BT Cruiser 5245 mattress

[Beachnut]

My husband and I are new to the RV world, and purchased a BT Cruiser 5245. What is with the crazy mattress? It never dawned on me when we were considering our purchase that this mattress was going to be a problem.
Wondering if anyone has replace theirs with something else? Thank you!

[CaryL]

Greetings and welcome to the forum.

I too have recently purchased a BT Cruiser 5245. Actually when inspecting the BTC when picking it up, the foot section of the mattress was badly ripped probably from the slide out being demonstrated while on the lot. We are still waiting for the replacement mattress to arrive from Gulf Stream.

So far I have:
Sanded all the rough edges of the plywood underneath to prevent the mattress catching.
Countersunk the underneath screw heads to prevent rips.
Installed a wedge shaped molding piece under the cell phone cutout (to allow the top mattress to slide upward over the trim easier)
Added 1 1/2 inch memory foam over the mattress.

The above seems to have helped the operation a good bit.
The memory foam mattress pad made it much more comfortable and helped keep the bedding together as it slides in and out.

Still working through the issues though. For example we are using a fitted sheet but of course the top edge of it can't be tucked in because of the mattress attachment.

Changing to a different mattress could take a fair amount of engineering as a single piece mattress would almost need to double over. It might be possible to have a hinged mattress where the bottom of the mattress would fold upward and slide up the wall.

I suspect there are many more tricks to be learned.
I too would appreciate any pointers as well.

best wishes,
Cary Lawson
BT Cruiser 5245
Ohio

[Beachnut]

Cary,
Thank you for the suggestions~I think sanding the plywood base is an especially good idea as I have noticed sawdust on the floor after extending the slide. The cover on the mattress is of poor quality, for sure....we, too, have several tears in ours.
Something which helped us was to detatch the mattress from the wall. Of course, we have to push the top back when extending the slide, but at least we can use the fitted sheet without it popping off all the time.

~Mary

[CaryL]

Here is one thing I tried that at least eases the wear and tear on the upper mattress and might reduce strain on the slideout motor. I added a bevel shaped trim piece underneath the side storage nook.

[Beachnut]

Hi Cary...
That looks great, and I can see it will def protect the mattress covering. I'm interested to see photos of your other improvements, if possible. So glad to have found this forum...bouncing ideas around will certainly help!

We also have attached a pipe underneath for the sewer hose, and installed a strut on the large outside storage door. The smaller ones have magnetic closures to hold them open when needed.

Other modifications: replaced the hot water heater with a tankless unit (we used an rv last year that had one and we are hooked)
Added extra lights on the back of the rv above the tailights
Much of what we've done is purely for cosmetic reasons~I am also in the process of making insulating/reflecting panels for the cab windows. I may redo the curtain that snaps on under the tv so it actually reaches the floor. Purchased an inexpensive roll of indoor/outdoor carpet, cut it to fit in the cab--the floor is so slippery, the mats won't stay put.

[Beachnut]

Back window

[CaryL]

You are doing very nice work and I really like these great ideas.

I am presently researching a single piece outside windshield and side windows covering to block the sun. Some of them are attached by magnets so there is no impact on the exterior of the coach. I am also very interested in your cab carpeting project because we too find the mats don't stay put.

For the curtain under the TV we are looking to replace it as well with something that is heavier or includes a liner both for insulation and added privacy.

Attached below are some of the enhancements we have made so far. Note the toilet paper holder took some work creating shims to mount on such a narrow surface.
Disclaimer: These changes I have done with only a basic handyman skill set. These may not meet some sort of automotive or RV standards.

[CaryL]

Attached I added magnets to hold the sewer compartment door. One caution is to make sure the door is closed when extending or retracting slide out.

I made the kitchen sink cover from a cutting board and glued plywood piece underneath so it seats in the sink. Painted the plywood with polyurethane.

[CaryL]

Added storage under the dinette by making the underlying plywood panels removable and with finger holes. The rear dinette required mounting the wiring under a brace and attaching to back wall.

The last photo is from within the wardrobe pointing outward toward the fridge. For some reason the picture rotated 90 degrees. It is to show the aluminum angle screwed in behind the center wardrobe door support to brace it better for opening the doors.

[Macman43]

Has anyone replaced their mattress with a "real" mattress? If so, where did you buy it? I've tried using a foam topper--hated it. The mattress that came with the unit just isn't comfortable and makes it worse for me as I am a bad sleeper when not in my bed at home.

[CaryL]

Hi Macman43, check out this posting from Beachnut:
https://www.gsowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6332

They had a custom mattress created for the 5245 that was 2 sections with a fabric "hinge" on one side so the bottom of the mattress would slide up the bathroom wall as the slide out retracted. I am still using the original wedge mattresses but looking for improvements as it still does not work smoothly.

Good luck and I will look forward to your innovations!