Hello parents/students! I thought some of you experienced individuals could share tips on how to pack your car if you are driving to college. Any useful tricks you can share? Things you learned not to do? In addition to that, what is your experience with uhauls/trailers? Did a lot of students bring them, did no one bring one? Share what you’ve seen/experienced and help out us about to go through college move in for the first time! It would be great to learn if vans piled to the roof with stuff is a typical sight or if any of you have found a better way.
Keep in mind that this is usually shared space with very little storage, compared to a bedroom at home. Some kids pack in plastic bins that are then stored under a raised bed. There is no need to bring everything the student owns since they will have to pack it all, plus everything purchased during the year, when the school year is over.
We used a car top carrier, the same one we take camping. At the end of the year, we put a bunch of stuff in local storage. Now we just need to remember the lock combination!
Here’s my tip. Unless you’ve got a car full of people taking up room, if you’re having a hard time packing everything in the car for a dorm room and think you need a U-Haul or trailer, you’re bringing way too much! 
Seriously. What in the heck are you bringing that you think you need a U-Haul?
We rented an SUV because we had to leave for the airport after the freshman drop off. Everything fit in the SUV. In addition, my husband’s and my luggage was also in the vehicle.
Yikes… a trailer?? To move into a furnished dorm??? Honestly, you’re overthinking this. I moved my daughter across the country with 4 suitcases - all we could bring on the plane. I moved my son in a regular sedan – and he brought a bike, lacrosse gear and a snowboard with him. Remember, your child CAN buy whatever he/she needs locally.
My middle kid gave his younger sister a big beanbag chair!! Of course, D said she HAD to bring that! She said she was glad she did, because it got a lot of use by visitors to her room. She stored it under her lofted bed (the one that didn’t have rails, grr).
Yes, the random family did come with a U-Haul. Very few and far between, though. As others have said, I’m not sure what they were thinking, since there is no place in the dorm for all that stuff.
My first move-in was limited to what my dad and I could fit within the airline’s baggage limitations.
We packed all clothes either in walmart bags (underwear, t-shirts, socks) or hanging on hangers in large garbage bags pulled up over the clothes and tied around the hanger tops.
Bedding was also in large garbage bags. It helps to have a lot of your soft stuff able to fit in and around the immovable objects. We usually needed one plastic container for desk items, lamp, alarm clock, a family photo, etc.
Also, pack things together so they can easily go right in the drawers (like desk supplies, paper, folders, binders. books, etc.)
Keep a door stop, tools (scissors, tape, command adhesive hooks and poster tape, screwdrivers, hammer) handy for setting up the room before unpacking everything.
Agree with the rest - take way fewer clothes and extras than you think you need. The rooms are really small.
Agree with @MaineLonghorn that the roof top carrier is a good way to go. Underbed bins are very useful. But they are not all created equal, so check them out before you buy. The ones that open like a drawer would, are more functional than those that have a top lid. If your child is within driving distance and you plan to visit for parents weekend, or if there is an October break, that’s a good time to bring the winter coats and boots and take back some summer stuff, depending on the climate of course. Most dorm closets have very little hanging space so cascading hangars are your friend! I like the beanbag chair idea from @Mainelonghorn. It’s nice to have another place to sit besides the bed.
Can’t imagine needing a trailer – clothes, toiletries, mini fridge (if school does not provide), a plastic storage bin, a fan, some posters, school supplies, bedding. Pack the bedding in a garbage bag or the laundry bag which your student will use. Keep clothes on hangers, put in garment bag or garbage bag. If you are brining a plastic storage bin, fill it with the school supplies, toiletries etc. Bring paper towels, spray cleaner.
If it doesn’t fit in a medium SUV/wagon (I can understand it would not fit in trunk of a sedan), then it’s time to rethink.
We also bought inexpensive collapsible duffle bags from walmart that were stored under the bed and used to come home for winter break.
I thought trailers were going way overboard too. In the email that was sent about move in day they said to call ahead if you were bringing trailers. What the heck would you need to bring that would fill a whole trailer if the bed/desk/dresser is included?!? Seems crazy to me!
