Author Archives: Van Rental

Central London Night Deliveries Compulsory During Olympics?

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Anyone delivering to businesses in London may find that the realities of the Olympic Route Network in Central London force them to reschedule daytime deliveries to take place between the hours of midnight and 6am.

In addition, Transport for London is aiming to encourage night deliveries to try and minimise the inevitable extra traffic congestion that will be caused by the Games.

Councils ‘Sympathetic’ To Noise

In a recent statement, TfL said that local councils will be ‘sympathetic’ to businesses trying to arrange out-of-hours deliveries.

Presumably it aims to be more tolerant than usual where noise disturbance is concerned. However, in an effort to minimise the disturbance to local residents, TfL has published a Code of Practice for night time deliveries, produced in conjunction with the Freight Transport Association (FTA). Click here to read the Code of Practice.

Hire Demand High

As I’ve mentioned in these pages before, demand for van hire is likely to be sky high during the Olympics, as restricted delivery hours may mean that companies have to hire extra vehicles to make all their deliveries during the permitted window, rather than staggering them through the day. Booking your Olympic van hire early will be essential to ensure you can meet your commitments.

From an individual point of view, demand for minibuses and vans will be very high and shortages are likely – if you are planning a group outing, moving house or anything else requiring a guaranteed hire van or minibus, I’d book it now.

To help you plan your hire requirements, we’ve produced a guide to all of the London 2012 Olympic venues and the nearest hire branches.

GPS Jammers Threaten Effectiveness Of Trackers

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Thieves are increasingly using GPS jammers to steal commercial vehicles and plant, according to vehicle tracking specialists TRACKER.

The company says that in the last month alone, police in Kent arrested and jailed a criminal gang in connection with the theft of 26 vans. Over an 8 month period 150 Mercedes Sprinter vans were reported stolen in the Heathrow Airport area where the gang operated. The highly organised thieves used jammers to disable tracking systems in the vehicles, leaving the criminals free to break up the vans for parts or drive them to Europe.

“The Sentinel study confirms fears that GPS systems are susceptible to jamming and reinforces the need for van owners to protect not only their vehicle but the load it carries,” says Stuart Chapman, head of TRACKER’s Police Relationship Team. “Most of the vans Kent police discovered were stolen from workmen, who suffered a loss of business, on top of having their van and tools stolen.

Don’t Depend On GPS

Unlike other stolen vehicle tracking devices which rely on GPS alone, TRACKER is resilient to jamming because it brings together GSM, GPS and VHF technology.  This unique combination has created the most robust stolen vehicle tracking device available, offering commercial vehicle owners the best protection from this growing threat.

As part of its protection against jamming, TRACKER also raises an alert if there is any attempt to jam or tamper with the system, helping to provide an instant alert of a suspected theft. TRACKER’s system also feeds alerts directly to the police in the event of a theft, enabling them to start a targeted search for the missing vehicle, before it can be disguised or exported. TRACKER is used by all 52 police forces.

For more information about TRACKER, visit www.tracker.co.uk.

BCA Doubles Capacity At Measham Van Auctions

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BCA Measham van auctionsIn a reflection of the continuing growth of commercial vehicle business at BCA (British Car Auctions), the company has doubled the sales capacity at the Measham Commercial Remarketing centre with the opening of a second auction hall. BCA has also improved the existing Commercial facilities with a new undercover drive through canopy.

The new purpose built facility includes a large undercover auction hall and rostrum with full Live Online and e-Auction capability, back office and vendor hospitality facilities. Sales run in tandem, which means Measham now has the capacity to offer over 500 light commercials through two lanes every sale day.

Measham is within half an hour’s drive of Leicester, Derby, Burton and Tamworth and is one of the busiest commercial auction venues in BCA’s network. Centre Manager Dominic Burr commented: “We are all delighted with this new facility which gives us the capability of handling a much larger volume of vehicles every sale day.”

The official opening sale took place on Tuesday 27 March and offered almost 400 vehicles, and featured stock from a number of a large contract hire, fleet and dealer groups including Lex Autolease, Alphabet, Lombard and Ford Retail. A strong turnout of buyers and plenty of Live Online activity saw over 80% of the entry sold for 100% of CAP. BCA has recently reported strong used van values, thanks to a shortage of good quality stock under 5 years old.

A substantial number of van hire companies dispose of their fleets through auction and BCA’s offering is one of the most advanced on the market – internet bidding is becoming as popular in this market as it is in conventional auction houses.

Water Company Chooses Vauxhall Combo Fleet

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Anglian Water new Vauxhall Combos

Anglian Water has just taken delivery of 52 new Vauxhall Combo vans

Anglian Water has just taken delivery of the first major fleet order of new Vauxhall Combo vans.

The company, which  is the largest water and wastewaster service in England and Wales by geographic area, will take delivery of 52 New Combos for its water and sewage operators and technical staff.

Anglian Water has specified the long wheelbase variant of the Combo, giving each van an impressive 4.2 cubic metres of load capacity and a 1,000kg payload. The vans have been fitted with the 1.3CDTi diesel engine, which returns a combined fuel economy figure of 55.4mpg and has CO2 emissions of 136g/km.

