Electric Beds NZ – Buying Guide for Hi-Lo & Homecare Beds

Choosing an electric bed is mostly about five numbers. Get those right and the rest is upholstery. This guide walks through what actually matters, then compares every bed we sell side by side.

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1. How low does it go?

This is the number most people skip, and it is the one that prevents injuries. A bed that lowers further means a shorter fall if someone rolls out at night, and it lets a person sit on the edge with their feet flat on the floor before standing.

Most homecare beds bottom out around 220mm to 250mm. Our lowest sits at 184mm. If falls are the main reason you are buying, compare this figure first.

2. How high does it go?

The other half of hi-lo. If anyone is providing hands-on care — washing, dressing, changing, transfers — the bed needs to come up to their waist height so they are not bending over it. Carer back injuries are common and entirely preventable. Look for a maximum around 660mm to 760mm.

3. What size, and will it fit?

Measure the room, not the doorway. Homecare beds are assembled in the room they will be used in, so a standard doorway is not a problem. What matters is the finished footprint.

Watch which length you are being quoted. Retailers quote two different numbers and they are not the same thing. The sleeping surface is the mattress area — that is what decides whether a tall person fits. The overall length is the floor footprint including the frame, usually 15–20cm longer. Compare like for like, and check the sleeping surface if height is a concern.

• Allow about 215cm of overall floor length, plus the base width for your size
• Long Single is roughly 96cm wide, King Single 112cm, Double 140cm, Queen 158cm
• Leave room to walk around at least one side — two if a carer will be working both sides
• If a hoist will be used, check the bed has full under-bed clearance

Not sure? Send us your room measurements and we will check before you order.

4. Weight capacity — and the number people get wrong

Two figures get quoted and they are not the same thing. Safe working load is the total the bed can carry — person plus mattress plus rails plus anything else. Maximum user weight is the person alone. Always check which one you are being shown, and remember the mattress counts.

5. Which functions do you actually need?

• Head lift — sitting up to eat, read or watch television. Everyone wants this.
• Knee break — stops the person sliding down the bed when the head is raised. More useful than it sounds.
• Hi-lo — the height adjustment covered above.
• Trendelenburg — tilts the whole bed head-down, or feet-down in reverse. Used for circulation, reflux, breathing and repositioning. Your OT or nurse will tell you if it is clinically indicated; if nobody has mentioned it, you probably do not need it.
• Battery backup — the bed still works in a power cut, so nobody is stranded at the wrong height. Worth having.
• Under-bed lighting — lights the floor when someone gets up in the night. Simple, and one of the most practical falls-prevention features you can have.
• CPR position — drops the backrest flat in one action. Matters if there is a cardiac risk.
• Length extension — rare, and essential if the user is tall.

Compare every bed we sell

Sleeping surface is the mattress area. Overall floor length is around 215cm on the IC333, Caro and IC777, and 217cm on the Casero Duo and Duo Plus (237cm fully extended).

The short version

• Worried about falls? The Casero Duo, at 184mm.
• Tall user? Either Casero — the only beds here that extend, to 220cm. Avoid the Caro, which has the shortest sleeping surface at 198cm.
• Want the longest warranty? Either iCare, at 10 years on the frame.
• Getting up in the night? The Caro and the IC777 both have under-bed lighting — and the Caro is our second-cheapest bed, so you do not have to pay a premium for it.
• Easiest to use? The IC777 — cordless remote with one-touch memory positions.
• Couple sharing one bed? The Casero Duo Plus in Double or Queen, or the IC333 or IC777 in Double or Queen.
• Need bariatric capacity? The Casero Duo Plus, at 450kg safe working load and 410kg maximum user weight.
• Best value? The IC333 — our lowest-priced bed, and it still carries the 10-year frame warranty and built-in battery backup.
• Want it to look like furniture, not equipment? Any of the Cubro beds — the Caro hides its wheels, and all three are made in New Zealand.

Which mattress goes with which bed?

Every bed on this page is sold base only, so this is the question we get asked most. Two rules cover almost all of it.

