan is not being offered in the 2010 Classic model is not true!!!
Ray
Thanks Ray, and yes, Kristy has a stash of BB & B coupons! We get them in the Sunday paper and occasionally in the mail.
Another tip about BB&B – you can use multiple coupons in a multiple product purchase. For example, if you’re buying three products and you have three coupons, you can use all three. BB&B carries some nice stuff, so those coupons can add up.
Now, with regard to the rear bedroom and the 2010 Classic — I’m not sure! AIrstream seems to make these decisions at its whim. I know the 34-footer is not being produced at all. Nor is the 25-footer. Last time I checked, the ONLY rear bedroom Classics were the 30 and 31-footers. (A little crazy if you ask me…)
I see on their site that it is still available in the 30 and 31 foot layout. I heard a rumor and thought you might have your ear closer to the ground on this subject.
Subscribed to Airstream Life this morning.
Sometime if you have time, could you do a video explaining the electric trailer brake option in vehicle purchase? Also the anti-sway trailer hitch…..
Does anyone make a rear camera for the trailer that connects to your vehicle rear camera dashboard screen? if not….I thought of it first!!! LOL
Ray
Ray, thanks for the topic suggestions — I will add ’em to the list.
Airstream seems to have scaled back certain floor plan offerings “due to the economy.” But sometimes they also tend to change things up just for the sake of change. I have no idea why the rear bedroom 25-foot floor plan is not available; dealers have told me they want it.
Airstream Life is an excellent magazine — very high quality.
With regard to the camera, I checked into this a couple of years ago, and at that time there didn’t seem to be any wireless options that had the necessary range. As wireless technology improves, I’m sure range will improve along with it. So it’s only a matter of time before we have HD rear cameras on our Airstreams — this will make backing into sites much easier!
The rear trailer camera would not have to be wireless. The trailer camera system could connect to the tow vehicle’s camera system at the trailer hitch electrical hookup or via a dedicated camera-to-camera connector.
Ray
True, and I agree it’s a great idea. It would be nice to have the camera integrated into the wiring system (although I suspect wireless solutions will arrive soon enough). I’m not sure why this product isn’t available now. It would really be useful for the entire towable RV industry (anything that makes camping easier is progress)… 🙂
lol GMAs, I’ve probably said too much about sleep already. But if sleeping was an Olympic event, we’d definitely be seeing my wife on the medal podium. She is sort of the Michael Phelps of sleep. There, now I’ve really said too much! 😉
Yes, I am working on a comprehensive water video. I’m trying to think about our water usage and what I wish I’d known when we started RV camping. I have the core information ready to go, but I need to jazz it up a little — else my water video will be too dry. Nothing worse than a dry water video! 😉
With regard to the wireless camera, I’ll see if I can get my hands on one. Last I heard the range wasn’t quite up to snuff, but maybe it’s now improved. Yes, we have a good “back up” routine as a married couple — we use our cellphones… I do the piloting while Kristy navigates! We’ve got it down to a science. At this point I think we could back our Airstream into one of those “compact car” parking spaces and make it fit…
I am so envious of your teamwork on backing into a site. Enough said, I can feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about a back in site.
If you are RV camping as a couple, or as a family, teamwork is essential!
With regard to backing into a site… Suffice to say that early on in our Airstream camping experience, we had a few teeth-gnashing experiences. Much of it was due to our collective inexperience with the whole process. By now we have backed into many dozens of campsites including some ridiculously tight spaces. I sincerely have no fear of backing into a campsite any more. Respect, yes… Fear, no… This is mainly thanks to our experience and the process we have developed to handle back in sites. I will do a video soon that details this process and what works well for us!
Our Airstream has a 54-gallon freshwater tank, 39 grey, and 25 black.
I agree that the shower is – by far – the big culprit of water usage.
It would be cool if we could somehow redirect some of the shower water to the loo — for flushing. This way we could balance water drainage between the grey and black tanks. It would probably buy us an extra couple of showers when boondocking.
The first time we camped, I couldn’t believe how fast we drained our water supply! But now that we’ve learned the ropes, we’re pretty good at managing it.
I’m putting together a pretty extensive look at water – fresh, grey, & black — and I’ll eventually tackle the tanks too! 🙂
A steam shower would be awesome! And while we’re at it, since our Airstream shower is the “sit down” style, wouldn’t it be nice if it had teak plank lining like a spa sauna? I’m actually not joking and have no idea whether this would be feasible, but it would be a fun makeover project. This warrants further research… 🙂
By the way, with regard to Hollywood, I’m about to start shooting a documentary film about our favorite topic. More on this later, but we’d love to include interviews with Sandra B, Matthew M, et al in the film. I think our extended visit to California has been postponed for a little while. We’ll be starting the documentary this spring, and visiting Alumapalooza (Airstream festival) at Jackson Center, Ohio in June. Then we move on to Cali!
I like the scented spray idea…I am going to try that one with my wife.
I would add one thing to the perfect bed…we use a king size heated mattress pad in the RV. Seperate controls, and toasty all night long. Saves propane or electricity as we are able to keep the RV at a cooler teperature and still stay warm even in the coldest weather. PLUS, nothing like getting into a pre-warmed bed…my wife loves it when I hit the PREHEAT button on her side, and she finds the bed perfectly warmed as she climbs in.
NOTE: this item goes just under the sheets, not under any mattress topper you might use.
That’s a great tip about the heated mattress pad! I imagine it would be wonderful during this bitterly cold winter. I will definitely check those out.
Kristy gets our linen spray at Bed Bath & Beyond. One bottle costs about $5 and lasts a good long while…
Wow! I must confess that I didn’t know cooling pads existed (with ALARM CLOCKS to boot!). Now I must check these things out. That would help us with our upcoming summer camping. Southern California in July can get rather toasty!
With regard to the steam shower,obviously it would pull a good bit of electrical current…. but it would probably be about like a coffee maker or other boiler in this regard. Our Airstream shower is a small, enclosed space — so it wouldn’t take long to fill it with steam.
I’m perfectly willing to “invest” in souping up our Airstream with more razzle dazzle. Problem is that I can’t do it myself. We may contact a good vintage Airstream restoration company and see if they are amenable to a deal. We’d swap ’em some video exposure in exchange for some new bells & whistles on our camper. I’d love to give our Airstream a four-star spa makeover. Stay tuned…
GMAs…Guilty….I too would set her side to test the alarm at O’dark thirty and expect not only the thumping but the “dreaded silent treatment” in the light of day or days!!! LOL I must admit that I find it interesting that they say that it will not disturb your partner’s side when it go off…seeing that water is an excellent sound carrier…HUH!!! whodda thunk???
Sean…the steam shower sounds like a great addition. You could get a facial and press out the wrinkles in your suit….or your morning prunes (this might be important to you in a few years down the life road)
Ray
Let me see if I am getting this right. When you got cold in your tent you got in the SAME sleeping bag as your GIRLFRIEND, right?????????????????????
Hmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ps. Hope to see you at Wayfarers State Park this summer.
Guilty as charged. But believe me, it was far too cold for any hanky panky!
We hope to visit Wayfarers. I think we’ll be crossing the Dakotas this summer anyway, so why not swing through Montana? 🙂