{"id":9945,"date":"2017-06-22T15:07:52","date_gmt":"2017-06-22T15:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/?p=9945"},"modified":"2017-06-22T15:12:42","modified_gmt":"2017-06-22T15:12:42","slug":"beginners-guide-to-van-hire-speed-limits-fuel-and-mileage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/archives\/9945","title":{"rendered":"Beginner&#8217;s guide to van hire: Speed limits, fuel and mileage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Today I&#8217;m going to answer some of the most common questions we get about hiring a van.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Do I need to drive differently to in a car?<\/li>\n<li>What are the speed limits for vans?<\/li>\n<li>Is there a limit on how many miles I can do?<\/li>\n<li>Do I need to return the van with a full fuel tank?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Driving a van<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-1048\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/trafic-loaded-224x300.jpg\" alt=\"Moving house with a van\" width=\"224\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/trafic-loaded-224x300.jpg 224w, https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/trafic-loaded.jpg 337w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 224px) 100vw, 224px\" \/>If it&#8217;s your first time, check out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/drivingahirevan.php\">our guide to driving a van<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Actually operating the van is easy &#8212; the steering wheel and gears and other controls are just the same as those of a car.<\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;s different is the <strong>size and weight<\/strong> of the vehicle, especially when it&#8217;s loaded. As a general rule, you should brake and corner much more <strong>gently<\/strong> than with a car. Remember that the van may be\u00a0<strong>much wider<\/strong> than a car.<\/p>\n<p>If the back of your van contains the contents of your flat, then chucking it around like Lewis Hamilton is likely to damage your stuff.<\/p>\n<p>Another problem is\u00a0<strong>height<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vansize.php\">Medium or large vans<\/a> are usually too tall to fit under car park height barriers. Don&#8217;t be the person who gets this wrong, as your insurance probably won&#8217;t cover damage to the roof.<\/p>\n<p>The other big thing to remember is that there&#8217;s <strong>no rear view mirror<\/strong>. You need to make sure your van&#8217;s wing mirrors are adjusted so you can clearly down each side of the van. Use these a lot!<\/p>\n<h2>Speed limits<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Van speed limits are different to those for cars!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-4032\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/speed.jpg\" alt=\"Speed limit sign\" width=\"100\" height=\"138\" \/>These speed limits apply to virtually all vans, including small models like the Ford Transit Connect and Citroen Berlingo. I&#8217;ve highlighted where the speed limits are different to those for cars:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Motorways: 70mph<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>&#8211;&gt; Dual carriageways: 60mph<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>&#8211;&gt; Single carriageways: 50mph<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li>Built-up areas: 30mph<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Mileage limits<\/h2>\n<p>Many hire companies rent their vans with no mileage limits. You can do as many miles as you want.<\/p>\n<p>But some companies do have limits, and ignoring them can be costly. One common approach is a maximum number of miles per day, after which you will be charged an additional rate per mile. This can be costly, so check before you book.<\/p>\n<h2>Fuel policy<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-2230\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/fuel-gauge-stock-sm.jpg\" alt=\"Fuel gauge nearing empty\" width=\"200\" height=\"210\" \/>Fuel policy varies between companies, but the usual setup is that the vehicle will come with a full tank of fuel, and you have to return it with a full tank of fuel.<\/p>\n<p><em>If the tank isn&#8217;t full when you return the van, you&#8217;ll be charged a refuelling charge per litre that&#8217;s more than the local pump price.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Some of the big companies will allow you to pre-purchase a tank of fuel when you pickup the vehicle, so you don&#8217;t need to refill it when you return the vehicle. If you do this, make sure you will use enough fuel to make it worth the extra cost.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, most hire vans are\u00a0<strong>diesel<\/strong>. But there are a few small vans with petrol engines, so if you&#8217;re not sure, check. There&#8217;s usually a label on the filler cap reminding you of the right fuel to use.<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you do put the wrong fuel in, don&#8217;t start the engine or even put the key in the ignition. Ring for the assistance number provided by the hire company immediately.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A look at the speed limits, driving tips and fuel and mileage rules for van hire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2071],"tags":[2072,1678],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9945"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9945"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9951,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9945\/revisions\/9951"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}