All about the Leggett & Platt ShipShape Adjustable Bed

Update April 2018: At the time of writing this ShipShape review back in 2015, the L&P ShipShape used to be one of the better entry-level adjustable bases in the market. But since then, many entry level adjustable foundations like the Leggett & Platt Raven, Classic Brands adjustable comfort, and the Hofish adjustable bed have been born. These new models have made the ShipShape obsolete, in our opinion. Although we used to rank the ShipShape in our list of the 10 best adjustable beds, the ShipShape lost it place awhile back. We recommend that you check out our 10 Top Rated – Reviews, PROS, CONS to find out details of the best entry-level adjustable beds.

********* Back to Leggett and Platt ShipShape Review from 2015 ******

It is your most used piece of furniture, whether you realize it or not… And you run to it at the end of your day, rearing to spend some quality time just there, lying on your bed, be it sleeping, while reading, munching, watching TV or even working on your laptop. As you make your bed so shall you lie on it… Considering just how many activities you actually end up carrying out while lying on your bed (or rather, all the activities you wish you would be able to comfortably carry out from the comfort your bed), an adjustable mattress base does not sound like such a bad idea after all! It is to enjoy luxury such as this that Leggett & Platt ShipShape adjustable beds were made for. It’s about time you transformed your bedroom to ShipShape, and adjusted your “domestic R&R” a notch higher, no pun intended!

What some may consider entry-level will surprise you…no doubt as there have been successors to the ShipShape adjustable bed series, but ShipShape is respected to this date for the solid foundation it lays. So what specs shape Leggett & Platt’s ShipShape bed?

Quick and simple assembly

The Leggett & Platt ShipShape adjustable bed comes complete with the accompanying bed frame packaged together with the bed base. These two bed sections fit in well and assembling the entire night stand will be hassle-free, under the guidance of the detailed step-by-step user’s manual. You should have no trouble attaching the parts together into a single bed unit also known as the foundation which easily configures into your existent bed frame. You’re also provided with accompanying headboard brackets for the ShipShape bed base, and with compatible fixtures, the entire installation process should be seamless and hassle-free.

Your final fixture would be a sizeable mattress to fit onto the ShipShape adjustable base, and you would have to acquire this separately. Be sure to check that you’re getting the right mattress size for your ShipShape which supports the following: Twin XL size mattress, Queen size mattress, King size mattress, and the Dual King size mattress.

As a quick reference, you can always use the following values to check if your mattress size will be form-fitting with the ShipShape adjustable bed base.

• King size mattress:   76” x 80” inches
• Queen size mattress:   60″ × 79.5″ inches
• Full size mattress:   53” x 74.5” inches

Decent weight carrying capacity

The recommended total lifting capacity of the Leggett & Platt ShipShape adjustable base is 450 pounds (or 204 kg). So you can comfortably lift the adjustable sections as long as that weight has not been exceeded, then you do not risk damaging the lifting motor which powers that functionality. Compared to the ShipShape, the Leggett & Platt Prodigy series adjustable bed will afford you more carrying capacity, up to 600 pounds, or up to 650 pounds with the Serta Motion Essentials adjustable bed. …And if you still need a little more weight lifting capacity, then you should definitely go for the Leggett & Platt S-Cape adjustable base, or the Premier series of adjustable beds which will comfortably carry up to 700 pounds. And speaking of the ShipShape’s lift motor…

Noiseless motor

The integral DC motor powering the ShipShape adjustable base uses Leggett & Platt’s trademark technology, Whisper Quiet which ensures that the motor operates noiselessly when being tilted or lowered. This couldn’t be a more welcome feature than it already is…you do not want to cause a stir and wake the baby for those who sleep with the baby in the same room… It’s a very intricate design as it promises to function so quietly that even the person lying next to you on a twin set bed will not awake from hearing you adjusting your base, whatever time of day or night!

The Whisper Quiet motor is not exclusive to the ShipShape. As you will learn from our Leggett & Platt Prodigy adjustable bed review, the Whisper Quiet motor is found on the Prodigy adjustable foundation as well.

Multiple adjustable bed positions for head and foot sections

The key adjustable features of the ShipShape adjustable base include the head tilting and foot tilting variable positions. You have at least an infinite possibility of bed positions you can adjust the ShipShape to, with a total of 45 degrees in foot section tilting, and a whooping 60 degress in head section tilting.

Variable bed height positions are also very possible with the ShipShape adjustable base and this is particularly by use of the accessories kit which features various leg height options for 3 inch, 4 inch, 5 inch and 7 inch legs in sets of four.

Wired remote controller

This neat accessory makes tilting the head or foot section as easy as the touch of a button, with simple Up and Down buttons for the corresponding adjustable sections. What this means is you could easily wake up in the middle of night in the dark and effortlessly adjust the bed by instinctively touching the correct button off of the wired remote control. The packaging of the ShipShape adjustable base includes the remote controller’s cable, which attaches the remote control to a dual DC motor.

