Most moving damage doesn't happen when something gets dropped. It happens on the road, when a load shifts at the first hard stop. Loading a truck well is a skill, and it follows a pattern. Here's the order our crew uses on every truck, U-Haul, POD and trailer.
Before you start
- Stage everything near the door, grouped by type: appliances, big furniture, mattresses, boxes, odd shapes.
- Have your supplies in the truck: moving blankets or pads, plastic wrap, ratchet straps or rope, tape and a dolly.
- Take apart what comes apart. Bed frames, table legs and desk hutches travel safer flat. Bag and label the screws, and tape the bag to the piece.
- Empty the drawers of anything heavy or breakable. Light clothing can stay in dressers if the drawers are taped or wrapped shut.
The loading order
1. Heaviest items to the front
Start at the wall nearest the cab with your heaviest things: fridge, washer, dryer, chest freezer, dressers and solid wood pieces. Weight near the front keeps the truck stable and stops heavy items sliding forward when you brake.
2. Tall, flat items along the walls
Mattresses, box springs, table tops, headboards and sofas (standing on end, if they're safe that way) go flat against the side walls. They act like padding for everything else and use the height of the truck.
3. Build tiers, floor to ceiling
Load in sections across the width of the truck, called tiers. Each tier is a solid wall: heavy boxes on the bottom, lighter boxes on top, filled all the way to the ceiling. Then tie it off and start the next tier. Never build a tall stack in the middle of the floor with empty space around it.
4. Fill every gap
Empty space is what lets things move. Fill gaps with soft items like pillows, bagged bedding and laundry baskets of towels. If a box can wiggle, it can fall.
5. Tie off each section
Run a strap or rope across each finished tier and hook it to the rails on the truck walls. A loaded section that's strapped can't lean back into the next one.
6. Last on, first off
The last things in should be what you'll need first: your essentials box, tools to put beds back together, cleaning supplies, and anything fragile you'd rather carry in by hand.
Protecting furniture
- Pad anything with a finish. Wood, glass and lacquer get a moving blanket, held on with plastic wrap or tape on the blanket (never on the furniture).
- Wrap mattresses and sofas in plastic. It keeps them clean and dry in rain or snow.
- Keep legs and corners off other furniture. A table leg resting on a dresser top will dent it on the first bump.
- Mirrors, glass and art travel on edge, never flat, wrapped and wedged between mattresses or cushions.
Keep out of the truck: propane tanks, gasoline, paint thinner and other flammables, along with your passport, medication, jewelry and anything you can't replace. Those ride with you.
Common loading mistakes
- Boxes first. If boxes go in before furniture, you'll run out of good wall space for the big pieces.
- Heavy boxes on top. Books and kitchen boxes on top of light boxes crush them.
- No straps. Even a short drive across town is enough to shift an unstrapped load.
- Using every bit of the back for "later". Loading the back first means walking past it all day. Work front to back.
Unloading
Unload back to front and put things straight into the room they belong in. Label your boxes by room, not by contents, and have someone at the new place directing traffic. Furniture should be placed where it goes before the boxes come in, so you're not moving boxes twice.
If you've rented a truck or POD and would rather not do the heavy part, our crew can load or unload it for you: padded, tiered and strapped, the same way we pack our own trucks.
Quick answers
What goes in a moving truck first?
The heaviest items: fridge, washer, dryer and big dressers, against the wall nearest the cab. Then tall, flat pieces like mattresses along the sides, then boxes in tight tiers.
Should mattresses go flat or on their side?
On their side, standing against the truck wall and wrapped in plastic. They take less floor space and protect the load around them.
How do you stop things shifting in a moving truck?
Build solid tiers from floor to ceiling, fill every gap with soft items, and strap each tier to the rails on the truck walls before starting the next.
