How to Make a Standard Fitted Sheet Fit Your RV's Mattress

Typical residential mattresses usually come in pretty standard sizes, which is handy for buying the right size sheets (particularly fitted sheets). Some mattresses are thicker than others, but at least the widths & lengths are pretty standard. The same isn’t true for all RV mattresses, however. So, in this post, we’re sharing multiple methods for how to make a standard-sized fitted sheet fit an oddly-sized RV mattress.

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1) How to Make a Standard-Sized Fitted Sheet Fit an RV Mattress

How to Make a Standard-Sized Fitted Sheet Fit an RV Mattress

Although we have personal experience owning two motorhomes and a travel trailer, we know we’re not the only ones who’ve found that “King” and “Queen” beds in RVs aren’t always the same size we were used to in a sticks & bricks house. Actually, most RV mattresses aren’t standard sizes.

RV mattress sizes tend to be narrower than equivalent standard mattresses. They’re often substantially thinner, too. This causes fitted sheets, in particular, to be quite loose… because there isn’t enough mattress to hold them tightly in place throughout the night. We’ve heard so many complaints about this issue from other RVers over the years, and we’ve had to solve the issue ourselves in our rigs.

Here are several ways to solve the problem so that your sheets will fit tightly and more comfortably and remain that way all night long.

Suspenders

This is the method we first came up with more than two decades ago to resolve the issue in our first RV. The “RV queen” bed was smaller than a traditional queen mattress, so the standard-sized fitted sheet we had was very loose on it. All those wrinkles make for a poor night’s sleep (and occasional dreams of snakes… YUCK!).

We figured that some sort of elastic strap beneath the mattress could keep a fitted sheet pulled tightly. We were keeping our eyes open for a simple solution during a walk around a Walmart store (during a typical overnight stay) when we happened across a great improvised solution: suspenders!

You’ll need two sets of regular suspenders with clips on the ends (not the type with button holes… unless you’re extra crafty and want to sew matching buttons onto your fitted sheet). Also, be sure to look at the back of the suspenders to make sure they aren’t sewn permanently into a “Y” or “X” shape. What you want, instead, is to have the two sections held together by a metal guide (that you can remove).

A pair of standard clip-on suspenders with a metal guide

You’ll need a pair of standard clip-on (vs. button-on) suspenders with a metal guide holding the elastic bands together. The metal guide is easily cut off, leaving you with two separate elastic strips with a clip on each end.

Carefully cut off the metal guide with a pair of wire cutters and remove it, separating the two straps from each other. Clip the elastic bands top-to-bottom and side-to-side so that the fitted sheet stays tight on top. Now you’ve got your solution — elastic strips with clasps that you’ll attach to the sides and ends of the sheet under the mattress to hold it tightly in place.

Suspenders holding the fitted sheet together under the mattress

The suspenders will hold the sides, top, and bottom of the fitted sheet snugly under the mattress.

Making the bed up with clean sheets does take a minute or two longer, and requires two people. The way we did this is that one of us would stand at the foot of the bed holding up the end of the mattress while the other connected the straps. It’s not a difficult task once a week after doing laundry, and it’s well worth the effort since it keeps the sheet as tight as a drum.

The suspender below is the type we used. Again, make sure to avoid suspenders that are sewn together. You’ll want the type with a metal clasp that you can cut off, that also has clasps/clamps at each end.

TopTie Men's Solid Suspenders Elastic 3/4 Inch X Back Adjustable Suspenders-Black

Constructed with elastic. X back style with polished silver hardware and clip ends.
Only 3/4 Inch Wide.Less than an Inch Wide - Urban Look

We’ve got a friend who had a Class B Roadtrek and used this method to secure twin sheets to mattresses that are considerably narrower and thinner than a normal twin-sized bed. She used the shorter mitten holders successfully for her application.

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Dingion 9 Pcs Glove Clips for Kids Mitten Clips Holder for Toddler Baby Adjustable Elastic Mitten and Hat Holder Winter Glove Keepers Straps, Black

Package Includes: the package will provide you with 3 pieces of long kids glove clips and 6 pieces of short mitten clips for kids, they are rich in...
Adjustable Size: the hat and glove clips for kids is can be adjusted from 24 inches to 48 inches, and the short one measures about 5 inches, the...

Bed Sheet Fasteners

Another option is to use bed sheet fasteners created specifically for this purpose. These are a bit easier to use because you only have to lift the corners to put them in place (although getting to all four corners of many RV mattresses can still be a bit of a reach).

We haven’t tried these ourselves, but we’ve heard many positive things about them and they’re very well-reviewed.

Foloda Sheet Holders, 4 pcs Adjustable Bed Sheet Straps, Fitted Sheet Holder Clips Fasteners Suspenders Gripper Locker Scrunchie for Bed Mattress Corners, Keep Sheet Firm Tight

1.Sheet Holders Straps: Foloda Sheet holders are made of sturdy chrome metal clips and heavy duty elastic bungee cords that will grip your bed sheets...
2.Bed Sheet Holders Straps: Foloda fitted sheet holders are elastic and triangle design, more stable and durable than others. Our bed sheet corners...

QuickZip Sheets (custom-sized)

QuickZip offers another option for dealing with sheets that are too large for an RV bed… by avoiding the issue altogether. They make RV-specific options designed to fit common RV mattress sizes correctly. Plus, they have the added advantage of being designed as a two-piece, zippered fitted sheet that lets you deal with the hassle of getting the elastic base in place just once (and then you zip the top part off to wash it… and then back on once it’s clean).

These sheets consist of a base + a zip sheet on top. The base gets fitted around the mattress once and then flexes to fit and stay snug. The top part zips off and on in seconds for quick changes so you don’t need to lift or move the mattress each time you change the sheets.

Zipping a QuickZip fitted sheet top onto the base

QuickZip’s ingenious design makes it easy to Zip the top of the fitted sheet in place, even on hard-to-reach beds!

QuickZip is a more expensive option but may be an excellent choice for situations where getting around the bed to make it is difficult. You can see how it works on their website.

QuickZip 2-Piece Fitted Sheets

Dealing with fitted sheets on RV beds can be a big pain. Tight spots, limited access, and heavy mattresses make it difficult for even the most robust RVer. QuickZip helps solve this with their unique, zippered, 2-piece fitted sheet design. Get the base in place once, then just unzip the top sheet portion and toss it in the wash. Once clean, just zip it back in place... it's that easy!

Now, new customers can save $40 on orders over US$200 when you use the discount code listed here at checkout!

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Mattress Insider Sheets (custom-sized)

Another option is a set of custom-sized sheets from Mattress Insider. They offer sheet sets in a wide range of common RV mattress sizes, but you can also have them make a custom size to fit your needs exactly.

Mattress Insider also makes custom-sized mattresses for RV and boats that’ll fit your rig’s bed exactly. They have a range of choices for the type of mattress you’d like. We slept on an awesome M.I. mattress for years and absolutely loved it. You can read more in our post about RV mattress sizes.

If you’re interested in buying anything from Mattress Insider, be sure to use our RVGEEKS coupon to save yourself some money:

MattressInsider.com 10% Discount

After 11+ years of full-time RVing, our original RV mattress was worn out and no longer comfortable to sleep on… but with our new, custom-made one from MattressInsider we’re sleeping soundly again!

Watch our mattress replacement video

Use this coupon code to save 10% on your entire order.

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And there you have it – multiple options for making your sheets fit an RV mattress.

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