Best Car Travel Inflatable Air Beds for Car Camping
We’re driving more and more and using our cars for longer journeys, into the wilderness and beyond and for many different reasons. We are really into our camping and I have been camping since before I can remember but sometimes taking camping equipment may not be the best option.
After some recent long journeys to visit our parents in the highlands and the odd long night waiting in the car to catch the sunrise to photograph some landscapes, I thought there must be something easier and better than this and there is, inflatable mattresses and air beds that fit your rear seats and boot. There are many different options out there and we have taken a look at a few different beds that you can inflate and fit into your car for a quick and easy good night’s sleep.
So what are car air beds? Well, they are air beds that either fit into your rear seats, creating one flat inflated surface that fills the footwell gaps of your car and makes a lovely soft bed for you to sleep on. The second option is a plug in inflating air bed which when you put your rear seats flat down will create a double bed size area for you and another to sleep on. Below you can see what they are like and how they fit into your car in a more detailed way.
They are the perfect option to use for a single night or emergency, or if you can fit one with your car seats down and flat you could make it quite comfortable and car camp instead of getting a tent or tarp set up. You have the added benefits of protection from the elements in a car and the only thing that needs setting up is the inflation of the bed.
If you are on the tall side, you may struggle to find the perfect option for car camping, hence why we have included a self-inflating camping mat. These are slightly bigger than the purpose-built car beds and if you have a larger car, a van or SUV, you’ll have better luck with that option.
If you are smaller than 6foot/180cm there are a couple of car air beds that will work for you and if you don’t mind curling up you can even get onto your back seats. We have reviewed two options which are between 135 and 145cm, so as long as your car is this wide at the rear seats you can fit these two air beds.
One of the problems we have realised with car camping is that the extra things you\ll usually have in your car boot or back seats will have to be put elsewhere.
In need of a quick and comfortable alternative to setting up camp? With car camping, you can simply inflate your mattress, move some seats about in your car and have a good night’s sleep.
If you are capable of putting your rear seats down completely flat, you can end up having a really comfortable night’s sleep with the Zooibuy boot air bed. This is the best car air bed we have reviewed, it’s the longest and will fit even tall people, has many different parts to it so will keep you comfortable even if you have random parts sticking out in your car. What we really love about it is its multi-functional use. If you can’t fit this into your boot, you can still use this on your rear seats. It doesn’t end there, it can also be used for camping in a tent or even in your own home – a real multi-functional and practical car air bed.
The Zonetech and Car Air mattresses are basically the same products but come in different materials. They can both be used out of the car too for children or smaller adults whilst on camping trips.
We included a self-inflating camping air bed by Andes, this is because if you are using it in a van, an estate car or another vehicle you can fit it into the back and within a few minutes have a comfortable place to rest your head for the evening. The car bed mat comes in a small bag and can be taken with you on your adventures or just left in your car for an emergency.
Best Car Travel Inflatable Air Beds
Review of Berocia Car Air Mattress
This is a review of the Berocia Car Air Mattress which has been designed to fit into a boot of a car with its seat folded flat. It’s almost a double size air bed and can provide a great night’s sleep if you are up for trying out some car camping.
The Berocia mattress is as it states designed to fit in the back of a pick-up truck with the back seats down, an estate car, MPV or a large saloon with flat back seats. It spreads out to a length of 180cm and a width of 130 cm so it is large for an air bed and should fit most people under 6foot tall.
The Berocia mattress requires you to fold down the back seats of your vehicle and with the electric pump supplied (to charge from your cigarette lighter), the air mattress will take a speedy 3 minutes to inflate the whole mattress. This includes 3 main compartments, a front pillow section, and two side cushion sections. It is able to make excellent use of most of the space in your vehicle and these extra sections will keep you and a partner comfortable and away from any protruding parts.
The material itself is a good quality PVC with an outer texture similar to a soft suede making it even more comfortable. It inflates to an average thickness of 12cm. Inflated fully it accommodates my partner who is 6ft 1 happily and normally would struggle with sleeping in the car. The material is designed to withstand cold temperatures to -25 degrees, I don’t have a thermometer on my car to test the outside temperature but I would say this worked well on a cold night as it warms up the air inside and keeps you warm too. When camping, you lose temperature from the ground first, so car camping can get around that as you’ll be protected from the heat sucking earth in your car and on a comfortable air bed.
