Quick Answer
A moving truck size calculator adds up your load in cubic feet and picks the smallest truck that holds it. At Budget's 150–200 cu ft per furnished room, 4 rooms come to 600–800 cu ft: a 15 or 20 ft U-Haul (764 or 1,016 cu ft) or a 16 ft Penske (800 cu ft).
Moving Truck Size Formula: Cubic Feet In, Truck Out
Add up what you are moving in cubic feet, then take the smallest truck whose cargo space holds it. The calculator sizes each piece of furniture with the dimensions in Penske’s Truck Wizard, and compares the total with the cargo space U-Haul, Penske and Budget publish for each truck.
Load = the sum of count × item volume, plus anything else in cubic feet
Quick estimate = rooms × 150 to rooms × 200 cubic feet
Weight ≈ load × 7 lb per cubic foot
Truck = the smallest one whose cargo space is at least the load
1,728 is 12 × 12 × 12, the cubic inches in a cubic foot. A 3-seat sofa at 32 × 34 × 79 in is 85,952 ÷ 1,728 = 49.7 cu ft, and a medium box at 18 × 18 × 18 in is 3.4 cu ft. The room figures come from Budget’s 26 ft truck page, which rates it “based on a room size of roughly 150 to 200 cubic feet.”
Moving Truck Sizes: U-Haul, Penske and Budget Compared
Each company rates its trucks its own way: U-Haul by bedrooms, Penske by rooms, Budget by both. Cargo space decides whether your load fits, and the max load decides how much weight the truck can carry.
| Truck | Cargo space | Max load | Loading ramp | Tows a car | The company lists it for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U-Haul 10 ft | 402 cu ft | 2,850 lb | No | Yes | Small apartment to 1 bedroom home |
| U-Haul 15 ft | 764 cu ft | 6,385 lb | Yes | Yes | 1 bedroom home to 2 bedroom apartment |
| U-Haul 20 ft | 1,016 cu ft | 5,700 lb | Yes | Yes | 2 bedroom home to 3 bedroom apartment |
| U-Haul 26 ft | 1,682 cu ft | 12,859 lb | Yes | Yes | 3 to 4 bedroom home |
| Penske 12 ft | 450 cu ft | 3,100 lb | No | No | 1–2 rooms |
| Penske 16 ft | 800 cu ft | 4,300 lb | Yes | Yes | 2–3 rooms |
| Penske 22 ft | 1,200 cu ft | 10,000 lb | Yes | Yes | 3–5 rooms |
| Penske 26 ft | 1,700 cu ft | 10,000 lb | Yes | Yes | 5–7 rooms |
| Budget 12 ft | 380 cu ft | 3,610 lb | No | No | 1–2 rooms or studio apartment |
| Budget 16 ft | 658 cu ft | 4,460 lb | Yes | Yes | 3–4 rooms or 1 bedroom home |
| Budget 26 ft | 1,698 cu ft | 9,180 lb | Yes | Yes | 5–8 rooms or 2–3 bedroom home |
What Size Moving Truck Do I Need? Rooms to Truck Size
Multiply your furnished rooms by 150 and by 200 cu ft, then find the trucks that hold the range. Where a company shows two sizes, the smaller one holds the low end (150 cu ft a room) and the larger one the high end (200 cu ft a room).
| Rooms | Load | Weight at 7 lb per cu ft | U-Haul | Penske | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 150–200 cu ft | 1,050–1,400 lb | 10 ft | 12 ft | 12 ft |
| 2 | 300–400 cu ft | 2,100–2,800 lb | 10 ft | 12 ft | 12–16 ft |
| 3 | 450–600 cu ft | 3,150–4,200 lb | 15 ft | 12–16 ft | 16 ft |
| 4 | 600–800 cu ft | 4,200–5,600 lb | 15–20 ft | 16 ft* | 16–26 ft |
| 5 | 750–1,000 cu ft | 5,250–7,000 lb | 15–20 ft* | 16–22 ft | 26 ft |
| 6 | 900–1,200 cu ft | 6,300–8,400 lb | 20–26 ft | 22 ft | 26 ft |
| 7 | 1,050–1,400 cu ft | 7,350–9,800 lb | 26 ft | 22–26 ft | 26 ft* |
| 8 | 1,200–1,600 cu ft | 8,400–11,200 lb | 26 ft | 22–26 ft* | 26 ft* |
* At 7 lb per cu ft the high end weighs more than that truck’s max load.
