Which Type of Moving Truck is Best for You?
No matter what type of move you’re going to be doing – a local move, long-distance move or interstate move – you’re going to need some kind of truck or van to transport your belongings. Unless you own next to nothing and you can fit everything in the backseat of your car, renting a moving truck or van is an inevitability of moving.
The most frequently used moving vehicle is a moving van, however not all moving vans are made equally. In fact, there are several different kinds of moving vans. First, you have the panel van, which is the smallest version. This van would be ideal for a smaller move, like a college student moving into his dorm room.
Then, you have the next size up, which is the parcel van. Typically used for more medium-sized moves that can range from an apartment to an average-sized home, the parcel van can range from around 12-15 feet long and can carry a load of around 3,000 pounds.
The city van, which is the third type of moving van, is ideal for people who are moving to or from a city – or both. That’s because the city van is specially designed to handle city driving. They have big, wide windshields so you can see everything, tilted steering wheels for better handling and they can maneuver those tight city blocks like regular moving vans can’t.
But if a van isn’t going to cut it, and you need to upgrade to a larger moving truck, then you’ll have to choose between a straight truck or a tractor-trailer. As you can probably guess, the tractor-trailer is for those people who are going to be moving pretty far away. They can be anywhere from 28-53 feet long and can transport the contents of the large house pretty easily.
The smaller straight trucks are usually around half the size of a tractor trailer and are used for bigger moves that are more local.
So now that you know the differences between the various types of moving vans and trucks, you can make a more educated decision on which type would be right for your particular move. You always want to make sure you’re not renting a truck that’s too big for you, as your belongings will be less secured during the move and may slide around the mostly-empty truck. Then again, if your truck or van is too small, you’ll either have to squeeze everything in, or even worse, make more than one trip. So it’s best to be prepared and to plan everything out before you decide.
