Tochta Mattress Review: The Best Choice For RV Lovers?

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kieran9

RVer Extraordinaire at RV Pioneers

Kieran James Cunningham’s first vehicle was an RV. 20 years later, he’s tried and tested over 20 models of RV and dreamed of hitting the road in at least a hundred others. In the past, he’s driven his motorhome from coast to coast across the USA (three times!) and through 21 countries in Europe.

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• Tochta Mattress Review: The Best Choice For RV Lovers? - August 26, 2019
• The Best Wireless Backup Camera for RVs – Do You Really Need One? - April 24, 2019

Modern RVs are blessed with so many newfangled conveniences and amenities that they truly boast that home-away-from-home feels that leads so many of us to choose the RV lifestyle in the first place, right? However, sometimes this feeling is up to the point where we turn in for the night. We miss a good night’s sleep on a quality mattress and that is what we will go over in this Tochta mattress review.

For many of us, this is where the dream takes a slight turn for the worst, and we start longing for our fixed address and the comfort of our regular bed mattress.

My Top Picks

• Utopia

• Divini Mattress

• Journey Mattress

For many years, the quality of the mattresses available to RV campers just wasn’t in keeping with the upgrades and other developments in RV designs, fittings, and accessories. Many an RV camper was forced into sketchy, far-from-perfect DIY jobs or settling for a sleeping setup that was, at best, less than optimal.

Thankfully, these days a number of manufacturers are creating bespoke RV mattresses that fit sleeping areas of all shapes and sizes and offer no-compromise, at-home kinda comfort for folks who like to do their sleeping on the road.

One of the most impressive of these manufacturers is California-based brand Tochta, whose offerings we will be taking an in-depth look at in this article to judge whether or not they merit their place on our shortlist of options when looking to upgrade our RV’s comfort levels come bedtime.

Before we get down to our review of Tochta’s RV mattresses, let’s first take a quick look at some of the factors that go into the making of the best RV mattress.

What to Look for in an RV Mattress

When buying a new mattress for our RV, there are a few stand-out features we need to look out for and use to measure one quality mattress against another. Here are the most important of them:

Comfort

Certain components of our RV setup can be measured using a wide variety of metrics (convenience and practicality, for example) that are not the be-all-and-end-all of that component’s value or desirability to the buyer.

With mattresses, however, comfort is non-negotiable—if this one attribute is missing, any others it might have can be quickly overlooked, and the mattress in question discounted as an option.

Knowing how comfortable a camper mattress will be once installed in your RV, however, can be a tricky business, particularly given than with many models we can’t simply drive to the showroom to try it out for ourselves. Instead, we have to base our decision on a number of factors that go into the mattress’s construction to get a better idea of how it will perform in the comfort stakes once installed in our ride.

In addition to the materials used (see below), some of the most important factors that contribute to a mattress’s comfort levels include firmness, support, and thickness.

With all three of these qualities, the ideal mattress for you will largely come down to your own personal preferences. That said, varying levels of firmness, support, and thickness offers different levels of comfort to different types of sleeper and varying performance levels that may help sway your decision one way or the other if you’re undecided.

Firmness and Support

Firmness refers to how hard or soft a mattress feels and different sleepers will prefer mattresses at varying points along the firmness scale, depending on their own needs, preferences, and sleeping style.

Most mattress manufacturers measure the firmness of their mattresses on a scale of 1 to 10, with one being the softest and ten the firmest. Although very subjective, the firmness that will be best for you will depend on a variety of tangible factors, including body type, weight, height, and how you tend to sleep.

The average preferred firmness level typically falls into the 4-7 range, but finding the ideal mattress for you may mean shooting either side of this range or selecting a mattress with a more precise rating (some offer ‘umbrella’ ratings that range, for example, from 3 to 6, or 5 to 8).

Deciding on the ideal firmness for you is obviously simplified if you can get into a salesroom and try the mattress out for yourself. If this isn’t possible, however, a few general guidelines may help you find the right firmness for you.

