Which van for a Coventry home
There are three van sizes in the booking form: Medium, Large and Extra large, which is a Luton. Picking the right one is mostly about the furniture, not the number of rooms. Here is how it tends to work out for the kinds of homes Coventry has.
The three vans
Medium
A Transit-size van, and the easiest to park on a terraced street. A wardrobe can go in lying down. Adrian and Ateeq both run one.
Large
A long-wheelbase van with a high roof. A small two-bed with not much furniture can fit too, and a sofa can travel on its end. Kristen, Ateeq and Ismael run one.
Luton
The box van with the space over the cab, often with a tail lift for the heavy pieces. Ateeq, Ismael and Adrian can all offer one.
Victorian and Edwardian terraces
Earlsdon, Chapelfields, Lower Stoke and the streets off the Foleshill Road are mostly terraces: two or three bedrooms, narrow stairs, no drive. The furniture usually fits a Luton in one go. The slow part is the carry from door to van, which depends on where the van can park. Read parking a van in Coventry before booking.
Semis from between the wars
Styvechale, Finham, Coundon and parts of Allesley have plenty of 1930s semis with a drive. There is often more furniture than in a terrace of the same size, and a garage full of things that get forgotten until the day. Book a Luton and count the garage and the shed as a room.
Post-war estates
Coventry rebuilt fast after the war, and estates such as Tile Hill, Canley, Willenhall and Bell Green have houses, maisonettes and flats from those years. Houses usually take a Luton; flats a Large van. With maisonettes and flats, ask about stairs and lifts, and say so in the booking.
City-centre and new-build flats
Many newer flats are compact, and a Large van is often enough. The question is access: loading points, lifts and the permit-only streets. The ring road and city centre page covers those.
When to add a second person
If anything needs two to lift, such as a sofa, a wardrobe, a fridge freezer or a washing machine, add a second person if your driver offers one. It costs more per hour and usually less overall, because the job is shorter. Ateeq can come as two and Ismael can bring up to three. For Kristen and Adrian, the form shows whether they offer a helper.
Judging the loading time
- Boxed, by the door and nothing to take apart: allow less.
- Stairs, a long path, or the van parked down the road: allow more.
- Beds and wardrobes that need taking apart: allow more, and have the tools out.
If the job runs over, the extra is charged at your driver's rate, which the form shows before you book. Booking a little more time than you need is safer than booking too little.
Things that take longer than you'd think
- A washing machine or dishwasher that is still plumbed in. Have it disconnected and drained the day before, so nobody is waiting on it with the clock running.
- An American-style fridge freezer. Measure the doors at both ends; sometimes the doors have to come off the fridge, or the frame off the house door.
- Beds and wardrobes that need taking apart. Keep the screws in a labelled bag taped to the frame.
- The loft, the shed and the space under the stairs. They are rooms too, and they are always fuller than people remember.
Still not sure?
Email a list of the big pieces and the number of boxes to [email protected] and we will say which van we would pick.
Your card is held, not charged, until the driver accepts. The rest is paid to him on the day.