What size truck for a 3‑bedroom house?

By the Every Last Box teamSizes checked October 29, 2026How we measureHow we make money

Fits

A 3‑bedroom needs a 26-foot truck.

The smallest truck at each company, for a 3‑bedroom house:

Penske
26-foot trucka 22-foot only if packed floor to ceiling
U‑Haul
26-foot truck
Budget
26-foot truck

Rather not drive? A moving container is dropped at your door: two 16 ft PODS containers. Truck or container?

3-bedroom house packed into the Penske 26' Truck (68% full)
A typical 3‑bedroom house, 117 pieces, packed into Penske's 26-foot truck by our planner.
More detail: every truck we tried, and what we counted

Our packing fills about 70–80% of a full truck; a careful pro load fits more, so a truck that "came close" below may work too.

Every truck and van for a 3‑bedroom house

Penske 26'68% full
Budget 26'68% full
U‑Haul 26'63% full
U‑Haul 29'60% full

Doesn't fit (12 trucks and vans)

Penske 22'95 of 117
U‑Haul 20'60 of 117
U‑Haul 15'43 of 117
Budget 16'41 of 117
Penske 16'32 of 117
Budget 12'24 of 117
Penske 12'23 of 117
U‑Haul 10'22 of 117

What we counted for a 3‑bedroom house

  • King mattress × 1
  • King box spring × 2
  • King bed frame, taken apart × 1
  • Nightstand × 4
  • 6-drawer dresser × 2
  • Queen mattress × 1
  • Queen box spring × 1
  • Queen bed frame, taken apart × 1
  • Twin mattress × 1
  • Tall chest of drawers × 2
  • Sectional: sofa section × 1
  • Sectional: chaise section × 1
  • Recliner × 1
  • Coffee table × 1
  • TV stand × 1
  • 65" TV in its box × 1
  • 55" TV in its box × 1
  • Dining table, taken apart × 1
  • Dining chair × 6
  • China cabinet / hutch × 1
  • Refrigerator, French-door × 1
  • Washer × 1
  • Dryer × 1
  • Desk × 1
  • Office chair × 1
  • Filing cabinet, 2-drawer × 1
  • Tall bookcase × 2
  • Gas grill × 1
  • Lawn mower × 1
  • Bicycle × 2
  • Small moving box × 16
  • Medium moving box × 34
  • Large moving box × 13
  • Wardrobe box × 11

Box counts from the U‑Haul Moving Help box guide; other guides suggest up to twice as many boxes. The furniture list is our own typical list. Yours will differ, so change it in the planner.