Enrichment · Passion Projects · Home and moving

Will it all fit
in the truck?

List your boxes by size and count and add the furniture. The estimator turns inches into cubic feet, allows for the gaps every load leaves, and tells you how full the truck will be before you book it.

Size the moveWhat you get

The moving volume estimator

The worked example is a made-up one-bedroom apartment move. Nothing you type leaves this browser.

Loading the calculator. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Enrichment · Passion ProjectsFree

What you finish with
Cubic feet by box size, boxes and furniture combined, truck space needed, the share of the truck and the number of loads. It prints as a summary and downloads as a spreadsheet.
Who it is for
Students moving to or from a dorm or first apartment, families planning a move, and math classes working with volume.
Format
Browser calculator for a phone, tablet or computer, by touch or keyboard. Prints a summary; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Passion Projects space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Count the boxes of each size; the size is printed on the box.
  2. Measure large furniture as boxes and add the cubic feet.
  3. Keep packing efficiency near 80%.
  4. Type the truck’s cargo space from the rental listing.
  5. Pick the truck size that leaves some room.

Size the move

How the space is estimated

Inches to cubic feet, then room for the gaps.

The worked example: a one-bedroom apartment in a 15-ft truckBoxes144.3 cu ft46 boxes, L × W × H ÷ 1,728Plus furniture454.3 cu ft310 cu ft measuredSpace needed568 cu ft÷ 0.80 packingTruck75% fullof 760 cu ftThe worked example: a one-bedroom apartment in a 15-ft truckBoxes144.3 cu ft46 boxes, L × W × H ÷ 1,728Plus furniture454.3 cu ft310 cu ft measuredSpace needed568 cu ft÷ 0.80 packingTruck75% fullof 760 cu ft
Volume in, gaps allowed for, then compare with the truck.

Cubic inches to cubic feet

A box 18 by 18 by 16 inches holds 5,184 cubic inches. A cubic foot is 12 × 12 × 12 = 1,728 cubic inches, so that box is 3 cubic feet. Multiply by how many you have, size by size, and add the furniture measured the same way.

Gaps and margins

Real loads leave gaps around chair legs, lamps and odd shapes, so even a careful packer fills only about three quarters to five sixths of a truck. Dividing by the packing efficiency turns the volume of your things into the space they need. Trucks also have a weight limit; books and tools reach it before space runs out.

Sources

  1. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Protect Your Move: planning and estimates (fmcsa.dot.gov).
  2. National Institute of Standards and Technology. Handbook 44: units of volume (nist.gov).
  3. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Volume of rectangular prisms in context (nctm.org).
  4. U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Lifting and material handling safety (osha.gov).

The worked example is made up. Truck capacities vary by model; use the number on the listing. Your entries stay in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.