Typically, side sleepers prefer a mattress with soft to medium-level firmness (usually something in the 3-6 range), as a softer mattress can relieve pressure points on the neck and back areas and can also contour to the curves of their body.

Back sleepers usually opt for a mattress that is slightly firmer as softer models often lack the support needed to keep the spine aligned during sleep and because their weight is more spread out, don’t require the same ‘give’ from their mattress. Ideally, this means opting for a firmness level in the 4-7 range.

Stomach sleepers require more support than both side and back sleepers owing to the force applied by their torso on the material. As such, they usually find a firmer mattress in the 5-8 range most comfortable and least likely to cause lower back pain, something that can happen easily on a saggier, softer mattress that doesn’t provide enough push back and allows their midriff to drop.

Thickness

Several factors come into play when deciding on the best thickness of mattress for your needs. The most important of these include body weight, health and medical conditions, mobility issues, and, more generally, the height at which you prefer your mattress to be when sleeping and when getting in and out of bed.

With regard to body weight, prospective buyers should consider the weight of each individual sleeper as opposed to combined weight. And as a general rule, most sleepers who weigh up to 220 pounds will be perfectly comfortable on a 9-inch mattress.

Those weighing above 220 pounds, however, may be better off with a 10-inch model as this will reduce the chance of excess compression (which leaves the mattress feeling stiff and hard when consolidated under your weight) and coming into contact with the foundation beneath the mattress. For sleepers who weigh over 275 pounds, 12-inch models of the mattress are usually a better option for the same reason.

Sleepers with certain health and medical conditions can benefit from using mattresses of varying thickness, depending on the type and extent of their condition. As an example, sufferers of back pain often sleep better and more comfortably on thinner and firmer mattresses, while those with conditions like arthritis, hip pain, shoulder pain, and fibromyalgia typically prefer mattresses with beefier, soft layers are both loftier and have fewer pressure points.

The final factor to consider with regard to thickness is the overall height of your bed with the mattress installed. While not necessarily a dealbreaker for most buyers, if you have mobility issues or like to sit on your bed when not sleeping, a mattress that’s too thick may make life a little more complicated than the added cushioning is worth. By the same token, mattresses that are too thin—and, thus, low—may also make getting in and out of bed difficult for some sleepers.

So, what’s the solution? Most buyers will know from their bed at home, just what height of the bed is most suitable to their needs. Where possible, we recommend trying to reproduce your home setup as closely as possible in your RV. And to do so, moreover, the best choice is always to make adjustments to the bed foundation rather than the mattress whenever possible.

If you choose a skinnier or chunkier mattress in order to make your bed the ideal height, you risk skimping on support or opting for an overly soft mattress to satisfy a need that is less likely to impact comfort and convenience than the style and composition of your mattress.

Layering

While the range of different mattress layering systems on offer is too vast to cover here, a few more general observations can be made that may help you decide how important this factor is while buying a new mattress.

Generally speaking, budget mattresses consist of a single, uniform layer of the same material. While these may be suitable for sleepers with no health issues and capable of catching their Zs anywhere, for the rest of us the comfort-level this type of mattress offers just isn’t going to cut it in the long term.

Mattresses that use a more customized and complex layering system are beneficial for a number of reasons. First up, they offer the buyer more choice, allowing you to opt for varying degrees of support, cushioning, thickness, plushness, and pretty much dial in the comfort level of your mattress to suit your needs. Most of these mattresses use a comfort and support layer in combination with a cover, though some models will also use additional layers with coil springs, foams, gels, and/or natural fibers.

Below, we’ve added a quick overview of each layer and how it contributes to a mattress’s overall performance:

The support layer is usually made up of either springs or foam or both. Springs are the metal coils found inside a mattress that provides support while you sleep and are found on both budget and pricier models of the mattress.

