How to Load a Moving Truck the Right Way

When moving house, a single mistake – even a seemingly small one – can cause a lot of trouble and ruin your entire relocation experience.

This is all the more true in the event of a self-move when you don’t have professional help and need to take care of all moving tasks yourself. You need to know how to do things right or you risk turning your move into a relocation nightmare. And since ensuring the safety of your belongings is, arguably, the most essential factor in achieving a successful relocation, you’ll definitely want to know how to provide good protection to your items during transit.

Proper packing, of course, comes first in that regard. Proper loading is a close second.  Even a well-packed item can be easily damaged if it bumps against another in the moving truck or topples over during a sharp turn or a sudden stop.

Besides, an improperly packed truck will be more difficult to drive and, therefore, more likely to have an accident.

On top of that, if you can’t pack the truck tightly and utilize the available space well enough, you may be forced to make multiple trips between your old residence and your new one (or leave some of your items behind if that is not an option).

So, before you start carrying boxes up the ramp of your rented moving vehicle, make sure you know how to pack a moving truck the right way – so that you can maximize the available space and minimize the risk of damage to your items.

What to Do Before You Start Packing a Moving Truck

As is usually the case, proper preparation matters as much as the actual job – to be able to properly load your rented moving truck, you need to be well prepared:

1) Choose the right size moving truck

When renting a truck to transport your belongings to your new home, you need a vehicle that is big enough to accommodate all your items, but not so large that it remains half-empty (you don’t want to be paying for space you won’t use).

To find out what size moving truck will be right for you, you need to calculate the total cubic footage of the items you have for moving and check what amounts different trucks can hold (click here for more detailed information on the topic).

Keep in mind though that truck rental companies calculate the entire space in the vehicles when listing the sizes of their moving trucks in cubic feet – yet, it is virtually impossible to use the full capacity of the trailers as no one can load and pack a truck so well that there are absolutely no empty spaces (although professional packers and movers come pretty close to it).

Therefore, it is advisable to opt for a moving van that has about 15% more storage space than the estimated cubic footage of your belongings.

Must-read: Moving truck rental guide

2) Make sure you have all the necessary tools and equipment

To avoid property damage and personal injuries while loading the moving truck and minimize the risk of damage to your items, you need to use the right equipment for the job – moving dollies, moving straps, furniture sliders, moving blankets, etc.

These simple, yet highly useful tools will make your DIY-move much safer, easier, and more efficient.

3) Provide the best possible protection to your belongings

Use quality packing materials and safe packing techniques to ensure that your items survive the move intact and unscathed.

Place as many of your items as you can in similar-sized moving boxes – professional packing boxes are very sturdy and designed to stack nicely on top of one another, which helps maintain the integrity of the load.

Make sure all boxes are labeled with their contents, destination room, and necessary handling instructions.

4) Disassemble furniture

Taking large furniture pieces apart will make them easier to pack and carry and will reduce the risk of accidents and damages during the relocation. It will also help you maximize the space in the moving truck and distribute the load more evenly.

Click here to find out how to disassemble furniture for moving.

5) Protect your property

To prevent damage to the floors, stairs, walls, doors, etc. while taking your items out of the home and into the moving truck, you need to take some precautionary measures to protect your property – cover floors and staircases with protective, anti-slippery materials, wrap banisters and railings in moving blankets, use foam padding and corner guards to protect door frames and wall corners, etc.

See also: How to protect floors when moving; How to protect stairs when moving

6) Clear the way of obstacles

The fewer obstacles there are along the way, the smaller the risk of accidents during the loading process.

So, be sure to remove debris, fallen leaves, snow, ice, mud, and other potential hazards from the path between the front door of your home and the moving van; remove potted plants, boxes, and other items from the entryway and the corridors of your home; take down hanging items such as wind chimes, pictures, and mirrors; etc.

7) Ask friends for help

Loading a moving truck is not a one-man job – if you attempt to manage on your own, you risk not only injuring yourself and damaging your belongings and your property (if you drop a heavy piece of furniture or a box of breakables, for example), but also wasting precious time and even losing money in the process (your truck rental time will be longer and will cost you more, you may need to pay for repairs and replacements, etc.).

Having friends to help will considerably speed up the loading process and will make it safer and easier.

See also: Let friends help you move

Now you’re ready to get your rental truck and start loading it.

How to Load a Moving Truck Safely and Efficiently

The best way to pack a moving truck is to create a tight, evenly distributed load, so that everything is balanced and your items are secured in place:

