Sleep Quality in an RV: Why You're Tired and How to Fix It

If there's one thing we hear from fellow RVers more than anything else, it's "I can't sleep in this thing." And folks, we get it. We really do. When we first started full-timing in our 2018 Tiffin Allegro, we were dragging through every day like zombies. Linda was taking naps at two in the afternoon. I was falling asleep in my camp chair by seven PM. We thought maybe full-time RVing just wasn't for us.

Turns out, it wasn't the lifestyle. It was the mattress. And about four other things.

Let's start with the mattress because honestly it's the biggest one. RV manufacturers put the cheapest, thinnest, most uncomfortable mattresses they can find in these rigs. We're talking maybe four inches of foam that feels like sleeping on a pool noodle. Our factory mattress was so bad that after six months, Linda had a permanent dent on her side. Not a good sign.

But the mattress is only part of it. Here's what else we figured out:

Temperature control is everything. RVs are basically tin cans and they heat up fast. We tried running the roof AC at night but it cycles on and off and it's loud — kept waking us up. What finally worked was a combination of things: a Maxx Air fan vent in the bedroom (we installed it ourselves, well, Mike did while Linda read the instructions out loud), blackout curtains from Amazon, and a BedJet climate control system that blows cool air under the sheets. That BedJet was a splurge at $449 but oh my goodness. Worth it.

Noise is trickier than you'd think. At home, you're used to the same sounds every night. In an RV, every campground sounds different. Dogs barking, generators running, that one neighbor who thinks midnight is a great time to have a loud phone conversation outside (we're looking at you, guy at Lake Texoma). We started using a LectroFan white noise machine and it blocks out almost everything. Linda likes the "brown noise" setting. I prefer the fan sound. We compromise by alternating nights.

Level your rig properly. This sounds so basic but we slept on a slight angle for weeks before we realized it was messing with us. Even a two-degree tilt means you're unconsciously bracing yourself all night. We got a set of Andersen Levelers and now Mike obsessively levels the rig before we even unhook the truck. It matters more than you'd think.

Watch what you eat and drink in the evening. We love our campfire time with a glass of wine, but we learned the hard way that alcohol before bed absolutely wrecks sleep quality. We moved our wine to happy hour — four or five PM — and switch to decaf tea after dinner. Linda also quit eating anything after seven PM and says she sleeps much better for it.

One more thing we'll mention: pillows. We each brought our own pillows from home and they were fine for a while, but they went flat after about a year of RV life (probably the humidity and being packed away during travel days). We switched to Coop Home Goods adjustable pillows where you can add or remove fill. Game cha — well, they made a really big difference. Linda's got hers stuffed full and firm. Mine's a medium loft. To each their own.

We sleep great now. Eight hours most nights, which at our age feels like a miracle. If you're struggling, start with the mattress and work your way through the list. Good sleep makes everything else about RV life better — the drives, the hikes, the cooking, even the arguments about directions. (We still have those. But well-rested arguments are much more productive.)