If you’ve ever planned an event, you know that one second of panic you have right before you get to the venue and realize how much there is to bring from storage. Tables, chairs, sound equipment, decorations, catering supplies, signage; the list gets longer every time you think about it and check it. And let’s be honest: you’re only going to make three trips max, and it’s 6am on day-of. So, whatever you plan for, you’ll inevitably have more.
When it comes to logistics, no one really considers the transportation element. Everyone thinks about the fun stuff – the theme, entertainment, and all of a sudden, it’s three days before the event and someone asks how we’re getting everything there. And thus commences the scramble.
Why Using Personal Vehicles Is a Bad Idea
The math never adds up the way you want it to. That small mountain of foldable tables in your storage unit looks manageable until you try to fit them in a car. Even the maxed-out SUVs give up relatively quickly when you’re working with proper amounts for an event.
Most people think they’ll just do multiple trips. Sure, in theory, it’s possible. But on event day, you don’t have time for that. An hour there and back for a thirty-minute drive? That’s one hour gone before you’ve set anything up – and you’re tired doing it again on the second and third trip with other cars.
Furthermore, it’s not everyone’s equipment. It’s great if you want to risk damage but cramming things into rooms that were not meant for packing everything results in broken parts and scratches. It’s anxiety inducing hoping that everything doesn’t tumble over during the drive. Spoiler alert – foldable chairs do a great job at scratching leather seats.
The Real Costs No One Realizes
And this is where it gets expensive without people knowing – at least not yet. When piecing together transport from personal vehicles, you’re burning gas (which isn’t cheap), putting mileage on people’s vehicles that runs their own costs (people forget the little things), and wasting people’s time – favors count – even if nobody’s sending anyone an invoice.
Coordination is equally difficult. Ten people with cars need to show up at the same time, need to drive to the same destination and need to be there for drop off return at the end of the day – or not. Someone’s always running late, someone else needs to leave early; what was once a perfectly scheduled operation is suddenly in shambles.
Professional event planners figured this out long ago. Beyond small intimate gatherings, dedicated transport makes sense. Companies like hirefleet, for example, rent out vans specifically designed for this type of thing – properly moving larger equipment without concern that someone’s not going to have a vehicle big enough.
When To Book The Transport
Most planners book their venue and entertainment first and then transport. But this is backwards. The question about transport should come immediately after the venue confirmation, otherwise there’s a risk of running out of time with peoples’ availability.
Spring and summer are rough for van rentals. Everyone’s doing festivals, outdoor weddings, corporate events and market stalls and if you wait until two weeks before your event, chances are you’ll be paying add-on rates.
The general norm is 4-6 weeks before a standard event but longer if it’s peak season time for something more significant. This gives more options without having to aim too far in advance that it might not be worthwhile anyway should things change.
Matching Vehicle Size To Reality
This is where overspending happens – or opportunities for chaos occur. Ideally go bigger; rent something larger than imaginable – just in case – but then having a long wheelbase van at a venue where access is small or parking is hard can be even more trouble.
Determine needs first by measuring what’s available. Not guessing – actually measuring. Stack tables, count chairs, measure longest items. A standard short wheelbase van will hold more than people think when it’s loaded right but once there are heavy equipment pieces or high quantities of items needed, then alternative vehicles – Lutons with tail lifts – become necessary.
For community events, school events or small corporate events, a medium van will suffice. Large festivals, weddings above 100 guests or trade shows need larger solutions. The point is not to oversell based on quantity but to be honest because sadly, items won’t fit like a Tetris game if that’s how people approach it.
Loading Techniques Matter
Thirty minutes and some common sense can get a van loaded properly or mess things up entirely. When loading, heavy items go in first and up against the front wall of the van cargo area; that way it’s heavy enough toward the front so that smaller, lighter items don’t get crushed by the weight of everything moving around while in transit when ideally it’s all supposed to be secured.
Fragile pieces need to avoid touching the floor at all costs – sound equipment for example or displays – anything electronic needs securing from vibration – not even smooth driving makes less movement than expected.
Pro tip: load everything in reverse order of how it would be set up to save time on-site. Whatever needs to go out first goes in last – but that’s common sense that people seem to forget when they unload a van just to get to the power cords at the bottom.
Insurance and Liability No One Considers
What happens if there are problems? Do personal car insurance policies cover commercial use? Not really since technically speaking transporting materials for an event is commercial use so if a tile goes through someone’s windshield en route or something gets damaged upon entry – it’s on everyone else but themselves for taking on this project.
Rental companies provide insurance automatically if something happens but there are caveats as to what’s included – damage excess fees average £500-1000 which means that’s coming from pocket even for trailers hitting a fence or any avoidable situation. Additional coverage exists which for valuable pieces is something worth exploring.
But damage concerns are larger – is it borrowed equipment? Rented equipment? Either way if you’re responsible for damage therein, your securing will assure that nothing happens…unless it does. Knowing beforehand who’s responsible saves difficult conversations later down the road.
The Return Trip Dilemma
It’s interesting how everyone focuses on setup but breakdown and return transportation requires just as much planning effort. After an all-day event no one wants to re-load – but exhaustion means carelessness which means lost items or broken returns becomes another issue entirely.
Building a buffer or guarantee time helps only when people aren’t tired and overworked at 1am still cleaning up an outdoor venue which for some reason they thought they’d be able to do under time constraints. If the event ends at 8pm, don’t expect the 9pm return; everything always takes longer than anticipated because tired people forget logistics.
Some events stagger transportation efforts – crew one takes care of set up and delivery while another team takes care of breakdown and return so there are still some people with energy instead of everyone exhausted attempting to give someone else their van back because they begged out at mile marker 1.
Making Everything Work
One thing unites all events that go successfully: someone took transport logistics seriously as part of planning – and not as an afterthought later down the line once everything else was agreed upon but as part of the integral details to ensure everything would go smoothly over time (so much so people don’t notice logistics elements because they worked so well).
Getting from A-B-and-C doesn’t have to be chaos; bringing everything to A from storage then back once done with A only requires realistic assessments based on what’s involved – and how best to do so by securing arrangements early enough with limited time ultimately keeping everyone’s contributions engaging rather than falling short without notice later on instead!
