Big Country 3690 - King Size Bed Replacement?

Z00KA

Member
Trying to get a good night's sleep in our new 2013 Big Country 3690 and have decided to look for a replacement mattress. Any recommendations? Also...contacted our dealer as to the location of our remote that controls the outside lights. They weren't sure that one came with it, but after they consulted with Heartland, it was determined that there should have been one with the unit. They said one was being sent, we'll see what happens.

Joe
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Hi Zooka,

We replaced our king size mattress last year with a 12" memory foam mattress from Lasting Impressions and we're so happy with it that we just replaced the mattress at home with another one. They're available in RV sizes and fit nicely.

After you remove the old mattress, but before putting in the new one, I'd suggest putting down stick-on floor tile on the plywood. The mattress will then slide more easily when it's time to make the bed. A single box of tile from Home Depot is about $20.

On the remote, have you checked the pouch that has the manuals? Maybe it's stuffed in there.
 

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Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Joe, One thing to keep in mind, the mattress is an RV King at 72" X 80". Many places will build special order sizes and Camping World has a few options a well. We went with a Select Comfort Sleep Number. Lightweight and comfy for both of us as we like different levels of firmness.
Dan's idea for tile on the platform works well and I also Like the idea of the shelf rack to raise the head a bit.
 

MCTalley

Well-known member
Or do like we did in our 3690 and replace with a standard queen and saw off the extra overhang on the platform. Gains several inches of walkaround space and easier to tuck sheets in at the head.

We picked up a memory foam topped mattress at Costco..super comfortable.
 

ParkIt

Well-known member
Or do like we did in our 3690 and replace with a standard queen and saw off the extra overhang on the platform. Gains several inches of walkaround space and easier to tuck sheets in at the head.

We picked up a memory foam topped mattress at Costco..super comfortable.
Ours came with the King size but we replaced it with a Queen Select Comfort which we have in the house (except that is the 'Eastern King' 6" wider than a standard King) with a foam topper from Costco. Funny part when we got it: the platform was marked on the underside for cutting it to a queen size and the tension arms were mounted properly for a Queen. It fits almost flush with the bed pedestal and adds more room, looking for something to mount on each side as small bedside shelves for watches and little stuff.
 

MCTalley

Well-known member
Interesting that your platform was marked. Can't remember that ours was.

We looked into all kinds of options for bedside shelves, especially in the new gap left inside the slide. We ended up using that gap to shove our extra pillows down into while we sleep and bought some small bedside tables for each side of the bed.
 

ParkIt

Well-known member
Interesting that your platform was marked. Can't remember that ours was.

We looked into all kinds of options for bedside shelves, especially in the new gap left inside the slide. We ended up using that gap to shove our extra pillows down into while we sleep and bought some small bedside tables for each side of the bed.
At the RV show this last weekend we saw a lot of units with Queen beds that had filled that space with 4" wide shelves (some were granite looking). I thought I would hurt myself on it so we laid on the bed, plenty of room and we found we wouldn't end up smacking them rolling over or getting up. Some were mounted just about flush with the mattress and some were 6" higher, it just depends how you sleep I guess.
 

Rickhansen

Well-known member
We replaced our factory RV King size mattress with a 10" Tempurpedic California King-Size mattress a few years ago. The Cal-King is the same size except about 4 inches longer. We can now buy Cal-King sheets off the shelf that fit perfectly. The added length is nice and not a problem when the slide is retracted, as the mattress compresses readily in that dimension. It certainly will keep the drawers shut on the dresser while traveling though. :)
 

Theresau

Well-known member
What was wrong with the original mattress? I thought these had been greatly improved....now pillow top...

Trying to get a good night's sleep in our new 2013 Big Country 3690 and have decided to look for a replacement mattress. Any recommendations? Also...contacted our dealer as to the location of our remote that controls the outside lights. They weren't sure that one came with it, but after they consulted with Heartland, it was determined that there should have been one with the unit. They said one was being sent, we'll see what happens.

Joe
 

Nabo

Southeast Region Director-Retired
They are pillow topped and a lot better than mattresses 3/4 years ago or older but they still have springs. We also added a 2" memory foam that we got from Wallyworld.
 

ParkIt

Well-known member
They really are nice but too stiff for us because of the springs. Those are still added since it isn't going to be on a mattress frame...which kind of makes no sense. The folks that bought ours need a mattress that would only sit on the floor, the wife had just had back surgery and realized rolling out of bed would be easier while she was healing. They also had a small dog that couldn't jump onto the bed that was her baby so it was a win win situation :)

I noticed more floor models at the RV show last weekend had already put Sleep Number beds in the higher end units like the Landmark/BH/BC class and since Camping World has now been selling them in their product line, I think it says something for the direction full timers or half timers are going. It would be a lot nicer to have wall holders for the controllers and holes drilled in the base to put the pump under the bed as an option but its pretty easy to do on your own.
 

Theresau

Well-known member
We've decided to replace the mattress as well. Thinking about going to queen so we can make up the bed more easily. We had a queen in the 2010 BH (ordered such - it had shelves on both sides). We decided to go ahead with the king this time but now would like to go back to a queen.

