House move - hiring a van

davidmcn

skm1981 said:

AdrianC said:

Do not underestimate it. Firstly, are you sure you can fit everything into one trip in a 3.5t Luton? Not just bulk, but payload. Washing machines are heavy - I hope the van has a tail lift... (but that'll eat into the payload). And are you sure you can pack and load it all in the time available before you have to hand the keys over for completion?

I feel like it will be more than one trip

Well, given the distances involved, you'd better check! We can't tell how much stuff you have ("3 bed semi" covers a wide range of possibilities).

skm1981

I think we're prepared for it to be more than one trip and don't necessarily plan to move in on the day of completion.  We'll just start the process of moving stuff over.  We're hoping to hire a van for a weekend or maybe a few days (I haven't looked into prices too much yet).

We won't be in a chain.  We'll technically be homeless at the point of moving (well not homeowners at least), and the people we are buying from are moving into a new build.  

We have our storage unit now.  So we have almost 12 days to get everything out of here and over there which I think will be more than enough time, and we don't need to hire a van for this part as my husband is able to use his work van.

ProDave

Why limit yourself to a 3.5t?

If you are old enough to have a 7.5t licence that is a far better prospect for removals, it's what we used to move from England to Scotland on a weeks unlimited mileage hire (unlimited mileage was important for our journey)

AdrianC

ProDave said:

Why limit yourself to a 3.5t?

If you are old enough to have a 7.5t licence that is a far better prospect for removals, it's what we used to move from England to Scotland on a weeks unlimited mileage hire (unlimited mileage was important for our journey)

But a lot harder and more expensive to find available to rent. Most van hire places have 3.5t Lutons.

martindow

If it involves a few trips with a Luton van two and a half hours away, I think I would consider that paying 1500 for other people to have all of the work and stress would be money well spent.  Each return trip realistically takes up a day - five hours driving plus loading and unloading -  and it could end up as an ordeal you can probably do without.

skm1981

I don't think we're old enough.  I'm pretty sure the maximum we can drive is 3.5t.  Me and my husband both passed our driving tests in 2000, so think we are limited to 3.5t. 

AdrianC

skm1981 said:

I don't think we're old enough.  I'm pretty sure the maximum we can drive is 3.5t.  Me and my husband both passed our driving tests in 2000, so think we are limited to 3.5t. 

Then, yes, unless he's taken a C1 test, 7.5t is out - you're limited to 3.5t and only small trailers. 1997 was the change point.

Falafels

I've done several house moves over the years where it was me, my partner and a third pair of hands (not that my partner's got a third pair of hands, you understand), with a hired Luton. It was a pain in the botty and actually not that cheap, given the cost of van hire and fuel for return trips, as well as the emotional wear and tear which puts years on your life.

Then, when I moved earlier this year - I hired a removals company. I just kept the stuff I wanted to keep with me; I'd done the packing myself - and they just swarmed over the house and cleared it exactly to schedule. They were fun and good-humoured, and totally de-stressed the situation. They were even careful with my plants.

I'd arranged this the day before completion as I wasn't dependent on a purchase, so I had the rest of the day to clean the place at my leisure. No stress, no hassle. It sounds as though this would be an option for you, too, and I'd certainly go for it.

skm1981

It's just thinking of the cost.  I can handle a bit of stress, as can my husband.  It's fine if it means we'd be saving a huge amount.  I'm just thinking, we could hire a luton van with tail lift for £180 for 2 days, then adding on petrol, no idea how much petrol these vans use, but I'm guessing it will cost us way, way less than £1500.

v_rouge

The place I recently sold was only 2 bed but I recruited my boyfriend and another friend, hired a luton van two days before completion for around £90 for the day. As I'd packed/dismantled everything it took no time at all to load things into the van, drive to the storage facility an hour away and unload until my new house is ready. We picked up the van at 8am and returned it around 2pm (after putting about £13 petrol in it). I then went back the next day to tidy/clean and grab any final packing supplies, etc (nothing I needed a van for) which took 1-2 hours to do everything. By the end we were all tired but it didnt feel stressful in the slightest. I also hired the van from the town I was moving to so we didnt have to drive it far to drop it off after a big day.