What size moving truck do I need for a 4-bedroom house? (cubic feet)
A 26 ft truck: a 4-bedroom house is 6 furnished rooms, 1,080 to 1,440 cu ft (30.6 to 40.8 m³) of belongings once 20% is added for loading, and U-Haul's 26 ft truck (1,682 cu ft) takes the high end in one trip with about 14% to spare; the 20 ft truck (1,016 cu ft) means 2 trips. U-Haul's own pick for a 3-4 bedroom home is the 26 ft truck. In the UK the same house needs a 7.5 t Luton lorry (42 m³), which needs a C1 licence, or 3 loads of a 3.5 t Luton van. Below: every class with its trips, what a garage or a home office changes, why the weight can matter more than the walls, Penske's sizes and the UK vans.
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How many cubic feet is a 4-bedroom house?
The rule is 150 to 200 cu ft (4.2 to 5.7 m³) of truck space per fully furnished room, plus 20% for loading (Storage Scholars, What Size Moving Truck Do I Need? Complete Guide, read 2026-09-20). A 4-bedroom house is counted as 6 rooms: the bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen (Declared assumption for the per-room rule, read 2026-09-20). That gives 1,080 to 1,440 cu ft, or 30.6 to 40.8 m³. The truck size calculator lets you change the rooms and the space per room.
Which U-Haul truck fits it in one trip?
Each class with its published load volume and the trips it would take for the high end of the range (moveBuddha, U-Haul Truck Rental Sizes and Prices, read 2026-09-20). U-Haul’s own pick for a 3-4 bedroom home is the 26 ft truck (moveBuddha, U-Haul Truck Rental Sizes and Prices, read 2026-09-20).
| Truck | Load, cu ft | Load, m³ | U-Haul lists it for | Trips |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 ft truck | 402 | 11.4 | studio or 1 bedroom | 4 |
| 15 ft truck | 764 | 21.6 | 1-2 bedroom home | 2 |
| 20 ft truck | 1,016 | 28.8 | 2-3 bedroom home | 2 |
| 26 ft truck | 1,682 | 47.6 | 3-4 bedroom home | 1 |
Is a 26 ft truck big enough for a 4-bedroom house, or do I need two trips?
One trip, with about 14% of the 26 ft truck left over: its 1,682 cu ft against a high end of 1,440 cu ft. That margin is what a garage or a home office uses up. Count each one as a furnished room and the rule gives:
| Rooms | What they are | Belongings, cu ft | Truck | Trips |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | four bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen | 1,080-1,440 | 26 ft truck | 1 |
| 7 | plus a garage, a home office or a basement | 1,260-1,680 | 26 ft truck | 1 |
| 8 | plus two of them, say a garage and an office | 1,440-1,920 | 26 ft truck | 2 |
Weight can run out before the walls do. Penske publishes a payload of 10,000 lb for its 26 ft and 10,000 lb for its 22 ft (Penske Truck Rental, Moving Truck Sizes and Features, read 2026-09-20), and a long-distance moving guide weighs a 4-bedroom-plus house at 9,500 to 13,500+ lb (mygoodmovers, Long-Distance Moving Cost in 2026, read 2026-09-20). No U-Haul payload is published in the sources used here. A full 4-bedroom house with books, tools and a garage can pass the payload before it fills the box: load the heavy things over the axle and ask the rental desk about the payload.
What about Penske?
Penske sizes its trucks by rooms rather than bedrooms. Its 22 ft (3-5 rooms) holds 1,200 cu ft: enough for a lightly furnished house at the low end of 1,080 cu ft, but 240 cu ft short of the high end of 1,440 cu ft, so a full house means a second trip or the 26 ft; its 26 ft (1,700 cu ft) is listed for 5-7 rooms, which is a 4-bedroom house at 6 rooms with a garage at 7 (Penske Truck Rental, Moving Truck Sizes and Features, read 2026-09-20).
| Truck | Load, cu ft | Load, m³ | Penske lists it for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penske 12 ft | 450 | 12.7 | 1-2 rooms | 450 cu ft, 3,100 lb, up to 12 mpg |
| Penske 16 ft | 800 | 22.7 | 2-3 rooms | 800 cu ft, 4,300 lb, up to 12 mpg |
| Penske 22 ft | 1,200 | 34 | 3-5 rooms | 1,200 cu ft, 10,000 lb, up to 13 mpg |
| Penske 26 ft | 1,700 | 48.1 | 5-7 rooms | 1,700 cu ft, 10,000 lb, up to 13 mpg |
What size van or lorry in the UK?