Budget also sizes by floor area: for a home of more than 1,200 square feet it recommends its 26 ft truck, and for a move out of state it suggests going up a size, because you cannot come back for a second load.
Moving Weight Calculator: Cubic Feet to Pounds
When a moving van cannot be weighed, US federal relocation rules use a constructive weight of 7 pounds per cubic foot of properly loaded van space (41 CFR 302-7.8). The calculator uses the same 7 lb, so 800 cu ft weighs about 5,600 lb; change it under Weight per cubic foot if you know your load is lighter or heavier.
At that rate, weight runs out before space in six of the eleven trucks. Filled to the roof, they would carry more than their max load:
| Truck | Full, at 7 lb per cu ft | Max load | Max load reached at |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-Haul 20 ft | 7,112 lb | 5,700 lb | 814 cu ft, 80% full |
| Penske 12 ft | 3,150 lb | 3,100 lb | 442 cu ft, 98% full |
| Penske 16 ft | 5,600 lb | 4,300 lb | 614 cu ft, 77% full |
| Penske 26 ft | 11,900 lb | 10,000 lb | 1,428 cu ft, 84% full |
| Budget 16 ft | 4,606 lb | 4,460 lb | 637 cu ft, 97% full |
| Budget 26 ft | 11,886 lb | 9,180 lb | 1,311 cu ft, 77% full |
How to Use the Moving Truck Size Calculator
- Pick how to estimate
Choose Number of rooms for a quick range, or My items to count what you own for one figure.
- Enter your rooms or your items
For rooms, type how many furnished rooms you are emptying. For items, open each room and type how many of each piece you have, boxes included. Measure anything that is not on the list and type its total under Anything else; the volume calculator turns a length, width and height into cubic feet.
- Say whether you are towing a car
Choose Yes if a car will ride behind the truck on a tow dolly or car carrier. If it will not, the towing cost estimator prices a tow truck by distance instead.
- Read the trucks
The big number is your load. Under it are the smallest U-Haul, Penske and Budget trucks that hold it, how full each would be, and the weight. The list below them compares all eleven trucks.
Worked Examples: A 10 ft Load, a Two-Bedroom Apartment and a Washer
- U-Haul’s own 10 ft example
U-Haul says its 10 ft truck can easily fit “a king sized bed, frame, loveseat, two end tables, and a four piece dining room table”. Taking the dining set as a table and 3 chairs, that is 8 items and 225 cu ft, 56% of the 10 ft truck’s 402 cu ft. Budget’s pick is its 16 ft, because Budget says a king bed fits only its 16 ft and 26 ft trucks.
- A two-bedroom apartment
A 3-seat sofa, an armchair, a coffee table, a TV stand, a queen bed, a full bed, 2 dressers, 2 nightstands, a dining table with 4 chairs, a desk and its chair, 30 medium boxes and 10 large boxes: 57 items, 582 cu ft and about 4,073 lb. That fills 76% of a 15 ft U-Haul, 73% of a 16 ft Penske or 88% of a 16 ft Budget.
- The same apartment with a washer and dryer
The load grows to 630 cu ft and about 4,412 lb. The trucks stay the same, but at 7 lb per cu ft that weight is over the 4,300 lb max load of the Penske 16 ft.
- A studio with a washer
A queen bed, a loveseat, a TV stand, a washer and 15 medium boxes come to 211 cu ft, which a 10 ft U-Haul could hold. Because of the washer, every pick has a loading ramp: the U-Haul 15 ft and the Penske and Budget 16 ft.
