How-To Guide · Moving

What Size Moving Truck Do I Need?

Rent a truck that's too small and you're making two trips; too big and you're paying for empty space and fighting a harder drive. Here's how to size a moving truck to your home — and how to get it loaded right.

Reviewed by Tavion McCullough, Operations Manager

Get your exact price first — it takes about 30 seconds.Get my exact price or call 888-611-5351

Quick answer

As a rule of thumb: a 10–12 ft truck suits a studio or small one-bedroom, a 15–17 ft truck a one-to-two-bedroom, a 20–22 ft truck a two-to-three-bedroom home, and a 26 ft truck a three-to-four-bedroom house. When in doubt, size up — one trip in a slightly larger truck beats two trips in a small one. Heavy furniture and appliances fill space fast, so factor those in. For reference, LIOO's fleet is all 26-foot box trucks, each with a lift gate, and a home that won't fit one load can be quoted with a second truck at LIOO's two-truck rates.

Key Takeaways

A longer truck does not always carry more weight: U-Haul rates its 20-foot truck for 5,700 pounds and its 15-foot truck for 6,385 pounds.
A queen mattress fits a 10-foot U-Haul on its long edge, 60 inches tall against a 67-inch door opening.
The smallest rentals have no loading ramp: U-Haul's 10-foot and Penske's 12-foot trucks are loaded by lifting.
If you rent your own truck, LIOO's labor-only crews load it from $140 an hour for two movers.

Moving truck sizes at a glance

Truck size	Roughly fits	Best for
10–12 ft	A few rooms of furniture + boxes	Studio / small 1-bedroom
15–17 ft	1–2 bedrooms of furniture	1–2 bedroom apartment
20–22 ft	2–3 bedrooms of furniture	Small house / large apartment
26 ft	3–4 bedrooms of furniture	Larger house

Capacities vary by rental company; these are general guidelines. Check the truck's listed cubic feet and load limit before you book.

Published specs for U-Haul moving trucks

U-Haul truck	Inside (L x W x H)	Door (W x H)	Volume (cu ft)	Max load (lbs)	Ramp width
10 ft	9'11" x 6'3" x 6'1"	5'11" x 5'7"	402	2,850	No ramp
15 ft	15' x 7'8" x 7'2"	7'3" x 6'5"	764	6,385	2'2"
20 ft	19'5" x 7'8" x 7'1"	7'3" x 6'5"	1,016	5,700	2'2"
26 ft	26'2" x 8'1" x 8'3"	7'9" x 6'10"	1,682	12,859	2'7"

Figures from U-Haul's 10-foot, 15-foot, 20-foot and 26-foot truck pages. Penske lists 450, 800, 1,200 and 1,700 cubic feet for its 12-, 16-, 22- and 26-foot trucks, with load limits of 3,100, 4,300, 10,000 and 10,000 pounds and a ramp on all but the 12-foot. Budget's 16-foot lists 658 cubic feet and 4,460 pounds.

A heavy load can reach a truck's weight limit before the box looks full. Georgia's household-goods rules (Rule 570-38-3-.07) let carriers count a full truck at seven pounds per cubic foot when they calculate charges. At that figure a full 20-foot U-Haul would count as about 7,100 pounds, which shows how a dense load could pass its 5,700-pound limit.

How to size it right

Count by bedrooms, then adjust. A sparsely furnished 3-bedroom may fit a 20-ft truck; a densely packed one needs the 26-ft.
Heavy furniture eats space. Sectionals, mattresses, dressers, appliances, and exercise equipment fill a truck faster than boxes.
Avoid two trips. If your old and new homes are far apart, a single larger truck almost always wins on time and fuel. With any hourly crew the clock runs from arrival until the job is done, so the drive time of a second run lands on the bill too.
Mind access and parking. A 26-ft truck can be hard to maneuver on tight intown streets or in some apartment complexes — check before you reserve.
A 26-foot U-Haul needs no CDL. The truck is rated at 25,999 pounds, and FMCSA's Class A and Class B licenses start at 26,001 pounds.

Will a queen bed fit in a 10-foot truck?

