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What size moving truck do I need?

A 2-bedroom home is 4 furnished rooms, 720 to 960 cu ft of belongings with the loading margin, so a 20 ft truck (1,016 cu ft); a 3-bedroom house is 900 to 1,200 cu ft and a 26 ft truck. The rule is 150 to 200 cu ft per furnished room plus 20%, from a published guide; the rental companies' own picks are shown beside it.

Result

Belongings to move
720 to 960 cu ft
Recommended truck
20 ft truck (1,016 cu ft)
The rental company's own pick
20 ft truck: 2-3 bedroom home
10 ft truck
402 cu ft: 3 trips
15 ft truck
764 cu ft: 2 trips
20 ft truck
1,016 cu ft: 1 trip
26 ft truck
1,682 cu ft: 1 trip

4 rooms x 150 to 200 cu ft per room, plus 20% for loading (Storage Scholars, What Size Moving Truck Do I Need? Complete Guide, read 2026-09-20). The recommended class is the smallest that takes the high end in one trip; 1,016 cu ft; $39.95 a day plus mileage. Company picks: moveBuddha, U-Haul Truck Rental Sizes and Prices, read 2026-09-20. Estimates from published moving guides and rate pages, each with its source and date: quotes from movers and rental companies replace them.

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An 8-week checklist, a box inventory you fill as you pack, the shopping list, the cost summary and the truck on one printable sheet, with Excel export.

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How it works

Belongings = furnished rooms x 150 to 200 cu ft per room (Storage Scholars, What Size Moving Truck Do I Need? Complete Guide, read 2026-09-20), plus 20% for the gaps a real load leaves (Storage Scholars, What Size Moving Truck Do I Need? Complete Guide, read 2026-09-20). The rooms start from the home size (bedrooms plus a living room and a kitchen; a studio is one room) and you change them for a dining room, an office, a garage or a basement.

The recommended truck is the smallest class whose published load volume takes the high end of that range in one trip; if none does, the largest class with the number of trips. US classes are U-Haul’s 10, 15, 20 and 26 ft trucks (10 ft truck 402 cu ft, 15 ft truck 764 cu ft, 20 ft truck 1,016 cu ft, 26 ft truck 1,682 cu ft) with Penske’s 12 to 26 ft trucks in the sources; UK classes are a medium wheelbase van, the 3.5 t Luton (17 m³), the 7.5 t Luton lorry and a removals lorry.

The rule is more cautious than the rental companies: U-Haul suggests a 20 ft truck for a 2-3 bedroom home and the rule agrees, but for a 1-bedroom it picks the 15 ft where U-Haul says the 10 ft may do. In the UK the same 2-bedroom home comes to 20.4 to 27.2 m³, more than one Luton load (17 m³), so the tool says two trips or a 7.5 t lorry, which needs a C1 licence; the hire guides say a Luton moves a modest 2-bedroom flat in one run if it is lightly furnished.

Weight matters as much as volume for a full house: books and a piano can reach a truck’s payload before its walls. The Pro plan keeps the chosen truck with the checklist and the inventory.

Sources of the US starting values

Frequently asked questions

What size truck do I need for a 3-bedroom house?
26 ft truck: 5 furnished rooms come to 900 to 1,200 cu ft with the loading margin, and the 26 ft truck holds 1,682 cu ft. U-Haul lists the 26 ft for 3-4 bedroom homes and Penske its 22 ft (1,200 cu ft) for 3-5 rooms and 26 ft (1,700 cu ft) for 5-7. In the UK a 3-bedroom house is beyond one Luton load; removal firms send a 7.5 t or larger lorry.
How many cubic feet is a 2-bedroom apartment?
720 to 960 cu ft with the 20% loading margin, from 4 furnished rooms at 150 to 200 cu ft each (Storage Scholars, What Size Moving Truck Do I Need? Complete Guide, read 2026-09-20). That is a 20 ft truck in one trip. A lightly furnished apartment sits at the low end and fits a 15 ft truck.
Can I drive a moving truck on a normal licence?
In the US, consumer rental trucks up to 26 ft are driven on an ordinary licence. In the UK, a category B licence covers vans up to 3.5 t (the Luton); a 7.5 t lorry needs C1, which most drivers who passed after 1997 do not hold, so a larger home means two Luton trips or a removal firm.
What if the truck is too small on the day?
A second trip on a local move costs another round of mileage and fuel (the cost calculator counts trips); on a one-way move it is a second rental. Going one class up usually costs a few dollars a day more than the class below and the same mileage rate, so when the range straddles two sizes, take the bigger one.
Does a full truck weigh too much?
It can. Published payloads run from about 3,000 lb for a 12 ft truck to 10,000 lb for a 26 ft (see the Penske rows in the sources); a 3-bedroom house is 6,000-8,800 lb according to the long-distance guide on the cost page. 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.