Tips for Loading a Moving Truck

Moving is no fun! 

Doing all the labor for a move yourself is hard, I commend your efforts. I definitely know what it is like to not be able to splurge on movers, and it is definitely a lot of tough work. Between boxing all your stuff, hiring a moving truck, and moving all all of the boxes and furniture, you definitely have your work cut out for you. The following are some tips to make moving all your boxes and furniture into a moving truck just a little bit easier.

1. Get the right size truck. There is nothing worse than realizing you don't have enough room in your moving truck to fit everything. It is extremely important to go with the right size moving truck. Either calculate how much space you need yourself, or get an estimate from where your renting from the place you rare renting the moving truck. To avoid too small of a van, I always err on the side of caution by renting a moving truck that is slightly bigger than what I actually need.

2. Think about how everything will fit. Before you even start packing, consider how you want to organize all the items in the truck. A moving truck is like a puzzle, and every piece will need to go in its place.

3. Put one person in charge. Have one person that actually organizes and places everything inside of the van. When you have a bunch of people just throwing stuff in the van there is a tendency for chaos to ensue.An unorganized moving van is also a lot harder to unpack.

4. Load heavy items first. Put all of the heavy and large items in first. These will obviously need to be on the floor of the van.

5. Lighter items last. Items that can just be squeezed in or thrown on top, save for last.

6. Padding. For items you don't want scratched put a sheet over or some other form padding. Couch cushions, blankets and mattresses are a good way to put cushion in between large items. It is also smart to not put heavy items next to or on top of each other to avoid scratching on the road.

7. Put stuff inside of appliances. If you are moving appliances, you can put items inside of the appliances to save space. Small boxes, towels, pots and pans can fit inside of the appliance.

8. Mattresses. If you have multiple mattresses, you can use the cushion of the mattresses to protects things like pictures and mirrors.

9. Pack everything tightly. You should try to pack everything as tightly in as possible to avoid shifting during the move.

10. Bungee cords. If you have excessive space inside of your van, it is a good idea to strap down bigger items to avoid sliding.

Where is my Truck?

When you use a moving company one thing you may notice is the moving truck drive takes a lot longer to get your new location than it is going to take you in your personal vehicle. It can be frustrating to arrive at your new home and wait for a long time for your stuff to arrive. Most of us want to get our stuffed moved in as soon as possible, because the sooner we start assembling our new home the sooner the whole move will finally be over with.

Moving truck drivers are not just cruising around during this time to make your family wait. The following is explaining why moving trucks take so much longer to get to a location.

1. No Moving Trucks Allowed

There are many roads that trucks are not allowed on. For that reason moving trucks often have to go on out of the way routes to get to your new location. These routes are usually extremely inefficient, but it is absolutely necessary for moving trucks to take the alternative way due to traffic regulations.

2. Traffic Rules 

The average driver goes around 5 mph above the speed limit. Professional moving truck drivers cannot take this risk of speeding at all. A traffic ticket is a huge threat to their livelihood;l so if the posted speed limit is 25 mph, they are going 25 mph.

3. Slow Down, Speed Up 

It takes moving trucks a lot more time to speed up or slow down. This has a lot of impact on how efficient a drive can be. For one thing, it means moving truck drivers need to drive extremely defensively, because if someone slams on their breaks they need more than enough room to stop. It also means getting started when the red light turn green takes a lot longer. All of these little things add a lot of time onto a drive.

4. The Law

The law is that drivers can only drive 11 hours a day. In addition, they are only allowed to work a total of 14 hours a day. For long-distance moves, these laws make a huge difference. Some moving truck drivers would love to pull all nighters to just get the job done to get home sooner, but doing so can get them and the moving company in a great deal of trouble with the Department of Transportation.

5. Unexpected Traffic 

Remember that unexpected traffic can happen anytime, anywhere. Unpredictable accidents, popular events and many other things can cause traffic to be extremely heavy. While most drivers will try to avoid expected rush hour traffic, incidental traffic is nearly impossible to avoid.