Ever considered hiring a van?
If you’ve never driven one before, you’ll need to be aware of the vehicle’s dimensions to ensure you don’t get stuck under a low bridge or scrape the sides.
But renting a van is a much more affordable alternative to leasing or buying a vehicle outright. Just pay a small fee, one month at a time, and leave the rest to the rental company.
Here we take a look at how you can benefit from van hire and what you can expect at every step of the process.
Common reasons why you might need to hire a van
People hire vans for all sorts of reasons, including (but not limited to):
- Moving house – unless you’re lucky enough to know someone willing to lend you their van or help you transport your belongings to your new home, you’ll probably need to hire a van yourself.
At least a hired van will be empty – ready for you to load your possessions into straight away. This means you’ll be able to fit more in and make fewer journeys.
- Office moves – is your business relocating to new premises? Renting a van is the quickest option for moving expensive equipment and bulky furniture from one office to another.
Instead of making countless trips back and forth, you can hire a large van and transport your office essentials in one attempt – saving both time and money on fuel.
- Buying furniture – whether you’ve bought a second-hand sofa from Facebook Marketplace or you’re planning a trip to IKEA, the last thing you want to do is fiddle around with the seats in your car to make room for it.
Van hire in Warrington is the perfect solution. You’ll have more than enough space to fit your new settee or flat-pack furniture in the back safely – leaving room for your passenger to sit in the front with you.
- Tip runs – sorting out your garden once and for all? Having new carpets fitted? There’s no denying that you’ll need to make a couple of trips to the local tip (if not more!).
However, hiring a van will help to speed the process up because you’ll be able to fit more waste and unwanted materials in the back. What’s more, using a rental van will allow you to keep your personal car’s interior clean and protect it against damage from sharp objects.
- Freelance jobs – most businesses use Transit vans these days. However, certain jobs may require the use of a larger van, such as a box tail lift or 3.5-tonne tipper.
If a larger vehicle isn’t required all the time, it works out much more affordable to hire one as and when it’s needed. Once you’ve finished with it, you simply return it to the rental company.
What do you need to hire a van?
Here in the UK, you can legally drive a car on or after your 17th birthday, providing you have a provisional driving license and a qualified driver to accompany you. Once you’ve passed your theory and practical tests, you can then drive a vehicle on your own.
Although this is the case, most car and van rental companies state that you have to be at least 23 years old to drive a small van and over 25 to hire a larger van.
They’ll likely charge a surcharge for drivers under the age of 25, due to how difficult these vehicles can be to handle.
On the day of your van hire, usually, all you’ll need is your driving license. However, if you have any driving endorsements (i.e. speeding offences), you’ll need to provide evidence of them before you’ll be given the keys, let alone allowed to drive the van away.
The best thing to do to make the process as smooth as possible is to print a summary of your driving license from the GOV.UK website.
What should the van have?
When hiring a van, the first thing you need to think about is the size you need.
Bigger doesn’t always mean better. You’d be surprised how much stuff you could fit in a small LWB van. However, if you’re moving larger items, opting for a van that affords you additional space can be a real boon.
It’s also a sensible idea to consider the size and weight of the items you need to transport in the van. If they’re large and cumbersome, it’s handy to go for one that comes with a lift, such as the Luton box tail lift. This has a platform that folds out quickly – making it easier for you to load goods onto the back of the van.
What do you do when driving a van?
If you’re not familiar with driving vans, when navigating your way away around, bear in mind that it’s likely to be higher or wider than what you’re used to.
Transporting a heavy load can also affect the vehicles braking, acceleration and overall handling, so make sure you don’t overload it. If you’re unsure what the loading requirements are, be sure to ask before you hire it.
Parking a small van is very much similar to parking a car, but the larger ones can be trickier to fit in tight spaces and may take up more than one spot. If necessary, ask someone to guide you into the space. But if it’s not an option, just take your time and keep checking your side mirrors.
Hire a van today
Any hired van is sure to make life easier for you but if you’re looking for van hire in Warrington – either on a daily or weekly basis – or you can’t decide which vehicle is best for your needs, contact the team at PSD Vehicle Rental.
