Will This Fit My Car?

Moving house with a car: a practical planning guide

Updated · 5 min read

For a student move, a first flat, or the boxes that you'd rather not trust to a removal van, your own car can do a surprising amount of work. It goes best when you plan around what the car can carry, rather than packing everything and hoping. This guide covers measuring boxes, planning loads, weight and the number of trips.

Step 1: Measure the boxes you actually have

There's no universal standard for moving boxes. "Small", "medium" and "large" mean different things at different retailers, removal firms and countries, and a box sold as "large" in one shop can be noticeably smaller than another's. Supermarket and delivery boxes vary even more.

  1. Group your boxes by size. Most moves end up with two to four distinct sizes.
  2. Measure one of each size: length, width and height, outside edge to outside edge, with the box assembled and taped.
  3. Count how many of each size you have, or expect to have.
  4. Note anything that isn't a box: lamps, bags, a desk chair, a rolled rug. Measure each one's longest, widest and tallest points.

Step 2: Know your car's real capacity

Take the six core measurements described in how to measure your car boot, with seats up and seats down. Decide how many seats you can fold. If someone is coming with you, they need a seat, which usually means only part of the rear bench can fold.

Then put your box sizes into the moving boxes calculator. It estimates how many boxes of each size fit with seats up and seats down. Boxes don't pack perfectly around wheel arches and sloping tailgates, so treat the estimate as a guide.

Estimate a load with the moving box calculator

Open calculator

Step 3: Plan each load

A good loading order keeps the car stable and makes unloading easy:

  1. Heaviest boxes first, low and forward. Books, kitchenware and tools go on the floor, pushed against the back of the rear seats (seats up) or the front seats (seats down).
  2. Build in layers. Place boxes of the same size side by side to make a flat layer, then put lighter boxes on top.
  3. Soft items fill gaps. Bedding, cushions and bags of clothes fill the spaces beside the wheel arches and stop boxes sliding.
  4. Fragile items last and on top, or wedged in where nothing can fall on them.
  5. Keep a clear view. Don't stack higher than the rear seatbacks if you can help it, and never pile loose items where they could reach the driver's area.

Step 4: Mind the weight

Cars have a maximum weight they can safely carry, including passengers and luggage. It's easy to exceed with a boot full of books. Your vehicle handbook lists the limits. Many cars also have a label on the door frame or elsewhere showing load or tyre information, and in the US a tyre and loading information placard is usually on the driver's door pillar. Heavy loads may also call for higher tyre pressures, so check the handbook.

  • Keep heavy boxes small. Books and crockery go in small boxes so each stays liftable. Large boxes are for light, bulky things like bedding and lampshades.
  • Spread weight evenly from side to side, and keep it low.
  • Notice how the car feels. If it sits noticeably low at the back, steers vaguely or brakes poorly, you've loaded too much. Take some out and make another trip.

Step 5: Work out the number of trips

Once you know how many boxes fit per load, the number of trips is simple division, plus one or two extra for odd-shaped items and the things you forgot.

A worked example: suppose you have 30 hypothetical boxes of 45 × 35 × 35 cm and 10 of 60 × 40 × 40 cm. Say that, for your car (seats down, front passenger seat in use), the estimate comes out at around 14 of the smaller or 8 of the larger per load. Treating each size separately, that's very roughly:

  • Small boxes: 30 ÷ 14 ≈ 2.1 loads
  • Large boxes: 10 ÷ 8 ≈ 1.3 loads
  • Total: around 3.4, so plan for four or five trips including odd items.

The numbers above are illustrative only. Your result depends on your car and your boxes. Run your own numbers in the calculator.

What the car shouldn't carry

  • Large furniture and appliances. Sofas, wardrobes, fridges and washing machines are van jobs. Many appliances also have specific transport instructions in their manuals.
  • Conventional mattresses. See how to transport a mattress.
  • Hazardous items. Fuel cans, gas bottles, paint and chemicals need special care. Follow the product labels and local rules, and don't pack them in sealed boxes alongside everything else.
  • Anything you can't lift safely with the help you'll have at both ends.

Tips for moving day

  • Label boxes by room and by trip number, so the first load contains what you need first.
  • Keep an "essentials" bag in the footwell or on the passenger seat floor, secured, with keys, chargers, documents and medication.
  • Fold the seats and lay protective blankets before you start loading.
  • Check the load after the first few miles of each trip and re-tighten anything that has moved.

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