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Moving trucks come in different sizes and here is a useful guide to resolving the issues that you should address while deciding which size is best for you.

If you are looking for a table of data that guides you to the size of a truck based upon the size of your home, you can use the following key:

10' one bedroom apartment
14' 1-2 bedrooms (house or apartment)

17' 2-3 bedrooms
24' 3-4 bedrooms
26' 4+ bedrooms

These guidelines should be modified, by you, if you own an excessive or minimal amount of property. Also, if you have many large plants or dried plant arrangements and/or exercise equipment (all of which occupy space and do not allow for the stacking of property on top), you should rent the next size up.

In order of their importance, the issues that you should address are deck height and truck length. The height of the decks (or floors) in the truck you rent will dictate which rental company you hire. U-haul has "lower decks." Furthermore, if you plan to rent a longer truck, "lower decks" are not a relevant consideration because only short trucks are accessed by "lower decks." When using a shorter truck, "lower decks" offer a real benefit because lifting boxes above shoulder level absolutely will wear you out.

When considering the height of the floor in your moving van, heavy boxes of books are the primary offender. Otherwise, you will walk your load up the provided ramp. Every moving truck has a ramp that you can walk up; you don't have to bridge the gap from street level to truck bed level with your armsyou can do it with your legs.

Enter the Tommy lift' and quit worrying. The competitor to lower decks' is an elevator, literally. Penske offers a hydraulic lift-gate which brings every heavy load within the reach of amateur movers. Flipping one switch enables you to easily travel the distance up to the level of your rented truck's floor level.

Advice: U-Haul has lower decks,' by about 12 inches compared to Penske, up to the 17-foot truck. And, Penske trucks do not carry Tommy Lifts without extra expense. Without either advantage, as with an un-named local mom-and-pop truck rental, you will load the truck only by approaching it with a load in your hands and lifting it up to the 5-foot elevation of the truck bed.

With smaller trucks, up to 17 feet long, the difference in bed height is real. However, the difference is relevant only when you are handling heavy boxes. Otherwise, you are walking your load up the provided ramp. Every rental moving truck offers a ramp

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