Air Matress Inflation

[MDS69 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close MDS69]

Hi Guys,
I am considering one of those re-chargable type battery operated air pumps for inflating air matresses when camping. Has anyone here had any experience with them, good or bad. Are they 12V or 240V rechargable or both. How many matresses will they do, eg we have a double and 2 singles. After 2 days or so sometimes you need to top up the matresses, will this type of pump be capable.

Does anyone want to offer an alternative. I currently have a 12V cigarette lighter type which usually means I have to inflate prior to putting the matresses in the tent and with the double it can be tricky not to mention a pain in the ........

Thanks.

[lofty Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close lofty]

I know im stating the obvious, but charge it B4 going away :wink:

We went away with a group and one mate pulled into camp, pulled out the cardboard box containing the brand new mattress and pump, only to realise the pump needed charging ops: OOOPPS!!

[McBAIN Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close McBAIN]

i just bought the coleman rechargeable one in Kmarts last sale, still in the box though so will report back when i actually use it!

[dustie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dustie]

My BIL uses the coleman x 2 doubles and loves it. Think it takes 2 D Cell batteries. Its used to pump up and down both. I like the way it deflates when it comes to packing away, just effortless.

[goanna Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close goanna]

Im an Alarm Tech so have access to heaps of 12volt 7amh batterys, i made up a cig lighter plug on the end of a set of leads with aligator clips. then just use a cheap pump from kmart and can fill the beds in the tent. works great!

[MDS69 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close MDS69]

Im an Alarm Tech so have access to heaps of 12volt 7amh batterys, i made up a cig lighter plug on the end of a set of leads with aligator clips. then just use a cheap pump from kmart and can fill the beds in the tent. works great!

Actually that is not a bad idea. I was thinking about the alarm batteries for basic lighting until a better option (more cash) came along

[IRON-PAWW Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close IRON-PAWW]

You need to be careful of no name mattress inflators. Back when I'd only just started working after being a uni student for 5 years, I bought a cheapy plastic cigarette socket jobby. It made one hell of a racket! Like it sounded like it was going to fly apart at any time. I've now bought a coleman cigarette lighter unit which is much quieter, but not exactly silent either. You feel extremely guilty pulling into a campsite at 9:00 at night and causing the local richter scale to go crazy while you pump up your mattress. Something quiet is needed.

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

I used the tyre pump first time I went camping... took 45 mins to inflate the mattress ops: Didn't realize they work best under pressure (ie... tyres :roll: )

So, after that trip I went to BCF and got one of the 12v cig pumps and I have two 12v batteries that I use around the camp to run various things.
The cig pump inflates and deflates in around 3 or 4 mins. It's not that noisy but for a few mins it's fine.

Also the deflate function (as already mentioned) is great... makes packing it away much easier.

[waltec Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close waltec]

I use one of the jump start packs
They are fantasic for portable 12v!! I use them for inflators, air compressors, invertors and lights. And of course if the worse does happen you can jump start the car.

The small ones have a 7Ah gel cell, with the bigger ones have 17Ah.

Matt

[Brent Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Brent]

Id have to agree with Waltec, the 12V jump packs are the way to go as you can use the cigarette socket style pumps aswell as having them to run 12v fluros, fridges, starting the car, etc. Plus if you have a boat they are great to take out on them aswell. I never go bush or out to sea without one.

Brent

[StormyKnight Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close StormyKnight]

I reviewed this little beaty a while back on PP...
http://www.pradopoint.com/viewtopic.php?t=1823

Very handy as a 12V source plus as it turns out a 240V one too!

I just recently purchased an airbed in the K-Mart sale, after many years of saying to myself that I didn't like airbeds!....Anyway it seems that airbeds have changed quite a bit over the last 20 years or so...no longer are they soft & spongy or too low to the ground. We purchased a queen bed with inbuilt 240V compressor. I also bought a 12V coleman compressor for around $12 as a backup alternative. The adapters provided allow it to also pump up the bed if required.

Because we had a powered site (a rarity in itself for us), i was able to plug it in to the 240v supply each night & top up the pressure as with the change in air temperatures the pressure can vary a fair bit.

As it turns out the queen airbed takes up less room when packed up than two strechers & is much more comfortable & on par for time to setup & time to packup.

All in all I think I'm converted!

Cheers
Richard

[Simmo67 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Simmo67]

Thermarest Dreamtime XL Self Inflating mattress

Hi guys..

I was not having the most comfortable nights rest in my swag (Burke & Wills) - was waking up a bit sore in the back/shoulders, so I looked into getting THE BEST mattress I could find...

After a bit of research, the top of the range seems to be the Thermarest Dreamtime mattress. It has 3 main components, including a self inflating layer. The XL version is 8cm thick when fully inflated, 196cm long and 78cm wide - just the right size for a standard swag.

In Australia, would you believe it, these things are worth $450 !! But I reckon a good night's sleep is invaluable. The Australian Dollar is pretty good at the moment so I got one delivered to my door from Campsaver.com (in the United States) for $330 Ozzie Dollars!

I am very happy with it. Without crapping on - it is noticeably softer and more comfortable than the standard foam mattress that came with my swag and I will probably be buying some more of these in time to make sure everyone gets a good night sleep

Anyway, just thought I would pass this on. I would certainly recommend this self inflating mattress for 4WD Camping!

Here's a link to where I bought mine...http://www.campsaver.com/ItemMatrix.asp ... trixType=1

[hoppy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close hoppy]

Re: Thermarest Dreamtime XL Self Inflating mattress

Hi guys..

I was not having the most comfortable nights rest in my swag (Burke & Wills) - was waking up a bit sore in the back/shoulders, so I looked into getting THE BEST mattress I could find...

After a bit of research, the top of the range seems to be the Thermarest Dreamtime mattress. It has 3 main components, including a self inflating layer. The XL version is 8cm thick when fully inflated, 196cm long and 78cm wide - just the right size for a standard swag.

In Australia, would you believe it, these things are worth $450 !! But I reckon a good night's sleep is invaluable. The Australian Dollar is pretty good at the moment so I got one delivered to my door from Campsaver.com (in the United States) for $330 Ozzie Dollars!

I am very happy with it. Without crapping on - it is noticeably softer and more comfortable than the standard foam mattress that came with my swag and I will probably be buying some more of these in time to make sure everyone gets a good night sleep

Anyway, just thought I would pass this on. I would certainly recommend this self inflating mattress for 4WD Camping!

Here's a link to where I bought mine...http://www.campsaver.com/ItemMatrix.asp ... trixType=1

Simmo,
What a coincidence.... I was googling this item at exactly the same time you posted this last night!
I have the same back/neck issues and was looking for the best mattress and once I saw the Thermarest Dreamtime started searching for the best price. Found a place in Oz that have them for $399 but $330 is even better.

How long did it take for delivery? We will be away for all of August so need one in the next three weeks or so.

Hoppy

[Simmo67 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Simmo67]

Re: Air Matress Inflation

Hoppy it arrived from the states within the week.

Highly recommended them. Campsaver.com

[hoppy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close hoppy]

Re: Air Matress Inflation

Hoppy it arrived from the states within the week.

Highly recommended them. Campsaver.com

Simmo

I ordered a L and an XL.
They had better be good! 8)

Im sure they will be better than what we have at the moment, and we will be sleeping on them for a month straight.......

Worth the money I think.

Hoppy