The process of moving house is a unique opportunity to test out your decision making abilities under pressure. Get ready for a score of important choices to be made – choices that will not only determine how your entire house move develops, but ones that will unlock another set of equally important choices to be weighed and considered in due time.
For example, should you conclude that the best course of action is to move without the assistance of a professional removal company, then that critical decision, which must be cautiously made, will free fundamental questions for consideration, such as
How to organize my whole move by myself?
How to pack up my entire house on my own?
How to move my heavy furniture all by myself?
What size of a moving van to hire?, and
How to properly pack a moving van?
At first glance, you will probably think that the last puzzle has the easiest solution, but a second more thorough look will prove to you that the most efficient way to load a moving truck anything but easy. So, to help you simplify that heavy task when the right time comes, we’re offering a number of good tips for packing a moving van safely and efficiently.
What to know when moving on your own
Moving house without hiring professional removals to tackle the hardest aspects of your move is a brave decision that should only be taken after analyzing objectively the current situation. The possible assumption that Do-It-Yourself house moves are always cheaper than those assisted by the pros could get you into a relocation mess with a financial bottom line that you wouldn’t like at all.
Before you dive into the world of self-organizing and self-executing your relocation, you must be aware of some important pointers to help you decide what’s best for you.
Distance. The distance between the starting point and the final destination, that is the move distance between the two homes, plays a significant role for whether or not you should hire a van and move your household belongings by yourself. Driving a long distance across the country is seldom a good DIY option when it comes to transportation costs, road accidents and safety of your possessions.
Experience. Previous relocation experience is another fundamental factor to keep in mind when you’re moving on your own. Have you moved house before? Are you familiar with the challenges of organizing a smooth move? Have you ever packed an entire household without professional packers? And of course, do you even know where to begin the task of loading a moving vehicle safely?
Unfortunately, loading a moving van is not a game you can actually enjoy.
Number and nature of items for transportation. This factor is really important for your decision to move all by yourself or hire the pros. The higher the number of your possessions is, the more time you will need to prepare, pack, and load them into a moving vehicle. Similarly, moving your book collection cannot possible compare to your resolve to move your piano, for example.
Helping hands. Let’s face it – friends are what makes a self-move possible in the first place. So, if you don’t have too many helping hands to count on, or you only think you do, then you can’t possibly get help packing a moving truck, and of course, the assistance of packing up your home before that.
Many home movers tend to think that if they manage to wrap up their household items by themselves, the only other moving expense will be the combined price of hiring a moving van (initial fee + fuel + additional fees). However, what such people on the move tend to forget is that, in most cases, a self-move has a score of additional DIY costs known as hidden costs. Such not-so-obvious expenses include but are not limited to buying suitable packing supplies, renting adequate moving equipment, purchasing moving insurance, lodging along the road if the relocation trip lasts more than 1 day, and even possible self-injuries or property damage due to lack of experience.
Thus said, if you’ve taken all the costs and risks into consideration, and then decided that you can actually do it on your own, then it’s time to think about renting a suitable moving vehicle to transport your earthy possessions with. So, here’s what you should know before you hire a moving van for your forthcoming relocation:
Do you have a friend or maybe a co-worker who has a suitable cargo van or maybe a pick-up truck? If you do, then that is arguable the best option for you. Ask them if you can use their vehicle, and don’t forget to pay for the troubles and expenses, reward their readiness to help, or re-pay the favour in an appropriate way.
If you don’t know any friends with cargo vans, then a simple Google search with “van rental companies” will give you a good list of the biggest and most reliable companies in the country where you can hire a moving vehicle of the right size.
Request free quotes directly from the websites of the rental companies, so that you can later compare the prices and conditions carefully.
Do not be too quick to accept the lowest price bid, but be sure to ask the rental agencies about all van rental conditions and all possible fees and penalties you may encounter during your van rental period.
Oops! It seems like you underestimated the number of your items for moving.
Now, knowing what size of rental van you will need is monumentally important. If you’ve never rented and loaded a moving vehicle in your life, then the van size will most likely be a complete mystery to you. In general, the available sizes come in small, medium, large, extra large, and Luton vans, while the loading spaces start anywhere from around 99 cubic feet and go up to 671 cubic feet for the Luton van models.
Oftentimes, knowledgeable experts from the van rental companies will help you select the right size of moving vehicle for you. However, you should know what is at stake in both van rental scenarios before you take their word for it.
If you book a moving van with less load space that you actually need, then you will be forced to do one of these things: 1) make more than one relocation trips which can be out of the question if you’re moving long distance, 2) leave some of your stuff behind which can also be a bad option, or 3) rent a larger moving lorry which will being about additional lost time, money, and nerves.
Renting a moving van with a bigger loading space is still the better option but that can hide a couple of risks as well. First of all, you’ll be paying for storage space which you won’t be using anyway, and secondly, the chance of having your items damaged is higher should you fail to secure them really well and thus protect them from any accidental movements and the usual vibrations of the cargo vehicle itself.
