Same Day Crate Delivery Courier

What counts as a crate job

Crates cover a wide range: timber export crates around machinery, artwork and sculpture in made-to-measure frames, plastic stacking crates of stock, and flight-case style crates of audio, lighting and exhibition kit. They behave very differently on a vehicle, so we ask what you actually have before choosing how to move it.

The questions that matter are weight, outside dimensions, whether it is sealed, and whether it has a "this way up" orientation. Those four answers decide the vehicle and the way it is secured.

Choosing the right vehicle

Pick for the crate, not for the postcode. A single small crate can go in a van, but a tall crate needs headroom, and a heavy one needs a vehicle that will take the weight without being overloaded.

• Small, light crates and stackable boxes: a van from the range on our vehicles hub is normally enough.
• Long or tall single crates: a long wheel base van or a Luton van gives more length and height.
• Heavy timber crates, several crates, or anything that needs to stay upright and unstacked: a 7.5 tonne truck gives the floor space to keep each crate separate.

How to prepare a crate for collection

• Mark it clearly. "This way up", "fragile" and the contents on at least two sides, and a delivery label on the top and one side.
• Close and fasten it. Lids screwed or latched, straps or banding in place, loose items inside blocked so they cannot shift.
• Check the base. Crates that will be lifted by pallet truck or forklift need runners or a pallet base with room for the forks. A flat-bottomed crate on the floor is much harder to move safely.
• Know the weight. Write it on the crate if you can. A guess is better than nothing, but a weighed figure lets us plan the lift.
• Have the paperwork ready. Delivery contact, any reference numbers and any handling notes should be with the crate or sent ahead.

How we load and secure crates

A crate on a dedicated vehicle is loaded with the heaviest and the most fragile items in mind first, kept away from the doors and from anything that could press against it. It is secured with straps or load restraints and padded where it touches another surface, so it cannot slide, tip or rub in transit.

Because the vehicle carries your job and nothing else, there is no other freight to stack, shift or unload around it. If the crate is marked as unstackable, nothing goes on top.

Mistakes that cause crate damage

• Booking a smaller vehicle than the crate needs, then trying to tilt it to fit.
• Not saying the crate is top-heavy or must stay upright.
• Leaving out the access details at either end: steps, narrow doors, a loading dock that is closed, or no equipment to lift it.
• Sending a crate with no labelling, so it is handled as ordinary freight.
• Giving an approximate weight that turns out to be well under the real figure.

What to tell us when you book

For a quote that holds, give us the collection and delivery postcodes, the number of crates, the outside dimensions and weight of each, whether it must stay upright, and how it can be loaded at each end. If the delivery point has no loading dock or lifting equipment, say so before the job is booked, not on the day.

You can request an instant quote online, and because we run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, a crate can be collected out of hours or at the weekend as easily as on a weekday.