Moving companies generally will not transport anything hazardous, flammable, explosive or pressurized; perishable food and plants; ammunition; or live animals. Separately, most movers ask you to keep irreplaceable and sensitive items — documents, cash, jewellery, medication — in your own hands. The first group is about safety. The second is about responsibility.
Each company publishes its own list, and the details vary. Stallion’s is on our items page. This guide explains the reasoning behind the lists in general, so the rules make sense rather than feeling arbitrary.
Hazardous and Flammable Goods
A moving truck is an enclosed box carrying a household’s worth of fabric, cardboard and wood. It can sit in the sun for hours. Anything that can leak, ignite or release fumes is a risk to the crew, to the vehicle and to every other item in the load.
- Gasoline, diesel and other fuels — including what is left in a lawn mower, trimmer or generator
- Propane tanks, including barbecue cylinders
- Paint, thinners, solvents and stains
- Pool chemicals, fertiliser and pesticides
- Aerosols, compressed-gas cylinders and fireworks
Perishables and Plants
Food that can spoil does not belong in a truck that may not be unloaded for hours, and if it leaks it damages everything around it. Plants are usually grouped with perishables: they suffer in a dark, unventilated truck, and soil and water do not mix well with upholstery.
Ammunition and Firearms
Ammunition, powder and primers are excluded by movers almost universally. Firearms are handled differently from company to company — some will not carry them at all; others will under conditions. Stallion will move a firearm only if it is declared in advance, unloaded, and secured in a locked hard case or safe. Check your mover’s policy, and always tell them before the day.
Pets and Live Animals
No animal should ever travel in the back of a moving truck. Pets travel with you. If you have an aquarium, the fish move separately and the tank must be emptied completely before it can be moved.
Valuables and Documents: A Different Kind of Rule
Most moving contracts ask you to keep irreplaceable and sensitive items in your own custody — identification, important papers, cash, jewellery, heirlooms and medication. This is not because a crew cannot handle them carefully. It is because they are small, easily mislaid among hundreds of boxes, often impossible to value fairly, and in many cases needed during the move itself.
Basic valuation coverage is calculated by weight, which is a poor fit for a small, light, valuable object. That is one more reason to carry them yourself. Our guide to $0.60 per pound coverage explains how that works.
Items That Need Planning Rather Than Refusal
Between "yes" and "no" there is a middle category: items a mover can often carry, but only when they know in advance. Pianos, safes, gym equipment, power recliners, glass tabletops and large artwork all fall here. They may need an extra person, special equipment, or a different approach, and they should be part of the quote rather than a surprise on the day.
What to Do With the Excluded Items
- Use up, run down or give away fuel, paint and chemicals in the weeks before the move
- Take what is left to your municipality’s household hazardous waste drop-off
- Return or exchange propane tanks rather than moving them
- Eat down the fridge and freezer, and donate unopened non-perishables
- Move plants and pets in your own vehicle
- Carry documents, valuables and medication yourself
Why Discovery on the Day Is the Worst Outcome
When a prohibited item turns up during loading, the crew has to stop and decide what to do with it, and the answer is usually that it stays behind. That costs time and leaves you with a problem to solve on the busiest day of the move. A quick look through the garage, the shed and under the sinks a week ahead prevents it.
If you are not sure where something falls, ask your mover before moving day. For Stallion’s own list, including the items we can move with advance notice, see our items page.