I'm moving house soon, and I am thinking of hiring a van to move the stuff myself, because we don't have a huge amount of furniture - just a couple of sofas, a dining table and the rest is boxes, and we may put a lot of the boxes in storage anyway.
I know that there is a limit on the size of van that I would be able to drive on my standard driving licence, but I haven't looked up what size that is yet.
I just wondered if anybody had any advice, both in terms of what to hire (only moving about a mile, so I can do several trips) but also what to consider when driving a van for the first time. I've only driven driving school cars, plus the Mondeo for the past 15 months.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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dont rush
and remember vans are longer than cars so you need more space going round corners
apart from that you either pick it up straight away or next time call in man with a van with a plan.guv
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If you haven't got much a transit type van should be fine. If you have more including heavy heavy stuff like washing machines etc I would get a Luton with an electric tail lift
Not much different to driving a Mondeo really apart from needing to use door mirrors. Have someone to hand to help with reversing if necessary. Make sure you have a barrow, van hire firms often will lend you one.
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>>Make sure you have a barrow,
and maybe a piano trolley ?
In the old days some Luton tops were not insurable for body damage.
IIRC they were skinned in little more than tin foil to get under some weight restriction.
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My son wanted to move some kit - hire of van was £100+
He saw a small ad in the paper - "man with a van" 7.5 tonner - picked uo everything and dropped it off £50. There might be a "man with a van in your area"
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Done this a couple of times.
1) Don't underestimate how long it all takes and how hard work it is loading and unloading. More hands to help the better, and make sure you hire it for long enough.
2) The actual driving is nothing to get worked up about unless you have a tricky reverse or something.
3) Got caught last time on the licence - you had to be over 25 (I could manage that one) and also have no points showing - even if they had expired. I had some that were expired but not got around to getting a new licence from DVLA, and they wouldn't hire it to me at the last minute. So Mrs had to do it instead.
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Long time since I did this but CGN's advice pretty well covers it. Having a banksman to help reverse is particularly important.
Modern vans a much improved. I hated the Transits of 25yrs ago; the first time we got a Renault Trafic was a revelation.
And make sure you have plenty of rope and/or bungees for securing stuff.
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The Transit will not be much harder to drive than your Mondeo - you'll recognise some of the controls.
A van has a higher driving position which makes it easier to drive in some ways.
As you are only moving a short distance, make more trips rather than spend too much time packing the van.
As others have said, a chum or two to help with the lifting will be invaluable.
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There should be a small reputable removals company around your area, the type who use luton transit type vans as against large trucks.
Get a quote from one of these before you commit yourself to the van hire routine, the chaps the do are efficient and will pack the van far better than you ever will, i'm sure you could negotiate handy terms with a bit of word play;) and make sure to tell them you'll be packed and ready to load up and have their parking space outside reserved, you'll get a good price.
I'd be surprised if there was much in it money wise at the end of the day, it's when you start needing blinking great removal trucks that the price goes sky high.
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Why bother hiring a van when, as a couple of people have already stated, a man and a van will be a sinilar price AND include helping hands. The fact you have asked about driving a van in this forum suggests you are concerned about driving a larger vehicle (whether rightly or wrongly concerned), take the worry out and get someone else to do it.
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If it's Luton type body watch out for the height and overhang. The last time I was picking up a van there were a couple of young men doing their best to argue about not denting the front of the one they brought back.
Buy a Yorkie bar and tie a cloth to the driver's mirror and best don't shave for a couple of days either.
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When we moved out of our previous house last December the furniture went into storage. And a lot had been got rid before hand so mostly boxes, beds, sofas, washing machines.... no dining tables, chairs, wardrobes or indeed any bedroom furniture apart from the beds.
There was the option of a collection by one of their vans or a free van hire. We went with the former. As it turned out the standard size van would not have been big enough. Worst of all was they helped us load the van/lorry up (still hard work) but we had to get it into the store room ourselves. It was harder work than expected (we'd been told they'd help but sadly not true) and this was just getting it into the storage area.
