Moving truck size chart: U-Haul, Penske and UK van sizes in cubic feet and m³
U-Haul's rental trucks hold 402 cu ft (10 ft), 764 cu ft (15 ft), 1,016 cu ft (20 ft) and 1,682 cu ft (26 ft); Penske's 450 cu ft (12 ft), 800 cu ft (16 ft), 1,200 cu ft (22 ft) and 1,700 cu ft (26 ft). UK vans and lorries run from a medium wheelbase van at 8.5 m³ (300 cu ft) and a 3.5 t Luton van at 17 m³ (600 cu ft) to a 7.5 t Luton lorry at 42 m³ and a 12-18 t removals lorry of 56 m³ and up. The chart below gives every class with the home its company lists it for and the largest home it moves in one trip under the per-room rule (150 to 200 cu ft per furnished room plus 20%), then the same by home size, by volume and for the UK vans.
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Moving truck size chart
Every truck and van class the calculator knows: the load volume its rental company publishes, the home it lists the class for, Penske’s payload where one is published, and the largest home whose belongings (150 to 200 cu ft per furnished room plus 20%, high end) fit in one trip. Where the two home columns differ, the rule is the cautious one: it counts every room as fully furnished.
| Truck or van | Company | Load, cu ft | Load, m³ | Listed for | Payload | One trip by the rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 ft truck | U-Haul | 402 | 11.4 | studio or 1 bedroom | — | Studio |
| 15 ft truck | U-Haul | 764 | 21.6 | 1-2 bedroom home | — | Up to 1 bedroom |
| 20 ft truck | U-Haul | 1,016 | 28.8 | 2-3 bedroom home | — | Up to 2 bedrooms |
| 26 ft truck | U-Haul | 1,682 | 47.6 | 3-4 bedroom home | — | Up to 5 bedrooms |
| Penske 12 ft | Penske | 450 | 12.7 | 1-2 rooms | 3,100 lb | Studio |
| Penske 16 ft | Penske | 800 | 22.7 | 2-3 rooms | 4,300 lb | Up to 1 bedroom |
| Penske 22 ft | Penske | 1,200 | 34 | 3-5 rooms | 10,000 lb | Up to 3 bedrooms |
| Penske 26 ft | Penske | 1,700 | 48.1 | 5-7 rooms | 10,000 lb | Up to 5 bedrooms |
| Medium wheelbase van | UK van hire | 300 | 8.5 | 1-2 bedroom flat or smaller household | — | Studio |
| 3.5 t Luton van | UK van hire | 600 | 17 | one and two-bedroom flat | — | Studio |
| 7.5 t Luton lorry | UK van hire | 1,483 | 42 | large house or small office | — | Up to 4 bedrooms |
| 12-18 t removals lorry | UK van hire | 1,978 | 56 | long-distance moves or substantial volumes | — | Up to 5 bedrooms |
“One trip by the rule” is the calculator’s own check: 150 to 200 cu ft (4.2 to 5.7 m³) of truck space per fully furnished room, plus 20% for the gaps a real load leaves (Storage Scholars, What Size Moving Truck Do I Need? Complete Guide, read 2026-09-20), against the published load volume. No interior dimensions are printed here because the rental pages that state them could not be read; the moving truck size calculator applies the same rule to your own rooms.
What size moving truck do I need, by home size?
Moving truck sizes by home: the rule for every home size, with U-Haul’s own pick beside it, in cu ft for the US classes and m³ for the UK ones. The rule is more cautious than U-Haul for 1 bedroom (15 ft truck against U-Haul's 10 ft truck) and agrees for studio, 2 bedrooms, 3 bedrooms and 4 bedrooms; U-Haul lists nothing for 5 bedrooms (moveBuddha, U-Haul Truck Rental Sizes and Prices, read 2026-09-20). In detail: what size truck for a 3-bedroom house, what size truck for a 4-bedroom house and, for the boxes that go inside, the 2-bedroom box guide.
| Home | Rooms | Belongings, cu ft | US truck | U-Haul's pick | Belongings, m³ | UK van or lorry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 1 | 180-240 | 10 ft truck | 10 ft truck | 5.1-6.8 | Medium wheelbase van |
| 1 bedroom | 3 | 540-720 | 15 ft truck | 10 ft truck | 15.3-20.4 | 7.5 t Luton lorry or 2 Luton loads |
| 2 bedrooms | 4 | 720-960 | 20 ft truck | 20 ft truck | 20.4-27.2 | 7.5 t Luton lorry or 2 Luton loads |
| 3 bedrooms | 5 | 900-1,200 | 26 ft truck | 26 ft truck | 25.5-34 | 7.5 t Luton lorry or 2 Luton loads |
| 4 bedrooms | 6 | 1,080-1,440 | 26 ft truck | 26 ft truck | 30.6-40.8 | 7.5 t Luton lorry or 3 Luton loads |
| 5 bedrooms | 7 | 1,260-1,680 | 26 ft truck | — | 35.7-47.6 | 12-18 t removals lorry or 3 Luton loads |
Which truck for 300, 600, 1,000 and 1,600 cubic feet?
