U-Haul U-Box Dimensions

U-HAUL U-BOX SIZE EVALUATION          

                 

Today’s world of instant information and ultimate convenience has spawned a large selection of portable self storage options.  What once involved numerous visits to a potentially scary and altogether industrial self storage facility has now become as simple as a phone call to a mobile storage provider and a delivery to your driveway.  There is just no question that portable storage containers are the ultimate in efficient storage and moving convenience for the do-it-yourself folks out there.  We can all thank PODS for creating a concept that is revolutionizing the storage and moving industry this way.  It’s clear that PODS was the first and is the largest, but many interesting alternatives have come in their wake and look to improve on the service.  The difficult question is how do they all differ, what sets each service provider apart.  Since there are so many variables to consider in the evaluation of a portable storage provider, the aim of this blog is to discuss them one by one so that you can have the facts you need to make an informed decision.

Looking for PODS container dimensions instead?  Check out this post: PODS Container Size Review

Today our subject is the U-Haul U-Box storage unit.  If you are considering using a U-Box for storage or moving, you may be asking yourself, just what are the actual interior dimensions of a U-Haul U-box.  I don’t blame you.  It’s a really good piece of information to have.  After all, you need to know how many U-Boxes you would need for all your stuff.  Does U-Haul give you the internal dimensions?  Well let’s look.  Here is a graphic from their website describing the U-Box: 

U-Haul U-Box advertisement

 As you can see U-Haul claims that their boxes are: 8’ X 5’ X 7’6” (LXWXH) with a capacity of 300 cubic feet and 2,000 lbs.  They also claim that a U-Box fits about a room and a half of household items and that if you got it into your house, you can get it into a U-Box.  That’s all pretty interesting marketing.  But is any of it accurate?  Since I am a stickler for details claimed by such marketing messages, I decided to take a little trip to find a U-Box to measure.  I found a couple in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  I found 10 in fact in someone’s driveway and they were nice enough to let me scope out the boxes.

First of all, before I get into my findings, I think its interesting that anyone would use so many U-Boxes when there are larger storage units available.  My intuition tells me that there should be some economy in size.  More on that issue in another post perhaps…

U-Haul U-Box Dimensions:

I found that the overall OUTSIDE dimensions of the U-Box were generally those stated in the advertisement.  This includes about 6 inches of feet below the box.  The INTERIOR dimensions of the U-Box were as follows:

Measured Size:    Interior – 4’8” wide x 7’8” deep x 6’9” tall

This is real world – get inside with a tape measure information.  This is not just an estimate.  Now we can tell that the U-Haul advertisement is for exterior dimensions, which has relatively little value to us unless we are trying to evaluate how many will fit in our driveway, not exactly something I am worried about.  But what about the claimed capacity of 300 cubic feet?  Is that accurate?  Capacity is by definition an interior measurement, right?  Calculating the floor area results in an actual square footage of 35.8 square feet.  Multiplying that area by the interior height results in an actual interior capacity of 242 cubic feet.  This means that the 300 cubic foot claim by U-Haul is an overstatement of 24%.  Can I just say WOW!!!  To be fair, U-Haul does note that all sizes are “approximate.”  The 300 cubic foot capacity statement is clearly figured based on external dimensions and I find this to be “approximately” misleading at best.    

How Much Can You Fit In A U-Box?

We see that U-Haul claims that you can fit about a room and a half of household items in a U-Box.  I find these kinds of estimates all over the place and I find them all to be rather worthless.  The fact of the matter is that all these estimates are relative to how big your rooms are, what type of rooms you have and how full you furnish those rooms.  In addition, it depends on how you pack the U-Box which is ultimately a function of the items that are going into it along with the skill with which you pack them in.  For example, if you have floor lamps in your living room and I don’t, I have a much better probability of fitting my living room into a storage container than you do.  It’s just that simple.  Do you have a 12’ X 16’ dining room stuffed with seating for 12 and floor lamps and a bookshelf and a hutch full of expensive china that will be packed in dish barrels?  I challenge you to fit that in a U-Box.  Dining chairs are among the worst items to pack into storage – they take up an amazing amount of space. 

I kind of like the statement that if you got it into your house you can get it into a U-Box and I believe it to be generally true with very few exceptions.  However, getting a single thing into a U-Box is not generally the point.  While an oversize couch may fit in a U-Box you will be challenged to work around it in very tight quarters.  It is unquestionably easier to pack a variety of large things into a single large container than it is to pack those same items into several small containers.

     

U-Haul U-Box Construction Materials:

As for the construction materials, these boxes are made of and exoskeleton of 2x4 lumber and plywood walls, floors and ceilings.  Other than a few screws holding some of the structure pieces to each other, the vast majority of the fasteners are staples and adhesive.  Around this plywood box is a fairly heavy duty tarp screwed to the top and kept tight with Velcro attachments.  That’s pretty much it.  Imagine trying to build a cheap plywood box storage container and this is pretty much what you would come up with.

Economical to build? Yes. 

Water tight?  Maybe.

Secure?  Velcro… plywood… adhesive… staples… a tarp… Maybe not so much.

Here are some pictures of the U-Haul U-Box portable storage units in Grand Rapids:

Grand Rapids U-Box Dimensions

Grand Rapids U-Box Construction Materials