Anglian Water serves a region stretching from the Humber north of Grimsby to the Thames estuary in the south, and from Buckinghamshire in the west to Lowestoft in the east. Its operators have to service 80,000km of water and wastewater pipes over an area of 27,500 square kilometres, so the demands on its fleet of vans are significant.

Anglian Water van custom interior

The interior of the vans has been custom-fitted to Anglian Water's requirements by vehicle converter Bott.

Nigel Allen, Anglian Water’s Fleet Manager, said: “The New Combo will be a great addition to our fleet. We run around 1,200 vans and continue to be very happy with the combination of whole life cost, reliability, purchase cost and aftersales service offered by Vauxhall.”

Shipley Van Hire: Northway Vehicle Sales

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I’m very pleased to welcome our newest advertiser, Northway Vehicle Sales of Shipley, to vanrental.co.uk.

Northway offers both van hire and used van sales from its base on Otley Road, Baildon, on the north side of Shipley.

Northway’s van hire fleet includes:

  • Short wheelbase panel vans
  • Medium wheelbase panel vans
  • Long wheelbase panel vans
  • Luton box vans with tail lifts
  • 4×4 double cab pickups

All hire prices include fully comprehensive insurance and unlimited mileage and Northway’s rental department is open seven days a week.

To find out more, contact Northway Vehicle Sales direct:

If you’d like to list your van or minibus company on vanrental.co.uk, visit our advertising page for full details.

Van Excellence Wins Fleet News Award

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Van Excellence, the national accreditation scheme for van operators, has been recognised as the Best New Service at the Fleet News Awards 2012.

Van Excellence, which is managed and delivered by the Freight Transport Association, was launched in 2010 to promote high standards of van operation and driving by accrediting operators against an industry code of good practice.  In the 18 months since the scheme launched, 24 fleets have achieved accreditation to the Van Excellence Code, with 33 undergoing audit and a further 43 registering interest and preparing for audit.  The scheme announced its 100th registered member last week and now has over 100,000 vehicles within its membership.

The Guide to Van Excellence has also been launched giving advice on good practices for van operators and guidance on how to meet the standards in the Van Excellence Code

Collecting the award at the Fleet News Awards event held in London on 21 March, Mark Cartwright, Head of Vans and Light Commercial Vehicles at FTA said:

“This is a tribute to the members and colleagues that have helped to make Van Excellence a success.  There is still much to do but it is gratifying that our efforts on behalf of the van sector have been recognised by the industry.  We are all honoured at FTA by this award.”

The Van Excellence Code was agreed by operators acting as a Governance Group and requires systems to be in place to check vehicle roadworthiness, driver entitlement, load security and other safety aspects.  The standard exceeds the minimum requirements of the current law and selects and adapts the requirements of O-licensing normally applied to trucks for the van sector.

Accredited operators need to present themselves for re-audit every year to ensure standards are maintained.

vanrental.co.uk says:

Although Van Excellence is not really something that’s appropriate to the van rental market, it is a praiseworthy initiative for any fleet operator to be involved in. Large, heavily-loaded vans need to be treated by their drivers as ‘proper’ goods vehicles, not as oversized cars or mobile skips.

Although many van operators (and van drivers) do already have very high professional standards, the Van Excellence scheme enables them to demonstrate this and uphold the good reputation of white van man!

To find out more, visit www.vanexcellence.co.uk.

Electric Transit Connect Maker Azure Dynamics Shuts Down

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Azure Dynamics, the maker of the electric version of the Ford Transit Connect, has shut down its European operations and filed for bankruptcy protection in Canada.

The company, whose UK office was in Stevenage, was one of the first to have an electric van approved for the UK plug-in grant. It said that it had made 500 of the electric Transit Connects, of which about 240 had been sold in Europe. Ford UK said that only “a very small number” have been sold in the UK (including this one) and that it was currently trying to work out how to support customers who had purchased an Azure Dynamics vehicle.

We understand that the firm is being closed for restructuring and that those involved hope that it will be resurrected in some way, hopefully including the relationship with Ford.

For more information, visit www.azuredynamics.com.

Nissan Cabstar Voted Light Truck Of The Year 2012

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Nissan Cabstar

The Nissan Cabstar

The Nissan Cabstar has been chosen as Light Truck of the Year 2012 at the VansA2Z.com awards, which took place at Twickenham stadium recently.

The Cabstar was judged to be the best in class for its choice of wheelbases and conversions and its improved cabin space for driver and passenger comfort.

Neil McIntee, Editor of VansA2Z commented: “Performance has improved greatly since the current powerplants were installed under the cab — Cabstar has a forward-control configuration — and anyone who hasn’t sat in one for a while will be pleasantly surprised by the amount of room afforded the occupants. Cabstar is designed to be an uncomplaining workhorse and it fulfils the task admirably.”

The Cabstar is available as a single or crew chassis cab with a choice of three wheelbases: short, mid and long, plus two engine options; 2.5-litre with a choice of five or six speed manual gearbox and 3.0 litre which is equipped with a six speed manual gearbox.