1. Match the brand. iCare mattresses come in iCare bed sizes — Long Single, King Single, Long Double, Queen. Cubro mattresses come in Cubro sizes — Single, Super Single, Double, Queen. The names sound similar but the dimensions are not the same, so a "Single" and a "Long Single" are different mattresses. Staying within the brand is the safe default.

2. Check the depth against your side rails. A taller mattress leaves less rail showing above the sleeping surface. If rails are being used for falls prevention, a 150mm mattress gives you the most protection and a 225mm one the least. This catches people out.

Then pick the level of pressure care

Size gets you a mattress that fits. The next question is how much pressure care the person actually needs — and softer is not automatically better, because deep immersion makes turning and transfers harder.

• Still moving in bed independently? Firmer is easier — the IC15, or the M2 with its castellated surface.
• No particular guidance? The IC20 or IC30 suits most people.
• Light, or visible bony prominences? The IC25, our most immersive.
• Sleeps hot? The IC30, for the gel and charcoal infusion.
• Over 215kg? The IC15 or M1, both rated to 300kg.
• Existing pressure injuries? The VersaFlo3 alternating air system — but talk to us first.

Compare all mattressesAsk us which one fits

Ordering a bed and mattress together? Contact us and we will quote them as one price, check the sizes match, and make sure the mattress depth still works with any side rails you are planning.

See it before you buy

Buying a bed at this price sight unseen is a lot to ask. So we have two ways around it.

Book a video call. We will walk you around the bed live from our showroom — running it through its height range, showing you the handset, getting the camera down to floor level so you can see how low it really goes. Ask whatever you like as you think of it. It takes about twenty minutes and costs nothing.

Visit our Putaruru showroom. Open by appointment. We currently have the iCare IC333 and Cubro Caro beds set up, plus lift chairs including the Goldfern range, Monarch and VMotion chairs. Pride and Theorem chairs can also be seen in Auckland by arrangement — just ask and we will organise a time.

We do not have every bed on the floor — the IC777 and both Casero models are made to order. But the IC333 and Caro will tell you nearly everything you need to know about their siblings, and we will happily talk you through the differences on the call.

Book a video call or showroom visit

Do not forget the mattress

Nearly every homecare bed in New Zealand is advertised base-only, with the mattress added at checkout. Expect roughly $1,000 to $2,500 on top, more for hybrid alternating-air. When you are comparing prices between retailers, make sure you are comparing the same package.

We will quote the bed and mattress together as a single price so there are no surprises. Ask us and we will match the mattress to the clinical need rather than bundling one you may not want. Browse our pressure care mattresses →

Funding — how it works in New Zealand

Funded equipment is arranged through an occupational therapist, who assesses the need and submits the request. Which agency depends on your situation:

• Accessable — disability-related need, Auckland and Northland
• Enable New Zealand — disability-related need, rest of the country
• ACC — where the need arises from an injury (administered through Enable)

We are a registered vendor with Enable New Zealand, ACC and MSD/Work and Income. If you are already working with an OT, ask them to contact us and we will provide a formal written quote addressed to the funder, with product codes, a quote number and a validity date.

One thing worth knowing: where funding covers a standard bed and you would prefer a higher specification, the difference can usually be paid directly to us as a top-up. Ask your OT about it — beds are the published example in the funding guidance.

Delivery and assembly

Beds are made to order, and delivery is quoted for your region before dispatch — nothing is charged for freight at checkout, and we will confirm the cost to your address before anything is built.

Beds arrive ready to be assembled in the room they will be used in — a fully built homecare bed will not fit through a standard doorway.

In-home delivery, installation and packaging removal is available as an optional extra, from $250 + GST. The exact price depends on your region, so contact us for a quote for your address before you order. This covers delivery into the room, full assembly and set-up, and taking all the packaging away with us.

Current lead time on the iCare IC333 and IC777 is 7–10 business days; ask us for the current lead time on the Cubro beds.

Still not sure?

Send us the room measurements and a note about who the bed is for, and we will tell you honestly which one fits — including if that is the cheapest one. Better still, book a video call and we will show you.

We are based in Putaruru, with a showroom open by appointment, and we have been supplying mobility equipment in New Zealand since 2005.

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