Trundle beds are lifesavers for families with too few bedrooms or singles with lots of out-of-town visitors who need to spend the night. A trundle bed is really two beds in one. The trundle frame is on casters and rolls neatly under the main bed — mattress, linens, pillows, and all. Choosing the best cheap trundle bed depends upon how often it will be used, what you can afford, and getting the best-quality bang for the buck.
Parents with youngsters who share a too-small bedroom thank their lucky stars for the genius who invented trundle beds. By day, the second bed simply glides beneath the first, freeing up play and study space. It’s important for mom or dad to remember that kids can be hard on beds, though, and not simply purchase a cheap trundle bed without checking it over carefully. Hardware such as hinges, casters, and the frame itself must be sturdy, and any wood in the frame should not show evidence of cracking or other damage.
On the other hand, a young adult living in a studio or one bedroom apartment and trying to stretch dollars as far as they will go might consider a cheap trundle bed that may not be top quality if it won’t be used often. Visitors aren’t likely to hurtle themselves onto the mattress or treat the bed like a trampoline. As long as the mattress is sufficiently thick to be comfortable, the cheapest trundle bed might be the best choice.
If you are looking for a pop-up type of cheap trundle bed, pay attention not only to the sturdiness of the hinges but how smoothly they operate. Whether the pop-up is one in which you press down on crossed bed legs to release and raise it, or one with a swing-out type hinge, if the release is rusted, dented, or otherwise damaged, it will be annoyingly difficult to raise the bed to sleeping height. Saving a few bucks is almost always good but not if it costs more in aggravation at a later date.
Another option for a cheap trundle bed is to explore used beds. There are plenty of them available, given that trundle beds are a first choice for folks who don’t intend to remain in a cramped apartment or too-small house forever. As they move into larger living quarters, a lot of perfectly good trundle beds appear for sale in newspapers, on Internet sites, and on bulletin boards that can be fine options.