HOW TO LOAD A U-HAUL® MOVING TRUCK
Loading a moving truck is a bit like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. You have a whole lot of pieces, but only one piece fits at a time. As you put the puzzle together, you look among the loose pieces for the next piece that fits in. Would it help to have ten people handing you puzzle pieces at random? No, it would just slow down the process.
For similar reasons, the key to loading a moving truck is to bring the household furniture and boxes on to the truck in the right order, one at a time. Why? Because when you load the truck, you will be building a series of vertical tiers from floor to ceiling. Each tier is about two feet thick, or the thickness of a bedroom dresser. You will load very heavy items, called “base,” on the floor at the bottom of the tier, and then vertically stack items on top of each other until you reach the roof of the truck. As you move up the tier, the items become lighter and lighter, until you have things like sofa cushions at the very top. Figures 10.1 – 10.3 show how a tier is built from the bottom up.
In Figure 13.1, very heavy boxes are being used as base at the bottom of the tier. Figure 13.2 shows several chairs covered with furniture pads and laying on their side on top of the base. Finally, Figure 13.3 shows how lighter items have been stacked on top of the padded chairs all the way to the ceiling. Notice the sofa cushions at the very top. They will act as a sort of shock absorber over rough roads. Also notice the start of the next tier using Dish Barrel boxes as base. This process gets repeated tier after tier until you fill the entire truck. The very last items loaded onto the truck will be mattresses and box springs, and they will form a “wall” for tying off the load.
Figure 13.1: Loading “Base” at the Bottom of a Tier
Figure 13.2: Stacking Lighter Items on Top of Base
Figure 13.3: Lightest Items on Top of Tier
For visual reinforcement on how to build furniture tiers, check out this video:
You Tube Visual Reinforcement – Loading the Truck
How to Pack or Load a Moving Truck…
Economy Moving & Storage
Many do-it-yourselfers make the mistake of inviting ten or more friends to help out on loading day, thinking the more helpers the better. Big Mistake!! It does not help to have 10 people bring items to the truck at the same time as that only creates chaos. The best arrangement is to have one Loader, who stays on the truck, and four helpers working in two teams. The job of the Loader is to tell the teams which item, or type of item, to bring out next. The two teams will alternate going into the house and bringing items to the truck.
What can you do if you end up having multiple friends wanting to help on loading day? In that case, the best thing to do is to assign them the task of carrying boxes and other items from the house, onto the front lawn (assuming the weather is nice). Otherwise, the items can be placed in the garage, or living room/dining room. Having all the items in a central location will make it easier for the “loader” to quickly see which items are left for loading onto the truck. Be sure to caution you friends to stay out of the way of the two teams that are carrying items onto the truck.
Dad, you will likely be the Loader, remaining on the truck. As items are carried to the truck, you will pad up wooden furniture items, and load the items onto the tier building from bottom to top. The furniture pads remain on the truck, and as items are brought to the truck by the two teams, you will pad them up and place them on the tier. Figures 13.4 and 13.5 show how wooden chairs are padded after being brought to the truck.
Dad, you will likely be the Loader, remaining on the truck. As items are carried to the truck, you will pad up wooden furniture items, and load the items onto the tier building from bottom to top. The furniture pads remain on the truck, and as items are brought to the truck by the two teams, you will pad them up and place them on the tier. Figures 13.4 and 13.5 show how wooden chairs are padded after being brought to the truck.
Figure 13.4: Wood Chair Placed on Pad
When the teams drop off items on the truck, they will return to the house for the next items while you pad up the furniture. Notice how the furniture pads are folded and stacked on the side of the truck? You just grab them as needed and pad the furniture items. Recall in your Furniture Inventory – TAB 2, that you estimated how many pads you would need? For the full house move we estimated 120 pads! All those pads will be folded and stacked along the side of the truck.
Figure 13.5: Chair Padded and Ready to Stack on Tier
You will need to have a good sense of what items are in the house, and what order they should come out. When I am the Loader, I usually take several quick walks through the house to help me determine what is left, and what should come out next. If one of your helpers has experience as a mover, that person might be best to act as the Loader. If all your helpers are new to moving, Dad, it is up to you to be the Loader. And don’t worry, this isn’t rocket science as they say. Once you get the concept, you will be building tier after tier.
What kind of items are used for base at the bottom of tiers? Dressers and Chest of Drawers, Dining Room Hutches, Appliances, Dish Barrel Boxes, Wardrobe Boxes and heavy Book Boxes. Remember, keep the clothes inside the dresser drawers during a move. If the dresser is super heavy, remove the drawers before moving it, then slide the drawers back in once it is on the truck.
Items that are ‘medium’ weight that go on top of base include large or medium boxes, living room chairs, dining room chairs (loaded on their side), Light boxes go higher on the tier, along with other light items. Cushions and pillows are best for the very top of the tier. Cushions should be at the very top, squeezed against the ceiling of the truck.
The Loader who stays on the truck will pad furniture and appliances after they are carried onto the truck by the two teams of helpers. Padding is not done in the house. The pads remain on the truck, and they are applied to the furniture after it is carried to the truck. Why? It is too difficult to handle heavy furniture with the padding applied. The padding can make the furniture slippery, and you don’t want to worry about padding falling off, or dropping the furniture. Padding is very important for preventing dents and chips. The Loader stays on the truck while the two teams of movers alternate bring furniture, boxes, and other items.