Large item courier for bulky and heavy goods
A dedicated van and driver for items too big, heavy or awkward for a parcel network: furniture, machinery, display units and full van loads, collected and delivered the same day anywhere in mainland UK.
- Vans up to Luton with tail lift
- Blankets and straps for unboxed items
- One load, one unload, no depots
When a parcel service is the wrong tool
Most parcel networks set length and weight limits per item and pass everything through sorting hubs, on rollers and in cages. A two-seater sofa, a 90 kg pressure washer or a 2.2-metre display stand does not fit that system well, and when it is accepted it is often handled several times on the way.
Our large item courier service avoids that. Your item gets a van and driver to itself. It goes on at the collection address, comes off at the delivery address, and in between the van does not stop anywhere else. Typical jobs include a showroom sofa going to a customer in Bath, a replacement chiller cabinet for a café in Leeds, stands and flight cases for an exhibition set-up, or a bench grinder going from a workshop in Wolverhampton to a buyer in Swindon.
Measure before you book
The most common reason a large item delivery goes wrong is not the van. It is the building at either end. Before you ask for a quote, measure:
- The item itself: length, width and height at the widest points, including legs, handles and any packaging.
- Doorways and gates: width and height of every opening the item passes through, at both addresses.
- Stairs and landings: whether the item can turn on a half-landing, and the headroom above the stairs.
- Turning space: corridors with a right-angle turn are where long items such as worktops and wardrobes get stuck.
- The route from the kerb: steps, gravel drives, a long walk from a rear car park, or a lift that is too short for a tall item.
A sofa that fits the van but not the client's front door is a wasted trip for everyone.
Measure the diagonal
If an item is slightly too tall for a doorway, its diagonal measurement matters. Furniture can often be tilted through an opening that is shorter than the item's height, as long as the diagonal clears it.
Weight and payload: the limit that catches people out
People often assume a "3.5-tonne van" carries 3.5 tonnes. That figure is the most the loaded vehicle may weigh on the road. Subtract the van, a driver and a tank of diesel and the usable payload is a fraction of it.
Heavy, compact goods reach that ceiling while most of the floor is still bare. A few crates of tiles, a stack of steel sections or a printing press component can be compact and still heavy. Give us the weight of each item if you know it, or the manufacturer's figure, and we will choose a van with enough payload to carry it safely.
As a rough guide to which van suits which item:
| If you are sending… | We would normally look at | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| A boxed washing machine, a pillar drill, a few flight cases | SWB van | low roof, so nothing tall; up to about a tonne |
| An armchair, a filing cabinet, a small chest of drawers | MWB van | taller and longer than the SWB, a little more weight |
| Kitchen worktops, a 3 m display banner frame, scaffold boards | LWB van | the one to pick when length matters |
| A three-seater sofa, a double wardrobe, a commercial fridge | Luton with tail lift | most room of all, but only about a tonne of payload |
Those suggestions assume typical vans; the exact model changes the numbers, and we confirm the details for your job. The measurements for each vehicle are on our van size guide.
Luton vans and tail lifts
A Luton van has a tall, square box body, which makes it the natural choice for furniture and tall items. Ours come with a tail lift, a powered platform at the rear that raises goods from ground level to the load floor, so heavy items do not have to be lifted up a ramp or by hand.
Expect the lift to be good for roughly 500 kg. That is enough for most single items, such as a commercial fridge, a safe of modest size or a pallet of boxed stock, but it is a limit, not a guideline. If one item is heavier than the lift's rating, it needs a forklift or loading bay at each end, and we will discuss that with you before booking. The driver also needs solid, flat ground behind the van and enough room to drop the platform.
Two-person lifts and loading help
Our driver will help with loading and unloading, but safe lifting has limits. A double wardrobe, a cast-iron radiator or a large television in its box often needs two people.
Flag any two-person piece on the booking form and we will sort out who helps at each end. That gets settled before the van sets off, so nobody is left at a front door with an item they cannot move.
Unboxed items: blankets and straps
Plenty of large items travel without a box: second-hand furniture, shop fittings, sculptures on plinths, machinery fresh from a workshop. For these, the driver uses removal blankets to protect surfaces and ratchet or webbing straps anchored to the rails in the load area, so nothing slides when the van brakes hard.
Blankets stop scuffs and minor knocks. They do not protect glass, mirrors, thin veneers or delicate legs from impact, so those items still need proper packing before collection. For anything easily broken or expensive, see how our courier service for fragile and valuable goods deals with it, and our guide to preparing goods for collection covers the basics.
Get a quote for this jobor call 020 4525 2039, any time
Full and part van loads
Not every job is one awkward item. Moving a full or part van load, such as retail stock transfers between shops or materials to a site, is covered on our light haulage and tail-lift delivery page. For sofas, wardrobes and other single pieces, see our furniture courier service, and for palletised freight our pallet delivery page.
What to tell us when booking
Tell us the collection and delivery postcodes, the item's dimensions and weight, whether it is boxed or unboxed, any stairs or access limits at either end, and whether it needs more than one person to lift. Those details decide which van we send, and so the fixed price.
There is a fuller list in our article on the details a courier quote needs, and you can ask for a price online. You pay the fixed figure agreed before collection, and the collection time we estimate depends on where a van big enough for the item is at that moment.
FAQ
Common questions
What is the biggest item you can carry?
The limit is set by the Luton, the biggest van we run. Its box is typically about four metres deep and two metres in both width and height, and it will carry roughly a tonne. Bear in mind that the doorway at the back is normally a touch narrower and lower than the box, so the opening is often the real constraint. Send us the measurements and we will check them against the specific van before we confirm.
Do I need to box or wrap furniture before collection?
Not always. Flat-pack and boxed goods travel as they are. Unboxed items such as a sofa, a wardrobe or a shop counter can be blanket-wrapped and strapped in the van, so tell us when booking that the item is unpackaged. Glass panels, mirrors and polished surfaces still benefit from your own protection, such as corner guards or bubble wrap, because blankets stop scuffs rather than impacts.
Will the driver help carry the item?
Yes, within sensible limits. A driver on their own cannot safely shoulder everything, so if a piece is a two-person lift, say so on the booking and we will work out the help needed at collection and at delivery before we confirm. Stairs, long carries from a rear car park and narrow corridors all affect this, so mention them too.
Can you take an item up stairs or into a specific room?
Delivery to a ground-floor entrance is the normal arrangement. Carrying an item upstairs or into a particular room can sometimes be agreed, but it depends on the weight, the staircase and how many people are available, so it must be arranged when you book rather than asked of the driver on arrival. We will tell you honestly if we think a staircase or doorway will not work.
What happens if my load is heavier than a Luton van can carry?
We will tell you at the quote stage. Payload is what decides it, not floor space, and a load of stone, metal stock or full paper pallets can exceed a Luton's payload while still leaving room on the floor. Loads like that belong on a lorry, which is outside our fleet, and we would rather tell you than send a van that cannot take the weight. Occasionally two vans sharing the load is a workable answer.
Last updated