How to Choose the Right Size Moving Truck Rental

Everyday we get numerous phone calls where the potential customer says something like, "I have an average three bedroom home". The bottom line is that every move is different just like every home is different. You can have two identical homes in terms of number of bedrooms or square feet, but it's what is inside that really counts. In other words, it all comes down to how much stuff you have.

Companies that rent moving trucks will often generalize how much can fit into the truck by using the number of rooms as a point of reference. For instance, if you rent a 16 foot truck from Penske they tell you that it can fit 2-3 rooms. But, as mentioned above, it's more important to focus on how much stuff you have rather than the number of rooms in your home. That is, if you want to rent a truck that will fit all of your stuff.

So, we've taken a different approach and given more realistic examples of what a person might have in their home to match them with the right size rental truck.

The Bachelor

While they may or may not actually be a defined bachelor, they fit the profile. Their two bedroom town home may be 1,000 to 1,400 square feet, but they don't have a lot of stuff. They don't cook often so they have minimal kitchenware, and although their bedroom has a king size suite (usually a queen or king bed frame and bed, triple dresser, double dresser and two nightstands), their guest bedroom is lightly furnished. They don't have much, if anything, in the garage or shed.

Truck Size

While you may be able to get away with a 10 foot or 12 foot truck, we don't recommend it. The exception here would be a college student with a lightly furnished dorm. Your best bet is a 'medium truck' which will vary by truck rental company. Both Penske Truck Rental and Budget Truck Rental have a 16 foot truck, while U-Haul has both a 15 foot truck and 17 foot truck. All of these truck sizes fall into the "medium" category and would likely be a good choice for anyone that fits the description above.

Furniture Pads

You can probably get away with two dozen, but when you consider that moving blankets are cheap to rent you should always have more than less. Get three dozen and be on the safe side.

Loading and Unloading

If you're hiring movers to load and unload the truck then you can estimate that it will take two movers:

• Loading Only: 2-4 Hours
• Unloading Only: 2-3 Hours
• Loading & Unloading: 4-7 Hours

Fuel Consumption (MPG)

There are two major factors that play into how much fuel you will utilize that we cannot incorporate into our estimate; they are age and condition of the truck and the terrain along your route. Obviously, the newer the truck the more likely it will be in good condition and thus provide better fuel economy.

An normal range for a 'medium truck' is between 7 MPG and 11 MPG. To be conservative even with the best conditions (e.g. newer truck and flat terrain) you should anticipate 9 MPG.

The Suburban

This category is the most common selection when customers refer to "average". The home is anywhere between 1,400 and 2,300 square feet and each room is furnished to meet today's expectations. In the dining room they have a large table, six chairs and a china hutch. In each bedroom, including any guest bedrooms, you will find a bed, double dresser, triple dresser and two night stands. The garage, shed or porch has several boxes or plastic totes, bicycles and tools.

Truck Size

If you're not taking everything with you it is possible that you can fit into a 16 foot truck, with some very careful packing and loading. However, it's more likely that you will not have enough space for all of your stuff, so you're best bet is to go with a larger truck option. U-Haul offers a 20 foot truck rental and Penske has a 22 foot truck, both of which would be a good fit for 'the suburban'. If you aren't sure if either of those options will give you enough space then it's probably best to rent the largest moving truck available, which is 26 feet. All three truck rental companies- U-Haul, Penske, and Budget- have a large fleet of 26 foot trucks available.

Furniture Pads

Your safest bet is to rent five dozen blankets. You can get more if you'd like but we do not recommend less.

Loading and Unloading

If you're hiring movers to load and unload the truck then you can estimate that it will take three movers:

• Loading Only: 3-5 Hours
• Unloading Only: 2-3 Hours
• Loading & Unloading: 5-8 Hours

Fuel Consumption (MPG)

These larger trucks typically require diesel fuel and have less of a fuel economy range, although your terrain and vehicle age will still play a role. The normal range for a large truck is between 4.5 MPG and 8 MPG.

The Pack Rat

It doesn't matter how big the home is for this group, they will need the largest moving truck available no matter what. Each room has more furniture than is needed and upon close inspection you may find a phone bill from 1982.

Truck Size

The largest rental truck available is 26 feet and you'll probably need it. All three truck rental companies have 26 foot trucks available for rent.

Furniture Pads

Get a minimum of 6 dozen blankets and remember, the more pads the better.

Loading and Unloading

If you're hiring movers to load and unload the truck then you can estimate that it will take three movers:

• Loading Only: 3-4 Hours
• Unloading Only: 2-4 Hours
• Loading & Unloading: 5-8 Hours

Fuel Consumption (MPG)

Expect your fuel economy to be between 4.5 MPG and 5.5 MPG if you are renting from Penske or Budget. U-Haul claims the fuel economy for their 26 foot truck is a whopping 10 MPG, but I wouldn't count on it.

Continued Reading

More information about the data we provided in this article can be found in these resources:

• Moving Truck Sizes (List)
• How Many Movers Do I Need?
• Average Moving Truck MPG (List)

U-Haul is a registered trademark of U-Haul International, Inc. Budget Truck Rental is a registered trademark of Budget Truck Rental, LLC. Penske Truck Leasing Co., L.P. is a registered trademark of Penske System, Inc. We are not sponsored by or affiliated with any of these companies.