# If Trump built a wall how hard would it actually be to climb over **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 1, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494 "2016-08-01T20:44:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494/21 "2016-08-03T15:06:31Z")
Building a physical wall is silly and impractical, obviously. IF you oppose illegal immigration, the way to fight it is the way most Republicans would never accept: by coming down hard on employers who hire them. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494/22 "2016-08-03T15:11:04Z")
If TrumpCo or whatever builds it, I’d imagine one could huff and puff and blow it down pretty easily. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494/23 "2016-08-03T15:13:14Z")
This wall will be SO tall that you will pass out of oxygen deprivation before getting to the top! ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494/24 "2016-08-03T15:56:42Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > This wall will be SO tall that you will pass out of oxygen deprivation before getting to the top! Me or Trump? Cause I’d like to think I’m in pretty good shape. You know, if those ‘Tough Mudder’ races become an Olympic sport one day all the people who climbed the wall would do great. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494/25 "2016-08-03T16:07:23Z")
So. I’m having a retaining wall built on my property today. It will be about 30 feet long, and about 5 feet high. The landscaping company is pretty much all Hispanic. At the end of the project maybe I should ask the crew if they can climb the wall, just for a photo op.😃 Of course, I’m not as good a negotiator as Trump, so I can’t get them to pay for it. I’m actually paying them!! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494/26 "2016-08-03T16:18:15Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > So. I’m having a retaining wall built on my property today. It will be about 30 feet long, and about 5 feet high. The landscaping company is pretty much all Hispanic. At the end of the project … You should tell them they have to pay for it! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494/27 "2016-08-03T16:20:12Z")
The wall that he is currently building will take _years_ to climb over. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494/28 "2016-08-03T16:33:43Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > The wall that he is currently building will take _years_ to climb over. Because it’s YUUUUUGE! Of course, anyone could just fly a drone over, no problem. So there’s that. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494/29 "2016-08-03T16:48:35Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Climbing over the wall would probably be fairly easy. However, if there are people shooting at you while you do it, you probably won’t try. The wall alone won’t do it. Armed response has to be part of the solution. So you have the guys with the guns there. Why not save money and not bother with a wall? If you must have a barrier, why not barbed wire fence or something? ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494/30 "2016-08-03T16:55:03Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > We’re not going to build some **loser** wall like you are talking about. It’s going to be a _great_ wall, the _best_. We’ve got top people working on how we’re going to do it. It’s going to be an _American_ wall built by patriotic people. Bolding Mine… Darn it…I read this as Laser wall, and thought you had some cool effect in mind. Now I’m picturing that invisible wall at the beginning of _The Running Man_ “Border Deactivated…Border Deactivated” and then someone’s head blowing up. Or the more tame wall from Lost ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494/31 "2016-08-03T17:11:56Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > This is exactly why the real life border fence uses bollard panels. I do not know what they are, and neither does Wikipedia. Link? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494/32 "2016-08-03T17:39:57Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > There was a show on some cable channel (Maybe Penn and Teller’s Bullshit?) that went through the exercise of building a 20 foot fence and showing how quickly people could get through it. Since most of the area was desert, digging out enough sand to squeeze under it took like 3 minutes. It occurs to me that if the desert is fairly tough to cross, you don’t need much of a wall. Just something that a car or horse can’t get past. So, people can drive up to the wall in a jeep, dig underneath it in 3 minutes, then they must cross the rest of the desert on foot. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494/33 "2016-08-03T17:51:47Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I do not know what they are, and neither does Wikipedia. Link? [This](http://cdn.sandiegouniontrib.com/img/photos/2011/04/02/border_0001_r900x493.jpg?122770e84b36f1c039d5c4c2ca15c2d8bc4ecd52) is a bollard fence. Really designed more to keep vehicles or horses from crossing, not necessarily people. Although if you position each bollard close enough to it’s neighbor, it can do that as well. Prohibitively expensive, for the application in question. A good story on what is good about a bollard fence can be read [here.](http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/bollard-border-fence-draws-good-reviews-on-first-anniversary/article_3c0e21c6-e884-11e1-aedc-001a4bcf887a.html) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494/34 "2016-08-03T18:01:08Z")
Cheers. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494/35 "2016-08-03T18:34:32Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > It occurs to me that if the desert is fairly tough to cross, you don’t need much of a wall. Just something that a car or horse can’t get past. So, people can drive up to the wall in a jeep, dig underneath it in 3 minutes, then they must cross the rest of the desert on foot. If you want to discourage pedestrian desert crossings, you’ll have to get those pesky humanitarian groups to stop installing [water stations.](http://www.humaneborders.org/water-stations/) Maybe replace them with [automatic sentry guns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentry_gun) instead. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494/36 "2016-08-04T04:32:31Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > IF you oppose illegal immigration, the way to fight it is the way most Republicans would never accept: by coming down hard on employers who hire them. Who’s in favor of it? > [@Biffster](#): > > Because it’s YUUUUUGE! > > Of course, anyone could just fly a drone over, no problem. So there’s that. How YUUUUGE? Drones can only legally fly to 400’. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494/37 "2016-08-04T11:52:38Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Who’s in favor of it? You’ve never heard of anyone being in favor of open borders? ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494/38 "2016-08-04T15:44:24Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > You’ve never heard of anyone being in favor of open borders? Wouldn’t open borders negate the illegal part? ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494/39 "2016-08-04T15:59:26Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Climbing over the wall would probably be fairly easy. However, if there are people shooting at you while you do it, you probably won’t try. The wall alone won’t do it. Armed response has to be part of the solution. Yeah, I’m thinking the Iron Curtain in Europe was manned with military grade machine guns and anyone seen in no-man’s-land would be quickly dead. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494/40 "2016-08-04T16:05:35Z")
Let’s not forget the friend of every sealed border – the land mine. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-built-a-wall-how-hard-would-it-actually-be-to-climb-over/761494.md?page=3)