What Size Lorry Do You Need? 10ft vs 14ft vs 24ft in Singapore

Booking the wrong lorry is one of the most common and costly mistakes in a Singapore move or delivery. Too small and you’re paying for a second trip; too big and you’re paying for empty air — or worse, a 24ft that can’t clear your carpark. This guide to the common lorry sizes Singapore fleets run lays out the real dimensions, payload and what actually fits in a 10ft, 14ft and 24ft, then gives you a decision table so you match the load to the lorry the first time.

The three common lorry sizes in Singapore

Local fleets are built around three workhorses, plus vans for the smallest jobs. Exact figures vary by make and body type, but the typical numbers look like this:

The jump from 10ft to 14ft roughly doubles usable volume, which is why the 14ft is the most-booked size for full-flat moves. The 24ft is a different class of vehicle entirely — and it comes with an access catch we’ll cover below.

10ft lorry: the small-job workhorse

A 10ft lorry suits a 1- to 3-room HDB move, a small office shift, or a delivery run of furniture and appliances. It fits comfortably in most loading bays and, importantly, clears the height barriers of typical HDB multi-storey carparks. If your load is a bedroom or two of furniture plus boxes, this is usually enough — provided access is straightforward and you’re not trying to fit a full household into one trip.

One licensing note worth knowing: a 10ft lorry with a gross vehicle weight above 3,500kg requires at least a Class 3 or 3A driving licence to drive yourself. It’s one reason many people book the lorry with a driver and crew rather than self-driving.

14ft lorry: the full-flat all-rounder

The 14ft is the default for a 4- or 5-room HDB or a typical condo move. With around 2.5 to 3 tonnes of payload and roughly double the volume of a 10ft, it swallows a whole flat’s worth of furniture, white goods and boxes in a single run for most households. It still fits the majority of HDB and condo loading points, making it the sweet spot between capacity and access. If you’re unsure between 10ft and 14ft, the 14ft is usually the safer call — the small step up in cost beats the guaranteed cost of a second 10ft trip.

24ft lorry: bulk capacity, with a carpark catch

A 24ft lorry moves serious volume — a large condo, a landed home, or bulk commercial cargo — with payload up to around 9 tonnes. But it is a Heavy Goods Vehicle, and its height (often 3.6m or more) and 7-plus-metre length mean it cannot enter most HDB multi-storey carparks or many condo basements. For high-rise homes, that forces a ground-level loading point and a longer carry, which changes the manpower plan. Book a 24ft only when the volume genuinely needs it and you’ve confirmed there’s ground-level access at both ends.

What fits: match the load to the lorry

Rather than guessing, work from what you’re actually moving:

Two rules of thumb save the most grief. First, count trips, not just size: one right-sized lorry almost always beats two runs of a smaller one on both cost and time. Second, declare access up front — no lift, a long carry, or a low carpark clearance changes both the vehicle and the crew you need.

When you also need a driver and crew

Size is only half the booking. A lorry on its own doesn’t load, wrap, or carry — and for anything beyond a couple of light items, the manpower is what makes the day work. A transport service in Singapore that comes with a driver and attenders means the vehicle arrives ready to move your goods, not just parked outside. This is especially true for the 24ft, where the licensing and the ground-level carry practically require a trained crew. If you’re moving a whole home rather than shifting cargo, a full moving crew handles wrapping and reassembly on top of the drive.

Height and access: the number people forget

Payload gets all the attention, but in Singapore’s high-rise landscape it’s often height that decides your booking. Most HDB multi-storey carparks have a headroom clearance of around 2.1 to 2.2 metres, which comfortably admits vans and many 10ft lorries but stops taller 14ft box bodies and every 24ft. Before you book, check three things at both addresses: carpark height clearance, whether there’s a proper loading bay, and how far the carry is from that bay to the lift. A vehicle that fits the load but not the building just moves the problem to move day. When you weigh up lorry sizes Singapore providers offer, treat access as a hard constraint, not an afterthought.

Common sizing mistakes to avoid

• Booking a 10ft for a 14ft load to save a little — then paying for a second trip that costs more than the upgrade would have.
• Booking a 24ft for a high-rise flat without checking carpark height, forcing a long ground-level carry.
• Ignoring furniture that must be dismantled — a wardrobe that won’t fit assembled may fit flat, changing the size you need.
• Forgetting the driver + crew, and discovering on the day that a bare lorry doesn’t move itself.

Frequently asked questions