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Truck Hire London
All you need to know about hiring a truck in London
The Big Smoke. The home of the world’s first underground system, Big Ben, The Queen, Queen, The Who, Rolling Stones, The Sex Pistols, and extortionately priced pints. Arguably the most famous capital city globally and equally one of the most difficult to drive through, but not to worry – we’ve got you covered.
Did you know it’s actually the smallest and the biggest city in England? The megacity we know as ‘Greater London’ is undoubtedly the biggest, however, the ‘City of London’ itself has a population of just over 9,000, making it the smallest in England. Being such a hub makes sense that London is easy to reach using almost all of the UK’s motorway network, with the M1, M2, M3, M4, M11, M20, M23 and M40 all running in or nearby London. Europe’s largest ring road also surrounds it, the M25 – built in 1986. There are countless great routes to all of London’s airports and ports, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to get there.
If your journey takes you through the centre of London at all, be sure to add a significant amount of time to your travel. Traffic hasn’t statistically improved in over 100 years – vehicles driving through the city centre average a top speed of 7.4mph, around the same speed as a horse and carriage.
You should also be aware of congestion charge zones, whether your vehicle is subject to these charges, and who will pay for them – you or your employer? Be cautious that there is very little space to stop in London due to the on-road parking, so you may struggle to pull over for breaks.
You will also face weight, height, and width limits on your journey. The entire city has a weight limit of 7.5 tonnes in all central areas, so bear that in mind if you’re carrying heavy cargo. They introduced the London Lorry Control Scheme to prevent HGV’s of over 18 tonnes gross weight from travelling on certain roads at certain times too, so depending on your journey you might need to find an alternative route.
Finance wise, it should come as no surprise that London plays an enormous role in both Europe and the world's economies. It is 9% larger than Paris, Europe’s second-largest urban economy, and 41% larger than third-ranked Moscow. With such a vast high-street, the trade centre, and the significant number of large organisations HQ’s, it is without a doubt, the financial centre of Europe.
While driving through London, the most important thing is to be vigilant, especially if you’re in a lorry. In addition, bike travel is a prevalent mode of travel in the capital, so you’ll have to be far more aware of bikers than usual. The latest statistics show that 44% of all casualties in the UK last year happened in London, with a 12% increase in London road deaths and 83% of them being people walking, cycling or motorcycling.
Truck (or lorry)* hire in London
Truck rental is the way forward for most hauling and transport companies these days. They would usually own their own fleet, however this leads to issues with seasonal demand and general vehicle upkeep. More and more organisations are starting to see the benefits of moving to rental.
In the UK, a lorry (or truck) is a heavy goods vehicle that falls into one of three categories:
• Smaller 2-Axle – over 3.5 and up to 7.5 tonnes
• Bigger 2-Axle – over 7.5 and up to 18 tonnes
• Multi-Axle (3 to 6 axles) – ranging from 25 tonnes to 44 tonnes.
* If you're a bit confused about whether it's referred to as a lorry or a truck, it's worth noting that lorries in the UK classification also qualify as trucks. However, for the same reason, not all trucks are lorries, as some do not meet the UK lorry specifications.
Truck hire in London from Nationwide Hire UK
If your organisation is based in or around London and you want to hire a truck, Nationwide Hire is here to help. Our large fleet can cater to your wants and needs, ranging from the 7.5 Tonne Box Truck with Tail Lift (or similar) for removals to the 26 Tonne Curtain Side Truck for the bigger, longer hauls. We offer a variety of flexible hire options and can accommodate most requests. Whether it's a day, month, or longer, how long you need the vehicle for is up to you. We also provide a FREE drop off and pick-up service wherever possible, a 10% discount to business customers if they insure through a current company policy. In addition, all our trucks are currently included in the 20% off Winter Sale.
Our vehicle fleet includes:
Ford Luton 3.5 Tonne Tail Box Lift Truck (or similar)
3.5 Tonne Tipper Transit Truck (or similar)
7.5 Tonne Box Truck with Tail Lift (or similar)
7.5 Tonne Curtain Side Truck (or similar)
7.5 Tonne Dropside Truck (or similar)
7.5 Tonne Tipper Truck (or similar)
7.5 Tonne Sleeper Tail Lift Truck (or similar)
18 Tonne Box Truck (or similar)
44 Tonne Sleeper Truck (or similar)
18 Tonne Curtainside Truck (or similar)
26 Tonne Curtain Side Truck (or similar)
Interested in truck hire in London? Get in touch today.
All our vehicles are regularly checked, come fully serviced and include comprehensive insurance and UK roadside assistance should something happen. You can travel to EU countries when you hire through us; we ask that you tell our team when you make a booking if you plan to take the vehicle out of the UK.
Should you have any questions about any aspect of lorry and truck hire, please feel free to call or contact us. We can also advise the type of vehicle you may need or any other requirements you may have, help with delivery, and drop off procedures, and other aspects of the vehicle hire.
So, if you're based in London and looking to hire a truck, please do get in touch. The team at Nationwide Hire is here to help and is available seven days a week. Get in touch via freephone 0800 5244 780, or, if you prefer, you can talk to us online during opening hours via our online chat.
Trucks to hire throughout London covering all of the 33 London Boroughs
We provide truck and lorry hire throughout the city of London and Barking, Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Camden, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth and Westminster.
Our vehicle hire includes the delivery of the truck to your preferred address and collection of the vehicle at the end of the hire period.
Truck hire London - Commercial vehicle rental
Nationwide hire commercial vehicles throughout the UK including standard 7.5-tonne box and tipper trucks, 18 to 26-tonne curtain side trucks, and 7.5 tonne to 44-tonne sleeper trucks.
Our hire trucks feature a wide range of manufacturers including Ford, DAF, Scania, Mercedes, and Volvo.
Our customer base includes nationwide road haulage companies, builders merchants, landscapers, DIY, house removals, and commercial and refrigerated goods distributors.
Businesses who hire from our range of trucks and commercial vehicles have the option to use their own company insurance.
Hiring a 3.5 ton tipper truck? - Know your payload weight.
When hiring a 3.5 tipper truck, be aware of the maximum payload with the obvious dangers of overloading and also the penalties incurred if stopped by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency ( DVSA ).
The DVSA carry out tests to make sure lorries and buses are safe to drive, carry out roadside checks on drivers and vehicles, and monitor vehicle recalls.
Our 3.5t Tipper trucks for hire come from a range of manufacturers with a range of engine sizes, varying levels of comfort, and also variable payload weights.
Just some of the factors affecting the allowed payload weight of the 3.5-ton tipper truck are the weight of the tipping gear, the chassis mass, long and short wheelbases affecting the tipper body mass.
Resulting payloads between manufacturers can vary by up to 300kgs with all the pro's and cons of price, fuel economy, volume, comfort, and in an industry that demands a lot from its trucks, the cost of spares.
In days of old, (20 years ago even)the payload of a 3.5 ton tipper truck was higher delivering up to 1,700kg.
This payload has now reduced to between 1,060kg up to 1,349kg.
What has driven this reduction in payload has been offset by increased safety and comfort, After all, nowadays when you are parting with the best part of £30k to buy a 3.5 ton tipper truck or indeed hiring one, who wants an uncomfortable ride.