What size moving van do you need for your home?

Typically 25-35 m³ for a normally furnished two-bedroom flat — more with years of accumulation, a cellar or a garage; less if you’re selling furniture or moving lightly. That volume needs either a 20 m³ box truck plus a packed car, or two trips with a large van. Big single items (wardrobe, sofa, mattress) dominate: a three-door wardrobe alone is 2-3 m³.

Anything up to 3.5 tonnes gross weight, which covers every rental van and the 20 m³ box trucks — the biggest DIY moving vehicle. Mind two things renters underestimate: height (a 3+ m box truck doesn’t enter most underground car parks or some fuel stations) and loading discipline — heavy items low and against the cab wall, everything strapped, because an unsecured wardrobe in an emergency stop is a projectile.

Count 15-20 standard boxes (60×40×40) per room, in a roughly 70/30 mix of standard and small. Small boxes are for books, dishes, tools, bottles — anything dense; the standard size takes clothes, linens, kitchenware, toys. Buy 20% more than the estimate, plus tape (one roll per 10-15 boxes), bubble wrap for dishes and a marker for labelling by destination room — the cheapest hour you’ll save on arrival day.

DIY with a rented van typically runs €100-250 (van day-rate, fuel, boxes, pizza for friends) versus €800-2,000+ for a full-service move of the same flat. The DIY discount is real but paid in labour and risk: no insurance on your goods, your backs on the stairs, and pianos/wardrobes that genuinely need pros. The popular middle path: movers for the furniture only, your own trips for the boxes.