Will a Mattress Fit In Minivan? (Twin, Full, Queen, King)

Minivans are a popular vehicle for large families and those who need plenty of room to haul things but don’t want a truck. They are mainly used as family cars during road trips and, or short trips to some nearby place with something worth seeing. In new minivans you will often find that both the second and third row of seats can be dropped into the floor, adjusted, or removed depending on which minivan model that you own. 

This can be incredibly useful if you have something that you are wanting to haul such as a new mattress or other furniture. 

Specifically, in this article I want to talk about whether a mattress will fit inside of your minivan and which ones will or will not. One thing to keep in mind is that currently the only minivans that allow both the second and third row to fold into the floor are those made by Dodge/Chrysler. If you have a minivan made by a different manufacturer then you will likely need to move the second row of seats to be able to fit the largest possible mattress. 

A twin, full, queen, king, and California king  mattress will fit inside of the back of a minivan if the second and third row of seats are removed or folded into the floor. For the queen and king mattresses you will have to fold them over a bit to get them to fit inside but as long as the mattress isn’t too rigid that shouldn’t be an issue. 

The mattress length is not a problem since even with the front seats pushed all the way back you still have 88” of length for cargo which is more than enough length even for a California king mattress. The main issue that you will have with fitting a king is how much you will have to bend it to get it through the rear door. A king mattress will almost have to be folded to look like a V to fit through the back door of a minivan but can then be relaxed some once past the entrance. 

If the king mattress you are buying is a very thick one or isn’t made to bend very easily then you will likely struggle getting it into a minivan while a twin, full, or queen mattress will all fit without any problem. 

How to fit a mattress in your minivan

When you need to fit something large in the back of your minivan it’s important to prep it first to give yourself as much room as possible. If you have a Dodge or Chrysler model then prepping it is as simple as folding the seats into the floor. Other minivan models will require you to remove the second row of seats from the van to get the length that you need so that would be much better to do at home rather than waiting until you get to the mattress store. 

Either way you will want to make sure that the second and third rows are removed/folded to give yourself as much room as possible. 

Your next step will depend on what size mattress you are getting. If you are buying a twin, full, or queen mattress then you can easily fit those without too much folding so no matter how stiff the mattress is it will still fit. However, if you are getting a king then some additional preparation will be needed. 

You will need to find out if the king mattress can fold up into the shape of a V or if it is too rigid to do so, For example, some mattress companies make a mattress/box spring combo that is incredibly tall and doesn’t have as much flexibility to it. If the mattress you are getting is like that then you will likely need a truck or try to bend it to the V shape beforehand to see if that will work or not. 

You will need to bend a king mattress where there is no more than 43” from the bottom of the V to the top on each side. If the king mattress can bend that much then congrats, it will fit in your minivan! 

What size mattress fits in a Dodge Grand Caravan/Chrysler Pacific/Chrysler Voyager?

When talking about specific models and what size mattresses will fit inside of them it is important to remember that each model will offer different trim packages that will naturally affect the size of the rear cargo area and what needs to be done before hauling a mattress. Most Dodge/Chrysler minivans (Including the Grand Caravan, Town & Country, Pacifica, and Voyager) will have Stow & Go seats which allows the second and third row to fold flat into the floor. 

Assuming your minivan model does this then moving a mattress is easy. However, some models still have the traditional seats that are bolted to the floor. Those will have to be manually removed from the vehicle before you try and put a mattress inside. 

You can easily haul a twin, full or queen mattress inside of a Dodge/Chrysler minivan and in most cases a king will fit as well. You will have to fold the king mattress up some to get it to fit inside but that shouldn’t be in issue in most cases. 

However, if you have a mattress and box spring in one or just an incredibly thick mattress than folding it over into a V shape likely won’t be possible and you will need a truck to haul that larger mattress instead of a minivan. 

Is it illegal to strap a mattress to your car/minivan?

If your king sized bed won’t fold enough to fit into the back of your minivan (or if you have a car insead) then you may be wondering if you can put the mattress on the roof and haul it that way. Will that allow you to get it home without any issue or do you risk getting pulled over and receiving a ticket? 

You absolutely can strap a mattress to the top of your car/minivan however it is your responsibility to make sure that it is secured properly so it doesn’t move/ blow off. A king sized mattress will hang off the sides of the minivan about a foot on each side so I would not recommend hauling it on anything smaller than an SUV. 

Although it isn’t illegal to haul a mattress on top of a car or minivan you should be extremely careful to only do so if the conditions are right. For example, I would only drive on side streets and no highways or other roads with high speed limits when you have a mattress on the roof as the wind could cause you to lose control of your vehicle if you aren’t careful. 

I would also want to avoid putting a mattress on top of your car if it is an extremely windy day with high wind gusts. The last thing you need is to lose control of your car and destroy it and your new mattress! 

Conclusion

I hope that this article has been helpful to you in answering your questions about which mattresses will fit in a minivan and what you can do to fit even a king sized mattress inside of it. In most cases all twin, full/double, queen, and king mattresses will fit inside of a minivan except for in rare cases. 

If you happen to have a king mattress that is really stiff or super thick then you can always put it on top of your minivan and haul it that way but just make sure to use the proper straps and secure it completely before moving.