Labor-Only Movers
West Valley City

The single most common self-inflicted problem on a do-it-yourself move is a truck that is too small, discovered at four in the afternoon with a third of the house still in it.

It is worth a few minutes of thought, because everything else that day depends on it.

Just-In-Time Moving provides loading and unloading crews across West Valley City and Salt Lake County, so we see the consequences either way.

Rough guidance, and it is only rough

A studio or small one-bedroom is usually a ten to twelve foot truck. A one to two bedroom apartment, fifteen to sixteen feet. A two to three bedroom house, twenty feet. A three to four bedroom house, twenty-six feet.

Treat these as a starting point rather than an answer, because two houses with the same bedroom count can differ enormously.

What actually changes the number

Garages, basements and sheds. Bedroom count says nothing about these and they are frequently a third of the load.

How long you have lived there. Eight years in a house is a different volume from two, with the same furniture.

Large single items. A sectional, a treadmill, a piano, a workbench. Each consumes disproportionate space and cannot be worked around.

Whether things come apart. A dismantled bed and table take a fraction of the space.

Size up, not down

The price difference between sizes is usually modest, and considerably less than the cost of a second trip. If a second trip means another day, or the deposit on a property you have already left, it is not close.

Empty space in a truck is a minor inefficiency and is easily filled with soft goods. Insufficient space is a genuine problem with no good solution at five in the evening.

Two things people forget

Height restrictions. Carports, parking structures and some apartment access roads will not take a twenty-six foot truck. Check both ends before booking, not after.

Whether you can drive it. A twenty-six foot truck is a large vehicle, particularly in wind on the freeway or reversing into a driveway. If nobody in the party is comfortable with that, a smaller truck and two trips may genuinely be safer.

If you are unsure

Tell us what you have, including the garage, and we will give you an honest view of the size and the hours before you book anything.

Call (435) 862-3080 or email office@movingjustintime.com.