Murphy bed owners - some questions for you

gravedgr · 07-30-2017, 10:20 PM

We just bought a 23BHM that we'll pick up next weekend. During our walkthrough, I had some concerns about the bracket on the side walls where you insert the "D" pin to hold the bed up during the day/while using the couch. One appeared to be almost ready to pull out of the wall. That plus examining the mattress (I mean bag of concrete) led to some questions I'm hoping someone more experienced can answer:

Have you had any problems with the bed staying up / with the locking system that holds it in place?
Did you make any changes to this system to make it more sturdy/reliable?
Assuming you changed your mattress or added a topper, what was the size mattress/topper combo you use?

The stock mattress was 6" thick and was very tight/hard to close. Most links for mattresses I have found so far are for 8" mattresses. We'd need something with some good compression in order to squeeze an 8" in that space - or we'd need to relocate the "brackets" on the side walls that accept the "D" pin.

Oh, and oh my God - that had to be the most horrible mattress I have ever laid down on.

travelingjw · 07-31-2017, 03:40 PM

Hi,
We purchased the Jayco 23MRB that came with the Murphy Bed. We kept the mattress but added a topper. We didn't want to have to remake the bed every day so I moved the locking brackets out about an inch and then covered the other holes with screw caps. We have made 2 trips with the topper and the one thing that I am watching is if it stays laid out to the edges. It appeared to me in this last trip that I was fighting it in the middle of the night but my wife thought it might have been the comforter. We will watch when we travel next week.

gravedgr · 07-31-2017, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelingjw

Hi,
We purchased the Jayco 23MRB that came with the Murphy Bed. We kept the mattress but added a topper. We didn't want to have to remake the bed every day so I moved the locking brackets out about an inch and then covered the other holes with screw caps. We have made 2 trips with the topper and the one thing that I am watching is if it stays laid out to the edges. It appeared to me in this last trip that I was fighting it in the middle of the night but my wife thought it might have been the comforter. We will watch when we travel next week.

I'm inclined to try a 6" mattress instead of moving the brackets, but hate to have to buy another mattress later if the 6" feels too thin. I suppose that's not a lot to spend, all things considered and if it is the worst of our problems we should count ourselves lucky.

kltk1 · 08-03-2017, 08:32 PM

Not sure if this is a workable solution for you. Also, we're not owners, yet, but will be by next spring and it will be a Murphy bed. So takes this information for what it's worth. When looking at a 23MBH the other day, my wife suggested we swap out the mattress for a new hide-a-bed mattress with the air cushioned top. She's slept on one a few times now and is very happy with the comfort level. The downside? You'll have to pump it up. As I can't speak to the thickness of the mattress with the top inflated, this may wind up becoming a daily chore if the Murphy bed won't stay up with the mattress top inflated.

KillerIsMe · 08-03-2017, 09:22 PM

We have a 23BHM. We've only had it for a month but have slept in it many times. The murphy bed is not a problem for us - D brackets snap right into place, bed stays up when it's up and down when it's down. Cinching the straps in the morning and turning the bed into a sofa is no trouble. I'm 6'1", 240, and the mattress is not horribly uncomfortable for me but I wasn't expecting it to be like our home mattress. There are upgrades available. We're thinking maybe if we do anything it will be to add a 2" memory foam under our mattress (I hate sleeping on memory foam). My daughter has the same memory foam thickness on her bed - I tried it on the murphy and the bed still folds up just fine.

Murff · 08-04-2017, 12:24 AM

Well, with the stock mattress, we recently stored a 6 inch memory foam we use on the dinette cushions on top of the Murphy bed and it still closed and latched. There is also a mattress pad and sheets and blankets on the Murff bed and a card table stored under it. D-brackets in stock position.

Hope this helps.

Murff

beechjetpilot1 · 08-04-2017, 10:05 AM

We have had our 23MBH for 2 years. We have had no issues with the D rings. We did add some bigger screws/washers to the nylon straps that hold the mattress in place when you put it up. One of them pulled out early on. Currently we have an 8 inch memory foam mattress and 2 inch egg crate. We did not need to move the D rings, but we also fold the blanket and comforter before we stow the bed. It works great for us. This is the mattress we got and it has been good for us. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

gravedgr · 08-04-2017, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beechjetpilot1

We have had our 23MBH for 2 years. We have had no issues with the D rings. We did add some bigger screws/washers to the nylon straps that hold the mattress in place when you put it up. One of them pulled out early on. Currently we have an 8 inch memory foam mattress and 2 inch egg crate. We did not need to move the D rings, but we also fold the blanket and comforter before we stow the bed. It works great for us. This is the mattress we got and it has been good for us. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks for the feedback. Given how tight ours is with the factory mattress, we ordered the 6" gel/foam mattress and agreed that if it is too thin but still tight in the TT, we'll add a memory foam topper that we can take off and store when the bed is put away.

