MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: galah on March 29, 2018, 03:10:46 PM
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I get to spend about 50 nights a year in a swag, and as I'm getting even more ancient comfort matters, especially a soft mattress.
I have discovered that an exped megamat 10 air mattress is a particularly good thing under the swag. I don't like it in the swag as its too hard/too big to roll up. Works nicely under the swag. Also have a 50mm foam mattress in the swag, as well. The exped mat is nice, much better than the oztrail one I used to use.
One problem is that the mattress is a touch narrower than the swag (mitchell king single ), which means that the ends of the swag poles (if thats the term for the curly metal things middle and both ends) still sit on the ground. This reduces the headroom in the swag by ~100mm , or however thick the mattress is. Which is a big fraction of the available space.
My solution is some nice plastic bowls from the local IGA. Maybe its a noodle bowl. $5 for a set of 4. Drill a couple of slotted holes in the bottom , loop through a reuseable cable tie, and that sits under the pole to lift the swag. A couple at the head end, tied off to the swag pole ring keeps it in place. 2 more in the middle seem to stay there all by themselves. My feet don't need more headroom.
Cable ties through all 4 keep the bowls nested together in the back of the vehicle too. And in that nice shade of pink - nobody is going to nick them.
(http://)
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Necessity is the mother of invention. :cup:
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Regarding ancient comfort matters, we find the climb up from the ground can be just as bad as anything uncomfortable. Now we have stretchers to put the self inflating mattress on with bed on top of that. I have seen some set the swag on a stretcher but that is starting to get a bit fiddly when the stretcher swag/tents are starting to become more common.
Something like these guys
https://www.tentworld.com.au/swags/stretcher-tents (https://www.tentworld.com.au/swags/stretcher-tents)
https://www.kulkyne.com.au/swags/homestead-swags (https://www.kulkyne.com.au/swags/homestead-swags)
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Swag on a stretcher....That was my solution, but yeah...Necessity is the mother of invention.
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I don't have issues climbing out of the swag from ground level. Well, not yet, touch wood.
I get to roll the swag and then mattress soon after, which seems like it would be an issue on a stretcher. And also a real challenge if getting out of a swag is hard.
Its maybe 40 years since I last used a stretcher, and they were pretty horrible then. Tight support bands at each frame bit into my back. Are modern stretchers much better than vintage ones? Alternatively, how thick a mattress is needed above the stretcher? I considered the stretcher/swags, but memories of stretchers stopped me and I went for a nice mattress. Am I missing anything here?
I tend to choose a piece of ground that is fairly flat for the mattress. Don't see how that helps a stretcher. I'm sure a stretcher would be better in heavy rain that makes puddles....but thats why you look at the ground first to choose a spot.
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I too, also get around 50 nights in the swag a year. I have a megamat and have never used it yet in 3 years. No way would I gin around with that and a swag. For me, a swag on a stretcher is the bomb, and I can get out of a ground level swag without issue. My swag is just a cheapie, so the 5cm internal mattress is pretty average, but I've never had a bad sleep with my swag on a stretcher that was due to mattress/stretcher comfort. The swag partly overhangs the stretcher, but being a self supporting dome, its a non issue.
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I too, also get around 50 nights in the swag a year. I have a megamat and have never used it yet in 3 years. No way would I gin around with that and a swag. For me, a swag on a stretcher is the bomb, and I can get out of a ground level swag without issue. My swag is just a cheapie, so the 5cm internal mattress is pretty average, but I've never had a bad sleep with my swag on a stretcher that was due to mattress/stretcher comfort. The swag partly overhangs the stretcher, but being a self supporting dome, its a non issue.
Love your work Shane.
I am still using an old style flat swag on a stretcher. Great to just flick the canvas back on a warm night or for look at the stars. Not so great if there are bugs about.
I stick a thermarest on top of the foam, probably not necessary but I rarely have a bad night's sleep.
One of those dome swags could be a buy later in the year.