Yes. A queen mattress measures 60 by 80 inches, and U-Haul's 10-foot truck has a door opening 67 inches tall and 73 inches of inside height. Stood on its long edge, the mattress goes through the door and rides against the wall. A solid queen box spring is the same size and goes in the same way. A king is harder. At 76 inches wide it is wider than that 71-inch door and too tall for it on edge, so a solid king box spring has to go in tilted, even though U-Haul lists a king with box spring and frame for this truck. Measure before you book.

Loading the truck efficiently

Load heaviest items first and against the cab — appliances, dressers, and the heaviest furniture — then stack boxes by weight with the heaviest on the bottom. Stand mattresses and tabletops along the walls, fill gaps with soft items, and use straps to secure each tier so nothing shifts in transit. Good loading protects your belongings and lets a smaller truck hold more.

How LIOO's trucks and crews fit the chart

LIOO runs one truck size: 26 feet, box body, lift gate on the back, which is the largest row in the chart. On a full-service move the hourly rate covers the crew plus one of those trucks. When the inventory won't fit a single load, LIOO quotes a second truck on its two-truck rates: $260 an hour with three movers, $305 with four, $355 with five and $405 with six. A two-truck crew starts at three movers. Our two-movers-or-three guide covers how the crew count is chosen.

Renting your own truck and hiring the loading

A rental truck competes with LIOO's own truck, which is worth $20 an hour: each labor-only crew costs exactly $20 less per hour than the same crew with the truck ($140 against $160 for two movers, $180 against $200 for three). Compare that with a rental's daily rate, mileage and fuel before you book one only to have a crew load it.

Rates and minimum: labor-only crews bill $140, $180 or $220 an hour for two, three or four movers, with a 2.5-hour standard minimum, or 3 hours on weekends, same-day jobs and moves 25 or more miles from downtown, and no travel charge inside the metro.
Coverage cap: released valuation on a labor-only booking tops out at $1,000 per move, against $2,000 when the move rides on LIOO's truck.
Parking is yours: under LIOO's terms the customer provides parking at each address. Inside the City of Atlanta, a container or POD placed in the street needs a right-of-way permit from the Department of Transportation.
Heavy items: the limits don't change with the truck. A 400-pound ceiling on any single item and a five-step cap past 300 pounds still apply, and every piano, gun safe or 300-pound-plus item adds the $100 specialty-item fee.

Don't want to load it yourself?

LIOO offers labor-only movers and loading & unloading help — professional crews who load, unload, or both, by the hour, whether you've rented a truck or a U-Haul or moving container. It's the affordable middle ground between a full-service move and doing everything yourself.

Moving truck size FAQ

What size moving truck do I need for a 2-bedroom?+

A 15–17 ft truck fits most one-to-two-bedroom apartments; a densely furnished two-bedroom or a two-bedroom house may need a 20–22 ft truck.

What size truck for a 3-bedroom house?+

A 20–22 ft truck for a smaller or lightly furnished 3-bedroom, and a 26 ft truck for a fully furnished 3–4 bedroom home.

Is it better to get a bigger truck or make two trips?+

Usually a bigger truck — one trip saves time, fuel, and labor, especially if the two homes aren't close. With an hourly crew the second run's drive time is billed as well. Two trips only make sense for very short, local moves.

Can I hire movers just to load a rental truck?+

Yes. Labor-only and loading/unloading crews handle exactly that — you provide the truck or container, and the crew loads and/or unloads it by the hour. With LIOO that is $140 an hour for a two-person crew, and the standard minimum is two and a half hours.

How do I load a moving truck so nothing breaks?+

Load heaviest items first against the cab, stack boxes heaviest-on-bottom, stand mattresses along the walls, fill gaps with soft items, and strap each tier so nothing shifts.

What size truck do professional movers bring?+

It varies by company. LIOO crews come in 26-foot lift-gate box trucks, one per crew on a full-service move; a home that needs more space gets a second truck at the two-truck rates, from $260 an hour with three movers.

Sources

Rented the truck? Let us load it.

LIOO's labor-only crews load and unload rental trucks, U-Hauls, and containers by the hour, from $140 an hour for two movers. Getting a price takes no deposit.

Get my quote in writing ☎ (888) 611-5351

Keep reading

Your next step