The downside to springs is that the coils in many models can create pressure points (particularly for side and face sleepers) and they tend to have a shorter lifespan than foam models.

High-density foam blend mattresses are usually naturally hypoallergenic (because they offer no hiding place for mites within the body of the mattress!), have a longer lifespan, and create fewer pressure points in areas around the hips and shoulders.

The comfort layer is the layer that comprises the first few inches of materials beneath the mattress cover. This layer can come in a variety of forms and thicknesses designed to cater to the needs and preferences of different types of sleeper.

The materials used in comfort layers are usually one of the following: memory foam, latex, gel-infused foam, soft white fibers, cotton, wool, or, less commonly, silk. The benefits of each type of comfort layer will be discussed in our materials section, below.

Mattress comfort layers are a crucial feature because they perform a variety of functions necessary to get a good night’s sleep, including responsiveness to your sleeping position, body shape, and movement, distributing your weight evenly to provide pressure relief, core support, and alignment of the spine.

*TIP: One thing to watch out for when buying your mattress is the thickness of the comfort layer. If this layer is too thick, you may sink down too far into the mattress, which can cause pain and improper spinal and body alignment. Conversely, if the foam is too thin, heavier sleepers can weigh the foam down so much that the comfort layer does not provide enough in the way of cradling, support, and comfort.

Materials

One of the most important contributors to a mattress’s overall suitability for any sleeper are the materials used in its construction. The number of options out there can make things confusing, however, and so to help you choose we’ve added a short summary of each material along with its pros and cons for different types of sleeper.

Memory Foam

Memory foam is made with a combination of polyurethane and a handful of chemicals used to adjust the foam’s firmness and density. Memory foam softens when heat and pressure are applied by the sleeper and bounces back to its original shape when that pressure is removed. This quality means memory foam mattresses conform to the shape of the sleeper’s body and your sleeping position and offer a very soft and snug feel.

While for some sleepers this can feel like ‘smothering,’ for others, it provides the ideal relief from pressure points and top-to-toe support without the feeling of stiffness found in other materials.

The downsides to memory foam are that it takes longer than other foams to respond to movement, meaning that if you’re a tosser and turner, it may take a while for the materials to become comfortable between movements and changes in sleeping position.

Typically, memory foam also has a bit of a bit rep for retaining heat, though, in recent years, many manufacturers have discovered ways of working around this flaw by integrating materials with cooling properties.

Finally, thicker memory foam layers can leave you feeling like you’re sinking into the mattress—something that may appeal to some sleepers but less so to others!

Memory foams come in varying densities that are usually measured on the ILD (Indent Load Deflection) scale. This scale measures the density of memory foams from 1 to 20, with 1 representing the lowest and 20 the highest density.

Low-density foams are usually the least durable and do not conform to the sleepers shape, size, or position as well as medium or high-density foam but, on the flip side, do respond much quicker to movement. Conversely, high-density memory foams offer a very cradled and supportive solution but are slower to respond to movement.

All told, memory foam mattresses are usually a good choice for sleepers in search of a mattress that hugs the body, provides relief from pressure points, and more full-body support than latex or polyurethane foam models.

Latex

Generally speaking, latex offers excellent ‘bounce,’ responsiveness, and cooling properties. This makes it a great option for those taking trips in warmer climates, who are ‘warm sleepers,’ or who want a similarly cushioned feel to memory foam without the (perhaps) smothering, huggy feel that results from memory form conforming to the contours of your body.

On the downside, latex mattresses are typically more expensive…

Coils

The most traditional type of mattress material out there, spring coils offer a simple, usually cheaper option that uses varying numbers of coils to provide varying levels of support and comfort.

As a general rule, the more coils used in any mattress, the more comfortable it will be, as those with fewer coils can often feel lumpy or have pressure points where large, isolated coils are in contact with the body of the sleeper.

On the ‘pro side,’ coil-based mattresses are usually more affordable, offer great edge support, cooling, and bounce, but can lose responsiveness over time and, in certain models, feel a touch on the lumpy side, particularly for sleepers above average weight.

