Moving guide
Should I hire a van for my move?
So you’re moving in a few days, you’ve realised you own about four times more stuff than you thought, and 28 trips on the tube is simply not happening.
Hiring a van yourself is tempting. Before you book one, here’s what I really wish people knew, having done this for a living.
- You can drive a big van on a normal licence. All the way up to a Luton, which is basically a small truck. The catch is almost none of the big rental companies will rent a Luton to under-30s, so if you’re in your 20s you’ll be limited to an extra-long wheelbase van. Which is massive anyway, so don’t panic.
- Vans are roomier than you think. They go short, long and extra-long wheelbase. Have a quick google of the dimensions, and if it’s only £20 more to size up, do it. There’s nothing worse than getting everything down to the van and finding your sofa won’t quite fit, or having to spend an extra hour playing tetris before you can actually set off because things are a bit tight.
- Turn up early to the rental branch, with your licence and a credit card. You’ll need a credit card specifically for the deposit. And rental branches never ever have all the stock they say they do on the website, so give yourself a time buffer for them to find you the vehicle you’ve booked and paid for.
- Look at excess insurance before you get to the desk. Excess insurance is important, because it stops you having to pay thousands for damage to the van, even if it isn’t your fault. Rental companies will offer damage excess insurance at rates of £25/30 per day to bring down your excess from £2k+ to £250. But you can actually get much cheaper options from third parties like Questor Insurance, which are more like £9/day and bring your excess down to £200. The catch is that if you use a third party provider and any damage does occur, the rental company will initially charge your credit card and you’ll need to do some extra paperwork to claim back the money. Just make sure you always, always get damage insurance one way or another. Promise me. It’s not worth skipping it.
- Vans come completely empty. No sack truck (which is a folding wheely trolley), no blankets, no straps. Grab a sack truck from Screwfix and some blankets and bungee ropes from Amazon or Argos. Annoying to buy for one use, I know, but your back and your telly will thank you.
- Mind the inner city stuff. Check the van against the current ULEZ, LEZ and emissions rules before you book, and in London remember to budget for the Congestion Charge and any tunnel tolls. Width barriers on residential streets are usually fine up to extra-large wheelbase vans if the sign says 6’6” or more. Finally, you cannot take a van through the Rotherhithe Tunnel in London, but your sat nav will try. You’ll need to drive via Tower Bridge.
Honestly though, if reading all that gave you clammy hands, forget the whole thing and let us do it. No scary driving, no hire branch at eight o’clock in the morning, no sack truck you’ll use once and then trip over for a year.
I would, if I were you.