We get it – you love your home away from home! But… do you really wake up feeling super rested in that camper? If you do, awesome. But if you’re like us, some adjustments need to be made. Check out our tricks to get a better night’s sleep in your camper.
I remember the very first camping trip that we took with our new RV. We were so excited to “get away from it all” and head into the great outdoors for some rest and relaxation. And while we had a very enjoyable trip, I have to tell you, those two nights were some of the worst sleep I ever had! We tossed and turned all night long as various things kept us awake.
I wish I could tell you that the camping trips that immediately followed that one were better. But they weren’t. As much as I loved the camper, I absolutely dreaded the awful night of sleep that I was sure I was in for.
Our top nighttime camper complaints
- Uncomfortable mattress. Uncomfortable is an understatement. Plastic-stuffed hunk of pure misery is more like it. There was nothing comfortable about the factory-issued RV mattress that came with our camper. It was impossible to find a comfy spot on it and a morning backache was guaranteed.
- Nature is LOUD. I’m a light sleeper and the camper walls are exceedingly thin. Every bird chirp, every passing car, every rain drop would keep me awake or wake me from a sound sleep.
- Up with the sun. Our camper came with translucent shades on the windows. These shades are great for privacy but terrible at sunshine blocking. As soon as that sun started to rise, our camper was flooded with light.
- Smelly smells. Our camper has a very distinct and permeating smell. It’s not a bad smell, but it’s a strong smell. There were nights when I would wake up and I’m not kidding – I could taste the camper smell in the back of my throat. I know how odd that sounds. But it happened.
- Hot and cold. Repeat. Sleeping with the A/C on or maybe just the fan circulating the air throughout the night? It can get chilly!
- Dark walk to the bathroom. A mid-nighttime wakeup for a bathroom trip? Dark campers can lead to trips and stubbed toes as you make your way to the bathroom, while flipping on the light can wake up the fam.
Top Tricks to Get a Better Night’s Sleep in Your Camper
- Upgrade your mattress. We upgraded our mattress after one summer season of camping in our new RV. To date, it was the best update that we made. In fact, we wrote an entire post on how to upgrade your RV mattress. I promise you – you will not regret it.
- Buy a white noise machine. We keep a simple white noise machine in our camper and it does a great job at blocking out those early morning bird chirps!
- Use an air freshener. Last year we actually added a wax melter to our camper. It does an excellent job at masking food smells, etc and gives the camper an overall better scent. Of course, never ever leave a melter unattended. We let ours run for a few hours while we wind down for the evening and then turn it off before going to bed.
- Cover your camper windows (or at least the bedroom windows) with a car windshield reflector. We picked up several of these auto windshield reflectors and stuck them over the bedroom windows in our camper to block out morning light. Great hack!
- Have extra blankets on each bed. We keep a supply of lightweight fleece blankets in our camper. They are perfect for movie nights on the couch or an extra layer of warmth overnight.
- Use dimmable nightlights to illuminate the path to the bathroom plus a motion activated nightlight in the bathroom. In a previous post, we shared this easy motion-activated RV bathroom nightlight. You can also put dimmable nightlights in various outlets or near kids’ beds.
Those are our best tricks for getting a better night sleep in your home away from home!
Do you have any items that you would add? Drop us a comment and let us know!
