One of Brittania Squab’s new self-drive removals vans

Most van rental companies offer standard luton box vans for removals customers, but these aren’t what professional removals firms use — and with good reason.

Standard lutons have a completely flat load floor with no wheel arch intrusions, but the price you pay for this is that the load floor of the van is above the wheels, and quite high off the ground.

This means that a tail lift is required for loading and unloading — a heavy piece of kit that is time-consuming and awkward to use for home movers, and which reduces the available payload of the van.

While a completely flat floor is essential for freight, which may be palletised or large, it is not a requirement for home removals, which usually consist of many, smaller items. As a result, purpose-built removal vans have low rear floors that usually have an internal step up to the mainload area.

Speaking as someone who moved house using one of these vans recently, I can confirm that they make loading and unloading DIY removals a lot easier and safer than with a conventional luton — but their specialist nature means that the majority of van hire companies can’t justify offering such vehicles, as they need their luton vans to suit the requirements of business users as well as home removals.

To address this gap in the market, Britannia Squab Group, which is based in Leamington Spa, in Warwickshire, has launched a new self-drive van hire service aimed at first-time home movers. Instead of standard lutons, the firm will offer purpose-made small removal vans, which offer similar size box bodies to lutons but have a low rear floor level that means a tail lift is not necessary — although a ramp is included for heavier items.

Britannia Squab’s vans also include tie rails to secure larger items and the firm will provide blankets and sack trucks, too. Emlyn Evans, managing partner of the Britannia Squab Group, said:

“The vehicle fills a gap in the small domestic removals market. There are plenty of vans available for hire but few suppliers can provide a suitable sized vehicle for the specific purpose of removals. Our vehicle has been specially equipped for removals to help safeguard our customers’ possessions.”

Self-drive van hire is available now and an online booking service is to be launched soon at www.squab.co.uk.