What Do You Need to Rent a Van?

Moving house, rearranging the garden or for work purposes, there are many reasons why you might need to rent a van. But you can’t just turn up at a rental company and expect a van there and then. You need to do some planning beforehand and ensure that you’re eligible.

In this blog, we’ll go through the steps and everything else that you’ll need to rent a van.

Driving Licence and Documents

All drivers must be present on collection of the vehicle and must bring with them:

• Their photo card driving licence. If the driving licence is a non-photo card, paper licence we also require a valid passport. We must be notified one working day in advance if the hirer holds a foreign driver’s licence. Foreign licence holders or hirers with a non-UK address must also bring a valid passport.
• Some recent proof of address, e.g. utility bill or bank statement. This must be dated within the last three months.
• Their driving licence CHECK CODE which can be found from http://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence. This code is used by us to check your licence for any points or convictions.

Standard UK driving licences allow you hire and drive a van that weighs under 3.5 tonnes. Nearly all our vans are under 3.5 tonnes, so you can take your pick. However, if you’ll need a D1 classification on your driving licence to hire our 17 seat minibuses.

If you have an SP30 (Exceeding statutory speed limit on a public road) with 3 points on your licence that is acceptable. However, if you have any other points/endorsements on your licence from with the last five years you will need to call and notify us prior to the rental.

Are You Old Enough?

Hirers of our vans need to be aged between 21 & 75. If you are under 25 restrictions will apply. Drivers over 75 are unable to hire from us.

Here’s our age restrictions in more detail.

Also, if you wish to hire our 17 seat minibus you must be over 25 or under 76.

Insurance and Excess

All our vans include fully comprehensive insurance for one driver. In the event of any damage or theft claim on the van or any third-party claim made against our insurance policy the hirers excess liability is £1,000. For non-UK licence holders, the excess is £2,000. For hirers aged 21 – 24 the excess is £1,500.

The hirer is responsible for punctures and negligent damage (e.g. kerbed wheels or tyres, damage to upholstery, cigarette burns, damage to aerials and mirrors etc.) The hirer is responsible for any mechanical repairs caused by failure to heed warning lights and gauges. Damage to any vehicle above windscreen height is the full responsibility of the hirer.

We also offer CDW (Collision Damage Waiver) where the excess amount can be reduced down to £300 but rates vary on the size of vehicle. The hirer can pay more in order to reduce their insurance excess liability.

Fuelled and Ready to Go!

All our vehicles are provided with full tanks of fuel. The vehicle doesn’t have to be retuned with a full tank.

If the refill is less than 2 litres, we can credit back the full deposit to the hirers card (subject to there being no additional charges). Any fuel over 2 litres, the cost is deducted from the deposit and the remaining balance refunded. We only charge standard fuel pump prices for fuel. We don’t penalise or charge any admin fee to customers that don’t return vehicles with a full tank.

Size Matters

You might think bigger is automatically better when it comes to vans, but even the smallest vans in our fleet have some great load capacity. For example, our smallest van can carry up to 720kg in the 1.7m long load space. They are economical and ideal to move small items of furniture that just won’t fit in the back of your car with the seats down, no matter how hard you try!

If you’re looking to transit more people for work purposes, our Transit Crew Van 6 seat has 2.1m floor load length and the ability to transport six people (including driver).

Then, if you’re doing a major house move with lots of furniture and other large items getting them into and out of a van can be a challenge. Especially because the van’s load bay is usually a significant distance off the ground. The solution is to hire the Luton Tail Lift van. This is a platform that lowers to the ground and then raises back up to the load floor, making is much easier and safer to load and unload large and heavy items.

Rolling out

For the most part, modern vans are simple to drive and economical. Most are just like a regular road car, right down to features such as steering-wheel airbags, ABS brakes, stability control systems and stereo systems!

However, larger vans may be much bigger than any cars you’ve driven before, and particular care must be taken when loading and driving a van with heavy loads.

Final thoughts

Renting a van involves more than just selecting a vehicle and driving away. Proper planning and meeting the specific requirements are crucial to ensure a smooth rental experience.

If you’re looking to rent a van, for any reason from moving house to business purposes. You can get into contact with us here.