Loading Your Moving Truck Properly

You’ve got the truck reserved and all your boxes packed up. As a former dock hand (loading and unloading trucks), growing up in Saint Louis, Missouri, there are a few things you want to do before starting. My father who was also my supervisor always preached stack it “high and tight.”  

The first thing you want to do is a walk-thru. That means looking at everything you’re going to load on the truck. Organize the boxes by size and weight. Being prepared will make your day go much better.

1. Load the heaviest items first. These are items that require two people to move, refrigerator, freezer, washer, dryer. They need to be all the way against the wall separating the cab and the box. Make sure you balance these items by weight on each side. You do not want all the weight on one side. Use moving pads between items and you can actually sit the appliances on the moving blankets to make it easier to slide.
2. Next matteress’ , box springs, headboards, sofas, etc. These longer items should be placed along the side walls, again balancing the weight from side to side. Keep your matteress’ covered so they don’t get dirty sliding them in and out of the truck.
3. Dissemble bed frames and tape pieces together. Do the same for longer items such as skis and poles. When you roll-up your carpets, place these items inside, then tape your carpet closed. Place the carpet on the floor of the truck, sliding it under a dresser.
4. Begin loading the largest and heaviest boxes. Place the boxes on top of the appliances and furniture and make sure you fill any cavities beneath tables, under desks, and on chair seats. Do not put heavy boxes on top of boxes that are not filled to prevent collapsing.
5. Load lighter boxes, on top of the heavier boxes, making sure the lightest boxes are on top. As my Dad use to say,”keep the fluff for the top.”
6. Place fragile items or awkward shaped items on last, to ensure they will not move around during transport. You may also want to fill voids in with moving blankets, pillows or even towels. You can pack fragile items in the car or cab of the truck.
7. Save space by removing drawers and contents of drawers before moving desks,cabinets and dressers. Once these items are loaded on the truck, replace the drawers so they aren’t damaged while the truck is in transit.
8. Be careful when you arrive at your destination, loads do shift, so open the door very slowly.

By being prepared you can make less trips and have less damage to your belongings. We hope you find this information helpful.

Tags: loading, moving, Moving Tips, truck