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How to Pack & Load a Moving Truck

a moving van full of boxes and furniture near house

If you're preparing for a DIY move and have decided to rent a moving truck then you will need to know how to load a moving truck. We've outlined some of the basic fundamental rules that will help you maximize the space in your truck and prevent damage to your cherished household items.

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How to Load a Moving Truck

  • A mattress and boxes have been tied off in a moving containerAlways load the heaviest and largest items first. Place these items against the back of the truck and load from left to right, floor to ceiling
  • You can stack items on top of each other as long as they are of comparable size and weight. Never put a heavy item on top of a lighter item and always wrap your furniture with moving blankets
  • After completing the first tier (a row from left to right), begin to fill in the small gaps with "fillers". Fillers are non-breakable items that can be shaped to accommodate a space on the truck. Examples include clothes in a bag, stuffed animals, blankets, pillows and similar. If you have the room you can also fill in gaps with some moving boxes. Remember, heavy boxes go towards the bottom and lighter boxes and fragile items towards the top.
  • Continue to load furniture and boxes into tiers. Remember, load left to right and floor to ceiling
  • A man places a box on top of other boxes inside of a moving truckTo save space you should put dresser drawers and filing cabinet drawers back into place. The only time you should not do this is if the item is made of particleboard because it has the potential to break while in transit
  • Once you have completed 1/2 - 3/4 of the truck, or whenever the bulk of the heavy items have been loaded, utilize mattresses and box springs to wall off and secure the tiers. Placing mirrors and paintings between the mattress and box spring is recommended as the safest location. If you have rope or tie downs available make sure you tie off in front of the mattress and/or box spring to secure
  • Always load miscellaneous items, like garage tools, bikes, etc, last. Make sure you tape or shrink wrap bed frame components together because they will shift and fall over as you try to load them

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