Tag Archives: van hire

Chester Van Rental – Moston Van Hire

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I’m very happy to welcome our newest advertiser, Moston Van Hire of Moston, Chester, to the vanrental.co.uk directory. Moston Van Hire offers a range of vans for hire from its base on Liverpool Road, Moston – (a mile or so north of Chester):

  • Ford Transit SWB
  • Mercedes Sprinter SWB
  • Mercedes Sprinter LWB
  • Luton box van with or without tail lift

Moston is situated just north of Chester and is only a mile or so from the M53 and M56, making it very easy to get to.

To find out more or arrange van hire, contact Moston Van Hire direct:

If you’d like to see your van hire company listed on vanrental.co.uk, click here for details of our advertising options.

Van Hire in Harrow, Ruislip & Pinner – Jafvans

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I’m delighted to welcome our newest advertiser, Jafvans of Harrow, to the vanrental.co.uk directory. Jafvans offers van hire, minibus hire and 7.5 tonne box van hire from its three branches in the London area:

Jafvans offers a comprehensive range of vehicles, including:

  • 7, 9, 12 & 15-seater MPVs and minibuses
  • Small vans  (e.g. Citroen Berlingo)
  • Transit panel vans (SWB, LWB and Jumbo)
  • Luton box vans (including models with an extended body – ideal for house moves)
  • 3.5t dropside and tipper vans
  • 7.5 tonne box vans with tail lifts
  • 3.5 tonne refrigerated vans

Jafvans is a family-run firm that was founded by John Arthur Fisher in 1959. He ran the company until his retirement in 1997, when he sold it to his general manager Stephen Blake, who had worked for him since 1973. Since then, Jafvans has expanded steadily and now consists of three branches, all of which offer a full range of hire services.

Contact Jafvans:

  • Quote & Book online at www.jafvans.net
  • Telephone: 020 8864 2650 (Harrow) / 020 8868 6734 (Pinner) / 01895 623 038 (Ruislip)
  • Email: info@jafvans.co.uk

If you’d like to see your van hire company listed on vanrental.co.uk, click here for details of our advertising options.

Aberystwyth Van Hire – AV Self Drive Hire

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I’m delighted to welcome our newest advertiser to the vanrental.co.uk directory. AV Self Drive Hire is a family-run business based in the Welsh town of Aberystwyth. Established more than seven years ago, AV Self Drive Hire offers a range of vans to suit most requirements:

  • Short and long wheelbase panel vans
  • Luton vans
  • Long and short-term hire
  • European use available
  • Cars and minibuses also available

AV Self Drive Hire is based on the Glanyrafon Industrial Estate in Aberystwyth (postcode SY23 3JQ for sat nav users) and can be contacted via the company’s website or by telephone or email.

If you’d like to see your van hire company listed on vanrental.co.uk, click here for details of our advertising options.

Coventry Van Hire from TRS Self Drive

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I am very pleased to welcome our newest advertiser, TRS Self Drive of Coventry, to the vanrental.co.uk directory. TRS provides a full range of hire vans to customers in Coventry as well as further afield in Leamington Spa and Warwick.

TRS Self Drive offers the following types of van for hire:

  • Small vans (e.g. Peugeot Partner)
  • SWB panel vans (e.g. Vauxhall Vivaro)
  • LWB panel vans (e.g. Vauxhall Movano)
  • Luton box vans
  • 3.5t tippers

Great deals are available on weekly hire – TRS is currently running an offer where customers get seven days hire for the price of four.

If you’d like to see your van hire company listed on vanrental.co.uk, click here for details of our advertising options.

4×4 Vans – Can You Rent One?

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Four wheel drive vans aren’t common – mostly because hardly anyone needs one (although I know that doesn’t stop people buying 4×4 cars…)

There are a number of 4×4 vans on the market, all of which are sold in limited numbers, mostly to businesses that need their vans to be able to get safely off road from time to time without getting stuck or sacrificing carrying ability. The armed forces are also regular customers, as are emergency services in some rural areas.

Here are a few examples of four-wheel drive vans that are currently on the market:

  • Mercedes Sprinter 4×4
  • Ford Transit AWD
  • Volkswagen Transporter 4Motion (older 4×4 models were called Syncro)
  • Iveco Daily 4×4

There have been a few others over the years, but I think that these are the only mainstream medium/large van models offering a four-wheel drive option at the moment.

The main downside of any four-wheel drive system, of course, is cost. It costs more to buy, there is more to go wrong and it uses more fuel.

Since van operators are conscious of costs in a way that private car owners are not, businesses will never buy 4×4 vans unless they have a genuine requirement for them. That means that the number of 4×4 vans available from daily rental companies in the UK is somewhere close to zero.

I’m sure there might be a few – but you won’t get them from mainstream van rental companies.

Van Hire For Fairs, Shows & Exhibitions

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A recent visit to the giant Newark Antiques Fair at Newark Showground made me realise that many antique dealers don’t own their own vans – they simply rent a van every time they attend a big show or fair.