If you already have a volume (from an inventory, a quote or the calculator), the smallest class that takes it in one trip, US and UK, with the furnished rooms that volume stands for under the rule. 300 cu ft is the medium wheelbase van's load (8.5 m³) and fits a U-Haul 10 ft truck (402 cu ft) with 102 cu ft spare; past 42 m³ (the 7.5 t Luton lorry; 1,483 cu ft converted from m³) a UK move is a removal firm's 12-18 t removals lorry. The US column uses U-Haul's classes, the ones the calculator picks from: a load above the 26 ft truck's 1,682 cu ft and up to Penske's 1,700 cu ft is one Penske 26 ft trip but two U-Haul trips.
| Load, cu ft | Load, m³ | Smallest U-Haul class | Smallest UK van or lorry | Furnished rooms by the rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300 | 8.5 | 10 ft truck | Medium wheelbase van | 1.2 |
| 400 | 11.3 | 10 ft truck | 3.5 t Luton van | 1.7 |
| 600 | 17 | 15 ft truck | 3.5 t Luton van | 2.5 |
| 800 | 22.7 | 20 ft truck | 7.5 t Luton lorry | 3.3 |
| 1,000 | 28.3 | 20 ft truck | 7.5 t Luton lorry | 4.2 |
| 1,200 | 34 | 26 ft truck | 7.5 t Luton lorry | 5 |
| 1,400 | 39.6 | 26 ft truck | 7.5 t Luton lorry | 5.8 |
| 1,600 | 45.3 | 26 ft truck | 12-18 t removals lorry | 6.7 |
Moving van sizes in the UK
UK hire guides size moving vans by gross weight and load in cubic metres: Medium wheelbase van, 8.5 m³ (300 cu ft); 3.5 t Luton van, 17 m³ (600 cu ft); 7.5 t Luton lorry, 42 m³ (1,483 cu ft); 12-18 t removals lorry, 56 m³ (1,978 cu ft) (helpmemove.co.uk, Guide to Removal Van Sizes, read 2026-09-20). A 3.5 t Luton van is the largest class a category B licence covers (up to 3,500 kg gross); the 7.5 t Luton lorry needs a C1 licence, 3,500 kg to 7,500 kg (GOV.UK, Driving licence categories, read 2026-10-04); the 12-18 t removals lorry is a removal firm's vehicle, not self-drive. Professional movers’ truck sizes: the UK sources list that 12-18 t class; US movers’ own trucks are not published here, so the US rows are rental classes only. What a removal firm charges by house size is in the UK removals cost guide.
| Van or lorry | Load, m³ | Load, cu ft (converted from m³) | Listed for | Licence and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium wheelbase van | 8.5 | 300 | 1-2 bedroom flat or smaller household | category B licence; no hire rate sourced |
| 3.5 t Luton van | 17 | 600 | one and two-bedroom flat | category B licence; tail lift |
| 7.5 t Luton lorry | 42 | 1,483 | large house or small office | needs a C1 licence; no self-drive rate sourced |
| 12-18 t removals lorry | 56 | 1,978 | long-distance moves or substantial volumes | removal firms, not self-drive |
How big are moving trucks compared with each other?
Penske’s 26 ft holds 1,700 cu ft against U-Haul’s 26 ft at 1,682 cu ft, a difference of 18 cu ft; Penske’s 22 ft (1,200 cu ft) sits between U-Haul’s 20 ft (1,016 cu ft) and 26 ft; a UK 3.5 t Luton van (600 cu ft) is smaller than a U-Haul 15 ft (764 cu ft) and larger than a 10 ft (402 cu ft) (moveBuddha, U-Haul Truck Rental Sizes and Prices, read 2026-09-20; Penske Truck Rental, Moving Truck Sizes and Features, read 2026-09-20; helpmemove.co.uk, Guide to Removal Van Sizes, read 2026-09-20). U-Haul’s published day rates are 10 ft $19.95, 15 ft $19.95, 20 ft $39.95, 26 ft $39.95, mileage on top (moveBuddha, U-Haul Truck Rental Sizes and Prices, read 2026-09-20); a Luton hire starts from £70 a day (CVS Van Hire, How Much Does It Cost To Hire A Luton Van?, read 2026-09-20). The moving cost calculator prices the rental, with fuel and trips, against movers for your own distance.