This mattress is multi-functional and not just for the boot of your car, you can take advantage of the separate inflated compartments. This means that you can inflate only certain parts required. If you do not inflate the largest main chamber and side cushions then you are left with just the front two (as seen in picture below). It works well for a good (ish) night’s sleep lying on your back seats like this, however, you will need to bring your own pillows as in this set up the air mattress pillow are now against the seats of the car rather than as a pillow. The ribbing on the mattress now go horizontal which personally I don’t feel are as comfortable in comparison to when it is going vertically downwards in line with your body. Also you will need to tuck the remainder on the airbed underneath it which makes it a little lumpy.
The mattress comes with a large cardboard storage box to keep it in. In theory, it is great, it’s eco friendly and a good size. As you can imagine this size of air mattress isn’t going to compress down into a tiny little nylon bag because this is easily the largest car bed we’ve reviewed. The two main problems being it is too big to be able to carry it around generally, you would only put it in the car when you need it and also because it is cardboard and we love our outdoor activities, the cardboard box will get ruined if kept around wet and muddy items in your boot.
- Perfect for use in an SUV, estate or long saloon with flat back seats
- Comfortable night sleep
- Designed for use in cold weather, withstand -25 degrees C.
- Integrated pillow
- Multifunctional so can be used on the rear seats too
Cons
- Large in size does not pack down to a compact stow-able size
- Not self-inflating
- Not the thickest
- Not cheap
Verdict
The Berocia car air mattress is large, well designed and perfect for SUV’s, its adaptable nature makes it a great car purchase for any vehicle as you can use it just on the rear seats if you don’t mind curling up and where it is meant for in the boot.
Review of Zonetech Auto Inflate Car Air Mattress Bed
This is a review of the Zonetech Auto Inflate Car Air Mattress Bed. A small back seat inflating option for overnight stays in your car.
This car mattress bed has been designed to provide a good night’s sleep for when you need to stop for the night in your car (whatever the reason).
This is probably one of the smallest car air beds we have tried out, at 135cm long and 85cm wide, you aren’t going to be able to stretch out on it but for fitting on the back seats of the car it fits perfectly. (as long as you have a car which is 135cm wide) If you found it to be a little snug you could take out a little air from the mattress. I would consider this more of a single person bed option or a very cosy option for two kids. If you are taller than this, you could still fit in the back but you will have to curl up a little.
It is not self-inflating but doesn’t take much time to inflate and you don’t have to pump it up yourself, it comes with an electric 12v pump to connect to your cigarette lighter. There are also two extra pouches that need to be inflated that sit in the footwells at the back seat helping to wedge it in place. If you were to use the mattress at home you could just tuck these out the way. The mattress will last about 10 hours once pumped up so it is only a temporary solution which you won’t be able to leave inflated for a few days without re-inflating again.
The air bed is made from a high-quality PVC and also comes supplied with two small inflatable pillows. As well as working as a good travel bed solution for when you are tired, I have found it also works for children who need to have a little nap at a service station, while one of the adults goes to get some food.
This is one of the thickest car beds we have come across once it’s pumped up, so your biggest trouble will be getting up to drive again!
Pros
- Fit most car back seats
- Can also be used for camping and at home for guests
- Comes with two pillows
- Comfortable
- Easy to fold away
- The wonderful thickness of 45cm
Cons
- Small in size
- Not self-inflating
Verdict
This is a convenient, thick, durable small car air mattress, great for a single person, a child taking a nap or just a very comfortable place to rest on your road trip. The blocks are separate which you fit into your footwells, which means you can use the mattress by itself for camping in a tent as well, a great solution for a long camping trip with a child and used for a smaller person.
Review of Car Air Travel Inflatable Mattress
This is a review of the Car Travel Inflatable Mattress which is designed to fit onto the back seats of your car.
Made of well-constructed PVC and weighing in at 2.3kg it is fairly light for an inflatable mattress. Along with the mattress comes 2 decent size inflatable pillows, a repair kit, 3 air faucets, a pump and a storage bag to carry and store away in the boot.
