Load in tiers, front to back
A truck or container is loaded in vertical slices, not in piles. Fill one slice from floor to ceiling and wall to wall, then start the next.
Each tier should be tight enough that nothing can shift into the gap in front of it. A load that cannot move cannot fall over, and almost all transit damage is caused by something moving.
Work front to back, front meaning the wall closest to the cab. The heaviest, largest, most rigid items go into the first tiers, against that front wall.
As you finish each tier, fill the remaining voids with soft goods — bagged bedding, cushions, pillows, bags of clothes. Those are your packing material, and you already own them.
Weight distribution
Most of the weight belongs over the front half of the load — over the axles, not behind them. A rear-loaded truck handles badly, and on a highway that is dangerous rather than merely uncomfortable.
Within each tier, heavy at the bottom and light at the top. Appliances, filing cabinets, book boxes, tool chests on the floor. Lamps, linens and light boxes above.
Keep the weight balanced left to right. A load that leans is a load that shifts.
Do not stack anything heavy on top of anything with a hollow top: a dresser, a table, a television.
Where the awkward things go
Mattresses and box springs go on edge along a side wall, ideally in a cover, strapped so they cannot fall inwards. They are large and light, which makes them excellent walls and terrible floors.
Sofas go on end if the shape allows it — this frees an enormous amount of floor space. Wrap the exposed corners.
Table tops travel on edge against a wall, padded, never flat with weight on them. Take the legs off and tape them together with the hardware.
Mirrors, glass and artwork go flat against a vertical surface, on edge, between mattresses or padded panels, and never lying horizontally where something can be set down on them.
Refrigerators and washers travel upright. A refrigerator laid down needs hours standing before it is plugged in.
Long thin things — rugs, curtain rods, ladders, the ironing board — go along the side walls or across the very top once the tiers are built.
Boxes
Uniform box sizes stack. Mismatched boxes do not. If you are buying boxes, buying two or three sizes rather than nine will genuinely speed up the load.
Heaviest boxes on the bottom, lightest on top. Books in small boxes — a large box of books is unliftable and the bottom falls out.
Every box should be filled and taped shut so the lid does not sag. A half-empty box collapses under the one above it. Fill the gaps with paper or soft goods.
Mark FRAGILE and THIS WAY UP on the side, and load those last, on top, where nothing goes above them.
Straps and padding
Most rental trucks have tie-down rails along the walls. Use them at the end of every tier or two — a ratchet strap across the face of a tier is what stops the whole thing from walking forwards under braking.
Moving blankets go between hard surfaces, not just over the top of things. Wrap the corners and edges of anything with a finish. Tape the blanket to itself, never to the furniture — tape pulls finish off wood and leather.
Use the shrink wrap on drawers and doors that could swing open, and over blankets to hold them in place.
Protect the truck too. Scrapes on the interior wall of a rental come out of your deposit.
Portable containers are different
A container that sits on your driveway and is later picked up by a truck gets handled differently from a truck you drive yourself: it is lifted, tilted and set down, sometimes more than once.
That means the load needs to be tight in every direction, including against the doors, and strapped in tiers as you go rather than at the end.
Do not leave a void at the top. Fill it with soft goods so nothing can topple into it during the lift.
Load the door end deliberately, with the tier closest to the doors strapped. When those doors open at the other end, whatever is behind them will come out first, and you want it to be a strap rather than a bookcase.
If the container is going into storage for a while, keep anything that can be crushed off the bottom and leave nothing inside that can leak, melt or attract pests.
Ramps, weather and safe lifting
Set the ramp on level ground and make sure the lip is properly engaged before anyone walks up it. Check it again after the load gets heavy — ramps shift.
One person at a time on the ramp with a load. Two people carrying one item go slowly and the person walking backwards calls the pace.
Wet ramps are the single most common injury on a move day. In rain, dry the ramp, put a towel or a mat at the top and bottom, and slow everything down. In cold weather watch for ice in the shade where you cannot see it.
Lift with your legs, keep the load close to your body, and never twist while carrying — turn with your feet. If something needs three people, get three people. The reason professional crews use dollies and straps for things that look liftable is that they intend to work again tomorrow.