Choose a pickup for loads up to about 1 ton: a fridge, a few pieces of furniture, a bachelor move or shop stock. Choose a mini truck for 2 to 3.5 tons: a one to three-room flat, office furniture or building materials. In Bangladesh, a pickup usually has a 7 ft or 9 ft deck, and a mini truck a 12 ft or 14 ft deck. Inside Dhaka, a 1 ton, 9 ft pickup costs roughly Tk 800 to Tk 2,200 a trip, and a 2 ton, 12 ft truck Tk 1,200 to Tk 2,700, on Truck Lagbe’s September 2026 chart. Pickups and 12 ft trucks can be booked for daytime city trips; anything longer runs only after 10:00 PM.
The right choice depends on three things: how much your goods weigh, how much space they take and when and where the vehicle has to go.
Pickup vs mini truck at a glance
| Pickup | Mini truck | |
|---|---|---|
| Deck length | 7 ft or 9 ft | 12 ft or 14 ft |
| Payload | About 1 ton (Truck Lagbe lists 7 ft at 1 ton; 9 ft at 1 to 1.5 tons) | 2 tons (12 ft) or 3.5 tons (14 ft) |
| Typical loads | A fridge, a sofa, a bachelor move, small deliveries | A one to three-room flat, office furniture, shop stock, cement or tiles |
| Body | Open, some covered | Open or covered van |
| Dhaka fare (Truck Lagbe, Sept 2026) | Tk 800 to Tk 2,200 (1 ton, 9 ft) | Tk 1,200 to Tk 2,700 (12 ft); Tk 1,500 to Tk 2,800 (14 ft) |
| Daytime trips inside Dhaka | Yes | 12 ft yes; 14 ft only after 10:00 PM |
| Padma Bridge toll | Tk 1,200 | Tk 1,600 (trucks up to 5 tons) |
| Narrow lanes | Fits most | May not fit; check access |
Fares are from Truck Lagbe’s Dhaka fare chart, published on 12 September 2026, before diesel rose to Tk 135 a litre. Expect bids near the top of each range. Padma Bridge tolls are the 2022 rates reported by TBS.
What is a pickup?
In Bangladesh, a pickup is a light commercial vehicle with a driver’s cabin and a short open deck behind it, usually 7 or 9 ft long. Common models include the Tata Ace and Intra, the Ashok Leyland Dost and the Mahindra Bolero pickup. Some come with a fixed cover or a tarpaulin frame for rain.
A pickup is the city’s everyday goods vehicle. It is cheap to hire, quick to load, fits into most lanes and can be booked for trips inside Dhaka during the day. That makes it the default choice for:
- a fridge, washing machine, sofa or bed;
- a bachelor or single-room move;
- shop restocking and small business deliveries;
- e-commerce and furniture-shop deliveries;
- a single load of light building materials such as pipes or a few bags of cement.
Its limit is weight. A 1 ton pickup carries 20 bags of cement at 50 kg each, and nothing more. For dense goods it fills up by weight long before the deck is full.
What is a mini truck?
A mini truck in Bangladesh usually means a light truck with a 12 or 14 ft deck and a payload of 2 to 3.5 tons. Models such as the Tata LPT 407 and Tata T.6 Ultra, the Isuzu light trucks sold by Uttara Motors and the Eicher Pro range sit in this class. They come with an open deck or as covered vans.
A mini truck carries roughly two to three times what a pickup does, so it suits:
- a one, two or three-room flat;
- office furniture and files;
- shop or warehouse stock in bulk;
- construction materials such as cement, tiles and rods in small quantities;
- event equipment and exhibition stands.
The trade-offs are size and timing. A 14 ft truck may not enter a narrow lane, and on Truck Lagbe it can only be booked for trips inside Dhaka after 10:00 PM.
Which one fits your load?
Start with weight, then space. Dense goods such as rice, cement, tiles and rods reach the payload before they fill the deck; furniture, cartons and mattresses fill the deck first.
| Your load | Usual choice |
|---|---|
| One appliance, a sofa or a few cartons | 7 ft pickup |
| Bachelor or single-room move | 9 ft pickup |
| One-room flat with a fridge, bed and wardrobe | 9 ft pickup or 12 ft mini truck |
| Two-room flat | 12 ft or 14 ft mini truck |
| Three-bedroom flat | 14 ft mini truck, or larger for a full household |
| Small shop restock | Pickup |
| 40 to 60 bags of cement (2 to 3 tons) | 12 ft or 14 ft mini truck |
| Electronics or garments in the rainy season | Covered pickup or covered van |
If your goods sit between two sizes, go one size up. A larger vehicle costs a few hundred taka more; a second trip costs the full fare again. For moving a whole flat, count the large furniture first, since a bed, wardrobe, dining table and fridge take most of the space. Anyone moving out of a mess or a single room can usually manage with one pickup.