The mattress literally takes two minutes to inflate, very speedy in comparison to air beds I have generally used when camping. With a thickness of 3 inches and inflating to a small double bed, this I have to say was very comfortable for just me to catch some sleep while I arrived too early for a ferry crossing. Personally, I should have brought along a few extra blankets to go on top of the mattress as it is not particularly soft to sleep on as it is bare plastic. You get a comfortable night’s sleep because of the comfy air bed features but lose out on the feel of it because of the plastic. I did however find the pillows provided excellent neck support while sleeping.
The mattress managed to fit snuggly into both our car’s back seat areas, providing a “cwtch” or “snug” environment transforming your car. The mattress is very strong and has the ability to carry two large people sleeping on it for a number of nights running without it deflating. The pillows are a little different as they are not made from the same material so these will need reinflating a little more after a night’s sleep.
In the middle of the mattress, there is an inflated “wedge” as I feel it should be called that can help keep the mattress in place by sitting in between the chairs but its actual purpose is to protect from any children sleeping on the mattress falling through the gap. There are also wedges that go into the footwells which keep the air bed level across the entire rear seat space.
Pros
- Portable
- Easy to clean
- Fits most car back seats
- 2 minutes to inflate
- Comes with 2 decent pillows
- Small double, suitable for two people
- Soft thickness of 40cm
Cons
- Although comfortable, not particularly soft to sleep on
- Not self-inflating
- Requires a car with a cigarette lighter
Verdict
This is an excellent car mattress for more than one person, it is strong, resilient and a comfortable night’s sleep with peace of mind it will not deflate on you during the night.
Car Air Bed Comfortable Travel Inflatable Back Seat Cushion Air Mattress For...
Review of SUV Self Inflating Mattress
This is a review of the Mattress for SUVs, a larger option for your car and travel needs. If you are on the tall side and looking at staying overnight in your car then this could be perfect for you.
This mattress is a simply designed air bed originally made for camping. We review it for car camping in this post.
It comes in a little nylon bag a bit like a large umbrella pouch, it is incredibly small as mattress bags go, but it is quite heavy at around 4kg as well. Good thing it can be left in your car at all times and not needed to be carried anywhere.
To inflate does not take much at all, this is a self-inflating mattress and different to the others, so all you need to do is turn the inflation valve to open the valve and it will start to inflate to about 90% full and then you just need to add a few puffs of air to top it off. What’s great about this is there are no wires, pumps or a need for a car to have a cigarette lighter. Just yourself and a little bit of air in your lungs to add the last bit to the mattress and your car bed is ready for you to sleep on.
With dimensions of 195 cm long by 130 cm wide this is an excellent size double air bed, my 6ft1″ partner even has a little bit of extra length at the end of his feet when this is fully rolled out.
To make this work as a car air bed you need to either have an SUV, estate car, MPV, van or large sedan which has foldable back seats for it to be laid out flat. As we do not have an SUV or a very large car, we used it in the backseat by only using the self inflate and not topping it up, allowing it to bend into a “U” shape. Our back seats fold down but not entirely flat, so it was like we were laying in a hospital bed, but it was comfortable and would suffice for a night or two.
At 10cm thick it isn’t going to feel like your bed at home, it does provide a cosy cocoon to sleep in for the night though. The mattress has no ribbed parts and is not covered in a soft suede material. Rather, it has a water-resistant polyester outer so putting a sheet between yourself and it would be more comfortable than using a sleeping bag.
- Simple design
- Packs away very small
- Easy to pack into a bag or stow away in a car
- Self-inflating
- Three choices of colours
- Fits two people
- The biggest option out of the car air beds we have reviewed
Cons
- No integrated head support or pillow
- A little heavy
- Not the strongest
- Thin in size
- Only suitable for occasional car use unless you have an SUV, MPV, estate or large van space
Verdict
This is a fantastic self-inflating mattress but whether it will work in your vehicle depends on whether you have a large car or an SUV. On the plus side, it requires little effort to inflate and is easy to keep in the car for when it could be needed
