There’s no doubt about it, a good night’s sleep can make or break a truck camping trip.
You can have the perfect campsite, a million-dollar view, and enough battery power to run a small neighborhood, but none of that matters much if you wake up every morning feeling like you spent the night wrestling a grizzly bear.
Unfortunately, sleeping comfort is one area where many truck campers come up short.
Space and weight limitations often mean relatively thin foam mattresses resting directly on a hard plywood or composite platform. That arrangement saves weight and precious inches of headroom, but it doesn’t always make for the most comfortable night’s sleep. Worse yet, placing a mattress directly on a solid platform can restrict airflow underneath, creating the potential for condensation and mildew.
That’s where the Froli Modular Sleep System comes in.
We recently caught up with Elke Nickle of Froli to talk about the company’s popular modular sleep systems, how they work, and perhaps most importantly, how to choose between the three models offered to RV and truck camper owners.
As it turns out, there’s more to those funny-looking plastic springs than meets the eye.
From a German Tinkerer to RVs Around the World
Froli’s roots go back much farther than many RV owners probably realize.
The family-owned German company was founded in 1962. According to Nickle, the founder initially worked with vinyl window components before his interest in camping eventually helped lead the company toward spring-based sleep systems.
“He was a real tinkerer,” she said.
Over the years, Froli expanded into several markets, including residential bedding and other molded products, while its modular clip-together sleep systems found a natural home in boats and RVs.
Today, the systems can be found in products from a variety of RV and overland manufacturers.
Nickle identified companies including Outpost Campers, Cirrus, Airstream, Jayco, Winnebago, AT Overland, and Hallmark among manufacturers and outfitters that have used or purchased Froli systems in various applications.
That’s a pretty good indication that the concept has moved well beyond the marine world where many American RVers first encountered it.
A Box Spring for Your Truck Camper—Sort Of
The easiest way to understand a Froli system is to think of it as a lightweight, low-profile box spring that fits underneath your existing mattress.
Instead of coils, however, Froli uses individual plastic spring elements that clip together into a grid. The completed system rests directly on the camper’s bed platform with the mattress placed on top.
Installation doesn’t require drilling holes, modifying the camper, or replacing the existing mattress. The individual springs simply snap together.
How long does installation take?
Nickle has a much more entertaining way of measuring that than we do.
“Two beers,” she joked.
That sounds about right.
Once installed, the individual springs flex beneath the mattress, providing additional cushioning and support. Because the mattress is elevated above the platform, air can also circulate underneath.
According to Nickle, those two benefits—comfort and ventilation—are the primary reasons people buy a Froli.
And increasingly, customers aren’t waiting until they develop a moisture problem.
Nickle says some buyers are ordering Froli systems immediately after purchasing a new camper specifically because they want to prevent moisture problems before they start.
That’s not a bad idea.
Not Just Ordinary Plastic
Pick up a Froli spring and you might assume it’s simply an injection-molded piece of plastic.
It’s a little more sophisticated than that.
According to Nickle, the spring elements are made from a high-performance thermoplastic polyester elastomer. She specifically referenced Hytrel, a material associated with applications requiring flexibility, resilience, and resistance to repeated flexing.
The important characteristic for a bed spring is its ability to recover its shape after being compressed.
Press down on a Froli spring and release it, and the spring returns to its original form.
“It’s a pretty high-tech plastic,” Nickle said.
The spring elements are injection molded, and the Froli systems are manufactured in Germany.
Why Your Camper Mattress Can Feel So Hard
Anyone who has slept on a foam mattress placed directly on plywood knows the problem.
Initially, the foam compresses and feels reasonably comfortable. Eventually, though, you reach the hard surface underneath. There’s nowhere else for the mattress to go.
“You just sink in to a certain extent, and then there’s no more give,” Nickle explained.
A Froli system adds another layer of suspension beneath the mattress. Each spring can move independently, providing additional support as your body changes position during the night.
The system can also be customized. Softer spring elements can be positioned beneath pressure-sensitive areas such as the shoulders while standard springs support the rest of the body.
In other words, you’re not simply adding another cushion underneath the mattress. You’re adding suspension.
And anyone who owns a truck camper already knows the value of good suspension.
The Other Big Benefit: Airflow
Comfort might get your attention, but ventilation could be an even bigger reason to install a Froli.
Truck camper mattresses are often placed directly on solid cabover platforms. During cold-weather camping, warm, moisture-laden interior air can encounter cold surfaces around the cabover and create condensation.
The problem is that you might never see it.
Moisture can collect underneath the mattress where it remains trapped. If the mattress isn’t periodically lifted and aired out, that damp environment can eventually produce stains, odors, and mildew.
Nickle says this concern is one of the biggest reasons customers ultimately decide to install a Froli.
By raising the mattress above the platform, the Froli’s open-grid design creates an air space underneath it.
For truck camper owners who camp in cold or humid conditions, that’s a pretty compelling benefit.
Three Froli Systems, One Basic Idea
Here’s where things can get a little confusing.
Froli offers three primary systems for this market: Travel, Star, and Zona.
All three provide ventilation and suspension beneath the mattress. The important differences are height, spring action, firmness, and intended application.
Froli Travel: Low Profile and Firmer
For most truck camper owners, vertical space is precious. Every inch added underneath the mattress reduces the amount of room above it.
