Note: I'm not really using this bed as directed, so probably don't do as I'm doing, but I'm letting everyone know it's possible (i.e. don't do this with small children, I'm an adult and accept the dangers of removing the side railing of the bed). This is a really good bed for someone tight on space. I recently moved into a really small room and needed storage options, while simultaneously owning an elderly cat that can't make the jump up to a mid-loft bed--insert this Jr. loft! The steps are PERFECT and help my cat get up onto the bed, and there's lots of storage room underneath. I'm a 5' and 120 lb person, and this bed seems very sturdy to me (and even my boyfriend who is 5' 11 and 150 lbs, though we've never sat on the bed at the same time for obvious weight limit reasons). My mattress is much taller than recommended for the bed, and I have a 3 foam pad on top of that, so the mattress very easily cleared the side railing. For this reason, I didn't assemble the bed with the railing and am easily able to slide myself off the side without much problem. I've noticed very little change in regards to stability with the bed without this side railing. Again, if you've got a small kid in this bed, keep the railing for their safety; I'm just a small adult and know how to not fall off. Took a good 3 hours to assemble, but the parts were packaged and organized very well and it was a relatively painless process.
Fantastic bed!
Note: I'm not really using this bed as directed, so probably don't do as I'm doing, but I'm letting everyone know it's possible (i.e. don't do this with small children, I'm an adult and accept the dangers of removing the side railing of the bed). This is a really good bed for someone tight on space. I recently moved into a really small room and needed storage options, while simultaneously owning an elderly cat that can't make the jump up to a mid-loft bed--insert this Jr. loft! The steps are PERFECT and help my cat get up onto the bed, and there's lots of storage room underneath. I'm a 5' and 120 lb person, and this bed seems very sturdy to me (and even my boyfriend who is 5' 11 and 150 lbs, though we've never sat on the bed at the same time for obvious weight limit reasons). My mattress is much taller than recommended for the bed, and I have a 3 foam pad on top of that, so the mattress very easily cleared the side railing. For this reason, I didn't assemble the bed with the railing and am easily able to slide myself off the side without much problem. I've noticed very little change in regards to stability with the bed without this side railing. Again, if you've got a small kid in this bed, keep the railing for their safety; I'm just a small adult and know how to not fall off. Took a good 3 hours to assemble, but the parts were packaged and organized very well and it was a relatively painless process.