Driving & Loading a Van
We believe that every time people decide to open up their lives to changes, they learn a lot. Get new experience, leave what is old behind, accept changes, and sometimes even hate them until they become a significant and indispensible part of their lives.
While home moving is a challenge in itself, it comes along with another one; to move on your own. Our moving solutions include renting out vans for such a purpose. We understand that this may be the first time you have to drive a van and we surely don’t want you to have a hard time, so our experts have come with a quick guide for helping out the first timers. So here we go -
How to load a Van for the first time
Though loading a van may seem like an easy thing to do, if done the wrong way it can –
- Cause damage to your boxes and items
- Mess up the order so heavier boxes go above
- May take up unnecessary space
- Too little support may lead to boxes falling over when the van is moving.
So there are certain considerations that you need to keep in mind while packing your things -
- Pack fragile items with enough cushioning with old newspaper, bubble wrap, clothes or cushions.
- Pack fragile items tightly so that movement may not dislodge them resulting in unnecessary damage.
- Do not pack materials that could damage each other due to accidental contact. Like glass with metal, electronics and high voltage magnet, liquids and electronics.
- Take care that things that contain liquids do not leak.
- If you have the original packaging and Styrofoam, then use it.
- Take precautions when packing things that can leave stains like newly greased bicycle, paint cans and other such objects.
Once the things are packed, it's time to load and here is what you need to consider -
- Load heavier boxes first so that the back and sides of the van provide enough support.
- Load boxes leaving minimum spaces in between so that they do not move or topple when the van moves.
- Pack smaller items around the larger ones to use up the empty space blocks.
- If the boxes need to go one above another, ensure the boxes on the top are lighter, and have nothing that can leak or seep and are properly secured.
- Make sure that your boxes do not fall over or fall out when you open the door.
Driving a Van for the first time
While driving rules between a van and a car may not be different, as an experience it is a different ball game altogether. Driving a van is a very different experience to driving a car. The set of differences a driver may face are –
- Driving position – It is considerably higher and the driver has to sit very close to the front of the vehicle.
- Rear view mirror – Rear view mirrors may not be present in many of the vans in our fleet and new drivers may need time to get used to it.
- Drivers need to drive their van slow initially so as to get used to the weight they are transporting.
- Drivers need to be more vigilant of the fast moving traffic like – motorbikes or cyclists or bigger vehicles like larger trucks or vans.
- Size of the van – Since the size of the vehicle is much bigger and wider than what you are normally used to you may have to be extra cautious and negotiate the curves and corners differently.
- Avoid grazing and damages – Vans are mostly damaged by when the vehicle moves too near to the wall and the vehicle clips a wall/gate or when the radius of turn made by the vehicle is not wide enough.
- Speed of the van – The speeds at which you can drive your car and fully loaded vans are different and you need to watch the speed limits. The speed at which you take turns need to be negotiated. In case of a loaded van, the centre of gravity of the van is much higher than a regular car and thus at high speed, your cargo could easily be disturbed or damaged if the van tilts too much.
Still have your concerns? Don’t worry. Our experts will guide you with their expertise. Call us at - +353 1 8441944 or drop your queries and concerns at Contact us page and let us get back to you at the earliest.