Close-up photo of a young man demonstrating the quality of a mattress overlay

How to Move a Mattress When Relocating Across the Country

Posted in How-to on December 23, 2022

It’s no secret that relocating can be a stressful time. There are so many things to think about and pack up, and it can be hard to know where to start. One of the most important things to remember when relocating is how to move a mattress. It’s one of the heaviest items in your home, and if not moved correctly, it can be damaged. Let’s see what you need to do when relocating it across the country.

Learn some things on how to move mattresses if you’re planning a relocation to another city, from gathering all the needed equipment to figuring out whether transporting such a large object is even worth the trouble. It is recommended to take off all bed linens, including sheets, mattress toppers, and pads before you begin. Once you decide to transport it, check a simple step-by-step guide and get some much-needed cross-country moving services and their efficient packing assistance.

What You Need to Know Before Packing Mattresses for Moving Cross-Country

One of the main questions people have when relocating to another state alone is how to transport a mattress. After all, many people consider it as one of the relocation essentials they can’t go without, so here are some things you need to take care of before the moving day:

  • Having a companion is crucial – Trying to transport a mattress alone isn’t a good idea because it might result in bodily harm, strained muscles, or unpleasant falls.
  • Choose the type of transportation for the item – Tying a mattress to a car’s roof may seem like a simple and quick solution, but doing so exposes the mattress to pollution and other elements which might harm it.
  • The mattress should ideally be secured inside a moving vehicle or van – This enables complete structural protection and gives you a chance to secure the object for transportation.

Having this in mind, you might realize that a last-minute relocation isn’t the best solution. In fact, it’s one of the most common relocation mistakes you should avoid.

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Get the Needed Equipment

Purchasing additional supplies can facilitate your transfer and guarantee the secure delivery of your mattress. So, if you’re wondering how to protect a mattress when moving across the country, ensure you have all the equipment listed on your relocation checklist because these are some of the things people forget the most.

  • Mattress bag,
  • Dolly or hand truck,
  • Ratchet tie-down strap,
  • Nylon rope,
  • Boxes,
  • Long-lasting packing or shipping tape,
  • Dependable knife.
  • Toolset,
  • Zip-lock bags.

If you have more than just one to-do list, things can get pretty messy. To avoid it, ensure you have a relocation binder where everything will be in one place, and you won’t end up searching through a single checklist the entire day.

A binder with important documents for
Stay organized by keeping a list of all the needed equipment

Factors to Consider When Moving a Mattress

Before figuring out how to wrap a mattress for moving, you need to consider some factors that can greatly impact your decision of whether to move it or not. For example, you might have a ton of small apartment ideas and are planning on relocating to a smaller home but are not sure if the object will fit.

So, plan beforehand if you want to avoid injuring yourself when relocating the object. Consider the following:

  • Is shifting your mattress worthwhile? The Better Sleep Council estimates that, based on the quality of the item and how you sleep on it, a mattress has a shelf life of roughly seven years. In this case, replacing your mattress could be preferable to simply shifting it.
  • Do you have a vehicle that can transport the mattress? You don’t want to take the mattress to your vehicle only to find that it won’t fit. By measuring the available space in your vehicle and the mattress beforehand, you may prevent this issue.
  • Do you know somebody who can assist you? Although they may have offered to assist, friends and family may have vanished on the day of the relocation. Therefore, be sure to ask someone you can rely on. It is strongly advised against moving the item by yourself, even when relocating alone, as you run the risk of getting hurt.
  • Where should the mattress be unpacked? Don’t make the rookie mistake of placing the mattress in the bedroom of your new home – you ought to place it in another room while the bed is prepared.

How to Move a Mattress Without a Truck

Consider that the mattress’ weight can vary depending on its type, from 45 pounds (for twin mattresses) to 71 pounds to 90 and 100 pounds (California king mattress, King size memory foam mattress, and some specialized mattresses).

Planning and using a few strategies are necessary when moving a mattress. You’ll also need tips on how to transport your mattress in a car if you want to accomplish it correctly. The majority of mattresses can’t even fit in a car’s hatchback or trunk. A twin, double, queen, full, or even king-sized mattress can, nevertheless, be transported in some types of vehicles. For instance, most mattresses of any size can be transported in a regular pickup truck.

