Moving Truck Size Calculator
Estimate how much space your belongings take and which size of rental moving truck to reserve.
How to use the Moving Truck Size Calculator
- Enter the furnished bedrooms.
- Enter the other furnished rooms – Living room, dining room, office, den.
- Enter the medium moving boxes – About 3 ft³ each.
- Enter the garage / patio / storage areas.
- Enter the large appliances (washer, fridge…).
- Press Calculate. The result updates automatically as you type, and you can switch the result unit at any time.
About the Moving Truck Size Calculator
Renting a truck that is too small means a second trip; renting one that is too big means paying for fuel and space you do not use, and unsecured loads shift more in a half-empty box. This estimator uses average volumes for a furnished room, standard 3 ft³ moving boxes and bulky appliances to give a starting point.
Households vary a lot. A minimalist two-bedroom apartment may fit in a 15 ft truck while a family home with a full garage needs a 26 ft truck. When you are between sizes, choose the larger truck. Truck capacities listed are typical for consumer rental fleets and differ slightly by company.
Formula
Belongings (ft³) ≈ 180 × bedrooms + 150 × other rooms + 3 × boxes + 200 × garage areas + 45 × large appliances
Truck space needed = Belongings ÷ 0.85
The 0.85 factor assumes about 15% of the cargo box is lost to gaps around furniture. The result is the smallest common rental size whose capacity covers that figure.
Example calculation
Using the default values:
- Furnished bedrooms = 2
- Other furnished rooms = 2
- Medium moving boxes = 30
- Garage / patio / storage areas = 0
- Large appliances (washer, fridge…) = 2
the calculator returns:
- Recommended truck: 20 ft truck
- Estimated belongings: 840 ft³
- Truck space needed (with packing gaps): 988.2353 ft³
Frequently asked questions
What size truck do I need for a 2 bedroom apartment?
Usually a 15 ft truck, or a 20 ft truck if the apartment is fully furnished with lots of boxes.
How many boxes fit in a 26 ft truck?
A 26 ft truck holds roughly 1,600–1,700 ft³, enough for around 500 medium boxes if it carried nothing else, or a 3–5 bedroom home with furniture.
How do I load a moving truck efficiently?
Put heavy appliances and furniture against the front wall, stack boxes floor to ceiling in tiers, and fill gaps with soft items such as cushions and bags of linens.
Last updated: · Category: Shipping & Logistics calculators