How to pack a moving van safely
Now that you know for sure that you won’t really need professional packing and loading assistance, and you are perfectly aware of what it takes to rent a moving vehicle of the right size and capacity, it’s time to finally learn how to best load a moving van.
What to know before loading your moving van
Before you initiate the actual job of loading your rented truck, here are a few things you should keep in mind at all times:
Most types of moving vans are equipped with loading ramps for easier loading and unloading operations. You are strongly advised to book a vehicle that has such a convenient ramp which will undoubtedly make your task easier, quicker, and most importantly – safer!
Don’t forget that your furniture pieces should be well wrapped in protective moving blankets that will absorb any eventual hits or vibrations during the loading process, and then from the relocation trip itself.
The two pieces of moving equipment that you will need to guarantee the success of the truck loading operations are a moving dolly (a utility dolly, or a furniture dolly, or both) and strong straps or pieces of rope for securing your pieces inside the van prior to departure. You can easily rent those two equipment pieces from a local removal company or even from the van rental agency whose services you are currently using.
Loading a moving truck is a logical and systematic process that should be done with safety on mind.
Be mindful what you wear on moving day – the day of loading the moving truck. You may not realize it right away but the clothes you will have on your body and the shoes you will have on your feet will contribute to a much safer moving day. Prepare your most comfortable and flexible clothes – clothes made of breathable fabric which you won’t mind if you get dirty by accident. Deep and secure pockets are more of a bonus than a requirement. The shoes you select should be closed and provide excellent traction and ankle protection.
You have secured the help of at least a couple of good friends to help you pack and load the moving van, haven’t you? It’s important to understand that you can’t possibly load a rental moving truck all by yourself. And you shouldn’t either.
Tips for packing a moving van
At last, here are the strategies for packing a moving fan that you’ve been expecting. The following steps in chronological order and accompanying advice will answer the question that’s been troubling you even since you made up your mind to move on your own: “What is the best way to pack a moving van?”
Disengage the loading ramp and make sure it is completely dry, clear of dust and free of any type of obstacles that may jeopardize the loading process. Walk up and down on it to test it out.
If you’re wondering which items to load first, then you should wonder no more. Your moving boxes, safely packed and diligently labelled, go first into the moving truck with priority. The lighter ones you can just carry inside the truck, while the heavier ones (the book-filled boxes, for example) should be wheeled inside with the help of a dolly.
How to efficiently load a moving truck? Stack all the boxes vertically, one on top of the other and all against the back end of the trailer. Remember to place the heavy containers on the bottom with the lighter and usually more fragile ones above them.
Next come the big and heavy pieces of furniture – bed frames, disassembled wardrobe elements, desks, chairs, sofas, couches, and so on. All of these furniture pieces should be well protected with bubble wrap, moving blankets or other pieces of clothing.
How to load furniture into a moving truck? Wheel all your furniture pieces inside carefully with a dolly by making sure there’s one person pulling the 2- or 4-wheeler and at two other people pushing it from behind. Go up the loading ramp one step at a time and avoid any abrupt or sudden movements.
Place the bulky pieced of furniture by the already arranged moving boxes in such a way as to avoid direct contact between them during transit. Keep in mind that there shouldn’t be any exposed surfaces – if you find any, cover them immediately.
Then, it’s time to secure each piece to the side of the cargo can with lengths of rope or special straps to keep them immobilized at all times. This step is really important for the safety of the entire loading and transportation operations. Nothing should be moving inside the van!
It seems like you’re done packing your moving van. But do you honestly think you’ve done a good job?
Finally, wheel inside the moving truck the heaviest possessions of yours – refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, cooking stoves, and so on. Those heavyweight household appliances present special challenges and pose greater risks due to their weight, so think ahead each step before you take it. Once safely inside, secure them well with straps or rope to prevent possible damage to them and to the inside of the moving van as well.
As you’re playing your own tile-matching game of Tetris, fill in any large empty spaces with padding materials /old clothes or pieces of carpets or rugs/ to make things even safer!
When you’re done loading your moving truck, disengage the loading/unloading ramp, and close the back of the van securely.
Do you have any experience in driving a big cargo van? Are you qualified to drive it? If you don’t feel up to the challenge or you get to feel too nervous after you’ve successfully packed your moving van, then ask a friend to drive it for you or hire a driver from a local removals company to complete the task.
One thing to keep in mind at all times is that packing and loading a moving truck is no child’s play as safety becomes the critical factor here. Luckily, you can take advantage of the easiest and best way to pack a moving van – hire the pros to do it for you.
Never load the front of your hire truck with boxes,start with big furniture and then fill in spaces with boxes and light items over the top, as a removal trainer with45 years experience this is the correct and sensible way
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The process of moving house is a unique opportunity to test out your decision making abilities under pressure. Get ready for a score of important choices to be made – choices that will not only determine how your entire house move develops, but ones that will unlock another set of equally important choices to be weighed and considered in due time.
Never load the front of your hire truck with boxes,start with big furniture and then fill in spaces with boxes and light items over the top, as a removal trainer with45 years experience this is the correct and sensible way