What size air mattress fits in a jeep grand cherokee

Me and the boy are going to a weekend long motocross camp and don't have a place to stay. You can camp at the track but what a pain. The last race we stayed overnight in hammocks and it got cold so I grabbed him and we finished the night in the Jeep with the heater on, then remote start intervals to maintain but not run all night. Got me thinking about putting a mattress inside for next time. So today I did some measuring and Craigslisting and the short story is a full size foam mattress fits with a little whittling. If you sleep two people you share a full-size top end and twin at the legs. Plenty of room for me and the boy. I'm 6' 185, he's 50" or so.

A twin air mattress will fit between the wheel wells and of course take up much less space for travel. Since I'm dragging a trailer I'll just throw this mattress on it and swap some gear and the mattress when it's time to sleep. The front driver seat is pushed all the way up but doesn't fold down. Passenger side could do the same and you would have some decent room to put stuff. Also enough room for a yeti soft cooler in the second row down low.

If you have a roof rack you could have stuff up there too.

I've searched for custom air mattresses that would fit the contours but have not found one. I need to see if I could modify a full size one of them because air would be the ticket for space savings and comfort.

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I think headroom is going to be your biggest issue.

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I think headroom is going to be your biggest issue.

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Yep. Not bang your head when you wake up bad, but you definitely can't sit up. It's better than the top bunks in campers. Not claustrophobic at all.

Passenger side can accommodate taller folks. Put the wife and kids on the driver side.

Anybody have experience with extended idling in the KL? I figure the ten minute remote start limit will keep us comfortable this weekend but if it's hotter or colder might want to leave the engine running longer. Don't want the Jeep to overheat.

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Depending on your sleeping bag/outside temperatures, you'd be surprised as to how nice it can be to sleep in a car.

I've done it a few times in my Caliber. I usually will start it and get it super warm inside then turn the car off, and I'm good for the night. (Fall time in central Ontario)

Haven't slept in my KL, but have slept in plenty of vehicles. For me heat is worse than cold, a good bag or blankets can keep you warm...you just can't get away from heat and humidity without running the A/C.

As for idle time, I have let my Cherokee idle for over an hour (by mistake) when talking to customers and regularly it sits at idle for 1/2 hour while a 'quick chat' turns into discussing a full project....many times this has happened in summer with the A/C on and the KL never even felt it. The cooling system really works.

I'm with you on the heat. Texas here and my Cherokees haven't missed a beat sitting and eating lunch on the go then talking to clients for a while so I know for an hour or so it's good on 100+ days. Just don't know about 6-7 hours on a 90 degree night. I'll see how well it does this weekend's and keep an eye on temps. I bet this thing shuts down or dings like crazy if it nears hot temps.

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.... Anybody have experience with extended idling in the KL? I figure the ten minute remote start limit will keep us comfortable this weekend but if it's hotter or colder might want to leave the engine running longer.

If you decide to sleep in the cabin while the engine is running it wouldn't hurt to have a carbon monoxide detector in there with you and the boy. :idea:

I agree. We had the windows cracked that night, but a monitor with a readout would give peace of mind.

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As to the question or comment of idling. I've done quite a few cross country trips in both my Cherokees and when I couldn't make it to a rest stop I've just stop in a pull out, put the running lights on and slept away engine running. Longest idle time I've had was in Wyoming during a white out conditions wind storm of sorts. It was -45 with wind chill but I had my travel trailer. So, I left the jeep to idle for 9 hours so it kept the batteries in my trailer charged and I slept hoping the storm would pass. That wasn't the case.

I also frequently go to the drive in locally for a cheap double feature. That's a solid 5 hours especially if you factor in intermission.

No I'll effect I've noticed. We do it all the time with Diesel engines in big rigs. Generators do it too.

Also, I've heard on 2016 and up Cherokee the front passenger seat no longer folds down. When I get mine back, I'll check.

