How should a removal van be loaded?

The loading order, from cab to doors

The order follows from two rules: weight should sit low and towards the front of the load space, and a van is unloaded in reverse, so whatever goes in last comes out first.

• First, against the cab wall: the large, heavy pieces with flat sides, such as wardrobes, chests of drawers, the fridge freezer and the washing machine.
• Next, in slices across the width of the van: the rest of the furniture, each slice filled from side to side before the next one starts.
• On top and in the gaps: boxes and small items, stacked on the large pieces so that the space above them is not wasted.
• Last, by the doors and on the upper layers: fragile items, and anything the customer needs first when the van is unloaded.

Weight: check the payload, not only the space

A vehicle's gross weight includes the vehicle itself. Its payload, the weight it may carry, is what is left once the vehicle's own weight is taken away, and on a van it can be a much smaller figure than the weight class suggests. Check it in the vehicle's documents.

Household goods average about 110 kg per cubic metre, so a 15 m³ load comes to around 1,650 kg. A van with a 1,500 kg payload is over its limit with that load even though the volume fits. Books, appliances and marble push the weight up much faster.

In Loduvo, Fleet Matcher checks both: a vehicle fits only if the load is within its usable volume and within its payload. Enter the payload in the Max. Weight field of every vehicle in your fleet; a vehicle without one is matched on volume alone.

Why the plan leaves a margin

Items never sit flush against each other or against the walls. The load plan therefore enlarges every dimension of every item by 5% before placing it, which is about 16% in volume because 1.05 × 1.05 × 1.05 ≈ 1.16, and when matching a vehicle only 85% of its catalogue volume counts as usable.

The two margins describe the same reality from two directions, and they agree with each other. Without them a plan fits on paper and fails at the kerb.

The printable load plan

Loduvo's Load Planner (on the Growth plan and above) turns the request's inventory and the vehicle Fleet Matcher suggests into a printable list in loading order, from the cab wall to the rear doors. Each row carries the item's code, name, room, dimensions and weight, and a position such as "3 m from the door · upper row", with FRAGILE and SPECIAL HANDLING marked where they apply.

The layout is indicative. It gives the crew a starting order and a check that every item has a place; the crew still decides the final arrangement on site, and items the schematic could not place are listed separately rather than dropped.

Protecting the load

A few habits prevent most damage in transit:

• Wrap furniture in blankets before it goes in, and keep mattresses and upholstered pieces covered.
• Never stand heavy items on boxes or on anything fragile.
• Tie the load off section by section as each slice is finished, so that nothing can shift when the vehicle brakes.
• Label as you load: with a QR item label on every piece, the crew at the other end can see which room each item came from and take it to the matching room.