Sources: moveBuddha, U-Haul Truck Rental Sizes and Prices, read 2026-09-20; Penske Truck Rental, Moving Truck Sizes and Features, read 2026-09-20; helpmemove.co.uk, Guide to Removal Van Sizes, read 2026-09-20; Storage Scholars, What Size Moving Truck Do I Need? Complete Guide, read 2026-09-20; AnyVan, What Size Removals Van Do I Need?, read 2026-09-20; GOV.UK, Driving licence categories, read 2026-10-04. Load volumes are the rental companies’ published figures (U-Haul’s as reported by moveBuddha, because U-Haul’s own pages refused the fetch); the per-room rule is a published rule of thumb, not a survey.
Frequently asked questions
- What size moving truck do I need?
- By the per-room rule, high end: Studio: 10 ft truck; 1 bedroom: 15 ft truck; 2 bedrooms: 20 ft truck; 3 bedrooms: 26 ft truck; 4 bedrooms: 26 ft truck; 5 bedrooms: 26 ft truck (U-Haul classes; Storage Scholars, What Size Moving Truck Do I Need? Complete Guide, read 2026-09-20). In the UK: studio Medium wheelbase van; 1 bedroom 7.5 t Luton lorry; 2 bedrooms 7.5 t Luton lorry; 3 bedrooms 7.5 t Luton lorry; 4 bedrooms 7.5 t Luton lorry; 5 bedrooms 12-18 t removals lorry; the hire guides themselves list a 3.5 t Luton van for a one and two-bedroom flat (AnyVan, What Size Removals Van Do I Need?, read 2026-09-20). The calculator lets you change the rooms and the space per room.
- How big is a 26 ft moving truck?
- U-Haul's 26 ft truck holds 1,682 cu ft (47.6 m³) and is listed for a 3-4 bedroom home (moveBuddha, U-Haul Truck Rental Sizes and Prices, read 2026-09-20); Penske's 26 ft holds 1,700 cu ft (48.1 m³) and is listed for 5-7 rooms, with a payload of 10,000 lb (Penske Truck Rental, Moving Truck Sizes and Features, read 2026-09-20). Under the per-room rule either one takes up to 5 bedrooms in one trip.
- What is a 300 cubic feet truck?
- 300 cu ft (8.5 m³) is the load of a UK medium wheelbase van, listed for a 1-2 bedroom flat or smaller household (helpmemove.co.uk, Guide to Removal Van Sizes, read 2026-09-20). No US rental box truck in the chart is that small: the smallest U-Haul class, the 10 ft truck, is 402 cu ft, so 300 cu ft leaves 102 cu ft of it empty.
- How big of a moving truck do I need for a 2 or 3 bedroom house?
- A 20 ft truck for 2 bedrooms (4 furnished rooms, 720 to 960 cu ft) and a 26 ft truck for 3 bedrooms (5 rooms, 900 to 1,200 cu ft); a 20 ft truck takes a 3-bedroom house in 2 trips at the high end. The 3-bedroom truck guide below works through every class.
- Are moving van sizes the same in the UK and the US?
- No. US rental classes go by box length in feet and load in cubic feet (10 ft, 15 ft, 20 ft and 26 ft at U-Haul); UK hire classes go by gross weight (3.5 t Luton van, 7.5 t Luton lorry) and load in cubic metres. 1 m³ = 35 cu ft, and the chart prints both for every row.
- Can I drive the biggest moving truck on a normal licence?
- In the UK, a category B (car) licence covers vehicles up to 3,500 kg gross, which takes in the 3.5 t Luton van; a 7.5 t Luton lorry falls in category C1, 3,500 kg to 7,500 kg (GOV.UK, Driving licence categories, read 2026-10-04). Without C1, a home too big for one Luton load means more Luton trips or a removal firm (helpmemove.co.uk, Guide to Removal Van Sizes, read 2026-09-20). US licence rules for rental trucks are not covered here; ask the rental desk.
More guides
- What size moving truck do I need for a 3-bedroom house? (cubic feet)
The cubic feet and m³ a 3-bedroom house takes, which U-Haul, Penske or UK lorry class moves it in one trip, and a truck size chart from a studio to 5 bedrooms.
- What size moving truck do I need for a 4-bedroom house? (cubic feet)
What size moving truck for a 4-bedroom house? A 26 ft (1,682 cu ft) for 1,080-1,440 cu ft of belongings; when a garage or weight means 2 trips; UK vans.
- How many boxes do I need to move a 1-bedroom apartment?
Boxes by size for a 1-bedroom apartment at each packing style, what one to five people change, what a big kitchen adds, the tape and paper, and the truck.
- How many boxes do I need to move a 4-bedroom house?
Boxes by size for a 4-bedroom house at each packing style, what a family of three to five changes, what a garage or office adds, and the truck it takes.
Last updated 2026-10-03. Estimates from published moving guides and rate pages, each with its source and date: quotes from movers and rental companies replace them.