There are many decisions and preparations that need to be made when deciding to move across town, to a different state or across the country. One of the major decisions that you need to make when you are moving is if you are going to hire a professional movers or if you will do the move on your own by renting a moving truck and volunteering friends and family to help. When choosing a moving company, you need to follow certain steps to fully prepare for the move. In some circumstances, professional movers will help pack boxes and prepare furniture as well as pack everything in to the moving truck. Unless you have experience as a mover, there are questions that you need to consider when packing a moving truck such as: How can you make sure that all of the items that you need to move will fit into the moving truck? How can the items in the truck be protected during the move?
If you are renting a moving truck to move items into a storage unit, the same truck packing concerns will apply. Stop N Stor has a variety of storage units in climate and non-climate in sizes from 5×5 to 10×30. If you are moving the contents of the entire home, a 10×30 storage unit is the best storage solution.
Renting a Moving Truck
When renting a moving van, truck, or trailer there are ways to make the rental experience easier. If you reserve the moving truck online via U-Haul, verify the pick-up and return destination. Before driving the moving truck off of the lot, visually inspect the vehicle for broken lights, leaks or other damages. In order to save time and money when renting a truck, have everything that you are moving ready to go the day of the truck rental. If you plan ahead for your moving day, you can save money on gas, mileage, & time.
How to Load a Moving Truck
Make sure that you rent the correct size of the moving truck or van that you need for your belongings. If you only have a few items, then you will not need a large moving truck. The key is to plan ahead thinking of what you need to move as well as being creative and concise in packing the moving truck. Following the eight tips below will help you to utilize every needed space in the truck and protect your belongings during transit.
- Compile moving and packing supplies, such as boxes, a moving dolly, furniture padding and tarps to cover your items, packing tape and straps to keep your items in place on the truck.
- Do not overload the truck’s weight limit as this could cause a drag to the truck, which results in using more gasoline. The weight of the items loading onto the truck should be evenly distributed on both sides.
- Load kitchen appliances and washer and dryers into the truck first. Place these at the back of the truck against the wall closest to the cab. Keep these appliances upright and covered by a tarp.
- When loading furniture onto a moving truck, place items such as mattresses, box springs, headboards, couches and table tops upright against the longest wall of the truck. Then, cover them with mattress and furniture pads. Dissemble bed frames and tables and place them near the table tops or mattresses. Secure the items to each other or to the truck with bungee cords or rope.
- After the furniture and larger items are put in the truck, then start loading in the packed boxes. Boxes can be placed on top of the appliances, but make sure that they are secure. Fill in the empty areas towards the back of the truck with boxes first and then move forward. Put the heavier boxes on the bottom of the stack of boxes and the lighter boxes should be on top. Stack the boxes to the ceiling of the truck with keeping like-sized boxes stacked together.
- Fill in leftover spaces with items that can be used as buffers such as bags of clothing, linens, bedding or pillows.
- Load the most fragile items, such as plants, unboxed lamps and electronics last on the truck.
- The last boxes on the truck will be the first ones that you need in your new home. These “open first” boxes should contain items that you would need right away in your new destination such as paper towels, bathroom needs, garbage bags and tools to reassemble your furniture.
By following simple moving and packing tips, you can fit everything that you need to in your moving truck and make the moving experience much easier. There will always be surprise set-backs on moving day, but if you know that you have planned as much ahead that you can then, you will be much happier.