There are also a number of conversions available – Dropside, Tipper, Box Van and a Freezer/Chiller.

James Douglas, corporate sales director, Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd commented: “The Cabstar is perfect for urban environments and delivers value to any business with low cost of ownership and exceptional manoeuvrability. We are delighted to receive this award from VansA2Z.”

vanrental.co.uk says:

Scaled-down trucks like the Cabstar are not historically popular in the UK, with most UK operators seeming to prefer scaled-up vans operating at the top of their weight range.

Light truck models are much more popular in more demanding foreign markets, where their toughness is a useful attribute – and I think they deserve to be more popular in the UK, too.

For more information on the Cabstar, visit www.nissan.co.uk.

Vauxhall To Showcase New Vans At CV Show 2012

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Vauxhall is to showcase its latest commercial vehicle models at the 2012 CV Show, which takes place at the Birmingham NEC from 24-26 April.

The Luton-based van manufacturer will be displaying its full van model range at the show, with the new Combo making its show debut alongside some of the new Movano factory conversions.

New Vauxhall ComboNew Combo

The new Vauxhall Combo will be on display in all three wheelbase and roof height combinations. The all-new version of this established model has a payload of up ton one tonne and a range of up to 777 miles, making it a highly practical proposition.

Limited Edition Vivaro?

Vauxhall has promised to bring ‘a stylish new addition to the Vivaro range’ to the show, in recognition of the role this excellent van has played in making Vauxhall the number one van brand in the retail sector in 2011 and the top van manufacturer in the UK.

Could this mean a desirable limited edition Vivaro – something to match the rather tasty Volkswagen Transporter Sportline?

Movano Conversions

Vauxhall Movano

The Vauxhall Movano is a rebadged Renault Master

Ex-factory conversions are now available from almost all van manufacturers and Vauxhall will be using the CV Show to showcase its range of Movano conversions.

On show will be panel vans, passenger carriers (in 9-seat Combi and 17-seat Minibus configurations) and the new factory-finished core conversions including Tipper and Dropside.  All core conversions come with Vauxhall’s three-year or 100,000-mile warranty on both the chassis and conversion.

The Movano Tipper conversion comes with either a chassis or crew cab and features a five-stage under-floor ram and a 50-degree tipping angle, powered by a 2kW electro-hydraulic pack connected to a remote hand-held tipping control.

The Movano Dropside also comes with either a chassis or crew cab and has a completely flat load platform, up to 4470mm in length.

Vauxhall On Your Mind?

If you are thinking of buying a Vauxhall van, then a trip to the CV Show will give you an excellent opportunity to see all the latest models in one place – probably more so than at most dealers.

For more information visit www.vauxhall.co.uk or www.cvshow.com.

Mercedes Retains HSS Van Fleet Contract

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HSS van fleet - Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and VitoMercedes-Benz has retained the contract to supply HSS Hire, the national supplier of tool and equipment hire and services, with its fleet of commercial vans.

In 2009, HSS selected Mercedes-Benz as its sole van supplier, having been impressed with the safety, reliability and environmental credentials of the range. As the vans come to the end of their lease, Mercedes-Benz has now secured the contract to supply all replacement units, as well as a range of new vehicles.

HSS trials have shown that Mercedes-Benz vehicles are out on the road, rather than in a workshop, for twice as long as other vans, offering better reliability and fewer maintenance issues.

In addition, the use of ECO-Start in the Sprinters has lead to a significant reduction in fuel consumption for the company; a major saving for running expenses and environmental impact.

Further reductions were also seen in the number of vehicle accidents, which dropped considerably thanks to the extensive safety systems, including Adaptive ESP® stability programme, seat belt tensioners and adaptive brake lights, all fitted as standard on Mercedes-Benz vans.

The latest consignment consists of 170 Sprinter 313CDI Long Chassis cabs as well as 25 Vito 113CDI Long Panel vans.

The Sprinters, which will be used for collection and delivery of HSS hired equipment, feature a 13ft 6” alloy dropside Arnold Clark body with a 500kg column tail lift and towing upgrades to 6300kg.

Alongside the Sprinter 313CDIs are 25 Vitos, a brand new addition to the HSS fleet. The Vitos will have tailgates, which when open provide a sheltered working area at the rear of the van, together with internal racking and storage solutions. The Vitos will be used primarily for onsite maintenance and repair of hire equipment.

Lee Jackson, Fleet Manager at HSS, said: “At HSS, safety is paramount so making sure that the vans we chose offered sophisticated safety features played a large part in our decision making process. In addition, the reliability of Mercedes-Benz vehicles and the service and support they offer will help keep us on the road and make sure we are better equipped to serve our customers.

“We’ve introduced the Vitos to our range as they offer an increased payload and better mpg, which will mean our fitters can carry more parts and attend to more customers in any one trip”.

The vehicles, sold by Enza Motors, based in Warrington, will be maintained via the Mercedes-Benz dealer network.

For more information about Mercedes-Benz vans, click here.