3 Top Tips when Hiring a Van
As Spring arrives, housing market activity begins to increase. More and more people are saving money when moving house by hiring a van and doing their own removals rather that using the traditional, and more expensive, removals company.
Here’s our top three tips for all you motorists out there when making a van rental.
Check before you book: Before you book your van work out how much stuff you have and what size van you need! It sounds obvious but if you’ve got a super king size bed you are going to need a large van. Also, if you have any heavy items look out for a van with a tail lift your back will thank you for it!
Check before you collect: Before you collect the van from the van hire depot ensure you have all the identification the depot requires for you to drive away the vehicle. As well as your photocard license you’ll also need the paper part so the van hire company can see any convictions you have. You’ll usually need a utility bill as well to confirm your address.
Check before you leave: Before you drive the van away check the bodywork and van interior to make sure there is no damage. If there is, inform the van hire depot so they can make a note of it - this ensures you don’t get charged for damage that is not yours.
Posted by: The Van Man
These are good tips - the only other thing to watch out for really is that some places expect the same, or more, fuel to be in the vehicle as when you picked it up.
From a personal perspective, I recently had the (dis)pleasure of driving a van to Brighton. I have to say that I couldn’t think of anything worse to do. White vans are horrible, horrible things to drive. All hire cars are caned around, being used and abused by all and sundry. Vans are even worse, due to the fact that they by their nature are bigger beasts of burden.
Take my advice - if you can avoid it at all costs, do so. Why not try an estate car as an alternative, or Porsche GTS (or BMW X-5)? No, you can’t use the latter - for a huge vehicle there isn’t much space!
Of course, the irony of this post just got a bit stranger. I just drove a white van today when moving furniture. Bloody horrible it was. Even the damn wood that they put in the back to stop stuff getting bashed up was… well… bashed up!