Doing the reverse I paid them to load the van, deliver and unload it. It cost about £150 and came with two men to do all the work.
Don't underestimate the effort involved in moving everything out and on to the new house. In the grand scheme the cost of a man with van is tiny compared to the overall cost of moving.
Also, and you've probably thought of this, your stuff needs to be out by say 2pm on the day when contracts completed. But cannot move into the new place until that contracts completed. Unless this is rentals then you might find getting everything out makes multiple trips impossible.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Sat 4 Dec 10 at 22:29
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I'll add one bit of advice here; when you load the van, don't just chuck it in any old how.
Quite apart from the effect of load distribution on the van's handling, there's the practicalities at the other end to consider; I strongly suggest that upstairs stuff (and of course the kettle and associated brewing kit) goes in last to save you tripping over the other stuff when you unload. There's more to removals than meets the eye.
If any of your friends have old bedding or bubble wrap spare, grab it. A few ratchet straps will be handy too.
Last edited by: Harleyman on Sat 4 Dec 10 at 23:05
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Bubble wrap can be pricey if bought from the wrong places. If you go to B&Q, head for the garden bit and head for greenhouses. They sell rolls of bubble wrap to insulate greenhouses. And it's a lot cheaper when bought there than say somewhere selling packing related stuff.
Similarly, the gel sachets that absorb moisture were extremely costly when bought at the storage place we used. And I mean extortionate. I got them online (over the phone actually) and got hundreds for the same price the storage place would have wanted for no more than a dozen or so. I used quite a few in all the boxes in storage.
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>> Bubble wrap can be pricey if bought from the wrong places. If you go to
>> B&Q, head for the garden bit and head for greenhouses. They sell rolls of bubble
>> wrap to insulate greenhouses. And it's a lot cheaper when bought there than say somewhere
>> selling packing related stuff.
Worth scouting around on Freecycle. Also a useful source of cardboard boxes, tea-chests, old blankets and other removals paraphenalia.
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For future reference.
The best free boxes I have used were from my local greengrocer. Boxes that "Spuds for baking" arrive in, are very strong with hand slots in the sides. They are about the size of a 12 pack wine box but not as tall.
They stack well and are very useful for small items.
Tescos etc seem to have only 6 pack wine boxes. Have 12 packs gone due to Elf n Safety?
Curver make the best stacking small plastic crates ( if you can source any S/H ones) but the only supplier in the UK cannot obtain any at present.
www.tradesystems.co.uk/acatalog/Curver-Storage.html
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As someone already said,get one with a taillift,not only for heavy items but put in halfway position, they make a good step!
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Based on daughter's recent experience of hiring a van for the day from a local place - make sure the open/close mechanism for the doors works OK before you leave the hire depot. Lock it and unlock and try again.
Couldn't for the life us open the rear doors on the van she got although the side door was pretty large so we managed but wasn't ideal.
Last edited by: Bill Payer on Sun 5 Dec 10 at 11:10
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Get quotes from Shiply.co.uk it'll probably be as cheap as hiring a van, and you'll get two men thrown in for free.
Otherwise, get a Luton WITH a tail lift - worth its weight in gold. Even if you're not using it as the items are light, set it at half height, and use it as a step to get into the van.
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Remember speed limits are different on all but Motorways.
Enjoy it - BMW drivers jump out of your way!
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Thanks for all the advice. I am leaning back towards getting somebody to do it for me (and I will definitely try shiply.co.uk), but part of me really just wants to hire a van and do a house move! :)
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"but part of me really just wants to hire a van and do a house move! :)"
Then do it. I quite enjoy hiring a van - its a different experience to driving a car and you soon get the hang of it. Drivers of new shiny cars give you a wide berth The reputation of white man van clears a path before you like Moses crossing the Red Sea
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Hiring a van - any advice? - Bellboy