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Sleeping in KL

I have a 2016 TH and cut some 1/4" plywood to go from the rear over the gap to the folded passenger seat and over the console. Use inflatable backpacking mats and I have plenty of room on the passenger side and my wife fits well behind the driver's seat. Actually quite comfortable. I covered the plywood with indoor-outdoor carpet. Good luck.

Also, I've heard on 2016 and up Cherokee the front passenger seat no longer folds down. When I get mine back, I'll check.

I have a 2017 and it still folds flat.

Idle time is only an issue in terms of wear... My company car idles for fairly long periods of time. I would suggest monitoring run hours for your oil changes if this becomes a habit. Sure, the car's oil life calculator should still work, but I'm not sure whatever it uses takes into account for idle time well.

The CO detector is cheap and easy "insurance" but the fumes on most cars today are fairly safe and it doesn't take much air mix to eliminate the concern.

I'm with some others though... It seems a sleeping bag made for the right temps would suit you better. We have camped in as low as -5 degrees (F) and stayed warm. I totally get using the car's heat when you were not ready, but if you have time to plan, why not just gear-up?

I can handle cold. We just got caught a few weeks ago when the weather changed and didn't have any gear. I'm more concerned about cooling off in Texas. I don't sleep hot.

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I can handle cold. We just got caught a few weeks ago when the weather changed and didn't have any gear. I'm more concerned about cooling off in Texas. I don't sleep hot.

Gotcha.... yeah sticky heat is no bueno. We actually ditched a campsite in TX once and jumped to a hotel for some AC :wink:

I slept a family of four in my 2017 Cherokee Trailhawk. I am 6 foot and weigh about 170 lbs. My Wife has an hourglass figure. My 8 year old Son is tall and slender, and my 4 year old daughter is average size for her age. We used a twin matress and put some memory foam pillows and sleeping bags next to the doors and wheel wells to "stretch" it out and give us more room. We used a "Tetris" technique. My Daughter went above one wheel well and my Wife put her (nice) big butt above the other one. My Son was in the middle. It was cramped but we all slept good. Next time I will crack a window. All the windows were covered in fog from our breathing. It was very moist inside. It was so hot I was only in underwear and had to take the blankets off.

amusing to read all the posts about the wonderful fuel efficiency of the Cherokee and then pair those posts up with all these posts about people letting their engines idle while they watch a five hour double feature at the drive in.

HELLO!

amusing to read all the posts about the wonderful fuel efficiency of the Cherokee and then pair those posts up with all these posts about people letting their engines idle while they watch a five hour double feature at the drive in.

HELLO!

I'm not complaining about the fuel economy number I get when I go to a double feature. I know how numbers average. I speak to my fuel economy when on the road, when I'm not idling.

So before you assume we don't know which numbers to compare think about the crowd you are talking to, HELLO!

That's why I also compare my numbers to the hours on each trip meter. If I've got 7 hours and 30 miles I must have gone to the movies. I also account for actual miles traveled and not what the computer tells me because I've got larger tires.

Do you think we are all stupid?

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amusing to read all the posts about the wonderful fuel efficiency of the Cherokee and then pair those posts up with all these posts about people letting their engines idle while they watch a five hour double feature at the drive in.

HELLO!

I get 0Mpg no matter how hard I apply the brakes.

>

I'm not complaining about the fuel economy number I get when I go to a double feature. I know how numbers average. I speak to my fuel economy when on the road, when I'm not idling.

So before you assume we don't know which numbers to compare think about the crowd you are talking to, HELLO!

That's why I also compare my numbers to the hours on each trip meter. If I've got 7 hours and 30 miles I must have gone to the movies. I also account for actual miles traveled and not what the computer tells me because I've got larger tires.

Do you think we are all stupid?

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I am not calling anyone stupid.

Just pointing out the irony.

Maybe the Cherokee doesn't use gas when it's idling. Naw....that's stupid.