That’s where the Froli Travel shines.
At approximately 1-3/8 inches (33 millimeters) high, the Travel is the lowest of the three systems. It’s also firmer.
Nickle recommends the Travel for campers with relatively thin mattresses—around 3 inches, for example—that are otherwise in good condition. It’s also a good choice for owners who are already satisfied with the feel of their mattress and primarily want better ventilation.
“It’s more like a box spring,” Nickle explained, though she noted that it provides more flex than a traditional box spring.
The Travel can also work well underneath the thin sleeping pads commonly found in rooftop tents.
For truck campers with limited cabover headroom, the Travel’s low profile is a major advantage.
Froli Star: The All-Around Favorite
If improved comfort is your primary goal, Nickle recommends stepping up to the Froli Star.
The Star measures approximately 1-3/4 inches (43 millimeters) high. That extra height gives the springs more room to flex vertically, resulting in a softer and more cushioned feel.
It’s also Froli’s bestseller.
“If your mattress is not as comfortable as you like and you want more cushioning, then I always recommend the Star,” Nickle said.
Both the Travel and Star use what Nickle describes as a spreading spring design. As weight presses downward, the spring elements flex and spread.
Nickle calls the Star Froli’s “all-rounder,” and for many truck camper owners, it probably represents the sweet spot between added comfort and reasonable height.
Froli Zona: Maximum Suspension
Then there’s the Froli Zona.
The Zona is a different animal altogether.
Rather than the spreading design used by the Travel and Star, the Zona uses a three-piece linear spring consisting of a base, baffle spring, and pivoting top plate. The spring moves vertically while the top plate pivots with the sleeper.
At approximately 2-3/8 inches (60 millimeters) high, however, the Zona consumes considerably more vertical space.
That’s significant in a truck camper.
Nickle says the Zona is particularly well suited for applications such as travel trailers and other RVs where bed height and overhead clearance aren’t as restrictive. Its design can also handle greater weight particularly well.
Froli even uses the Zona underneath conventional platform beds in homes.
For most truck campers, however, its additional height may be difficult to justify unless cabover clearance is plentiful.
Which Froli Should You Buy?
The choice is actually pretty straightforward.
If you have a thin mattress, limited headroom, or you’re mainly interested in ventilation, look closely at the Travel.
If you want noticeably more cushioning and comfort without adding too much height, the Star is probably the best starting point.
If maximum suspension and load support matter more than vertical space, the Zona deserves consideration.
Importantly, Nickle says the difference between the models isn’t one of quality. The systems use the same basic high-quality material; the differences come primarily from their spring design, dimensions, and firmness.
What About the Mattress?
Here’s another important point: installing a Froli doesn’t necessarily mean replacing your mattress.
Most customers simply use the system underneath the mattress they already own.
If you are replacing your truck camper mattress, however, Nickle recommends a good-quality, medium-firm foam mattress, generally around 4 to 6 inches thick for truck camper use.
Going too thick can create headroom problems once the height of the Froli system is added.
She also cautions against choosing foam that’s too firm.
A mattress can feel perfectly comfortable when you’re sitting on the edge, only to feel “hard as a rock” after you’ve been lying flat on it for several hours.
Density matters, too. Very lightweight foam can contain more air and less actual material, potentially reducing long-term durability. Nickle recommends looking for good-quality, higher-density foam rather than simply buying the lightest mattress available.
A Simple Upgrade That Solves Two Problems
Some truck camper modifications require cutting holes, pulling wires, drilling into cabinets, or spending an entire Saturday wondering why you ever started the project.
The Froli isn’t one of them.
That’s probably a big part of its appeal.
It’s essentially a modular suspension system that clips together beneath the mattress. There’s no major camper surgery involved, it works with many existing mattresses, and it addresses two common truck camper complaints at the same time: an uncomfortable bed and poor airflow underneath the mattress.
And unlike a new mattress alone, the Froli attacks those problems from underneath.
The fact that customers increasingly install the system in brand-new campers rather than waiting for condensation or comfort problems to appear is telling. Word of mouth also appears to be playing an important role. Nickle says owners frequently discover Froli after seeing the system in somebody else’s camper.
That’s something we’ve seen ourselves in the truck camper community.
One camper owner makes a modification, another owner crawls inside to check it out, and before long everyone is asking where to buy one.
The Bottom Line
The Froli Modular Sleep System isn’t flashy.
It won’t generate more solar power, increase your payload capacity, or make your truck look tougher at the campground.
Most people won’t even know it’s there.
But after spending eight hours sleeping on it, you will.
For truck camper owners struggling with a hard mattress, limited airflow, or moisture underneath the bed, the Froli is one of those relatively simple upgrades that can make a surprisingly big difference.
Choosing the right model comes down to what matters most.
Travel for the lowest profile and firmer support.
Star for greater cushioning and the best all-around performance.
Zona for maximum suspension when additional height isn’t a concern.
And installation?
According to Elke Nickle, budget about two beers.
We can live with that.
Truck Camper Adventure readers can use the promo code TCA20 for 20 percent off a Froli system. Froli also offers free shipping on qualifying orders over $100. Nickle created/reactivated the TCA20 code during our interview, so readers should confirm the promotion remains active when ordering.
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