Measuring volume for a move or a shipment
Moving companies quote by volume, truck rental companies sell by length, and parcel carriers bill bulky boxes by their size rather than their weight. Each of those starts with the same calculation: cubic feet. This calculator works out the volume of your boxes, adds your furniture, suggests a truck size and gives the dimensional weight of each box.
The formulas
- Cubic feet of a box = length × width × height in inches ÷ 1,728.
- Total to move = cubic feet per box × number of boxes + furniture.
- Cubic meters = cubic feet × 0.0283168.
- Dimensional weight (lb) = length × width × height in inches, each rounded up to the next whole inch, ÷ 139, then rounded up to the next pound.
There are 1,728 cubic inches in a cubic foot because a foot is 12 inches and 12 × 12 × 12 = 1,728.
Worked example: a one-bedroom move
- One box of 18 × 18 × 16 inches: 5,184 ÷ 1,728 = 3.00 cu ft.
- Thirty boxes: 90 cu ft.
- With 300 cu ft of furniture, the total is 390 cu ft, about 11 m³.
- That fits a cargo van or a 10 ft truck, but only just: a 15 ft truck leaves room for items you forgot.
- Shipped by UPS or FedEx, each box would be billed as 38 lb, whatever it actually weighs.
Volume by number of boxes
| Boxes | Volume of boxes | Total with 300 cu ft of furniture |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 30 cu ft | 330 cu ft |
| 20 | 60 cu ft | 360 cu ft |
| 30 | 90 cu ft | 390 cu ft |
| 50 | 150 cu ft | 450 cu ft |
| 80 | 240 cu ft | 540 cu ft |
Which truck do I need?
| Truck | Approximate capacity | Typical home |
|---|---|---|
| Cargo van or 10 ft | about 400 cu ft | studio, dorm |
| 15 to 16 ft | about 750 to 800 cu ft | one or two bedrooms |
| 20 ft | about 1,000 cu ft | two or three bedrooms |
| 26 ft | about 1,700 cu ft | three to five bedrooms |
Capacities vary by rental company, and you never fill a truck perfectly: furniture leaves gaps. Plan for 10 to 20 percent more space than your total.
Estimating furniture
Measuring every sofa is tedious, so movers use averages. A furnished room often accounts for 150 to 200 cubic feet, a queen bed with frame about 60 to 70, a three-seat sofa about 50 to 60 and a large refrigerator about 40 to 50. Count the big items, add your boxes, and you have a usable estimate.
Dimensional weight for shipping
Carriers charge whichever is higher: the actual weight or the dimensional weight. UPS and FedEx divide by 139 on standard daily rates; USPS uses 166 for packages larger than one cubic foot. Choosing a box just big enough for its contents is the easiest way to cut shipping costs: trimming an 18 × 18 × 16 box to 16 × 16 × 14 drops its dimensional weight from 38 to 26 lb.
Box sizes worth knowing
Moving supply stores usually sell small boxes of about 1.5 cu ft for books, medium boxes of about 3 cu ft for kitchen items and toys, and large boxes of 4.5 cu ft or more for bedding and lampshades. Keep heavy items in small boxes so each one stays under about 50 lb.