Flat size is the usual starting point when choosing a truck for a house move. Loads bigger than a mini truck call for a 16 ft truck or larger, and each of those sizes has its own payload limit.
How much does each cost to rent?
On Truck Lagbe’s September 2026 Dhaka chart, the low end of each range is for a trip within one area and the high end for the farthest trip within the city:
| Vehicle | Dhaka fare range (Tk) |
|---|---|
| 1 ton, 9 ft pickup | 800 to 2,200 |
| 2 ton, 12 ft truck | 1,200 to 2,700 |
| 3.5 ton, 14 ft truck | 1,500 to 2,800 |
Covered vehicles usually cost Tk 300 to Tk 500 more at the top of each range. A 1 ton pickup inside Dhaka has a fixed fare on the Truck Lagbe app, which you see once you enter the route; for other sizes, verified owners send bids.
Short pickup trips felt the 2026 diesel rise more than most. A Singair to Dhaka pickup went from Tk 2,000 to Tk 2,500 after the September increase, bdnews24 reported. The government kept fuel prices unchanged for November, the Dhaka Tribune reported.
On price alone, the gap between a pickup and a 12 ft mini truck inside Dhaka is often only a few hundred taka. If there is any doubt that your load fits a pickup, the mini truck is usually the cheaper choice overall.
Timing and access in Dhaka
Timing often decides the choice before size does. On Truck Lagbe, trucks longer than 12 ft can only be booked for trips inside Dhaka after 10:00 PM, so a daytime city move is limited to pickups and 12 ft trucks. If you must move during the day and the load is too big for one 12 ft truck, two vehicles are usually easier than waiting for night.
Check access at both ends too. Many old Dhaka lanes and building gates take a pickup but not a 14 ft truck. Tell the owner the lane width, where the vehicle can park and the floor number, so the right size turns up. Most cases of booking the wrong size come from leaving these details out.
Open or covered?
An open pickup or truck is cheaper and easier to load from the side, and suits building materials, plastic furniture and goods that can get wet. Choose a covered body for electronics, mattresses, cartons, garments, paper goods and anything valuable, especially from June to October, since covered vans and open trucks are built for different kinds of goods.
Common mistakes
- Booking by space alone. A pickup full of tiles or rods is overloaded long before it looks full.
- Assuming every 9 ft pickup carries 1.5 tons. Some are rated for 1 ton. Ask the owner for the actual payload.
- Forgetting the night rule. A 14 ft truck booked for 2:00 PM inside Dhaka will not be allowed on Truck Lagbe.
- Packing a pickup above the cabin. A high load makes the vehicle unstable and can fall off. Overloading a pickup also risks a fine and licence points for the driver.
Buying one: pickup or mini truck?
For owners, the choice is about the kind of work each vehicle finds. A pickup earns from many short city trips, including daytime work that larger trucks cannot do. A mini truck earns more per trip and covers house moves, shop stock and short intercity runs, but finds fewer jobs inside Dhaka during the day.
As a guide to prices, the Tata LPT 407, rated for 2,300 kg, was listed at about Tk 16.8 lakh and the Tata T.6 Ultra, rated for 3,200 kg, at about Tk 19.9 lakh by 91trucks Bangladesh. Those are indicative prices, so get a quote from the dealer. Running costs are lower for a pickup too: the yearly road accident trust fund payment is Tk 750 for a pickup or mini truck, against Tk 1,500 for a larger truck, according to Prothom Alo.
If you are starting out, a used pickup or mini truck costs much less than a new one, and the Truck Lagbe Owner app shows trips for both sizes.
Book a pickup or mini truck on Truck Lagbe
On the Truck Lagbe app, enter the route, choose the vehicle size and body, describe the goods and set the time. A 1 ton pickup inside Dhaka shows a fixed fare; for other sizes, verified owners send bids. Download the Truck Lagbe app to book your next trip.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a pickup and a mini truck?
A pickup has a 7 or 9 ft deck and carries about 1 ton. A mini truck has a 12 or 14 ft deck and carries 2 to 3.5 tons.
How many feet is a pickup in Bangladesh?
Most pickups for hire have a 7 ft or 9 ft deck. Truck Lagbe lists a 7 ft pickup at 1 ton and a 9 ft pickup at 1 to 1.5 tons.
Which is cheaper to rent in Dhaka?
The pickup. A 1 ton, 9 ft pickup costs about Tk 800 to Tk 2,200 a trip, and a 2 ton, 12 ft truck about Tk 1,200 to Tk 2,700, on Truck Lagbe’s September 2026 chart.
Can a mini truck run in Dhaka during the day?
A 12 ft truck can be booked for daytime trips on Truck Lagbe. Trucks longer than 12 ft can only be booked for trips inside Dhaka after 10:00 PM.
Is a pickup enough for a house move?
For a bachelor or single-room move, usually yes. A two or three-room flat usually needs a 12 or 14 ft mini truck.
