Part load or a whole van — which pays

The difference is what you are paying for

With a whole van you are paying for the vehicle. It travels for you alone, on the date you choose, from your door to your door. Whether you filled it to the roof or halfway, the price is the same.

With a part load you are paying for space. Your things share the vehicle with one or two other consignments going the same way, so the cost of the journey is divided. It is charged by the cubic metre.

Everything else follows from that: a part load is cheaper but slower and less flexible on the date. A whole van costs more but goes when you say.

The line sits around 8 m³

A practical rule from our own runs: below 8 m³ a part load is almost always cheaper; above 10 m³ a whole van starts to pay. Between the two it depends on the route and on how much the date matters to you.

To work out where you are, here is roughly what things take up:

• studio — 5 to 8 m³;
• one-bedroom — 8 to 12 m³;
• two-bedroom — 12 to 25 m³;
• three-bedroom — 25 to 35 m³.

Those figures are furniture and boxes together. If you are moving only personal belongings and leaving the furniture, halve them.

What a part load really means for your dates

This is the part people most often overlook. A part load does not leave when you want it to — it leaves when there is enough freight for that direction.

• to Germany and Austria runs go most often, as a rule monthly and frequently more;
• to Czechia, Poland and Italy, roughly monthly;
• to Spain and Portugal, every two to three months.

So: if you have a fixed move-in date, a part load is a risk. If it makes no difference to you whether your things arrive on the fifteenth or the twenty-fifth, the saving is real and substantial.

When a part load is not a good idea

Three cases where we will tell you to take the whole van even though the volume says otherwise:

• A date that cannot move — a tenancy starting, a handover, a flight. A part load travels when the run goes.
• A piano, large glass or artwork. The insurance is the same either way, but on a part load the goods are handled more often, and every extra handling is a chance to damage something irreplaceable.
• You are not there to receive it. With a whole van the delivery hour is yours; with a part load it falls where it falls in the run.

How the price is actually worked out

For a whole van the price goes by the kilometres driven, at a level that depends on the size of the home. You can see it straight away on the route page or through the cost calculator.

For a part load the price goes by the cubic metre and depends on the direction. That is why a part load always needs a survey: without one we do not know how much space you take, and a guess by eye can be a third out, in either direction.

The survey is free, in person or over a video call. It takes about a quarter of an hour, and after it the price does not move unless the list does.

A practical way to decide

Ask yourself two questions, in this order.

First: do I have a date that cannot move? If yes — whole van, and that is the end of the discussion.

If there is no fixed date, then: how many cubic metres do I really have? Under eight — part load. Over twelve — whole van. In between, ask for both quotes and compare; the difference can be small, in which case convenience wins.

For an exact figure call +381 66 50-40-30-9.

Frequently asked questions