Pillow-top

Pillow top layer mattresses are those that use a variety of support and comfort layers (coil, latex, memory, natural fibers, etc.), but have an additional layer of cushy, soft material sewn into the mattress cover for extra comfort.

These mattresses are a good choice for those who like a little extra cushioning and a cloud-like feel but can often feel a little short on support for those accustomed to firmer mattresses.

Hybrid mattresses

Hybrid mattresses are those that attempt to combine the best features of two or more mattress materials (latex, memory foam, polyurethane foam, spring coils, natural fibers, etc.) whilst simultaneously reducing the flaws or drawbacks of those materials, thereby providing the sleeper with the best of both worlds.

As an example, a latex-and-memory-foam hybrid might offer the support and snug feel common to memory foam models in combination with the ‘bounce’ and improved wicking and cooling power of latex.

As you might have guessed, hybrid models are a good choice for particularly fussy sleepers or those who have tried single-material mattresses and are still on a Captain Ahab-style pursuit of the ideal mattress for their needs. If standard mattresses haven’t worked for you thus far, a hybrid model could well be your Moby…

Polyurethane foam

Polyurethane foam is used in the comfort layer of many mattresses and offers a kind of budget version of memory foam that, in some cases, offers a more suitable option to certain types of sleeper.

While poly foam models usually lack the full-body support of memory foam mattresses and don’t conform to the contours of your body quite so well, they are usually much more responsive and, as such, are a good option for those who tend to shift around a lot in their sleep.

Like memory foam models, polyfoam mattresses come in varying densities, and the higher the density, the better the performance and durability of the mattress will be.

Size/ Customization

For RV buyers, deciding on the size of your mattress is very simple. In a few words, if it doesn’t fit your bed precisely, don’t buy it! Those who do choose to buy an ill-fitting mattress most often live to regret it, lamenting the excess inches or lack of them that results in their sleeping area having a slightly shoddy, slapdash appearance and also entails an inevitable compromise in terms of comfort.

(And if you think it might be possible to resize your mattress with a little bit of scalpel, saw and needlework, think again…we’ve seen many a mangled mattress in our day on account of such misguided notions!)

Ideally, you should either buy a pre-sized mattress that matches the exact dimensions of the bed area in your RV or buy from a seller who can use a custom size for the mattress to fit that space exactly. With so many sellers now offering customized service, there’s really no excuse to be doing it any other way.

Got all that?

Great! Then let’s get down to our review of Tocta’s range of RV mattresses.

Tochta RV Mattresses Review

Tochta currently offers three different models of mattress that will have varying levels of appeal to buyers working on varying budgets, with differing spacial limitations, and with different preferences or needs as regards sleeping style: the Journey, Divini, and Utopia. Each mattress also has a number of design features and uses different materials or construction that will appeal to varying buyers.

Perhaps the most appealing thing about Tochta mattresses for RV owners is the ability to order a custom size for any of the available models to the specific shape and RV mattress size of your bed area and tailor the layering, comfort, and support levels to your needs as a sleeper.

If the measurements and mattress size you require are not listed within the preset parameters on their online adjustment tool, you can simply contact the customer service team for a personalized Totcha mattress, who will, in most cases, be able to pull a custom RV mattress out of the hat to meet your specific mattress size needs.

Those preset parameters are as follows:

• 2” – 10” thick
• 2” – 88” wide
• 2” – 100” long

And standard sizes (in any thickness needed) measure:

• RV Bunk – 34″ x 74″
• RV Full – 48″ x 74″
• RV Queen – 60″ x 74″
• RV King – 72″ x 78″
• Short King – 72″ x 80″
• East King – 76″ x 80″
• Cal King – 72″ x 84″

Tochta also offer the option to make notch, angle, and radius cuts in the corner of your mattress, meaning if you have an irregular space (owing to the presence of a doorway, bedside table, etc.) you can simply have them chop off the necessary amount of material to accommodate your RV’s other fixtures.

