Monday, July 25, 2011

How to Decide What Size Moving Truck I Need

If you’ve never moved yourself before, moving truck rentals can be a little confusing. So you may be scratching your head and wondering how to decide what size moving truck you need. Many companies that offer moving truck rentals have written guidelines to help you understand how much can fit into any given truck. If you don’t have access to one of those, however, you can follow these general guidelines:
  • Cargo van: studio apartment
  • 12- to 15-foot truck: three rooms or less
  • 20-foot truck: four or five rooms
  • 24-foot truck: six, seven or eight rooms
When calculating how much room your possessions will take, it’s a good idea to make a comprehensive room-by-room list. When you do, don’t forget items stored in these sometimes forgotten locations:
  • Garage shelving
  • Attic and basement
  • Outside sheds
  • Under-bed boxes
  • Entertainments centers
  • Decks
  • Laundry room
And don’t forget about large items that you’re so used to looking at, you might not think of having to move them:
  • Swing sets, slides, playhouses or other outdoor playthings for children
  • BBQ
  • Washing machine and dryer
  • Extra freezer
  • Lawn equipment
Also, remember to include items related to your pets. These can often be spread throughout the house and may cumulatively take up more space in the truck than you realize.

These guidelines are only a starting point. If you have large, overstuffed furniture, your house is densely packed with a lot of objects or you have many fragile items that require padding, you might want a larger truck. On the other hand, if you don’t have a lot of furniture or a lot of it is collapsible, a smaller truck may do the job.

If you aren’t sure which size to get, it’s a good idea to go larger. It’s better to have too much room than not enough, because if the truck is too small you might have to make two trips. Along those same lines, if you’re going to be pressed for time on moving day and you’re not sure of exactly how much capacity you’ll need, you might want to rent two trucks. That way you won’t have to stack everything perfectly in an effort to maximize the space, which will save time.

No matter what size truck you need, you’ll probably be tempted to look for cheap moving truck rentals when you shop for rates. And that’s a good idea, as long as you don’t put your safety in jeopardy because you want to save a few dollars. You can avoid that by renting from a reputable moving truck rental company and by doing a web search with the word “complaints” after the company name. That should give you a good idea whether you’ll be able to count on the truck you rent. 

Source: http://www.saveologymoving.com/articles/how-to-decide-what-size-moving-truck.aspx

1 comment:

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