When it comes to moving, the most optimal solution is to hire professional movers to do it for you. Even better is if you can afford to have movers pack, move, and even unpack everything for you. Unfortunately, for many of more modest means, this isn’t always possible. If you should ever have to load a moving truck on your own, there’s a certain science to doing so, particularly if you aren’t an experienced and professional movers.
In part, you want to pack the truck carefully to avoid breaking things, but you also don’t want to pay for more truck than you need or end up renting a truck that is too small for your needs. If you have too much space in the back of a moving truck, you’re increasing your chances of things shifting and items breaking – no matter how carefully you pack it. Here are 5 tips for loading a truck on your own.
1. Disassemble Everything You Can
If you’re packing a truck by yourself, the goal is to make everything as small and light as possible. If you need to move a large piece of furniture such as a dresser, entertainment center or hutch, empty and remove the drawers and shelving and break the main unit down into the smallest pieces possible. If you’re moving a couch, take off all the cushions and pillows and move just the frame first, if possible. Be sure and attach any hardware or screws you remove to the item with masking tape.
2. Use Help
There are a wide range of tools to help you move boxes, large furniture and other items on your own. These include furniture dollies, hand trucks (also sometimes called dollies) and sliders. Hand trucks can be used to tilt large pieces of furniture to slide a furniture dolly underneath them.
Sliders can be used to slide large pieces of furniture across a floor or carpeting without damaging the flooring so that you can get it onto a furniture dolly. In some cases, you may need to slide larger pieces all the way to the door. If you’re packing a truck on your own, the best type of truck to get is one that has a lift on the back, which works similar to an elevator. This will keep you from having to wheel large or heavy pieces up a ramp.
3. Stage All The Large Pieces In Front Of The Truck Before Packing
Before you actually begin packing the truck, you want to move all the largest pieces out to the truck so you can get a visual of what all needs to go in. Packing a truck is much like a game of Tetris. The truck itself may have a shelf up over the cab, which is generally the perfect size for mattresses and box springs. Getting them up there, however, may be a challenge by yourself, so you may opt to fill that space with large but lighter items and leave the mattress and box spring on the main bed level.
4. Pack Largest/Heaviest Items First And Distribute Weight Evenly
The most important part of packing a truck is packing it tightly to avoid shift. The second most important is to distribute the weight evenly. Remember, you have to actually drive this truck, which means putting too much weight in one section can actually make it more difficult – and more unsafe – to drive.
You want to pack large, heavy or bulky items first and then pack in soft or fragile items around them. This way, the large or bulky items don’t fall on top of fragile items. You’ll also want to use packing straps to hold larger items in place. In fact, you can also pack your items in layers from back to front and secure each layer with packing straps. This’ll keep items from shifting from back to front or front to back as you brake and accelerate.
5. Fill In The Gaps With Soft, Light Items
Instead of packing soft items like linens, clothing or pillows in boxes, pack them in bags instead. You can then use them as padding to fill in gaps in the truck to keep things from shifting and moving.
Should reading this article make you think twice about moving your home on your own, don’t hesitate to enlist our help. We can do anything for you when it comes to packing and moving. From simply loading your truck for you, or just offloading it to executing an entire move from start to finish as well as packing and even unpacking if you’d like. Feel free to call us at 240-570-8539 for a free moving estimate or fill out our form below and we’ll get back to you shortly.
