Scout groups, cadet units, church youth groups and sports clubs all move a startling amount of equipment in August, and van hire for a summer camp is one of the more satisfying jobs we handle because the planning genuinely pays off. The load is bulky rather than heavy, it has to come off in a specific order, and it usually has to be unloaded onto a field by people who have already driven for two hours. Groups arranging van hire in Warrington for a week under canvas are moving a small village, and it deserves treating that way.
Working Out How Much Kit A Group Actually Takes
Leaders consistently underestimate camp kit, and the reason is that it lives in six different places for eleven months of the year. Tents, poles, pegs, ground sheets, dining shelters, tables, cooking gear, gas, water containers, first aid, activity equipment, tools and a box of things nobody can identify but nobody dares leave behind. Gather it all in one place a week beforehand and look at the pile honestly. It will be bigger than you remember. Every vehicle we run sits at 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight or under and drives on a standard category B car licence, so any adult leader with a normal licence can drive one.
Choosing Between Height And Length
Camp kit is awkward in two different directions, which is why the choice of van is not obvious. Tent poles, marquee frames and long tables need length, and a extra long wheelbase van with a 4.3 metre load length swallows them without anyone having to angle a pole across the load bay and hope. Bagged tents, boxes and bedding need volume more than length, and a long wheelbase high roof van gives you the stacking height to use the space properly. For most groups the poles are the deciding factor, because everything else can be repacked and poles cannot be shortened.
Loading In Reverse Order Of Need
What you need first at site goes in last. In practice that means the tents, the mallets and the dining shelter sit by the rear doors, because nothing else can happen until the shelter is up and the tents are pitched. Cooking equipment and food come next, personal kit after that, and the activity equipment that will not be touched until day three goes right up against the bulkhead. Write the order down and tape it inside the rear door. It sounds excessive until you are unloading in drizzle with twenty young people standing about waiting to be told what to carry.
Keeping Weight Sensible And Distributed
Camp loads rarely trouble a payload limit, but water containers and tinned food change that quickly, and a group that fills its water carriers before travelling rather than at site can add a great deal of weight for no good reason. Fill on arrival. Whatever the load, put the heaviest items over the rear axle rather than at the very back, and do not build a tall stack of boxes immediately behind the driver where it can come forward under braking. A load that is legal but badly distributed still handles poorly, particularly on a rural road with a camber.
Collecting Early From Tilley Street
Camp departures are early and our depot is open Monday to Saturday from 8am until 4pm, closed on Sunday. If you are leaving on a Saturday morning, collect the van on the Friday and load it that evening, which is far calmer than trying to collect and load and depart on the same day. If you are coming back on a Sunday, the van returns to us on the Monday, so build that into your plan rather than discovering it on the way home. Booking at least two weeks ahead qualifies for our 10% advance booking discount on selected vehicles, set out on our van hire special offers page.
Access At Camp Sites Around Risley And Rixton
Plenty of groups run their first night or their training weekends closer to home, and the sites around Risley van hire and Rixton van hire country come with the usual field access issues. Soft ground, a single track approach and no realistic turning circle are the norm rather than the exception. Reverse in on arrival so you are pointing out, keep to the hard track where one exists, and unload to a marshalling point rather than driving to each tent pitch. A stuck van at the start of camp sets a tone that lasts all week.
Security While The Van Sits On Site
If the van stays with you for the week, it becomes a very useful lockable store and a very visible target. Park it where it is overlooked from the main camp area rather than tucked behind a hedge for tidiness, and back it up close to a fence so the rear doors cannot be opened fully. Keep anything valuable out of sight and take the keys with you rather than leaving them with the kit. Our advice on protecting equipment on site overnight applies just as well to a field as it does to a building site.
Give us the dates, the number of tents and whether you are carrying poles and we will tell you which van fits and what to book. Call us on 01925 396 222 to check what is free for your camp week.