Now that we have seen a more general overview of what Tochta has to offer let’s take a more detailed look at each of the three models of mattress in its catalog.

Utopia

Although all of Tochta’s mattress is fairly upscale compared to the average market mattress offerings, the Utopia, in particular, is geared towards buyers looking for a little bit of luxury come bedtime.

The Utopia uses what Tochta terms a “Dual-Phase,” quick recovery comfort layer that provides above-average support, excellent responsiveness, and a nice balance between firmness and form-hugging conformity with the contours of your body.

This combination makes it the ideal choice for side and back sleepers as it provides both plenties of support whilst also eliminating any potential pressure points. As an added bonus, the gel infusion foam used in the Utopia adapts to the weight of different sleepers, meaning it’s a one-size-fits-all kinda option as regards user weight.

One of the most commonly cited drawbacks to mattresses that use memory foam is their tendency to overheat during the night. With the Tochta Utopia, however, this is not the case.

This mattress’s gel foam is made up of thousands of tiny gel beads that wick away body heat from the surface, thereby providing a level of thermal regulation commonly found in only much more expensive models of the mattress or in mattresses made with other materials.

In terms of support, the Utopia is also a very high performer. Using a four-layer construction that includes high-density foams, latex, and gel memory foam, this is a mattress that does everything to eliminate hot spots, pressure points, and provide optimal support for all weights and types of sleeper.

As with the Divini (below), buyers who choose the Utopia can select varying levels of firmness for either side of the mattress to accommodate the different preferences or needs of both bed partners.

Divini Mattress

For the choosiest of sleepers out there, they don’t come much better than Tochta’s Divini Mattress. This mattress is, in fact, more a concept than a mattress per se, because by using Tochta’s customization tool buyers can work with almost a blank slate and select from the numerous available options to create the ideal mattress for their needs.

The customization options for this mattress include layer adjustment to dial in comfort, support, and firmness levels, split-side firmness customization, corner cuts, a choice of thickness, three high-density support layer options, and nine different firmness levels.

Journey Mattress

The Journey is the most basic of Tochta’s mattresses, and Tochta does not offer the same customization options with this model as with the Divini or Utopia. However, this mattress is much more affordable and still has a lot to offer for buyers looking for a durable, reliable, and comfortable mattress.

Like the Utopia, the Journey uses a gel comfort layer that provides great temperature regulation and a cozy, huggy feel that offers enough responsiveness and push back to avoid that oft-maligned sinking feeling found in many softer mattresses.

The firmness level of the Journey is not customizable and is described by Tochta as a medium, meaning it’s a suitable choice for those who aren’t too particular about the firmness of all their mattress but not a great choice for sleepers who usually prefer models at either extreme of the firmness scale.

The Journey is also available in varying heights (ranging from four to ten inches), uses a three-layer, memory foam layer, and can be cut at the corners to fit into irregular sleeping spaces.

While this mattress doesn’t offer the same customization options or the luxury of either the Divini or the Utopia, it is nonetheless a durable, affordable option that offers great support and comfort for less fussy sleepers who are happy to forego the frills of either of the more upscale options.

Tochta RV Mattress FAQs

Tochta RV Mattress: The Verdict

Whatever your needs or preferences as a sleeper, and whatever type of bedding space you’re working within your RV, the above review has shown that Tochta’s range of mattresses is sure to contain at least one model that will offer the ideal solution. While these mattresses aren’t cheap, they offer stiff competition to even their far pricier competitors in the RV mattress market and, as such, offer great value for money.

The bottom line? This is a brand that offers oodles of quality and goes ‘above and beyond’ its competitors by providing a customization service that borders on bespoke by allowing you match the construction of your mattress to your most important buying criteria.

If you liked this article make sure you check out our Ultimate Guide To RV Living & Guide to RV Accessories and Upgrades