Anyone hired a van themselves when moving?

[mermaidgirl]

Hi - we are moving in January and wondering whether to hire a removal company or getting a van to hire and drive ourselves. We are only moving about a mile away and live in a 3-bed semi into a larger house. We have the usual amount of stuff, three beds, sofa, table and chairs etc.

We have got lots of friends and family members who would help us out on the day. We can't really afford to spend a lot on a removal company and I have no idea how much they cost anyway!

Any help appreciated!

We did.

Was bloody hard work and we swore we'd never do it again, but we probably would. Saved a fortune.

yup - we did. saved a fortune. I think it was about £80 per day from here - highly recommended if you are in the north.

Yep. I was pregnant at the time so no heavy lifting for me, but it was hard work for everybody else involved. We couldn't afford a removal company and the van cost about £150 for the weekend, so bargain in comparison.

Yes - we've done it pre-children. LOADS cheaper than a removal company, and will be OK if lots of people to help with lifting.

A bit terrifying to drive such a big vehicle, but I was braver than my DH some am now officially the Trucker of the family.

I done it last year, van cost £45.00 from local Vauxhall garage and we also only moved a short distance away, and it was well worth the saving we made, i just roped in a few helpers (eg brothers and father inlaw!) we moved from a 2 bed semi to a 3 bed.

Would def do again.

We did cost £120 for Sunday first thing til Monday night,we did two trips plus one to the tip to get rid of a lot of stuff. Much less stressful than I thought and even after buying everyone a take away plus chocs, wine and flowers thank you pressies for the helpers still very much cheaper than a removal firm

We did 5 years ago, van cost us £50ish and then my parents helped us move the heavy bits.

We found put yesterday that we can move house in 10 days time but luckily for us this time it's on the same close just about 6 houses down so will be moving with sackbarrows and wheelbarrows and a lot of neighbours helping in exchange for lager and BBQ!

we did it, was £50 for a big van for the day. It was hard work, DH had a couple of friends help. We were moving from a 1 bedroomed place which was tiny so I packed as much as I could beforehand but there was no space to really store boxes so had to pack most of it on the day, while big furniture was being taken I was packing boxes ready for their return. I had a 1 year old with me and no one was available to baby sit, hard work but cheap. It was awful when I got to the other end and saw the mess DH had left omg, no room to even walk around any rooms, DD teething couldnt find the calpol!

I would say it needs good planning, good labelling and make sure the big furniture gets put in the places they are going to stay. I remember seeing big furniture in all the wrong places, I couldnt swap them round because of all the boxes in the way and couldnt unpack the boxes till the furniture was where it was meant to be!

Oh, we also used ours to do an Ikea run the following day. Very useful :)

We did. Moved about 30 odd miles. Just one trip though as we were moving from furnished to unfurnished then a trip to Ikea.

My dad was supposed to drive it (having worked delivering furniture for many years) but he forgot his driving license, cue much shouting instructions at my husband driving a van for the first time

It worked well, other than the fact we were moving into a 2nd floor flat so everything had to be carried up numerous stairs. When we moved out we paid someone (just a cheap local firm though)

We did it recently - was conmpletely knackering and we ended up bickering by the end of the day but couldn't afford a removals company.

We did and it was fine - much cheaper then a removals company - but if you can afford it, then go for the full package with the removals co!

Many times. My sister rents and every time she's moved, we beg/borrow/hire a van and do it. She's fairly easy though as it's just her, and she has minimal furniture.

When we moved last year we managed to do it with a transit van we borrowed from my brother (council transfer, so big surprise to finally get somewhere, no money and only a week between the offer and having to vacate the old flat) It was hell, but we managed

TBH, I find the packing to be the pita bit, not the actual move itself, and driving the van is easy.

Thanks everyone. You have been a great help! We live in NW London. I think the van may be the best option for us.

ok

i note above

we did this the last time we moved- moving day moved at last moment and we ended up moving a 3 bed house with a van and just me and hubby. all of our helpers could not do the revised date.

in desparation we ended up dumping some stuff in neighbours garden to collect later

not a day i wish to repeat