# Bunk Beds **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 28, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378 "2011-11-28T22:09:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bhoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@Bhoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bhoe)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378/1 "2011-11-28T22:09:13Z")
My friend and I were talking about the movie “Stepbrothers”. Anyway, there’s a scene where they decide to make bunk beds from two regular beds. The one character says “This looks like it came from the store”. It didn’t, but it made me think. Could two adults sleep on a regular bunk bed sold in stores? Not a custom made one. The adults have to be adult sized. I’m not talking about extremely small people. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378/2 "2011-11-28T22:27:43Z")
Plenty of armies have their soldiers sleep in bunk beds. They’re a generic as they come (usually spare metal frames with basic springs and foam mattresses). ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378/3 "2011-11-28T22:27:47Z")
There are two considrations. First, do the people fit in a twin size bed? Because that’s all bunk beds are. Second is clearance to the ceiling for the person in the top bunk. Can they maneuver without hitting the ceiling? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378/4 "2011-11-28T22:28:14Z")
Bunk beds are generally just two twin sized beds stacked on top of one another. It isn’t ideal for a larger adult but it will work for most people. I am a fairly tall male and I can sleep in a twin sized bed if I need to. I have laid on the top bunk of a bunk bed as an adult and it would work in a pinch as long as the ceiling is normal height. There are bunk beds for adults too. They use them in the military and hostels for example. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378/5 "2011-11-28T22:28:36Z")
They can. I have. I don’t recommend it. And if you check out the berths for most navies, you’ll see that adults essentially sleep in bunk beds a lot. Most of them don’t recommend it either. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378/6 "2011-11-28T22:29:41Z")
College students are generally full grown adults and bunk beds abound in dormitories (or at least they did). ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378/7 "2011-11-28T22:45:39Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > They can. I have. I don’t recommend it. > > And if you check out the berths for most navies, you’ll see that adults essentially sleep in bunk beds a lot. Most of them don’t recommend it either. Bunk beds would have been luxurious - we were in very narrow “coffin lockers” stacked three high. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378/8 "2011-11-28T22:49:37Z")
I slept on a bunk bed in college, in basic training, and occasionally when one of my damn wiener kids won’t fall asleep. I actually like sleeping on the top bunk sometimes. It’s cozy up there. ---
**Author:** ![Bhoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@Bhoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bhoe)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378/9 "2011-11-28T22:59:36Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > College students are generally full grown adults and bunk beds abound in dormitories (or at least they did). I’m so dumb. I always just assumed the weight of a grown adult would make the top bunk fall onto the bottom one. :o ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378/10 "2011-11-28T23:02:33Z")
I still regularly sleep in bunk beds in field stations and the like. These days I usually play the age card to get the bottom bunk, though. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378/11 "2011-11-28T23:08:48Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > These days I usually play the age card to get the bottom bunk, though. Yeah, me too. I don’t know where the idea that the top bunk is better came from. You see it in popular culture, but never in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Bhoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@Bhoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bhoe)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378/12 "2011-11-28T23:11:44Z")
If there was an emergency, top bunk would stink. ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378/13 "2011-11-28T23:15:28Z")
I sleep in the exact opposite, a bunk bed that has been separated. It’s right at the lower end of the scale for being a reasonable size, but it serves the purpose being the cheapo guy I am! And I’m average height, for the record. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378/14 "2011-11-28T23:15:29Z")
Some bunk beds have a weight capacity as low as 250 lbs. A large guy would easily exceed that. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378/15 "2011-11-28T23:21:26Z")
> [@Bhoe](#): > > I’m so dumb. I always just assumed the weight of a grown adult would make the top bunk fall onto the bottom one. :o 😕 What do you imagine bunk beds to be made of? Most I’ve seen are stout wood. I’ve also seen some metal ones. Maybe an obese person would make a bunk bed fail, but a normal sized person shouldn’t make any reasonably well made bunk bed break. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378/16 "2011-11-28T23:43:10Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > There are two considrations. First, do the people fit in a twin size bed? Because that’s all bunk beds are. Second is clearance to the ceiling for the person in the top bunk. Can they maneuver without hitting the ceiling? In college, some people built loft beds in their dorm rooms so that they could put their desks below. There was a rule that there had to be enough clearance between the bed and the ceiling that a firefighter in full gear with an oxygen tank on his back could get in there to pick you up, if there was an emergency. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378/17 "2011-11-28T23:51:27Z")
I’ve slept in tons of bunkbeds in hostels. I’m only 5’6", but I’ve seen much bigger guys sleep in hostel beds - although they probably weren’t super comfortable. Once I shared a hostel room with a huge guy, probably in the 300lb range, and for unknown reasons he slept in a top bunk. Once he was up there the mattress sagged down almost to the point of touching the bottom bunk, but nothing actually broke. Fortunately nobody had to sleep below him. > [@Alessan](#): > > I don’t know where the idea that the top bunk is better came from. You see it in popular culture, but never in real life. I like the top bunk, as long as the ceiling isn’t too low. I couldn’t say why though. ---
**Author:** ![Bhoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@Bhoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bhoe)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378/18 "2011-11-29T00:45:49Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > 😕 What do you imagine bunk beds to be made of? Most I’ve seen are stout wood. I’ve also seen some metal ones. Maybe an obese person would make a bunk bed fail, but a normal sized person shouldn’t make any reasonably well made bunk bed break. It’s just a silly notion I used to have enforced by too much stupid comedy shows and movies. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378/19 "2011-11-29T01:04:54Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I don’t know where the idea that the top bunk is better came from. You see it in popular culture, but never in real life. Top bunk lover chiming in here. Still (age 48) sleep in a bunk bed on some long-distance train trips (e.g., in India), in dorm rooms in wilderness lodges, hiking hostels etc., and most recently (a couple of weeks ago) in the spare room of a friend’s vacation cabin by the lake. Top bunks are just more fun and always have been. Look Mom, I’m way up here! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378/20 "2011-11-29T01:11:08Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Yeah, me too. > > I don’t know where the idea that the top bunk is better came from. You see it in popular culture, but never in real life. I’ve spent a couple years sleeping on bunk beds and I always prefer the top. The number one reason is that the top bunker _always_ stepped on my mattress to get to the top bunk. Every time. Gross. Plus, shit and vomit flow downhill. I’ve come very close to puking on the lower bunker on a couple of occasions. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bunk-beds/604378.md?page=2)