Services Dedicated vehicles
Dedicated vehicles
Your consignment in its own van or lorry, direct, with no other drops on the way.
A dedicated vehicle is the answer when sharing the load is the problem. Nothing else travels with your consignment, so there is no other drop to be delayed by, no handling at a hub, and nobody else's freight stacked against yours.
What it covers
The work, named
- The vehicle carries your load only
- No consolidation, no shared space, no waiting for the rest of a round to fill.
- A direct route
- The vehicle goes from your collection point to your delivery point, which is what makes the timing predictable.
- Vehicle matched to the goods
- From a small van to a lorry, chosen for the dimensions, the weight and how the load needs securing.
- Handled once
- Loaded at collection and unloaded at delivery. Every extra handling is an extra chance of damage, and a dedicated run removes them.
Start to finish
How it runs
- You describe the load and the route Including every collection and delivery point, because a dedicated run is often several stops planned as one job.
- A vehicle is matched to the goods Chosen for the dimensions, the weight and how the load needs securing, rather than for what is free.
- Loaded once Your consignment goes in on its own. Nothing is stacked against it and nothing else is collected on the way.
- Driven to the delivery point and unloaded Handled twice in total, which is the whole argument for a dedicated vehicle.
When this is the one
Jobs that call for it
- The goods are fragile, high value, or awkward to stack
- A consignment cannot be split or must stay together
- Previous deliveries have arrived damaged from network handling
- Multiple collections or drops need doing in one planned run
- The timing matters more than the cost per mile
Pricing
What moves the price
No price list, because the three things that set the cost change with every job. These are the ones that matter on this service.
- The whole journey, including the empty legs
- A dedicated vehicle is yours for the run, so the price covers getting to you and, on a long job, getting back.
- The vehicle class
- The single biggest multiplier. Over-specifying is the most common and most expensive mistake on this service.
- Stops and waiting
- Each additional collection or drop adds time, and time on a dedicated vehicle is the thing being bought.
- Whether a second person is needed
- Some loads cannot be handled safely by one driver, and that is better established before the vehicle is assigned.
Before you ask
What to tell us
An estimate beats a blank. The more of this you can give, the closer the first price is to the final one.
- Every collection and delivery point, in the order you want them done
- The heaviest single item and the longest single item
- Whether there is a forklift, a loading bay or neither at each end
- Whether the load can be laid down, stacked, or must stay upright
- The declared value, if the goods are high value
- Whether anyone is needed to help load or unload
Straight answers
When this is not the one
Sending you to the cheaper option costs us one job and earns the next one.
Questions
The things people ask
Does a dedicated vehicle have to be same-day?
No. Dedicated is about who else is in the vehicle, not about speed. A booked delivery next week can be dedicated, and a same-day run can share a vehicle if the route allows. They are separate choices.
Can one vehicle do several drops for us?
Yes, and that is often what makes a dedicated run worth it. Give us the collection points and the delivery points and the run is planned as one job rather than several.
Is a dedicated vehicle always more expensive?
Per mile, usually yes, because nobody else is sharing the cost of the journey. Per job, not always: a dedicated run doing four drops in one planned route can beat four separate deliveries, and it certainly beats one damaged consignment.
Can I load the vehicle myself?
Yes, and on a lot of jobs that is the sensible arrangement. Tell us at the quoting stage, because it changes how long the vehicle is on site and sometimes which vehicle makes sense.
Do you supply a driver, or is this vehicle hire?
A driver comes with the vehicle. This is not self-drive hire: the goods are carried by us, which is also what makes goods in transit cover apply to them.
Worth reading first
Guides for this kind of job
- What size van do I need? UK courier vehicle sizes explained Small van to artic: load lengths, payloads and pallet capacity for every vehicle class a UK courier runs, and how to work out which one your consignment actually needs.
- What actually sets the price of a courier job Distance, vehicle, deadline, waiting time and the return leg: the five things that decide what a road freight job costs, and why published price lists do not survive contact with real deliveries.
- How to pack a pallet so it arrives intact Building, wrapping, strapping and labelling a pallet for UK road freight, and the handling realities that decide whether a consignment survives the journey.
Also moved by road
The rest of what we do
- Same-day courier Urgent, time-critical deliveries collected fast and driven straight to the door, with no waiting on a depot.
- Next-day & scheduled Planned next-day and scheduled deliveries, booked in, tracked and confirmed on arrival.
- Pallet & freight Palletised loads and part-loads moved safely across the country by road.
- Nationwide haulage Long-distance road freight across England, Scotland and Wales, full loads and regular routes.
- Business contracts Regular collection and delivery runs for businesses, on a schedule that suits you.
Not sure which one the job needs? Send the postcodes, the load and the deadline, and we will tell you which it is. Get a quote.