26 Foot Moving Truck: Dimensions, Capacity, and What Fits
The biggest truck you can drive on a regular license, and all three companies sell it at the same nominal length. It swallows a four- or five-bedroom house in one load. And every one of them is deliberately built to stop just short of the 26,000 lb line where a commercial license would be required.
- Cargo volume
- 1,682–1,700 cu ft
- Max load
- 9,180–12,859 lb
- Estimated mpg
- 8–13
- License
- Regular
Ranges span what U-Haul, Penske, and Budget each publish for this size. The spread between companies is often wider than people expect.
What each company calls this size
Same job, three different numbers on the door. This is the single biggest source of confusion when people price-shop across companies.
Gas, not diesel: U-Haul publishes no diesel option. Highest payload of the three at 12,859 lb, plus a Mom's Attic over the cab.
Diesel with a 70-gallon tank and the best published mileage of the three. Penske calls it the largest truck available for a personal move.
Widest rear opening of the three at 7'10" × 7'7", which matters more than it sounds when a fridge or armoire has to go through it. Lift-gate versions exist at some locations.
Specs, side by side
Published figures from each company's own spec pages. Where a company doesn't publish a number, we say so rather than guessing.
| Spec | U-Haul 26' truck | Penske 26' truck | Budget 26' truck |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interior (L × W × H) | 26'2" × 8'1" × 8'3" | Up to 25'11" × 8'1" × 8'1" | 26' × 8'1" × 8'1" |
| Door opening (W × H) | 7'9" × 6'10" | Not published | 7'10" × 7'7" |
| Cargo volume | 1,682 cu ft | Up to 1,700 cu ft | 1,698 cu ft |
| Max load | 12,859 lb | Up to 10,000 lb | 9,180 lb |
| Gross vehicle weight | 25,999 lb | Up to 26,000 lb (commercial non-CDL spec) | Up to 26,000 lb |
| Fuel / tank | Gas · 60 gal | Diesel · 70 gal | Diesel · 50 gal |
| Estimated mpg | 8–10 | Up to 13 | 8–10 |
| Loading ramp | Yes: EZ-Load, 2'7" wide | Yes, 1,000 lb capacity | Yes: 2'0⅜" wide, 1,000 lb capacity |
| Towing | Up to 10,000 lb | Tow-capable · towed car up to 5,000 lb | Tow-capable · rating on the rear-door decal |
| Seats | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Cargo volume is genuinely near-identical here, 1,682 to 1,700 cu ft, so this is the one size where the door number tells the truth. Payload is where they part company, and Budget's own site can't settle on a figure: its spec table says 9,180 lb, its comparison card says 10,000 lb, and its body copy says 12,000 lb. We show the spec-table number. U-Haul's 25,999 lb gross rating is not a rounding accident either. It's one pound under the 26,000 lb threshold that would make this a CDL vehicle.
Specs are the companies' own published figures and vary by model year and location, so confirm the truck you're actually given at pickup. Sources: U-Haul 26' truck · Penske 26' truck · Budget 26' truck
What actually fits
U-Haul rates it at a three-to-four-bedroom home, Penske at five to seven rooms, Budget at five to eight rooms. Call it four to five bedrooms of normally furnished house.
- A four- or five-bedroom house in a single load
- Around 500 medium boxes plus 15 pieces of furniture, by Budget's own count
- Multiple appliances, a piano, and a full garage's worth of tools
- A car towed behind on a carrier or dolly, up to about 5,000 lb
- Tall furniture: over 8 feet of interior height at all three companies
Rent this one if…
- You're moving a four- or five-bedroom house and refuse to make two trips.
- You're moving heavy: U-Haul's 12,859 lb payload is the highest of any consumer rental.
- You're towing a car on a long one-way move.
- You'd rather have too much room than discover you're short at 9pm.
Size up or down if…
- You're moving three bedrooms or fewer. You'll pay for space and fuel you don't use.
- Your route has low bridges or a tight driveway. These are around 13 feet tall; Budget lists 13'0" of clearance.
- You've never driven anything this big and the route is all city. Consider two trips in a 20'.
- You're on a tight fuel budget: 8–13 mpg from a 50–70 gallon tank adds up fast on a cross-country move.
Driving and fuel
Big, but legal on a regular license: all three are built to stay under the 26,000 lb CDL threshold. Plan for roughly 13 feet of height and check clearances before you commit to a route; a struck bridge is the classic 26-foot disaster. Fuel splits by company: U-Haul's is gas at 8–10 mpg from a 60-gallon tank, while Penske and Budget run diesel, with Penske publishing up to 13 mpg. Loaded and into a headwind, expect worse than any of those numbers. Give yourself double the stopping distance you'd expect, and never reverse without someone spotting you.
Common questions
Do you need a CDL to drive a 26 foot truck?
No, and that's exactly why they're all 26 feet. A commercial license kicks in above 26,000 lb gross vehicle weight, so U-Haul rates its truck at 25,999 lb and Penske and Budget cap theirs at 26,000. Deliberately at the line. A regular license is all you need, at 18 and up.
Is a 26 foot truck diesel or gas?
It depends on the company. Penske and Budget both run diesel at this size (70- and 50-gallon tanks respectively). U-Haul's 26' is unleaded gas with a 60-gallon tank, and it publishes no diesel option. If you've seen a blog claim U-Haul's 26' is diesel, it's out of date.
How much can a 26 foot truck actually carry?
U-Haul publishes 12,859 lb, Penske up to 10,000 lb, and Budget 9,180 lb on its spec table, though Budget also claims 10,000 and 12,000 lb elsewhere on its own site. Whichever you rent, weight runs out before space does on a dense load: 1,700 cu ft of packed boxes weighs more than any of these trucks can legally take.
How many bedrooms does a 26 foot truck hold?
Four to five, with the caveat that the companies describe it differently: three to four bedrooms at U-Haul, three to five at Penske, two to three at Budget. Budget's estimate is the most conservative because it assumes larger rooms. For a genuinely full five-bedroom house with a garage, expect it to be tight.
Is there anything bigger than a 26 foot truck?
U-Haul now lists a 29' truck in its lineup (2,057 cu ft), which is the only consumer option above 26 feet. Availability is limited, and it's still built under the CDL threshold. Penske explicitly calls its 26' the largest truck it rents for a personal move.