We are in the " more stuff" camp. We shipped a lot of stuff ( fed ex ground to fed ex store near school). and could easily filed a trailer instead. My husband was semi -apoplectic because a lot if his friends from work were like the posters above “dorm is small’ " you won’t have room. However my " my daughters were in the research how to get in as much stuff as possible " camp. Extra - thin hangers, boxes under bed, hooks on was. Was all this " necessary”? Maybe not but it was how my kids rolled. They had done their research and it all fit. Lots of room in car was taken up with stuff that didn’t take floor or closet space: mattress topper. Study pillow. Pictures and tapestry for wall. Everything fit just as their research had showed them it would.
In any event the best advice we got was to pack everything on hangers, tie hangers together with rubber bands and put in garbage bags with hole cut in ( this method prevents clothes from fAlling to bottom of bag and being a jumbled mess ) we also packed in the underbed boxes using rolling wrap from the container store to make sure the boxes stayed closed while being moved. Everything else we put in rolling duffels ( folding clothes, shoes, bedding etc…)
Put scissors (for opening items) and power supply plugs somewhere easy to access.
The stackable plastic drawers can be already full of clothes, toiletries, school supplies, etc. Tape them shut or wrap in press and seal so they are easier to carry in. Remove as much packaging as possible from your purchases at home. Dorm room with 4-6 people all unpacking is crowded enough without all that cardboard and plastic. Also taking it all to the trash is one more step that you do not need. Take at least two power strips as no dorm room has enough outlets where you want them. A small tool kit is usually needed–screwdriver, hammer, command strips, cord wraps, etc. SET THE FAN UP FIRST. Put it in the vehicle last and carry it upstairs yourself so you know where it is and can plug it in first. Assume it will rain. Pack everything to stay dry–plastic bins, garbage bags, duffles, etc. Bring an umbrella. Buy laundry detergent, case of water, snacks, tissues, paper towels, etc locally if possible to save room in the vehicle. Have a good breakfast and your caffeine of choice before move in since emotions run high and patience runs low. No need to make it harder than it needs to be. I cannot imagine needing a trailer unless the student is living off-campus. No dorm room has that kind of space.
Advice from my son…and my daughter did it.
Put everything you think you need in your college dorm room in one room of your house…say…your living room. Then take HALF of what you have in that room. You will still have too much stuff, and you won’t use most of it.
For the kid we drove…we took a minivan the first year, and after that, we fit everything into a Volvo sedan.
For the kid who went to college across the country…four suitcases, two backpacks, a computer bag and an instrument bag. Then a trip to Bed Bath and Beyond for some bulky bed things. It all fit into a PT Cruiser.
No way would I rent a UHaul.
For the “more is better” poster above…we also made it very clear that we would NOT be helping with the packing and schlepping at the end of the year. Remember…for move in day…there will be upperclass sherpas to help you move in…but when it comes time to move out…you will be totally on your own,
I find that lots of college freshman bring way more items than they need. This is especially true for female students. There is no need to bring every piece of clothing you own. There is no need to bring 30 pair of shoes and 15 purses with you to a college campus. I see no reason to bring a trailer unless your moving into a apartment or your coming in a two seater car. A dorm room is on average smaller than a master bedroom.
Hahaha! Smaller than a master bedroom? My master is 20 by 15. My kids’ dorm rooms were a LOT smaller than that…a lot. And had furniture for two people. And no walk in closet.
My tip (5th kid leaves in a few weeks) --Don’t think of it as “moving in.” Kid is not “moving” --more like going to camp for a few months at a time. Two of my kids went to different colleges in the same city about 8hrs away. They took all their stuff together in an Elantra (one got the trunk, the other the back seat). Only one of my kids had an apartment during college so far (single, so not depending on anyone else to bring anything), He took his furniture with him–inflatable bed and a couple folding chairs, a lamp, small folding table. Clothes, cleaning/laundry supplies. It all fit in the same little car. Kid #1 was more extreme. Flew alone with nothing but a carry-on and a laptop. (We mailed his bedding.) Lived like a monk. He told me that anyone who came into his room said, “Dude. Where’s your stuff?” D went to Europe for 8months with only a backpack… . Should I go on? Travel light. It’s easier. If it doesn’t fit in a car, you need to simplify.