Are you considering using your own vehicle to move? Standard vans, minivans and SUVs have maximum weight and Capacity limits, and its best to know more about them before you start stuffing. Continue reading for more information:

Go through your belongings:

First sort through all things you plan to bring–do you really need it all? Can you donate any of it, or give away some of it? The less stuff you put in the car, the less wear and tear you will cause for it, particularly for your tires. Your tires are impacted by any large vehicle loads, so take a look at your tires once your vehicle is loaded and make sure they look okay; no bulging sidewalls or other problems. Ensure the tires are properly inflated too. You can typically find the recommended inflation pressure in the car’s owner’s manual.

Load Capacity:

Load capacity, the maximum amount of passenger and cargo weight a vehicle will tolerate, is different from one car to another. The load capacity may range from about 900 lbs. for compact crossovers like the Mazda CX-3 and Honda CR-V, and up to 1,600 lbs. for full-sized SUVs such as the Chevy Suburban and Ford Expedition.

If you want to haul heavy stuff, it’s a great thing to know about is how load capacity is calculated. You get to the load capacity number by taking away the vehicle’s empty weight (curb weight) from your vehicle’s Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR). Your vehicle’s GVWR is in its owner’s manual.

As we’ve discussed, load capacity includes passengers and cargo, too. If you drive an SUV with a 1,000-lb load capacity, and you’ve got four 200-lb. adults in the car, you could only carry 200 lbs. of occupants’ stuff. Complicating things is that gasoline weight is also important. According to this Roslyn, NY Chevrolet dealership, gasoline weighs about 6 lbs. per gallon. That means that if an SUV has a 15-gallon tank, filling up would be an additional 90 lbs.

The Belonging-Loading Process:

Now that we know how many things you want to transport, let’s look at where to put it in the vehicle with this strategy: keep the heaviest things in and near the car’s center. So, yes, load heavy objects first. This cuts down on the possible adverse effect on handling that could be caused by the weight of cargo. It keeps the center of gravity near the car’s center, which will make for great braking and steering. Make sure you stack your belongings so you may see out the vehicle’s rear window, too.

Secure Loose Objects:

Next piece of advice, to prevent stuff from flying around during panic stops, keep small things in boxes. Then, ensure those boxes are secure. Better yet, you could use old grocery bags to put these items into, then easily squeeze them into small spaces. You do not want to have anybody injured from objects flying around due to a quick stop. We hope you’ve enjoyed what you’ve taken away from this article!