1. Lay a tarp on the floor of the trailer to protect your items from dust and dirt;
2. Load your largest and heaviest items first – kitchen appliances, weighty furniture (dressers, cabinets), etc. Place them in the front of the truck (against the wall closest to the cab) and be sure to distribute their weight evenly – for example, position the washer on the opposite side from the fridge;
3. Pack in tiers – from floor to ceiling, with the heaviest items on the bottom. The top of a tier should be close to the trailer ceiling, so you may want to stack some lightweight items on top of your appliances and other heavy household objects if there’s too much space left above them;
4. Pack items tight, like a jigsaw puzzle, to prevent them from shifting and rubbing against one another during transit. When you finish the first tier, fill the small gaps between the items with soft, non-breakable items like bags of clothing or linen, pillows, etc. that can be “crushed” to accommodate any empty space in the truck;
5. Wrap a ratchet strap or rope around the items from the first layer to hold them together and keep them secured in place;
6. Load longer items (sofas, headboards, mattresses, etc.) next – put them along the long walls of the track and keep them upright to optimize space. Secure each of these items to the sides of the truck with moving ratchet straps. Place pictures and mirrors upright between mattresses and headboards and tabletops – between couches;
7. Position desks, chairs, tables, and other similar pieces in the middle. Put some heavy boxes in the cavities underneath them to optimize the space and help keep the furniture pieces in place;
8. Load the rest of your boxes, taking care to put heavier and larger ones on the bottom and smaller and lighter ones on top;
9. Place miscellaneous, lightweight articles on top and around the heavier items. Make sure they don’t move around during transport;
10. Load open-first boxes last, so you have easy access to your essentials and the most important items from each room. These boxes should be the first to be unloaded when you reach your new home (as they will allow you to make it livable immediately after arrival and will facilitate the unpacking of the other items), so they should be near the back door of the moving truck.

Extra Tips for Packing a Moving Truck

Packing a moving truck is a tricky endeavor, so a few bonus tips and tricks on how to do it right won’t go astray:

• Unless you can park the rented moving truck in your own driveway, reserve a parking place as close to the door of your home as possible;
• Keep the items you will need during the trip and your most important and most valuable possessions (documents, jewelry, essential electronics, etc.) in the cab with you (See also: Essential things to have on moving day);
• Load the front of the truck first and work your way toward the back;

• Be careful to distribute the weight of your items evenly throughout the truck – from front to back and side to side. Loading your heaviest belongings in an “П”-formation is a good way to achieve even distribution;
• Load the truck in layers and make sure each layer is self-contained and independently secured, so that the items in it don’t bump into or rub against items from an adjacent layer;
• Make sure every item in the truck is safely wrapped in protective materials (furniture blankets, paper paddings, plastic wrap, mattress covers, etc.). Use plenty of padding to provide insulation between the items and make the load as tight as possible. Use sturdy straps or ropes to secure the articles in place;
• Secure the items as you load – tie down each large object to keep it safe, then wrap a long sturdy rope (or ratchet strap) around all the items in a tier;
• Do not stack boxes containing fragile items under other boxes and do not put anything heavy on top of them;
• Do not place heavy boxes or items on top of thin-legged furniture;
• Fill any remaining space between the top of the tiers and the truck’s ceiling with soft, non-breakable items;
• If there’re several people helping you move, designate two of them to remain in the truck while the others are carrying items. This will not only speed up the loading process, but will also result in a tighter, better fitting load as the same people will be arranging all the items and will know the best place for each and every piece;
• When all your items are loaded on the moving truck, replace the ramp, close the back of the truck, and push the safety pins into place;
• Ensure your personal safety while loading the moving vehicle:
  • Wear comfortable clothes according to the current weather conditions, enclosed sturdy shoes with a good grip, and work gloves (avoid baggy clothes and long jewelry pieces that may get snagged and cause you to trip and fall);
  • Get a firm footing before lifting a heavy object;
  • Lift with your legs and bend your knees when picking up or setting down an item. Keep your back as straight as possible throughout the process;
  • Know your route before you lift an item and plan your next step in advance. Move slowly and carefully;
  • Make sure you can see where you’re walking;
  • Have a second person support heavy items when taking them down stairs and up the loading ramp;
  • Make sure the loading ramp is fully extended, dry, and free of debris.

Good to remember: Loading a moving truck is a laborious and risky process. If you’re not up to the challenge or don’t have physically strong friends who are willing to come and help you on moving day, consider hiring professional moving assistance:

• Loading and unloading services – You can request loading and unloading services from a professional moving company and have a couple of movers come to your home to assist you with loading your items. You can get as much or as little help as you want – the workers can disassemble your furniture, prepare your larger household items for shipping, and load the moving truck for you, but you can also limit their services to loading heavy furniture or taking care of a specialty item only;
• Moving labor – You can hire several workers to come to your home on moving day and load your items on the rented moving truck. You will be charged by the hour for using moving labor services;
• Pickup and delivery services – If you prefer to pack and unpack your belongings yourself but don’t want to rent and drive a moving truck, you can hire a moving company to transport your items to your new home. The movers will load the moving van, drive it to your final destination, and unload the shipment for you.

Loading a moving truck takes a lot of time and effort – and poses many risks. Driving the large moving vehicle to your new home is just as difficult, time-consuming, and risky.

You can save yourself plenty of time and avoid any unnecessary self-moving risks by hiring professional movers to help you relocate. The pros will take the burden off your shoulder – both literally and figuratively – and will perform your move in the safest, fastest, and most efficient way possible. Your chosen movers will not only load, transport, and unload your items, but will also provide you with any extra services you may need to ensure the successful outcome of your relocation adventure and will ensure your peace of mind.

You won’t have to lift a finger (or a single moving box) and will enjoy a smooth and stress-free moving experience – just make sure you find reliable movers for your forthcoming relocation.