The same 6 rooms come to 30.6 to 40.8 m³. Medium wheelbase van: 8.5 m³; 3.5 t Luton van: 17 m³; 7.5 t Luton lorry: 42 m³; 12-18 t removals lorry: 56 m³ (helpmemove.co.uk, Guide to Removal Van Sizes, read 2026-09-20). A 3.5 t Luton van is the largest a category B licence covers, so a 4-bedroom house is 3 Luton loads (or 5 with a medium wheelbase van) self-drive, or a 7.5 t Luton lorry in one trip with a removal firm. What a removal firm charges for a 4-bedroom house is in the UK removals cost guide.
Truck size by home size
The same rule for every home size, with the rental company’s own pick beside it. Volumes: 1 m³ = 35 cu ft. Every class with Penske and the UK vans, and the truck for a given volume, is in the moving truck size chart; one size down, the 3-bedroom house; the boxes that go inside (about 165 of them) are in the 4-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 |
| 2 bedrooms | 4 | 720-960 | 20 ft truck | 20 ft truck | 20.4-27.2 | 7.5 t Luton lorry |
| 3 bedrooms | 5 | 900-1,200 | 26 ft truck | 26 ft truck | 25.5-34 | 7.5 t Luton lorry |
| 4 bedrooms | 6 | 1,080-1,440 | 26 ft truck | 26 ft truck | 30.6-40.8 | 7.5 t Luton lorry |
| 5 bedrooms | 7 | 1,260-1,680 | 26 ft truck | — | 35.7-47.6 | 12-18 t removals lorry |
Sources: Storage Scholars, What Size Moving Truck Do I Need? Complete Guide, read 2026-09-20; 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; AnyVan, What Size Removals Van Do I Need?, read 2026-09-20; mygoodmovers, Long-Distance Moving Cost in 2026, read 2026-09-20. Load volumes and payloads are the rental companies’ published figures; the per-room rule is a published rule of thumb, not a survey.
Frequently asked questions
- How many cubic feet is a 4-bedroom house?
- 1,080 to 1,440 cu ft (30.6 to 40.8 m³): 6 furnished rooms (four bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen) at 150 to 200 cu ft each, plus 20% for the gaps a real load leaves (Storage Scholars, What Size Moving Truck Do I Need? Complete Guide, read 2026-09-20). Add a room for a dining room, office, garage or basement.
- Is a 26 ft truck big enough for a 4-bedroom house?
- Yes: the 26 ft truck holds 1,682 cu ft against a high end of 1,440 cu ft, about 14% spare (moveBuddha, U-Haul Truck Rental Sizes and Prices, read 2026-09-20). 6 rooms (four bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen) come to 1,440 cu ft at the high end: 26 ft truck in one trip; 7 rooms (plus a garage, a home office or a basement) come to 1,680 cu ft at the high end: 26 ft truck in one trip; 8 rooms (plus two of them, say a garage and an office) come to 1,920 cu ft at the high end: 26 ft truck in 2 trips.
- Can a 20 ft truck move a 4-bedroom house?
- In 2 trips. The 20 ft truck holds 1,016 cu ft, below even the low end of 1,080 cu ft; U-Haul lists it for a 2-3 bedroom home (moveBuddha, U-Haul Truck Rental Sizes and Prices, read 2026-09-20). The 26 ft truck is the one-trip choice.
- What size van do I need for a 4-bedroom house in the UK?
- 30.6 to 40.8 m³ of belongings: a 7.5 t Luton lorry (42 m³) does it in one trip but needs a C1 licence, 3,500 to 7,500 kg gross (GOV.UK, Driving licence categories, read 2026-10-04), or a removal firm; a 3.5 t Luton van (17 m³) on a category B licence takes 3 loads (helpmemove.co.uk, Guide to Removal Van Sizes, read 2026-09-20). The hire guides list the 7.5 t for a large house or small office.
- Does a 4-bedroom house weigh too much for one truck?
- It can before the box is full. Penske publishes a payload of 10,000 lb for its 26 ft and 10,000 lb for its 22 ft (Penske Truck Rental, Moving Truck Sizes and Features, read 2026-09-20), and a long-distance moving guide weighs a 4-bedroom-plus house at 9,500 to 13,500+ lb (mygoodmovers, Long-Distance Moving Cost in 2026, read 2026-09-20). No U-Haul payload is published here. Books, tools, a piano and a full garage push weight up faster than volume: load the heavy things over the axle and ask the rental desk about the payload.
- How many boxes go in that truck?
- About 165 boxes for a 4-bedroom house with two people and an average amount of belongings (53 small, 45 medium, 30 large), 24 rolls of tape, before the furniture. The 4-bedroom box guide lists them by size and by packing style.
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.
- Moving truck size chart: U-Haul, Penske and UK van sizes in cubic feet and m³
Moving truck size chart: U-Haul 402-1,682 cu ft, Penske 450-1,700 cu ft and UK vans and lorries 8.5-56 m³, with the home each moves in one trip.
- 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.