With so many options available to you, how do you know if the van is going to be big enough for what I need. To help make your decision I have put together a couple of facts about each vehicle. Transit Custom or similar – this is a great little vehicle, it’s just just like driving a car. The reasons people would use this vehicle are for the following:
- Tip runs – with a valid hire agreement you can take this vehicle into any recycling center.
- University trips – know anybody going or coming home from university? These are popular for this sort of run as they are small enough to comfortably go in to any city and big enough to take or bring home bits from their Dorm or shared house.
- Small furniture moves – any small item up to 2.4 meters in length.
- Garden items – the most common thing I hear when people move themselves is that have forgotten to factor in all the pots and plants from the garden, this is the perfect size.
- Shed clearances – another popular reason to hire this vehicle.
Peugeot Boxer or similar – this is a medium sized vehicle, smaller then the Sprinter, but not by much! It give the perception of being smaller, but gives a huge payload (1500KG) to enable you to take the heavy loads without the worry or being overweight. The Peugeot come with air con, sat nav and parking sensors as standard and you can stand up straight in the back. These vehicles are generally hired for the following:
- House moves – can fit 1, 2 or if you pack it right a 3 bed house into the back. Okay, so you may have to do a couple of runs if you’re a bit or a hoarder (think i’m talking about myself here)
- Moving items up to 3.7 meters in length
- Delivering pallets
- Moving heavier items
- Fence panels – the perfect fit for fence panels
Mercedes Sprinters or similar – in my opinion the ultimate workhorse, gives you its all, its the beast of the road. Most who hire this type of vehicle who haven’t driven them before tend to look in horror at its size, yes its huge! 4.2 meters to play with in the back by over 1.8 meters in height, you could live in the vehicle! As standard these vehicles do not come with sat nav, air con or parking sensors so you have to go back to basics and drive like the day you past your test. Don’t be ashamed to get out and have a look of the space you have to use, it will be more embarrassing when you take out the side of the vehicle…. yes, that’s right, the Sprinters generally sustain damage to the rear side panels, where drivers like to take corners as you would in a car, it simply isn’t going to work. Slow down and take things wider. So, onto the positives of what we use this vehicle for:
- House moves – just like the Boxer only slightly bigger
- Long distance deliveries or moves – work horse on the motorway
- Collecting larger items – 4 meters carpets or work tops for example
Luton Tail Lift – this is the vehicle to use if you don’t want to lift any heavy items or have lighter items perhaps but of a large size, there are no wheelarch boxes to contend with. Please do note that the tail lift can only take 500kg, this must include the items and people. The Luton has an amazing payload of 1020kg so perfect for full loads. Lutons are generally hired for the following reasons:
- House moves
- moving heavier items (with a tail lift this means you only need 1 person)
I hope this blog has been useful and has helped you decide which vehicle you need for your hire. If I haven’t covered the area you were looking at you can call me on 01903 711270 or email elaine@robertstransport.com