Need some ideas for guests that spend the night occasionally, but I don’t have the space for a full-time setup. Ideally, I could store it and set it up on the floor, when they come over.
Ideas I had are:
Twin size mattress that I would lay on the floor (no box spring) and store vertically in the garage.
Thick piece of quality memory foam that I would store rolled up in the garage.
Folding foam bed. Someone on Amazon wasn’t pleased with an Aerobed air mattress. They purchased the following folding foam bed and were happy with it.
Air mattress, though I’m not too thrilled with this option. Are these comfortable?
Any thoughts as to what would be the best way to go. My sons would be the ones most likely to use this. I would like them to be comfortable while sleeping. They are both about 6"4 and 210 pounds. I live near Sacramento, CA
Hi piperpilot12w,
I think like anything else, what is best for you would depend on the tradeoffs between your guest’s preferences and comfort, ease and space of storage, and perhaps most of all on your budget. It would also depend on whether you wanted to put something directly on the floor or on something portable that would give it some height.
Foam layers less than about 5 - 6" thick on the floor might run the risk of bottoming out for your sons who are both heavier. Denser polyfoams are more durable (say 1.8 lbs and up) and they would also need to be firm enough to be supportive which may not be too comfortable if they were too thin. Local foam shops can probably put a couple of layers together for you (softer on top and firmer for support on the bottom) and cover it with a zip cover for a good price. They can probably also give you good advice about the types of foam they carry that may work best.
I would probably avoid the use of a thick layer of memory foam both because it could also bottom out too easily on the floor and because if it was thick enough to be used on the floor it would leave many people feeling “trapped” in the mattress. Memory foam generally needs a layer of firmer polyfoam underneath it for support and to stop someone from going right through to the floor over the course of the night.
Air mattresses like these or these or these with the “flocked” tops would probably be OK for a few nights for most people who weren’t that fussy about what they sleep on. some are more comfortable than others and they have the advantage of being very portable and inexpensive. Of course run the risk of developing leaks with the person on it ending up on the floor or hammocking into the mattress.
The foldable or rollaway hotel type beds something like this or something like these are also easy to move and store and have a little bit more comfort (depending on the mattress) but they are also a little more expensive. Some are stronger and offer more support than others and most have a flexible base of some type which is softer than the floor so you can use a thinner mattress.
A “regular” mattress would probably be more comfortable (depending on your budget and the type) and have the widest selection if you have the space to store it on edge and you can also get some inexpensive foldable frames like the spa sensations and other similar types here that are easy to store and are quite widely available.
Finally for a higher budget but maybe the nicest solution of all would be a murphy bed such as this. A google search on murphy beds will lead to many links.
That’s about all the suggestions i can think of for now 
Phoenix
I appreciate your thoughts on the matter. Leaning toward a mattress on the floor, maybe with the Spa Sensations foldable bed frame. Main issue is where to store the mattress when not in use.