What's the best mattress for my truck?

A Cross-Sectional Study has recently been published on-line by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health titled Factors Associated with Fatigued Driving among Australian Truck Drivers.

The study’s opening paragraphs summarise what we probably knew already: “Fatigued driving is one of the leading factors contributing to road crashes in the trucking industry.

“The nature of trucking, prolonged working time and irregular sleep patterns can negatively impact drivers’ health and wellbeing.

“In total, 332 drivers completed both the online and telephone surveys; 97 per cent were male, representing drivers from broad age groups and professional experience.

“The odds of being in the high-risk fatigue group were nearly three times higher in drivers who worked 40 to 60 hours per week, compared to those who worked less than 40 hours.

“Poor sleep increased the odds of high-risk fatigue by seven times,” the report said.

Obviously, there are many factors involved in ensuring drivers have quality sleep: safe rest stops that aren’t full of caravans and RVs, and sensible scheduling and flexible fatigue reduction laws being just some.

However, the importance of a comfortable sleeper or bunk mattress should not be ignored. Our testing of various types of mattresses over many years has shown that some types work better than others, but the common factor among the best beds is mattress quality.

In the early days of Australian post-WWII road transport there were no sleeping arrangements in trucks for drivers. Short-haul guys made do with putting a pillow on the steering wheel and resting on that. Some roomier cabs allowed a bed roll to sit across the seats.

Long-distance drivers did what they could: sleep in a swag under the trailer, make a bed space on top of a trailer tarp, or, in the case of pan trailers, leave a sleeping nook in the packed freight, near the back doors.

When sleeper cabs arrived we thought we’d all gone to heaven. However, the early sleeper cabs had pretty rudimentary mattresses and quality sleep wasn’t guaranteed.

The most common truck mattresses are steel innerspring and foam types, but within that broad definition is a host of differences. For example, a hybrid mattress combines foam and innerspring construction.

Innerspring mattresses use steel coil springs that are connected together and to steel upper and lower frames, or are located in separate fabric ‘pockets’.

‘Foam’ is a generic description, but there are two major types: plastic foam and latex foam. Latex is rubber-based and is much more expensive.

Our testing of non-enhanced polyurethane foam and latex mattresses has shown that the latex type is much more comfortable over a long period than plastic foam that compresses in higher pressure areas – under shoulders and hips – and can become unsupportive in a very short time.

We’ve heard of latex mattresses lasting several decades without deforming very much.

A third type of foam is ‘memory foam’ that consists mainly of polyurethane with additional chemicals that increase its viscosity and density. It’s also known as viscoelastic polyurethane foam, or low-resilience polyurethane foam.

Memory foam cells are open, allowing air to be displaced and that’s how this type of foam conforms to your body shape. Memory foam is most commonly used these days as a ‘mattress topper’ – a layer that sits on top of a foam or innerspring mattress. It can be incorporated in the mattress, or be supplied as a separate comfort layer.

The Flexima hybrid foam/spring mattress was originally designed for marine use and is different again, using polyurethane foam in conjunction with plastic, elliptic springs in pockets throughout the foam structure. Both the foam density and the spring tension are offered in varying comfort levels.

A feature of this design is that the individual springs can be ‘stacked’ in custom arrangements, to supply or reduce support in different areas of the mattress. Because the concept is so different, we bought and are trialling one of these throughout 2023/24.

We’ve bought and used five different brands of self-inflating foam-filled mattresses over the years; mainly for camping, but we also evaluated them as alternatives to traditional sleeper cab mattresses. We didn’t think they’d be suitable for regular use – even the best brands state that they’re not designed for daily use – but we did think they’d be OK for drivers who use their bunks only occasionally.

The principle of self-inflaters is simple: the polyurethane foam structure has air channels that fill naturally when the end valves are opened. When the mattress has filled with ambient pressure air, or slightly pressurised air for a firmer feel, the valves are screwed tight.

The combination of air and foam provides relatively normal mattress support.

Unfortunately, our experience with all self-inflating mattresses is that they eventually develop slow leaks that are almost impossible to detect and repair. Yes, we taped up the valves and used the soapy water, tyre-leak detection method, as well as dunking it in a swimming pool and looking for air bubbles. We also applied sealing adhesive around the seams to no avail.

There’s no substitute for the ‘try before you buy’ process when it comes to sleeper cab mattress selection. If you’ve been happy with the original mattress, then replace it with one the same: otherwise check out the several Australian companies that cater to the sleeper market.

The best suppliers offer a custom-size service, because there are common sizes, but no industry standard. Obviously, if you need a mattress with individual shaping, it’s probably best filled by an all-foam unit that can be custom-cut with virtually any angle or curve.

We know of some truckies who’ve selected foam sleeper mattresses that can serve double-duty on camping holidays. By selecting a sleeper cab mattress size that is around half a queen size, they can buy two and zip them together on the camper trailer or caravan bed base. Blokes normally choose a firmer mattress than their spouses, so having a zip-together pair – one firm, one softer – makes it easy to have camping comfort for both parties.

As important as mattress comfort is mattress hygiene. The best mattresses have removable covers that can be washed regularly.

Condensation can occur in any space with moist air and temperature variation. Humans breathe out water vapour, so a truck sleeper is a walk-up start for water droplets to form on cold surfaces. Damp areas can quickly turn mouldy and that’s a health risk.

The cover and the core of the mattress need to have adequate fresh air circulation, to prevent mould developing. The same goes for the bed base that should have ventilation holes, or a dedicated mesh-style barrier between the bed base and the mattress, to encourage air circulation.

If possible, buy the best mattress you can find and don’t buy solely on price. Our testing has shown that the best quality mattress is a more important consideration than the type of mattress.

The haggling should start at around a grand and may be up to double that figure.