Many people mistakenly believe that you can simply load boxes and furniture into the truck however they fit. Being the owner of my own moving company has given me the opportunity to witness the mess that results when someone else has loaded the truck and I have been hired to unload it into the new home or office. While this is technically correct, loading the truck properly and in a specific way, ensures that all of your furniture and boxes will arrive at your new home or office undamaged.
I’ve opened the truck’s door so many times that the items that were stored in the back have started spilling out onto the ground. The improper loading of the truck is to blame for this. One of the first things you must understand is that when the truck is on the road, the shifting that takes place is side to side rather than front to back. Only when the driver brakes hard or when the truck is moving up or down a steep incline will the truck shift abruptly from front to back.
As a result of this realization, the first principle is made obvious. In order to prevent constant side-to-side shifting, the truck is loaded. To accomplish this, load the truck with the widest part facing side to side rather than front to back. As a result, the furniture travels more steadily and can fit more items into a smaller space. This is crucial because using a much smaller truck than you initially thought was required could result in financial savings.
The second principle states that you should build walls out of boxes and furniture, beginning with the smaller items before moving on to the taller pieces. The mattresses and box springs should be placed in next, following the placement of all the boxes, as this is the recommended procedure. This actually makes a tall wall with the largest surface area, which holds all of the boxes behind it in place. In order to hold the mattresses and everything else behind the truck in place, you then place a strap across the vehicle.
You keep building furniture walls, starting with the tallest, widest pieces and working your way down. To avoid scratches, you must now make sure that each piece of furniture is completely wrapped in a moving blanket. In order to align the two flat surfaces of the top piece when stacking furniture on top of furniture, turn it upside down whenever it is practical. In addition, this avoids harm.
Using a strap, fasten each row after it is finished. This fixes both that row and each row that follows it in place. Furthermore, nothing will shift if you apply the brakes firmly while driving or if you ascend or descend a steep hill. I use a tape measure to create these furniture rows so that I can arrange the right-sized pieces next to one another in each row. This is critical because a small space between the pieces could allow them to move during transit.
This leads to a different idea: fill in any openings or spaces between the boxes and the furniture with pillows and clothing bags. You can use anything that fits, but clothes and pillows actually cushion the items next to them to prevent scratches. The back of the truck is where some ingenuity and a lot of straps are used.
There are always some items that cannot be stacked in every movement. You should load these into the truck’s cargo bed. When doing so, you must be careful to remember how the truck shifts during transport and to visualize this as you place the items. If it has a tendency to sway, you should either secure it with a strap or place something nearby that will prevent it from shifting or falling. To make sure nothing falls out on you when the door opens, always fasten a strap across your back after you’re finished.
Now you can also see that when you unload your truck, the items in the back typically go into the garage or storeroom. The smaller furniture comes next, followed by the larger furniture, the beds, and finally the boxes. This greatly simplifies and removes stress from unloading and arranging items in your new home. I sincerely hope that this is helpful and can assure you that if you load your truck according to these straightforward guidelines, you won’t encounter any issues and it will also be much simpler.