Some users have an aversion to the ShipShape adjustable base due to its wired remote control which may be tacky for some. If this includes you, then perhaps the wireless, two-way remote control of the Leggett & Platt Prodigy adjustable base will do; perhaps even a full-blown tablet for a remote control would be perfect… In which case the Premier Series P 132 and P 232 adjustable bases from Leggett & Platt would suit you best with their free touchscreen tablet which comes included as the remote control device you will use with the adjustable bed. Again, unlike the wireless remote controlled adjustable bases from Leggett & Platt, the ShipShape (as does the Serta Motion Essentials adjustable base) also does not feature a One-Touch flat button on its wired remote control (a feature considered to be both a utility and safety feature in the other bases like the P 232 Premier bed, the P 132 Premier adjustable base, the Prodigy and S-Cape beds). This means in case of an emergency, you cannot automatically shift to the flat position or ‘safety position” with a one-touch button but would instead have to make the necessary bed positioning in a stepped semi-automatic manner via the Up and Down buttons for both adjustable sections of the bed. On our Leggett & Platt S-Cape adjustable bed review, we show an enlarged image of the S-Cape remote controller on which you can clearly see the ‘flat’ button. This luxury is NOT available on the ShipShape.

The deal breaker of the ShipShape base

Don’t take us wrong, but we HIGHLY recommend you invest a couple of hundred dollars more to buy yourself an S-Cape instead of a ShipShape. No, it’s not the lack of a ‘flat’ button or the wired remote controller that drives us away from the ShipShape, it’s the lack of the ‘Wallhugger’ feature that makes us discourage you from buying a ShipShape. Beds without the Wallhugger feature move away from the headboard and the night stand when you assume a ‘sitting position’. The problem with that is that if you want to get something on your nightstand, you’re going to have to reach back awkwardly. Other models from Leggett and Platt like the S-Cape, Prodigy, Designer series and Premier series have the in-built Wallhugger feature which makes the entire mattress move backwards when you adjust the bed to a sitting position. That way, you stay inline with the nightstand and you don’t have to turn back to reach your nightstand. Trust me, that does make the additional ~$300 on an S-Cape a much worthy investment.

Don’t forget to check your warranty

As is the standard with any reliable market brand, the Leggett & Platt ShipShape adjustable base comes with a fully fledged product warranty structure over the 1 to 20 year life cycle covered. Be sure to check with your retailer on the specifics of tiered warranty, as it is limited and not all-inclusive to certain parts and/or situations. For instance, you’re highly advised against exceeding the limited cap weight of pounds, which is the maximum lifting or carrying capacity of the ShipShape adjustable base; thus, certain situations arising from exceeding the weight limit are not covered by the limited warranty.

Buyer’s Tip: You’re advised against continuously using the lifting motors for more than 5 minutes over a period of 30 minutes, which is basically a 15% cycle of duty. Failure to observing this quickly shortens the life expectancy of the ShipShape adjustable base and limitations with the tiered warranty structure would further apply, rendering your warranty null and void.

Buyer’s Tip: As a best practice, you’re advised to avoid sitting on the head section or foot section while these sections are in raised positions.

Overview of the Leggett & Platt ShipShape adjustable bed:

What’s your most important criteria in finding your most ideal adjustable bed base? Do you know what exactly you’re paying for? With regards to adjustable bed platforms, the ShipShape and the Serta Motion Essentials adjustable bases may arguably be considered entry-level brands offering very basic functionality. These two adjustable bed brands conspicuously lack two very key features: Factory preset bed positions (already stored to memory by default), and Programmable Memory-set bed positions which are your own custom positions stored to memory.

You still get to enjoy the pleasure of an adjustable bed with the ShipShape, but you won’t be able to store your favorite position for say working on your laptop from your bed, or for watching television from your nightstand, reading a book in bed, zero gravity position or eating in bed. If you have a favorite angling for the head section and foot section, you would not be able to save it (store it to memory) for quick access via the remote control any other time you needed to lie in that position, instead you’d have to (re)adjust the settings again each time.

If you’re looking for more versatility, luxury, customization, and bed positioning with. programmability, then better options for you would be Leggett & Platt’s S-Cape base (2 programmable memory-set positions), the Prodigy adjustable base (4 programmable memory-set positions), and Premier series P 132 bed and P 232 bed (which have 4 factory preset bed positions, and 4 programmable memory-set positions); or Serta Motion’s Signature adjustable bed (2 programmable memory-set positions).

For a decent fair price on the lower end of the market range, the ShipShape adjustable base surely does make the cut clean and fair, it doesn’t promise sophisticated luxury like the higher end brands (case in point the P 232 bed or the Serta Motion Signature) for which you’d equally have to pay much more, but it does transform your bedroom comfort, one degree at a time!

ShipShape Video

This is not the most comprehensive video on the ShipShape bed, nevertheless gives you quite a good idea about how to set it up.

Leggett & Platt wasn’t born y’day. You can read all about Leggett & Platt here.