We Get Letters! (On Mattressi and Their Safe Transport)

1) In the most ideal situations, your mattress will fit entirely within the confines of your transport vehicle. (See illustration.) This ensures no rogue gusts of wind or emergency vehicle maneuvers can jeopardize the safety of you, your mattress, nor your fellow drivers, pedestrians, and bikers. Often, new mattress owners are also sold driver protection systems that keep the driver from harm should the mattress rampage about the inside of the vehicle. It is these devices that often lead to the necessity for the 2nd point.

2) Should the mattress not fit inside the vehicle, the roof is usually the next logical location. Ratchetting strap systems are needed without exception. These should be applied in a web-like fashion, stretching from drivers-side bumper to passenger-side. (An average of 6-8 straps are needed for this configuration.) Additionally, two additional straps need to be applied from front to rear. (Ideal total ratchet strap usage: 10 straps.) It should also be noted that without the driver (and optionally passengers) comforting the mattress by holding onto a corner, it will likely try to buck the strapping system and fly away.

3) An additional point about the roof-strapping method of transport is in order. When the bodywork on the transport vehicle begins to wrinkle, you are close to the appropriate level of tension. Usually 3-4 more clicks will be sufficient.

Lastly, while not a major point, I feel many consumers are being bilked by dealer undercoating treatments. These are simply not necessary. Your mattress will perform for many years without them.

I hope this information is useful and will put an end to the many angry letters.