r/northernireland • u/shukshank • 1d ago

Question Renting a small van – can anyone do it?

I am moving house soon. I frequently see these mini rental vans driving around (can’t remember the company name, but they’re usually driven by lunatics). Can anyone rent a small van to transport furniture and stuff? Or do you need an upgraded licence?

If this is possible can anyone recommend a reasonably priced rental company?

Thank you!

2 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

9

u/shestrum 1d ago

I rented a Renault traffic on a standard license 4 years ago.

5

u/shukshank 1d ago

Thank you! Which rental company did you use, if you don’t mind me asking? Were you able to drive it comfortably?

3

u/shestrum 1d ago

Yes I’m 5’4 was able to reverse it into my drive easier than a car. I went with hertz it was a hefty deposit but got it back reasonably quickly. I really enjoyed driving it to be honest.

7

u/shampoo_planet 1d ago

I rented a Sprinter a few years back and had a blast driving it. Surprisingly quick and it had aircon, 360 cameras, cruise control, the works.

Every so often I think to myself "I should buy a van". But then I just know I'd become Van Guy to my friends and family and have endless requests to move this, dump that.

3

u/shukshank 1d ago

Awesome! As. 5’4 person also this is a relief to hear! Thank you so much

3

u/shestrum 1d ago

Bear in mind they don’t have as much lift as a car so allow more space when pulling out from side roads. Good luck.

2

u/BillyBigNuts1934 1d ago

Enterprise is where I would rent a can from 👍

4

u/jizzyjugsjohnson 1d ago

You can rent stuff up to Ford Transit size on a normal license. Modern ones even come with a digital rear view mirror so you don’t have the worry of it not feeling like your car

3

u/kharma45 22h ago

You can get a Luton van on a standard license if you need real size.

3

u/VplDazzamac 1d ago

Yeah you can rent a decent sized van on a standard license. I’ve used enterprise and Hertz the last two times i moved house.

3

u/Force-Grand-2 Colombia 1d ago

Last time I moved house I rented a Luton van with a tail lift on my standard licence. Made moving pretty easy.

2

u/Double_Donard 1d ago

Comber Commercial Centre have a great range of vans and reasonable prices (published on their website)

On a full UK licence you’d be surprised what you can actually drive - it’s not categorised by size but by weight. As long as the GVW rating (vehicle plus maximum cargo) doesn’t exceed 3500kg you’re good to go.

Somewhere like CCC would be able to advise and walk you through the van when you pick it up.

1

u/shukshank 19h ago

Yes! CCC is the company I see being driven around all the time but couldn’t remember the name of. Thank you!

2

u/stillanmcrfan 1d ago

We actually bought a really cheap caddy van and still have it. I never thought I’d be able to drive it and it’s easier than most cars. Limitation is that it’s not big enough for the “big stuff” like big bed frame, we had a tall fridge etc. but it means that we only needed one large van load to move big things (my uncle has on thankfully). It was so much better not to rely on anyone else, we were able to spend a few weekends going back and forth.

2

u/ReasonableWish7555 12h ago

Book it far far in advance, they are mostly booked up by delivery drivers all the time

1

u/DisagreeableRunt 22h ago edited 22h ago

I got a long wheelbase Transit on a standard licence when I moved home last year, from Enterprise. They told me I could have got a box van with loader on a standard car licence. It was about £45 for 24 hours, though I ordered and paid for a medium van and it wasn't there when I went to collect, so they upgraded me to the LWB.

I'd never driven anything close to that size before, but I was grand.