Packing Your Moving Truck

by Zac Kandell | Updated: Dec 20, 2019

Moving requires as much work and thought as you can give it — and then some. For example, have you thought about the best way to pack your moving truck? Probably not. Yet another reason you need to follow a good moving checklist.

With the right knowledge, packing your moving truck efficiently can be routine. Read on to see what you should consider when doing this.

Get the necessary equipment before you start

Not just the truck, but everything you might need. A cart to help move heavy boxes, all the boxes and packing tape you’ll need, and anything else on your moving checklist. Make sure you have all of it before you put anything in the truck since nothing kills your momentum like a last minute trip to get one little thing you’ve forgotten.

Make sure you have the right size truck

You really don’t want to be caught off-guard with the wrong size truck. The laws of physics start to get in your way if the truck is smaller than you need. Here’s a rough guide for how large of a truck you’re going to need.

Don’t try to do it alone

Don’t try to load everything in the truck beforehand, thinking you’ll save others the trouble. For lifting and moving such large items, you’re going to need some help. If you can load smaller items where they need to go, that’s okay, but don’t try to do all the loading yourself.

Store the most sensitive and fragile items in the cab

Think about what you don’t want leaving your sight. Important documents, identification, or items that may break easily are best kept in the cab of the truck. This way, they’ll always be close to you and you’re much less likely to lose track of them in the move.

Lighten and break down furniture

Furniture is going to be your biggest headache. Where possible, take things apart to be reassembled later. Take all items out of drawers and store them separately, but well-organized. You want whatever furniture you can break down to be lighter and smaller to get the most out of your truck.

Start with the heavy and bulky items

This helps greatly with stability. Put the heaviest items in first, then the bulky items around them. You want to make sure to never put a heavy object on top of a lighter one. Go for an I-shape distribution of heavy items, if possible.

Distribute weight evenly in the truck

Make sure that the truck is balanced. This is a safety issue more than anything else. Having too much weight on one side could lead to the vehicle drifting or even tipping over while moving.

Place long items upright

If you’re having trouble getting everything in the truck, take advantage of the vertical space. You’ll need to make sure to add more weight to the other side to compensate, but putting a desk or couch vertically might be necessary to be able to fit everything in.

Fill holes between the big items

There should be gaps between the large items, which is where everything else goes. Heavy boxes go at the very bottom, while lighter boxes or bags of stuff go on top of those. You can even use pillows, blankets, or bags of clothes as cushioning for fragile items or to keep everything in place, rather than leaving space that might lead to things shifting in transit.

Think about it like Tetris

We’re only kind of kidding on this one. You have a lot of weirdly shaped objects to try and fit together. A little bit of thinking like you’re playing Tetris will help you to see how best to fit everything together.

It’s not easy to pack up a moving truck. You won’t do as well as the professionals, but with a few pointers and some trial and error, you can make it work much better than you’d think you can.

Categories: Moving, Renters

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