Are you thinking about saving money on your next move by doing it yourself? Worried about the best way to pack a budget hire truck? This guide is for you. From the positioning of furniture to the utilization of moving supplies, there are multiple ways to maximise the storing space in the back of your budget hire truck rental. Utilizing this space effectively and efficiently is certain to save you and many others from making multiple trips back and forth between homes, apartments, or units. This can be especially useful if you are moving into an area that is not easy to navigate (which can be quite common the Brisbane). Additionally, to maximising space, planning a DIY move without the assistance of moving labour professionals requires extra care to ensure you distribute the load evenly within the back of the truck and must include certain tools to stop damage to belongings.

For a step-by-step guide to packing and loading a budget hire truck yourself, read our tips below, and follow along to pack like a pro. Good luck and happy moving!

Select the right budget hire truck to suit your moving requirements

At least one month before the move, jump online, and find the right rental company to reserve a budget hire truck on your moving date. You’ll find that some companies offer discounts for online bookings (such as Abel Truck Hire), which means you can hire your truck without needing to pick up the phone. Whatever company you choose, make sure to avoid choosing a truck that’s too small for your belongings. While a smaller truck could also be cheaper to hire, it can end up costing you additional time and money at the end of the day.

As an example, if a truck is just too small to carry your belongings, you’ll be forced to perform multiple trips back and forth. To make sure that you simply choose the proper size truck rental for your next move, read the truck rental company’s size guidelines carefully. If you are unsure about the size you require, you can call a truck rental representative at Abel Truck Hire for more details on sizing.

Gather Packing Supplies

Before organising a budget hire truck, you must properly prepare and collect all necessary packing supplies. This includes sturdy boxes, wrapping, packing tape, a dolly, furniture pads, and moving blankets. You may find some of these items are included with the truck hire company you are using for an additional cost. Since your belongings may shift while in transit, all items you are moving need to be properly protected. This might mean adding moving blankets and padding to fill within the gaps between your boxes and belongings. Other important packing supplies to possess on-hand include a mattress bag to hide your mattress and moving straps for holding items while you are moving between places. If you do need any additional packing supplies, be sure to visit our online booking portal as we offer additional supplies to help you move when you are looking for a budget hire truck.

Recruit friends to assist

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Planning to pack and cargo a moving truck by yourself? Our advice: Don’t! Before moving, ask friends and family for help with the loading and unloading process. We never recommend lifting and carrying heavy furniture, boxes, and other items by yourself. Not only could you potentially injure yourself, but you’ll also find yourself with a move that takes forever. Having friends and family to assist should drastically speed up the moving process. One of the main reasons a truck rental may cost a customer more than they think is due to having to extend the term of the hire. Shortening your hire duration will ensure your budget truck hire remains affordable.

Disassemble furniture before packing your budget hire truck

Bulky and heavy furniture items can take up quite a bit of space in a budget hire truck. To save as much room as possible, it is a good idea to disassemble and take apart as many furniture items that you can. Although potentially tedious, you’ll be able to maximise your space within the truck much more easily. This will also help to distribute the weight of your heavy furniture more evenly. To start, we recommend disassembling dining tables, starting with the legs. This should allow you to store the tabletop and its legs in an upright position in the truck. Next, disassemble all bed frames and headboards, desks, and dressers.

If you’re unable to disassemble large furniture, we recommend you try storing moving boxes and other items inside drawers or on top of the furniture to avoid crushing any smaller objects.

Load largest and heaviest items onto your budget hire truck first

Okay, so it’s moving day and you are ready to begin loading your budget hire truck. Start with the most important and heaviest items first. This may include any mattresses, bed frames, tables, chairs, refrigerators, washer/dryers, couches, sectionals, and occasional tables you own. Given the weight and size of those items, it’s best if they are organised on the bottom of your truck, to avoid crushing or damaging any lighter boxes and belongings. Ensure you place heavier items towards the front of the truck (near the cab where you sit while driving).

Brisbane can be treacherous to navigate depending on your moving day and moving your heavy items to the front of the truck will ensure the safety of your load should you need to make any sudden stops during transit.

Place couches, headboards, and tables in an upright position

Large furniture items take up more cubic feet inside a budget hire truck when laid horizontally. To save more space in your truck, place all couches, headboards, and tables in an upright (vertical) position. It’s also a great idea to supply extra padding and protection around these furniture items. We propose using moving blankets or protective wrapping to guard upholstered couches and chairs. Not only will this prevent your big-ticket items from becoming damaged while in transit, but it’ll also protect your smaller boxes and belongings from becoming crushed.

Roll up rugs

All rugs and carpet should be rolled up and secured in wrapping to save you as much room as possible in the truck storage space. Before rolling up your rugs, confirm that they’re properly cleaned to avoid spreading bad odours. Based on our experience as a removals company, when properly rolling a rug, ensure you roll it with the highest side facing out. This may help to avoid damaging or staining your rug’s backing. Once the rug is properly rolled up, tie it securely and place it upright within the truck.

Load lightest items onto your budget hire truck last

Finished packing your heavy items onto the truck? Now it’s time to begin loading the medium and lightweight objects. This could include any moving boxes, appliances, and smaller furniture items. Pictures, mirrors, and TVs must be properly protected before loading onto the truck. A couple of other things to note when loading lighter items onto the truck: place mattresses in mattress bags, pack kitchen appliances in their original boxes to stay track of them and place collectibles, jewellery, and valuables into a separate, clearly-labeled box. You’ll also want to pack important documents separately. When loading lighter items onto the moving truck, it’s critically important to store them on top of furniture and appliances, and not underneath, as they can easily be crushed. Finally, to assist with your preparation, ensure to pack moving day essentials and your overnight bag in an easy-to-reach spot in the truck.

Distribute weight evenly

One of the biggest – if not most important – step to packing a budget hire truck is ensuring that the weight is evenly distributed across the rear of the truck. Distributing the load evenly throughout the truck will make it easier to load and unload without an avalanche of boxes falling over. It’ll even make transit between locations much smoother when driving on the road. To double-check that each one weight is distributed evenly, confirm that the heavier items are located towards the cab and against the walls. Medium-heavy items should be stored on top of heavier items, and lighter items should go at the very top and towards the front of the truck.

Use moving straps

Finally, once you’ve finished ensuring your furniture has been packed properly, you’ll want to ensure that each one item is secured with moving straps. Securing your items with moving straps help prevent your items from shifting while in transit to your new home. We recommend strapping down one section of the truck at a time. So, as an example, as you load your heavier belongings (or tier one), strap these in tight. Then strap medium size items (tier two) in over the heavier items, and so on. Finally, all lighter moving boxes should be strapped down as well to ensure they are stored safely and securely during the trip down the road, whether that be across Brisbane or beyond!

And that’s it! We hope you now feel more confident about tackling your moving day, and if you need any additional information regarding the budget hire trucks available, please call our office and our team will be able to assist.

Happy moving!