A single modest mattress might fit in your vehicle with no difficulty if you have the means to remove the seats. When properly secured, practically any mattress can be transported on the roof of a large SUV, although a smaller vehicle may be suitable for transporting a smaller mattress.

Some basic equipment is required if you intend to secure it to the car’s roof. In reality, the majority of these things need to be included in any move you want to complete by yourself without the aid of a relocation company.

As you can see, there’s a lot of planning involved besides downsizing for a move and deciding what to get rid of. But if you want to have your good old mattress with you at the new place, it’s definitely worth it.

A man driving a car after cross-country moving
How to move queen-size mattresses - it's possible to transport the item with a truck

How to Move a Mattress – A Step-By-Step Guide

It could be frightening to consider relocating a mattress by yourself. However, when you organize packing and have a thorough relocation inventory, you can effortlessly follow a few easy stages on how to move a king-size mattress or how to move a queen mattress, and keep in mind the relocation budget you’ve made.

Include a Mattress Cover

If you’re wondering how to pack a mattress for moving, the most practical approach is with bags. Start by placing the mattress on its side and then inside the bag. Afterward, gradually tuck the object into the bag. The bag doesn’t need to be taped if it has a zipper. If not, you can carefully fold the mattress bag’s open edges and tape it down. You can secure the mattress inside the bag by wrapping it with tape from top to bottom.

If a mattress bag is not available, wrap your mattress with plastic wrap, which is readily available at most hardware stores. For an additional layer of protection, you could also use bubble wrap.

Your mattress will almost certainly come into contact with the ground, walls, stairs, doors, and interior of your car when traveling, and having a suitable cover means it will be shielded from harm such as stains, dust, and wetness.

Make a Clear Route to the Vehicle

Once your mattress has been covered, you should check how to transport a king-size mattress. This means you should clear the path from the bedroom to the truck. The chance of running into something and breaking it is removed by placing any boxes or furniture, including small tables, chairs, and floor lamps, out of the way. Open any doors, including the front door and the bedroom door, to make sure you have a free path.

Transfer the Mattress to the Car

Moving a memory foam mattress of a larger size to the truck will be simpler if you reinforce them with cardboard. Find the large cardboard boxes that can be used at Craigslist or some local stores. After the cardboard boxes have been disassembled and flattened, put one on each side of the upright mattress and secure them with tie-down straps or ropes.

You can carefully pull your mattress off the ground and transfer it onto a dolly once you’ve sandwiched it between two pieces of cardboard. You should then carefully roll the dolly outside to your car to avoid having the mattress fall off of it.

Driving to the Location

Pick the appropriate vehicle for your mattress size. For ease of movement, mattresses are best transported on their sides. Keep a mattress lying on its side while loading it, preferably facing the wall. If you don’t have enough room to maintain a mattress upright, we advise laying it flat. But be sure not to pile something on top of it – doing so could cause the mattress to sag.

How to Move A Memory Foam Mattress

Memory foam mattresses are heavy and can change form. This makes it difficult to keep a secure grip on them. If you are wondering how to pack a memory foam mattress, check some additional packing tips you could use:

  • Cover the large item,
  • Slide the object into the right-sized box (check the specially-designed boxes for mattresses),
  • Don’t stack anything on the object,
  • Use the straps to completely secure the mattress.

These large objects are usually quite an investment, so it’s important to know how to adequately protect them and keep them safe during transportation.

A close-up photo of a mattress before cross-country movers come to transport it
Keep all of your belongings safe during the transport

Hire Professional Cross-Country Movers to Help You

If you just can’t deal with all these tasks on your own and still wonder what to do with the mattress when moving, the best solution is to hire professional long-distance movers. Just ensure you find the most reliable ones and avoid relocation scams. That way, you can have peace of mind and be sure your item will safely arrive at the new destination.

Sleep Like an Angel on Your Mattress After the Long-Distance Move

Long-distance moving turned out to be more exhausting than you thought. Don’t worry, all the hard work you put in will pay up, especially when you know you’ll be well-rested after a good night’s sleep on your mattress. Follow everything we went over here, and you won’t have a problem relocating the item.

Julie Grace

Originally from The Golden City, Julie has explored the ins and outs of moving and has written all the tips down.

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