ABOUT THIS PHOTO:
When making the bed, I pack away my sleeping bag, air mattress, a small rug, non-skid fabric, a pillow, and elbow pads (visible at upper right, in front of the paper towels). The rolled-up air mattress is about to be placed in the stuff sack. The next photo shows where it went after being bagged. Elbow pads are fabric-covered pieces of Styrofoam used to keep my elbows at the same height as the air mattress. Without them, my elbows fall off the sides of the mattress.

I later altered the packing process. Now I fold the air mattress and put it away without being strapped and bagged---less work.

ABOUT SYSTEM 5:
My fifth and current system involves sleeping atop a set of plywood boxes having detachable lids. In the Summer of 2010 I built ten plywood boxes of various sizes to hold travel gear. They replace the Rubbermaid totes I had used for years. This system eliminates the need to move things because the boxes stay in place throughout a trip. It also eliminates the plywood-handling nightmare of the previous system---the lids are small enough to be easily handled and stay with the boxes.