h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I spent 13 years offering a removal service (man and a van) without the use of a luton, tie bars, or flat ties. As you say, the most important part of loading a van is ensuring that the load doesn't move (although I used to joke to my customers as we set off, that like a packet of breakfast cereal, there may be some settling of the contents in transit ), but you don't need ropes and ties to achieve this.

I would usually start off with a mattress, standing it up against the side of the van, and then standing any mirrors, pictures, or other large flat objects like dis-assembled flat pack furniture *SEE BELOW* (wrapped in a blanket or duvet) against it. Then I'd place a large square piece of furniture such as a wardrobe or chest of drawers tightly against it, sandwiching the mirrors between the mattress and furniture so that they can't go anywhere. I'd put other large pieces of furniture against the side or back of the loading space, and fill the spaces between with boxes and bags, thus wedging everything together and preventing it all from sliding around.

I would often find myself with a flat 'face' about 2/3 of the way into loading, and that's always a good place for a washing machine. Firstly, it's over the wheels. Secondly, it means that the washing machine is going to come off the van early on into the unloading, when everyone is relatively fresh and full of energy.

I never put tv's and hi-fi's on sofas with upturned chairs on top - I'd usually keep a space free right at the end of loading for those items, or encourage customers to carry them in the cab if small enough, partly because I often worked with only one or two people, which sometimes meant that the van was unnattended for for several minutes at a time while we struggled with a large piece of furniture and a flight of stairs. Tv's, hi-fi's, and VCR's being extemely tempting to any passing tea-leaf, it wouldn't be a good idea to leave them sitting in the back of an open van.

ALWAYS TAKE APART FLAT PACK FURNITURE BEFORE YOU TRY TO MOVE IT!!! Aside from the fact that it almost invariably falls to pieces as soon as you pick it up, most flat pack furniture is made that way because it's too big to get into the room in one piece, and if you can't get it in, you can't get it out!

Bicycles are more of a problem to move than almost anything if you have a small van. They're greasy, they're an uneven shape, and they have bits sticking out which can easily damage more delicate items. If you can ride to the new place, do so.

Plants are almost as much of a problem. What's the one thing in nature that plants never, ever do? Move. Small plants can be easily dealt with by getting a shallow box like that ones bananas come in (or cutting down a deeper box), and placing them in there with newspaper wedged between the pots. Take them off saucers first. Larger plants can be dealt with in a similar way by putting them on the floor right at the end of the load (and therefore right inside the doors), and wedging the few remaining smaller items that you have most likely found in a drawer somewhere and forgotten to pack, between the pots. Most plants are resiliant enough to withstand this on all but the longest trips. Oh, and don't try any racing starts on the journey unless you want some of what's on top of the load to come crashing down on top of them.

Put as much soft stuff as you can into *strong* dustbin liners - it's ideal for wedging between items and preventing them from moving around en route, but keep blankets and duvets free for wrapping.

In 13 years and some 2,000 removals, I only had four breakages with this technique, two of which were lampshades (take lampshades off lamps and either put them in a box, or on top of the load if there's space).

Here's an entry I began writing and was going to put forward, until I found that there was already an entry on moving house.

A575606

What you say is undoubtedly true - buy getting a load around without bars & ties requires much more skill, so I always prefer to use them wherever possible. A luton is a good thing not an essential thing, of course.

Actually, the vans I used were VW LT35 hi-tops, which had a space above the cab, but not a proper Luton. I used to put boxes up there - very heavy on the steering wheel (no power steering) if they were full of books <--- *sweating* There were bars in the LT's, but they weren't specifically made for tying down. A couple of times I had to transport a motorbike, and after putting it on its stand, I lashed it from side to side of the van with ropes. It looked like it was in the middle of a huge spider's web