*If our Schedule does not include an item select another item of similar size. If your item is larger than an allowance shown below increase the quantity to cover eg with bookcases we have allowed 1.8H x .9W - if yours 1.8M long then enter 2, if 2.7M enter 3, and so on. A standard 50L wine / book moving box will hold around 25 - 30 novels or 25 x 750ml bottles.
Due to such factors as your household goods varying slightly in size from our allowances, odd shaped items that may not pack efficiently, and fragile items that may require additional packing our furniture volume calculator provides an estimate only, for use as a guide.
Step 2 - Which vehicle? Our recommendations for your move
Based on the furniture volume summary figure above our furniture truck &/or trailer recommendations (for use as a guide only) are as follows.
Note: Unlike filling a water tank it is impossible to load a furniture truck to 100% capacity - with this in mind our recommendations have been calculated at 80% of our truck's nominal m3 capacity.
If you have a Car licence (automatic lic is all you need!): Trucks up to 4.5 tonne GVM (2.0 tonne nominal payload)
Furniture Volume
Our Recommendation
0.1 - 3.0m3
Trailer: 7x4 (2.1 x 1.2M) Luggage
3.1 - 5.5m3
Trailer: 8x5 (2.4 x 1.5M) 'V' nose furniture (with drop down ramp)
6.1 - 10.0m3
Trailer: 12x6 (3.3 - 3.6 x 1.8M) Furniture (with drop down ramp)
Gross Vehicle Mass ie the total all up legal maximum weight of the truck or trailer inclusive of payload, fuel, driver and passengers.
Nom. payload:
The nominal payload weight the vehicle can carry - and the traditional reference to a truck's size eg a 2 tonner has nominal payload of 2 tonnes (and a GVM of 4.5 tonnes) refer to the table below.
SC:
Single Cab
DC:
Dual Cab
SWB:
Short wheelbase ie the distance along the vehicle between axle centres)
MWB:
Medium wheelbase
LWB:
Long wheelbase
Pantec:
Fully enclosed and lockable furniture body ('pantec' is an abbreviation of 'pantechnicon')
WARNING: Not all rental operators are as ethical as we are - if you are informed that you can drive a 3 tonne truck with a car licence you cannot and you can be fined! A car licence permits you to drive a vehicle up to 4.5 tonne GVM (nominal 2 tonne payload) only. Refer to the following table:
Trucks - a guide to size by GVM and nominal payload:
GVM
Nominal Payload
Drivers' Licence Requirement
3.5 tonne
1.5 tonne
C (car)
4.5 tonne
2.0 tonne
C (car)
6.5 tonne
3.0 tonne
LR (light rigid truck licence)
7.5 tonne
4.0 tonne
LR (light rigid truck licence)
8.0 tonne
4.5 tonne
LR (light rigid truck licence)
8.5 tonne
5.0 tonne
MR (light rigid truck licence)
10.4 tonne
5.5 tonne
MR (light rigid truck licence)
11.0 tonne
6.0 tonne
MR (light rigid truck licence)
12.0 tonne
7.0 tonne
MR (light rigid truck licence)
14.0 tonne
8.0 tonne
MR (light rigid truck licence)
16.0 tonne
9.0 tonne
MR (light rigid truck licence)
If necessary you can check the manufacturers' Compliance Plate to the truck to confirm its GVM these are normally located within the door openings or to inside the back wall of the cab.
Step 4 - Book your furniture truck &/or trailer
Book your truck or trailer in advance to avoid disappointment! You can book online using this website.
Some hints to make your move fuss free
Moving house need not be a chaotic and stressful event - here are some helpful hints!
Cull, hard! We all accumulate a vast array of items over the years that we just don't need or use!
Moving house represents an opportunity to cull our belongings before relocating, reducing the volume that has to be packed / moved / unpacked and put away! If you haven't worn or used it over the previous 12 months there is a high probability that you're not going to again - time for it to go! Sell online and make some money, or give to charity.
Apply some tough love when packing and culling - you won't miss it!
Be organised!
Plan your move in advance - in particular walk through your house and complete a furniture volume calculation for your move, using the easy to use calculator at the top of this page. This will allow you to determine the size of the furniture truck and / or trailer you need for your move, particularly if you are moving out of town and making a single trip only.
Booking a truck or trailer only to find not everything will fit would create a significant issue.
Book your truck or trailer in advance to avoid disappointment! You can book online using this website.
Moving house Checklist: Make use of our moving house Checklist via the link below, to ensure that you 'hit all bases' when organising your move, from cancelling the power account to organising new schools to updating your licence details after your move. Link: Moving House Checklist
Prepare an inventory: It can be a big ask to get your relocation over and know exactly what each box contains and where it belongs!
Creating a Moving Inventory is the best way of organising your relocation, from packing your belongings to managing your rental truck or trailer hire and its orderly loading and unloading. A little time up front compiling an inventory will go a long way towards making your move a more pleasant experience, with everything falling into place at the other end!
The starting point is to complete a furniture volume calculation for your move as it can be printed off, giving you an itemised schedule based on your inputs, and the location of each item within the household.
When packing apply an adhesive label to each item and with a Nikko pen note on its location as per the Schedule printout, and a brief summary of contents.
Plan the loading and unloading of your rental truck or trailer: For instance upon arrival at your new residence the first thing you might want to do is have a cup of tea or coffee, so the moving carton containing the kettle, cups or mugs and tea / coffee supplies should be loaded last (last on / first off!) Getting the fridge up and running soon after you arrive might also fall in the same category.
Some chairs, a table and the beds towards the back of the truck would also be a good idea. A folding tressle table and some stacker chairs would be ideal if you have them - light, quick and easy to set up.
Conversely there will be other items that you won't need upon arrival, that can be loaded on board first, towards the front (first on / last off!), such as the mower, garden tools, exercise equipment, and suchlike.
A suggestion is to mark each item to be loaded with its loading priority, as follows: F (Low priority - load first, to the front of the truck ie to come off last) M (Load in the middle) R (High priority upon arrival - load last, to the rear these items to come of first)
In summary work out a loose order of loading and unloading your gear, in the priority order that you want to unload, set back up and restart using same.
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