Hazman65 · 08-06-2017, 06:30 AM

We have the 23MRB and have had no issues with the Murphy bed staying up and locked in. I admit the pins seem a little week and cheaply made but they have worked fine. We replaced the stock mattress with a Lucid 10 inch gel memory foam shirt queen mattress. The stock mattress was a little too hard for us. We have been very happy with the new mattress and have had no issues with keeping the bed in the stowed position.

Wanderer · 08-06-2017, 07:57 PM

We have the stock (terrible) mattress that came with it and added a 2" memory foam topper which makes it just fine. Have not had any issues with it stowing properly while traveling. Only issue was my fault 1 time forgetting to use the nylon straps to hold everything in place before putting in travel position. No issues with the provided hardware

GScott · 08-07-2017, 02:52 PM

We've been using our Murphy bed for two years and live in the trailer full-time for about four months a year. We have had no problems with the brackets I do find a mattress a bit stiff so I have added a 4 inch topper to my side of the bed. My wife prefers the stiff mattress and did not opt for a topper on her side.

JHerzog · 08-08-2017, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GScott

We've been using our Murphy bed for two years and live in the trailer full-time for about four months a year. We have had no problems with the brackets I do find a mattress a bit stiff so I have added a 4 inch topper to my side of the bed. My wife prefers the stiff mattress and did not opt for a topper on her side.

Just gotta ask ..... How'd you get a topper on half a mattress?

mmwhit · 08-08-2017, 08:29 AM

We have the White Hawk 24 MBH TT. We like the Murphy bed - folds up out of the way when not in use which gives the extra room in the TT. I switched mattresses after about two weeks use of the junk mattress that came with it. I bought this mattress from Camping World: Serene® Performance Foam RV Mattress. It is expensive but well worth it. It is a 10 inch short queen mattress. I leave a couple blankets and sheets on the mattress when I fold the bed up. It fits snug in the White Hawk 24 MBH, but it fits just fine. I have not had any problems with the brackets that keep the bed up and in place.

GScott · 08-08-2017, 08:45 AM

I used an electric carving knife and cut it in half. Then stuffed it under the mattress pad.

JHerzog · 08-08-2017, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GScott

I used an electric carving knife and cut it in half. Then stuffed it under the mattress pad.

The ingenuity on this forum never ceases to amaze me

Jetsamtech · 09-03-2017, 09:29 PM

We have had our 2017 23mbh TT for over a year now and the mattress was a big concern for us. My wife and I both have chronic pain issues and the mattress was something that we had to replace upon taking ownership from the dealer. We replaced it with a queen Select Comfort mattress (cheapest model) on sale and added a 2" memory foam topper also on clearance. It has made RV'ing a great sleeping experience and didn't have to move the locking pins. Had to make a couple of other mods for the air supply lines and pump but they were pretty simple as well.

FeatherFam · 09-04-2017, 05:15 PM

We added a 2" topper; it sleeps and stores great (with sheets and blanket)! No mods were required.

jamaddox · 09-04-2017, 06:54 PM

We had a23MBH before we upgraded trailers. We hano problems with the mattress staying up using the latches. We had no problems with bed staying down when we used the rings. We really did like the Denver mattress (as compared to the Serta we have now). When camping we left our bed made and it was fine.

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gravedgr · 09-04-2017, 11:54 PM

Thanks y'all. We went a few weeks ago and the murphy bed worked fine. We bought a 6" mattress to replace the stock 6" mattress because we were worried the bed was tight when in the "up" position due to the pressure on the latches. Turns out it is just the hinge (I think) putting all the pressure on the latch because I can reach around and feel lots of space between the mattress and wall, so we'll add another 2-4" memory foam topper for extra comfort.

NCMFFD · 09-25-2017, 07:37 AM

We bought a 2017 23BHM earlier this year. The JayCo factory could have done a better job aligning one of the latches but no problems with the D-rings keeping the bed closed when it's raised.
The DW also added a foam memory topper to make sleeping more comfortable but coming from tent camping the mattress itself was fine for me.

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