What size moving truck do I need? A Kansas City guide.
Truck rental is the one part of moving day where "close enough" doesn't cut it. Too small and you're doing two trips at $0.99 a mile. Too big and you're wrestling a 26-foot box down a cul-de-sac in Overland Park. Here's the honest sizing guide from a crew that loads these trucks for a living.
Every mover has watched the same movie: customer books a 15-foot truck to save $40. Crew loads it 90% full. Customer realizes there's still a garage worth of stuff. Second trip is booked at panic-hour rates. Move ends at 10 p.m. instead of 4 p.m.
It's the most preventable mistake in residential moving, and it's almost always the customer under-guessing what a house actually holds. Here's the guide we wish everyone had before they clicked "reserve" on U-Haul's site.
For most Kansas City moves: studio → 10-foot, 1–2 bedroom → 15-foot, 3-bedroom → 20-foot, 4+ bedroom or basement → 26-foot. When you're between sizes, always go up. The extra $30 saves a second trip that costs three hours and a hundred miles.
The KC-friendly sizing table
These are the numbers we quote on the phone, cross-checked against U-Haul and Penske specs:
| Truck size | Best for | Cargo volume | Typical KC rental |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-foot | Studio, dorm, single big item | ~400 cu ft | $20–$30/day |
| 15-foot | 1–2 bedroom apartment | ~760 cu ft | $30–$45/day |
| 20-foot | 2–3 bedroom home, standard KC ranch | ~1,000 cu ft | $40–$55/day |
| 26-foot | 4–5 bedroom home, finished basement | ~1,700 cu ft | $50–$70/day |
Rental prices are day-of-week and mileage dependent. Add $0.99–$1.29 per mile at U-Haul and Penske after the base rate. Weekday rates in KC are 20–30% cheaper than Saturdays.
The cubic-foot math (the only formula that matters)
Here's the rule of thumb professionals actually use: a fully-furnished bedroom is roughly 250–350 cubic feet of packed stuff. Add 150–200 cubic feet for a family living room, 200 for a full kitchen, and 300–500 for a garage or basement.
Do the math on a typical KC 3-bedroom, 1,900 sqft ranch:
- 3 bedrooms × 300 cu ft = 900 cu ft
- Living room + dining = 300 cu ft
- Kitchen = 200 cu ft
- Garage (light storage) = 300 cu ft
- Total: ~1,700 cu ft
That's the ceiling of a 20-foot truck and the floor of a 26-foot. Which is exactly why a 3-bedroom home with any garage storage is a 26-foot truck day — not a 20-foot day.
The KC-specific curveballs
Finished basements
Half the ranches south of I-70 have a finished basement, and every one of them stores about 400 cubic feet of stuff nobody thinks about at booking. If you're moving a KC home with a finished basement, size up.
Tight urban parking
Westport, downtown Overland Park, and older Waldo homes have street parking that a 26-foot box truck struggles with. If you're moving out of one of these, consider a 20-footer plus a shuttle van, or plan on a walk-out to the corner.
Low-clearance streets
Some older KC neighborhoods (parts of Brookside, Hyde Park) have tree canopies that a 26-foot truck literally cannot fit under. Google Street View is your friend before you reserve.
Long driveways
A steep driveway in Leawood or Mission Hills? A 26-foot truck may bottom out or block your neighbor. Walk it, or ask us to walk it.
The overshoot rule
When you're between sizes — say you're looking at a 15-foot vs. 20-foot for a 2-bedroom townhouse — round up. Here's the math:
- Extra rental cost: usually $20–$40
- Cost of running out of room: 2 hours of crew time (~$280) + a second trip (~50 miles = $50)
- Net risk of undershooting: ~$300
The overshoot is always the cheaper bet unless you can genuinely visualize your entire household fitting in the smaller cube. Most people cannot.
What we recommend, by house type
- Studio or 1-bedroom apartment. 15-foot. Only go smaller if you own almost no furniture.
- Small 2-bedroom (900–1,200 sqft). 15-foot works. 20-foot is safer.
- Standard 2-bedroom or small 3-bedroom (1,200–1,800 sqft). 20-foot.
- 3-bedroom with basement or garage storage. 26-foot. Every time.
- 4–5 bedroom home. 26-foot, and often two trips or a second truck.
How to sanity-check your reservation
Two hours of your evening, one weekend before the move: walk your house room by room and write down every piece of furniture. Then plug it into U-Haul's or Penske's cube estimator (or ours — we do this on the phone in five minutes) and compare against the truck's cubic footage in the table above. If you're within 15%, size up.
Or skip the math — try the moving calculator, which asks you a few home questions and spits out the right truck size for KC-metro moves. Still unsure? Call 816-988-1306 and we'll walk it with you room by room. It's free, it takes five minutes, and it beats booking the wrong truck.
Estimate boxes, truck size, and crew hours for your home in about 60 seconds.
Open calculator816-988-1306 — most callers get a firm number in under five minutes.
Call nowQuick answers
What size moving truck do I need for a 3-bedroom house?
For a typical 3-bedroom Kansas City home, a 20-foot truck is the right call for most people. If you have a finished basement, a garage full of tools, or 2,400+ square feet, step up to a 26-foot. A 15-foot is only enough for a lightly-furnished 3-bedroom, and you'll usually run out of room.
How many rooms fits in a 15-foot truck?
A 15-foot truck holds about 1–2 rooms comfortably — a studio, a 1-bedroom apartment, or a very small 2-bedroom. Capacity is roughly 764 cubic feet or about 3,500 lbs. Great for apartment moves, tight for anything bigger.
Should I get a bigger truck than I need?
Yes, if you're on the fence. Renting a size up costs $20–$40 more but saves a second trip that costs 2 hours of crew time and 50 miles of mileage. The math almost always favors going one size larger.
Can I drive a 26-foot truck without a special license?
Yes. In Kansas and Missouri, a standard driver's license covers rental trucks up to 26 feet as long as you're renting them as a personal customer. Drive slower than you think, take corners wide, and remember there's no rearview mirror — only side mirrors.