8 Tips for Hiring a Van When Moving Home or Office

Moving house or changing to a new office location can be a stressful time, particularly if you’re making the move yourself without using an external moving company. There’s all the packing and unpacking to do at either end, and the worry of making sure you’ve got everything including the correct boxes, as well as finding the best local van hire for you.

Here at SprintMotorHire.co.uk, we’ve had more than a little experience in van hire for these particular situations though, so we’ve pulled together a few tips on what you should and shouldn’t do when you’re hiring a van to move house or office.

Check your vehicle

The most important thing to do when you hire a van is to check the vehicle over beforehand to make sure that there’s no damage that should haven’t been made aware of. You should take note of any scrapes, scratches, dents or bumps that are present on the exterior or interior of the vehicle, as well as checking that features such as windscreen wipers, indicators and lights are all in good working condition.

Not only will doing this keep you safer as cross the country when you hire a van, but it will also protect you against any claims. If, for example, in the rare case there is a scrape on the van that hasn’t been noted by the rental company and they try to claim it’s your fault when you return it, you can refer to the fact that you made it known that this was already there when you picked it up.

Find the best rental rates

Make sure that you shop around to find the best van rental price you can so that you’re not paying over the odds for what you need. Often local van hire will offer you a cheaper rate as you won’t need to pay extra to drive further to pick up and return the vehicle.

Visit your new area

Hiring a van for the first time might be a new experience for many, so one way to make sure that you’re feeling ready for the move is to visit the new area beforehand. Check out where you’re able to park or pull up safely and legally, where you’ll be able to turn the vehicle around, bearing in mind that it may be larger than what you’re used to driving, and what the route is in advance. This will save you lots of hassle in the long run.

Moving van sizes

Van hiring doesn’t need to be complicated, but people can often think it is due to the different types, sizes and makes of vehicles that van rental companies offer. Moving vans are available in several different sizes that are appropriate for many different situations.

The most common van used for moving house is the transit. This can carry around 800kg easily including beds, sofas, kitchen appliances and even wardrobes laid down. If you need more space, a long wheel base van adds around 3ft extra to the size of a standard transit van and can carry up to 1400kg.

Other options are available, so it’s always worth checking with the van hire company first to see which one will be best for your requirements so that they can best advise you.

Plan Ahead

Before you even start the process of hiring a van, you need to make forward plans. Check out how much stuff you need to move, how heavy it will be, the distance you need to drive, what restrictions there may be, even think about where you can fuel up and stop for breaks if need be. If this is all planned in advance, it will ensure that everything will run far more smoothly on the day itself.

Choose the right boxes and packing materials

Getting your possessions from A to B safely is the whole point of hiring a van to move house or office, so choosing the correct boxes and packing materials is key. If you have fragile or easily breakable items, invest in some bubble wrap and sturdy boxes. Any soft items such as clothing can easily be placed in large bags or cardboard boxes. Having a range of different packing materials is your best option.

Rent a storage unit

It might be a good idea to rent out a storage unit, whether for the long term or short term, when you’re moving from one location to another. The reasoning behind hiring a storage unit is that it makes it far easier if there’s a gap in between your rental period ending at one property and beginning at another, or if the relocation doesn’t allow all your furniture or possessions to fit.

These can be as big or small as you need them to be, and a storage unit can be hired for anything from a couple of days up to years. This means you can be adaptable with picking up and dropping off your possessions when you’ve got van hire arranged rather than trying to fit everything into one single day.

Don’t stress and make moving day go smoothly

And final tip is just to relax, try not to worry about everything and take your time. Getting stressed about moving day can make things seem so much harder and won’t be fun for anyone.