We measured the platform below and it's 64" wide - that would mean that there would be 2" on each side. Has that been everyone else's experience when converting back to a queen? If so, how is that working out?

Another option would be to cut the board under the mattress down so that it rests in the platform itself - would mean moving the struts - has anyone done that? Does the platform go all the way back to the end of the slide?

Turns out that the platform is not centered in the slide - will allow a 7-8" table on the left. We just happened to purchase one from Amazon (looks just like the Landmark table coincidentally...) - we currently keep this next to the bed on the right - put it in the closet when traveling - think that will work.

We're strongly considering a sleep number bed. CW has both a deluxe and a premier. The premier version has a pillow top and wireless remote but costs considerably more than the deluxe. Already have a topper that we could use on the deluxe.

I noted that the external device is designed to be placed at the rear of the bed. Has anyone installed this inside the bed storage?

Theresa
 

Theresau

Well-known member
We went with a sure thing and got the Parklane RV mattress. We had this mattress (Paramount) for 8 years - 2 RVs and loved it but it was sold with the 2010 BH. I tried to replicate it in our home more than once to no avail. We got a queen - going to cut plywood down so that an inch rests on the platform. CW and Amazon had the mattress. We bought it directly from the factory in 2005. Now wondering how the headboard will look since it's from end to end...
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
We're strongly considering a sleep number bed. CW has both a deluxe and a premier. The premier version has a pillow top and wireless remote but costs considerably more than the deluxe. Already have a topper that we could use on the deluxe.

I noted that the external device is designed to be placed at the rear of the bed.

Erika: Yes! We put the pump in our under-bed storage, cut a hole in the base for the cord, and cut access holes to route the fill tubes up out of the platform. I think there's a thread with pictures somewhere....

We love it! Went with the non-pillow top for cost, we have a 2" memory form topper on it and its perfect!





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Theresau

Well-known member
The Parklane mattress doesn't appear to be as nice as the Paramount we bought in 2005 (based on analysis - these are the same cos.) - for example, it's not padded on the sides. However, its feel iwhen lying down is very similar. We're waiting for it to fully expand to decide if it's a winner or not.

Joe cut down the plywood up to the edge of the platform box and rounded the edges of the plywood to prevent slivers. This left the plywood and platform at 64" wide. Next brainstorm was to use a bed skirt to cover up the extra 2" of the wood on each side - after we bought this, it came to me that we could just use the coverlet that had been on the king - all we had to do was fold it in the middle which made a pleat on the end. Works great as a bedskirt and we could make it as long as we wanted on the sides. Joe stapled this to the plywood so that we could more easily move the mattress around. I'm going to slit it right before the slide out and trim it in the slide out area. We don't expect this to get dirty - we'll just vacuum it.

I've done a quick test with the topper that we purchased at the rally - it is 70x80 - we can use this by folding over the edges - sheets will hold it down.

I think we may be a go. I'm a bit worried about the mattress still as it's not same as the one we sold with the 2010 BH.

Erika, if this doesn't work out we'll get the sleep number and set it up the way you did.

The 2010 BH had a queen - but it was still difficult to make the bed because the mattress was very tight within the slide out as Heartland added shelves on both sides. Also, the queen platform was narrower - the larger platform gives us more space for storage underneath and we're happy not to have the shelves which only accommodated a box of kleenex at best.

With this configuration, we have a bit of space on each side of the mattress in the slide out - MUCH easier to make the bed up. We can't add the table to the left as I thought we could - there is only 4" on that side and 2" on the right. And there is no issue with the headboard because of this. It added altogether 8" on the left - much easier to get to the bed.

Theresa
 

scottyb

Well-known member
I was ready to replace our king mattress and decided to try a 3" latex faom topper before buying a new mattress. That did the trick for around $300. It sleeps as well as our high end mattress at home. Got it on Amazon.
 

Theresau

Well-known member
We're returning the Parklane mattress - it never fully expanded. At this point I wouldn't recommend it even though it gets glowing reviews. You can actually grab the springs - there's no padding. The one that we sold with the BH was great.

Investigating Sleep Number next - going to try it out at a Sleep Number store. Thanks Erika for the install instructions.

Theresa

Erika: Yes! We put the pump in our under-bed storage, cut a hole in the base for the cord, and cut access holes to route the fill tubes up out of the platform. I think there's a thread with pictures somewhere....

We love it! Went with the non-pillow top for cost, we have a 2" memory form topper on it and its perfect!





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Theresa,

I searched and could not find the thread for the Sleep Number Bed install. Instead, here is a post on our blog that explains it with pics.
 

Theresau

Well-known member
Thank you for this. We liked the C4 version at the Sleep Number store. Just enough padding on top - we don't want the pillow top which is on the performance and CW's premiere. We were amazed at how quiet it was. I think I'm going to regret not getting this for the house too....

I guess the CW deluxe is the same as the C2 version - there is no actual top - just a cover????

Which version do you have?

Theresa,

I searched and could not find the thread for the Sleep Number Bed install. Instead, here is a post on our blog that explains it with pics.
 
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