This has a number of advantages, I guess – most of the time they are only transporting one or two antiques at a time and so they don’t need a van – just a large car, perhaps. Driving around in an empty van all the time is costly and a bit annoying so owning a car and hiring a van makes better sense than owning just a van and is much cheaper than owning a car and a van.

If you stand at any kind of shows, fairs or exhibitions, you will probably have a similar requirement – you’ll need a van occasionally but not all the time.

Daily van hire is the ideal solution to this requirement and makes a lot of sense financially. Even ignoring the cost of purchasing a van, the annual cost of insurance, servicing and fuel will pay for quite a few days’ van rental. An added bonus is that you don’t need to find parking for a large vehicle, either.

Click here for an instant local van hire quote

Automatic Van Hire – Is It Possible?

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We often get asked if there are any companies that offer automatic vans for hire.

The answer is that there are a few – but not many.

Why Would You Want To Hire An Automatic Van Anyway?

There are two main reasons that demand for automatic van hire is growing:

  • Some people have automatic-only car licences – so they can only drive automatic vans
  • Automatics are easier to drive – you don’t have to think about changing gear. When you’re not used to driving a van and are concentrating on manoeuvring it, this can be a big help

Why Aren’t Automatic Vans More Popular, Then?

Historically, the types of automatic gearboxes used in cars have not been very well suited to vans. They have offered poor performance and poor fuel economy – not good if you are running a business that uses vans.

That’s all starting to change, however. Newer types of automatic transmission don’t have these disadvantages – in fact, the latest automatics can offer fuel economy and performance that is the equal of a well-driven manual. They also don’t have the higher emissions that old-style automatics have.

For these reasons, automatic vans are becoming more common, but they do still have one disadvantage for van hire companies – they cost more to buy in the first place!

Despite this, expect to see more automatic cars and vans in the next few years – the new automated gearboxes that are in use have too many advantages to ignore and are steadily gaining ground on traditional manuals.

Click here to visit out automatic van hire page and learn more about automatic vans

How To Make Moving House Easier & Less Damaging

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This time of year tends to be a popular time to move house. While some people choose the professional removals option, many opt for a money-saving DIY removals job – especially given the current economic situation.

If you’re moving house soon and are planning to do it yourself, then I’d like to offer you a few tips that should make your life easier and reduce the chances of any of your furniture or belongings getting damaged in transit.

These may sound stupid and obvious, but it’s surprising how many people get it wrong:

  • Furniture won’t protect itself in the back of the van – it needs to be protected with blankets or it will get scratched
  • Your back won’t thank you for too much heavy lifting – beg, borrow or steal a sack barrow so that you can avoid having to carry heavy boxes more than a few metres
  • Don’t rely on gravity to stop your stuff moving around in the back of the van – get some cheap lashing straps and tie movable objects to the side or floor of the van (click here for tips on loading a van)
  • Boxes of books weight a lot – use small boxes and make sure they are strong (so the bottom doesn’t fall out…)

You may be thinking that all of this is an extra cost – well, perhaps. The good news is that many rental companies (like Sixt) will lend/rent you the straps and sack barrow along with a van for just a few quid extra. Proper removals-strength boxes are also available surprisingly cheaply from companies like The Packaging Store.

It’s well worth spending a few quid and a little bit of time preparing and packing for your move properly – it’s what a removals company would do and it will almost certainly save you from damage, delays and unnecessary aches and pains!

New Choice For London Van Hire With Sixt Trade

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Small and medium businesses looking for a regular, on-demand van hire service in London could do worse than consider Sixt’s new Sixt Trade program.

Sixt Trade is aimed at business customers who need van hire but don’t want to have the hassle of setting up an account – basically, it’s just like regular day hire but at Sixt’s most competitive online rates (trade prices are quoted exc. VAT).

As an added bonus, Sixt Trade customers will get a loyalty card that entitles them to one day’s free rental for every nine days paid rental – a nice little extra. Customers can also register to use a third party’s payment card – normally, the driver of a rented vehicle must use their own credit card to pay for the reservation and must be present at collection. This isn’t realistic for many business users, so Sixt offers a third party authorisation form that allows rentals to be completed without the card holder present.

(The Sixt Trade service is currently being advertised as only available in London – I think that this is because Sixt’s only branded branches are in London – throughout the remainder of the UK, they use branches that are members of the United Rental Group.)

Advanced Van Hire Booking Advised For Summer House Moves

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May and June are often the busiest times of year for moving house, resulting in high demand for large rental vans, especially at weekends. This year, the problem could be even worse as the house market shows signs of recovery but some large van rental companies may still be operating slimmed down fleets, as a legacy of the recession.

If you’re planning to move house this summer we would suggest booking your hire van well in advance – you don’t want to end up with a van that’s too small or even no van at all when it comes to moving day.

If you are unsure what size van you will need, then have a look at our van size guide for some advice on sizes and what they’re most suitable for. As a general rule, if you’ve got much furniture then a Luton van is much easier to fit a lot of stuff in than a panel van. They are also available with tail lifts, which makes lifting heavy items in and out much safer and less back breaking…