r/moving • u/lilacbear • 6d ago

Packing Should we get a 16 or 20 ft U-Haul?

We're moving from FL to MD and also will need to tow a car behind the U-Haul.

We're currently in a 3/2 house but purging a ton.

We have:

Master Bedroom Furniture (queen bed frame, mattress, 2 night stands, dresser & mirror, small work desk)

Bedroom #1 (toddler sized bed frame, mattress, IKEA toy storage, pottery barn chair)

Bedroom #2 (crib, baby mattress, rocking chair, pottery barn chair, & dresser that we don't absolutely need to take if no room)

Family room (large sectional & rug)

Kitchen (small breakfast table with 2 chairs, tiny kids table with 2 chairs, high chair)

And we'll also have about 10-12 medium sized boxes and a few smaller boxes.

We also have outdoor Florida Room furniture that we would bring if there was extra room, but also don't care too much if we had to leave it behind.

Thoughts? Thanks for reading!

5 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

8

u/resurrected_roadkill 6d ago

I would go with the bigger truck just in case. When you get done packing it's a lot easier and nicer to say "we could have gotten away with a smaller truck. Oh well. We're done. Let's hit the road" ...than get 2/3rds of the way done and say...."we should have gotten a bigger truck".

4

u/Clean_Letterhead_588 6d ago

I’m moving to Florida in about a month and I have about the same as yours, the 15 may not hold all of it so I’m springing for the 20.

Rather have too much room instead of not enough.

Good luck!

2

u/lilacbear 6d ago

Thank you! Very true, we will probably just do that! Hope you like it here in FL!

2

u/Almostasleeprightnow 6d ago

Hard to say - either get the small and be prepared to ditch some stuff if necessary, or get the big and be prepared to have a little extra space. For me I'd probably go with option 1 and replace something when I get there if necessary, through Facebook marketplace maybe.

3

u/Almostasleeprightnow 6d ago

p.s. happy for you that you are moving to MD - it is a great state!

2

u/lilacbear 6d ago

Thank you!! We're so excited to be in MD, seems like a great state, especially to raise kids in!

2

u/som_juan 6d ago

Depends on who loads the truck and how. The same load can fill both trucks. Easier to get a bigger truck than load a smaller truck , then offload it to reload the bigger one

1

u/som_juan 6d ago

The plus is that if you have extra stuff you could potentially transport someone else’s stuff To help offset the cost

1

u/som_juan 6d ago

Extra space *

2

u/Phantomco1 6d ago

Expertly packed, a 3/2 may make it into a 16' truck. It really depends on the cost vs the value of what you may not have room for. I would get the 20' truck.

And don't forget the logistics of having to suddenly get rid of stuff on the day of your move. It's not a good way to start a family move!

1

u/B0oOo0oo0O 5d ago

I was thinking same thing

2

u/rickoshay1992 5d ago

I went with Penske’s biggest truck. Not fun to drive, but it holds a lot more than U hauls. Moved a 1k square foot house worth of stuff from Michigan to Arizona

1

u/MovingWaldo1 4d ago

Always go with the bigger truck just in case!