When Average Is Not Enough And You Need To Go Bigger With A Lorry Rental

There may be a time when you will need to hire a lorry rather than a large van. You can hire lorries with a small weight capacity of 2,600 kgs or higher capacity of 18,000 kgs. Lorries are available on a daily, weekly, monthly or contract hire period.

What do I need to hire a lorry?

You will need to hold a full driving licence and be between the ages of 25-70 but this varies according to company, so check first. If you are over 25, you will need a minimum of one year's driving experience while licence holders aged 21-24 will need to have 2 years driving experience. If a rental vehicle with a weight capacity of 3,500 kgs or over is required, a heavy goods vehicle licence will also be needed.

Just like other rental agreements, there is unlimited mileage on all lorry rentals and the fuel tank must be filled up upon returning the vehicle. Usually if a younger driver is renting the lorry, the deposit may be an additional £200 due to the higher accident and insurance risk. If you violate any traffic laws, then they will be your responsibility to pay and to accept liability for as a hire agreement will have been signed prior to the vehicle being released in your possession.

You will need to check with your current insurance company that you are insured to drive the rental lorry; it may be possible to do this for a small fee or another policy may have to be taken out. The rental company will usually offer you insurance so it's worth calling up beforehand to enquire how much it will cost. It's always better to call up some lorry insurance companies asking for a quote as you may be able to get it cheaper elsewhere. Make sure the insurance for the lorry that you're hiring includes:

• Overhead damage
• Insecure loads
• Tyre and suspension damage
• Broken mirrors
• Windscreen damage

These are the most common insurance claims made by lorry drivers through either lack of experience in manoeuvring a significantly bigger vehicle or short term lorry rental agreements.

Here are a couple of reasons why you would want to drive a large and bigger than average vehicle:

• You may have a small business that has had an influx of orders come in but not enough transportation
• Your company may have lorries broken down or in need of repair before being driven
• You may be an individual who wants to hire a lorry for moving purposes

It doesn't matter what the reason for hiring a lorry is as there are many companies out there competing for business. So whether you need it for a day, week or month, renting a lorry can have all sorts of benefits for you. Just make sure you read the hire agreement properly and have adequate insurance cover in place so you won't be left out of pocket if the unexpected happens. If you need to extend the period of the rental agreement, then you should call as soon as possible to avoid a late return penalty fine.